Happy hump day, kids. Speaking for myself, it can be hard to resist the undertow of crap weather. Rather than react against the morose mood which an unending spate of gray skies can engender, it’s often easier to just acquiesce, put some Lustmord records on repeat, and sit quietly in the corner of yr apartment and wait for the junk mail to pile up. My own winter of discontent came to a head on Saturday night with a far too lengthy Deutsch Nepal & Limbo bender. This proved to be a bridge too far, and while I haven’t exactly been blaring “Walking On Sunshine” while sipping Capri Suns since then, I made a point to seek out some more uptempo (if not necessarily cheery) fare for this week’s crop of new tracks.
Die Selektion, “Du rennst”
Some awesome, new-to-us (hat-tip to Daniel R!) Italian/German stuff which marries propulsive synths and drums with Grauzone-style iciness. (Looks like I missed them at Drop Dead in Berlin earlier this year. Grr.) They have an LP and a soundcloud chock full of tracks (can’t find any digital distro info as of yet – ETA: buy their 7-track tape on BandCamp here). Highly recommended.
Snake Dance, “Winterland”
A while back I speculated that Snake Dance might feature at least one alumni from Solemn Novena. My gothy intuition rarely leads me astray, and it sounds as though the new project from Marc McCourt (also late of Nosferatu) will release a debut EP on Secret Sin Records, a start-up label from fellow traditionalists Angels Of Liberty. The title track is a sugar-rush of second-wave goth perfection, and I can’t wait to hear more.
miserylab, “Fear For The Future”
Not all of the graduates of the second-wave are doggedly sticking to the manuskript. If you haven’t been keeping up with Porl King since Rosetta Stone split, you’ve been missing out on the excellent steely and politically-themed post-punk he’s been releasing under the name miserylab. King’s imposed some strict limitations on what equipment and instruments he allows himself to use in miserylab, which he feels eliminates second-guessing (that’s one way to avoid “the tyranny of inaction”, amirite?) and keeps the project focused on songwriting. It’s an approach which has served him in good stead, as on new single “Fear For The Future”, which can be nabbed for free on miserylab’s site.
Phosgore, “Into The Void”
By all rights I should hate Phosgore, but I don’t. I keeping thinking I hear things in them which set them apart from [x]-Rx or (shudder) Eisenfunk…though I’m not entirely sure what those things are. Somewhat more textured bass? Less irritating samples? Resistance to the slippage into hardstyle which so much of this stuff seems to be giving itself over to? While I can’t imagine their new album Warhead will be getting much play from me around the house or club this holiday season, “Into The Void” (which is about as subtle as Phosgore’s likely to get) is a fun and punchy cut which is in the same territory as our beloved Memmaker.
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Addendum: We were happy to learn of and support Crunch Pod’s Justicia Pro Bestia compilation earlier this year, and we’re stoked to have heard about another animal-related benefit comp, Industry 8‘s More Than Nine Lives, a 2CD album with proceeds going to the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society.
In addition to being dedicated to a good cause, the range of artists on this comp is truly inspiring. It’s awesome to see some true goth/industrial solidarity in action, with acts like The Frozen Autumn, Monica Richards, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, and Entertainment (welcome back!) listed alongside Synapscape, Access To Arasaka, Worms Of The Earth, and 100blumen. Take a look at the full tracklist and order here.
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