We often use these little Tracks intros as quick updates on what’s happening with the Senior Staff, but given the events of last week we don’t feel like that kind of rundown would be particularly appropriate. Take care of yourself and those around you, and for God’s sake, be kind. Here are your tracks for this week.

2nd Face rockin' that Harvey Dent steelo

2nd Face, “Divine”
Hey, something new and potentially interesting from Dependent! 2nd Face is a the electro-industrial project of Frankfurt’s Vincent Uhlig aka Thorn. The copy from the label specifies an old-school Canadian influence, but we’re hearing some parallels with their Ottawa labelmates Encephalon, both in the nice modern production and the fat basslines that permeate this track. Feels like it’s been a while since any new artists of note came from one of the prominent German labels, so we’ll def be keeping tabs on this act going forward.

Alter Der Ruine, “There is No Water”
We love Alter Der Ruine, full-stop. Every new drop from them is a pleasure to hear for the first time, partially because they’ve got a knack for switching things up and confounding expectations, and mostly because they write really good songs. This new free single arrives just a scant few weeks after that great Technophobia remix they did, whetting our appetite for another LP of emotional, danceable electro that slips sneakily between genres. Wait ’til you hear they use guitar on this one, it’s a sound you didn’t even know you wanted ’til you heard it.

BLVCK CEILING, “Glass”
BLVCK CEILING’s dropped yet another tape’s worth of finely filigreed drag tracks. Flowers brings the expected undertow of bass and snares, with drugged samples being stretched out over the low-end frame, but there are plenty of additional perks. Check the pensive strings on this cut which connote the cinematic side of darkwave. The end result is part John le Carré flick, part lost Biggie beat.

Ritual Howls, “Scatter The Scars”
Detroit’s Ritual Howls have their third LP primed, and the first taster carries through on their southern-fried post-punk steez. You could be forgiven for taking them for doomier cousins of A Place To Bury Strangers, but the acidic vocals and pure machine-beat rhythms speak to a meaner and more classically goth heritage. Into The Water is out on August 19th.

Koma Noir, “VHS (U. Dweller edition)”
Speaking of southern twangs showing up in unexpected places… Russia’s Koma Noir impressed us a couple of years back with their “September” single (the remix of which we’re still playing out on the regular), and have returned with a rather unexpected turn. In its original form, new single “VHS” is a honky tonk porn pastiche, but this mix stays a bit closer to their original sound. We’ve always thought the band had a bit in common with Black Strobe, and I guess we can add blues rock Americana fixations to the list of commonalities.

Mesh, “Kill Your Darlings”
Mesh go kinda Violator on their new one, which ain’t a bad thing. How many bands are equipped to do the synthpop/alt. rock thing like the long-running British act? They have a small but loyal cadre of admirers on this side of the Atlantic, but golly does it seem like they’re a deservedly big deal over the pond, playing the big festivals and so on. We weren’t crazy into their last album, but we’ll certainly be checking in on the new one, their catalogue and loyal fandom has earned them plenty of cred with us.