Hey everybody, what’s up? Fun fact we just discovered: you actually have to go three pages deep on a Google search if you want to find information on Independence Day the holiday and not the 1996 sci-fi action blockbuster, or the sequel that is currently tanking at the box office. And who can blame movie audiences? Sans Will Smith and with special effects bonanzas as the rule rather than the exception at the Multiplex, who the hell cares about revisiting that particular movie universe, aside all the Jeff Goldblum fans natch. What were we talking about? Oh right, Independence Day the holiday. Have a good one America, seems like you guys have been having a rough go of it this year, so eat some BBQ tofu, watch your least safety-conscious neighbour light off some fireworks, and maybe enjoy some new tracks while you’re at it.

"I...I...I don't understand, my...Bacon Number just went negative. That's...theoretically impossible."

Pure Ground, “Omission”
This preview of the second Pure Ground LP has just about everything we’ve come to love and fear from the grimy minimal synth duo. You’ve got creepy-crawl synth programming, an impassive vocal, and just enough melody to guide you through the noir nightmare, but the almost Kraftwerk-like beats skittering in the background add a new sinister shade to Greh Holger and Jesse Short’s steez. Rest assured we’ll have a full discussion of Giftgarten when it’s released.

3Teeth, “Degrade”
Those fnordian bastards in 3Teeth are finally back with the first taster from sophomore LP <shutdown.exe>. While not necessarily straying from the apocalypse culture ethos the band has on lock, there are maybe some subtle shifts here in how the programming and guitar kick off of each other, with a more extreme pendulum effect between the two on the verse-to-chorus transition. Whatever the final result of the full LP, it’s great to have the boys back.

Kirlian Camera, “News (Room 506 Edit)”
Room 506 is an alias of Ancient Methods aka Conrad Protzmann, one that he used previously for a couple of Nico remixes. Might be that this is the alias he plans to use when working over tracks from classic wave acts, because the latest song to get the Room 506 stamp is our beloved Kirlian Camera’s “News”, courtesy of a new 12″ from aufnahme + wiedergabe. Classic darkwave meets modern industrial techno? That suits us fine, more please.

The Hacker & HIV+, “Növö Diskö (Alek Drive remix)”
Well this is unexpected. 10 years ago The Hacker teamed up with HIV+ (aka Unknown Pleasures label boss and scene lifer Pedro Peñas y Robles) to produce “Növö Diskö”, what was at the time a very unusual slice of classic dark EBM a la Dirk Ivens. Maybe owing to similar sounds being very much alive and somewhat in vogue in 2016, Oráculo Records is releasing the track again on 12″, featuring a new remix from modern EBM wunderkind Alek Drive. This one for y’all techno-body crossover heads, of which there seem to be more and more these days, god bless.

Howling Planet, “Synesthesia”
After a lengthy hiatus, the folks behind the excellent French outfit Prosymna have reconvened under a new moniker, with an apparently larger and more fluid roster of group members. This new cut (and its predecessor) point to all of the things we loved about Broken Waters Of Mykines – like an intoxicating blend of classic darkwave and newer witchy sounds – and hopefully indicates that we’ll have another full-length of similar material to enjoy in the near future.

Fragrance, “Lust for Lights”
Ain’t no time of the year better for dreamy synthpop than now, and thanks to an e-mail from France’s Fragrance, we have an excellent new track to toss on our summertime playlist. Somewhere in that nexus where synthwave, dreampop and darkwave converge for that melancholy but upbeat sound, we’re feeling the laidback vibes on this, real hard. Check out the Soundcloud for some more of the same, we’ll be chilling over here by the pool while you do.