Morning friends! It was quite a week we had what with Caustic, Dead When I Found Her, and Haujobb all releasing excellent full lengths within the space of four days. It can be tough keeping track of this here racket, but this is the gig we signed up for, and really, rambling on about records we dig is a pretty light burden to bear. We often worry about not giving deserving releases as much attention as they deserve, and that’s often where these Tracks posts come in. Not just plugs for individual tunes, take these as pointers to releases we might be fully behind but simply don’t have enough hours in the day to write up.

LRP are classy individuals.

Leaether Strip, “Nothing’s Impossible”
Claus Larsen’s been all over the covers game of late, with tunes from the likes of Talk Talk, Bronski Beat, and Fad Gadget getting some classic Leaether Strip treatments. Depeche Mode certainly haven’t been left out in the cold; we’re counting at least five nods to Claus’ favourite band and its solo projects in the past couple of years. This latest one’s a decidedly unexpected choice, though. Despite an upbeat lyric, this Gahan deep cut from Playing The Angel had an incredibly claustrophobic atmosphere. Claus ports things over to his classic dark electro template perfectly, adding some swing and world-weary optimism, and bringing life to a tune which, to be honest, had never especially stuck out for us. Oh yeah: happy belated, Claus!

Black Nail Cabaret, “Mágia”
Black Nail Cabaret’s new EP Steril is an interesting affair, a neat follow up to their enjoyable synth cabaret record Harry Me Marry Me Bury Me Bite Me from earlier this year. Where that album was entirely sung in English by distinctive vocalist Emese Arvai-Illes, the new EP is entirely in Hungarian, giving a really distinctive flair for North American ears like ours. Check the noirish D.A.F. homage on the track embedded below or the neat video for the title track. Interesting stuff from a very unique act indeed.

Ghost Twin, “Walpurgisnacht (Famine Remix)”
A couple of weeks back we posted a track by Kindest Cuts from a split with Ghost Twin, a Winnipeg act we’d never checked before. This has proven to be a significant oversight. Karen and Jaimz Asmundson craft rich and dark tunes which hearken back to the best and snappiest of 90s darkwave. Die Form, Claire Voyant, and even classic Dead Can Dance come to mind. This reworked version of a tune from their excellent Here We Are In The Night EP should technically be played at the coming of spring, but you could easily work it into your Saturnalia house party mix with nary a spilled drop of mead.

Delaykliniken, “Afraid”
One of the best things about following Progress Productions release schedule has been the near constant supply of excellent Swedish electronic music they serve up. Despite them having been around for a while now we had never heard tell of Stockholm’s Delaykliniken until word came out that Progress would be releasing their debut album Suddenly. Now we’re curious as to what it might hold! Behold the power of label curation, and have a listen to this pleasant slice of lowkey Sverige electropop while you’re at it!

Angels Of Liberty, “Anaesthesia”
Speaking of 90s throwbacks, Finnish label Gothic Music Records have just dropped a gargantuan 33 track sampler, including a tune from Angels Of Liberty. We’re not sure how to wrap our heads around a band specifically channeling second wave gothic rock without using a single guitar, but the proof’s in the pudding: right n’ proper trad goth which scratches that itch nothing else can reach.

Living Room Project, “Stalker”
Something new and very different from some familiar names, Living Room Project is made up of Craig Jensen and Kerry Vink-Peterson of Stiff Valentine and Chris Peterson of…well, a lot of pretty amazing bands. We caught wind of the sessions that birthed the LRP record a ways back, but hearing it in its completed form is striking: contrary to what you might expect from the folks involved, these are slinky loungy tunes that speak to late nights, cigarettes, and some healthy drinking habits. Check the entire record on Bandcamp: it’s all the more enjoyable for how outside the box it is.