Fuck dude, how is it December already? The record of everything I did and had done to me this year ain’t inconsiderable, but it did go by in the blink of a kitty cat’s eye, and here I am wondering how we’re possibly gonna sum it all up before month’s end. That’s not even taking into consideration the fact that there’s still music coming out that deserves our love and attention. As problems go these are the best kinds to have, especially when the end result is that writing Tracks posts is so god damn exciting I find myself pounding on the keyboard like my name was Craig Huxtable. Our Thing ain’t dead, we were just restin’ our eyes for a minute, ya heard?

Photo Courtesy of Chad Fjerstad

Youth Code, “‘Destroy.’ Said, She.”
While the rest of us were playing XBox and sipping on wine spritzers the city of Los Angeles has been gradually consolidating some of the most exciting new underground electronic music going. Tearist, The Present Moment, LabXIV, shit, I heard //TENSE// is moving there too. Which brings us to Youth Code, who dropped a track from their new tape release on Soundcloud that made me so amped I spilled my coffee and had to change my pants. This is the real underground shit, bedroom dark electro that makes up for a lack of polish with sheer ENERGY and attitude. Pay attention, this ain’t a game. “Listen.” said me.

Comaduster, “Connecting the Seams”
Our boy Réal Cardinal (aka Comaduster) has a track on the Tympanik 5th anniversary comp Accretion that drops tomorrow via Bandcamp. Go have a look at that track listing, it’s got exclusives from the label’s insane roster including (deep breath) Ad·ver·sary, ESA, Endif, Haujobb, Access To Arasaka, Flint Glass, Zentriert Ins Antlitz, Worms Of The Earth, Displacer, Black Lung, and like, a zillion other dope acts. I pre-ordered it, y’all should consider doing the same, this thing is stacked like a Jenga tournament. Anyways, Comaduster has this unique songwriterly approach to IDM that includes vocals and guitars and is pretty much unprecedented in my experience. If you didn’t know, now you do so you have no excuse when someone asks what the next shit to pop is gonna be.

The Break Up, “Lightning (Continues Remix)”
Dan Gatto’s Continues hasn’t left the rotation since the album came out back in the Spring, and “Lightning” was one the best tracks on The Break Up’s debut from last year. That basically made this particular remix a lock for inclusion in a Tracks post unheard, and hey, the fact that the 80’s synthpop vibe of the former meshes perfectly with the new school electropop for the latter certainly didn’t hurt matters on that front either. Snatch the free download from Soundcloud and feel the neon nights flow through you.

M‡яc▲ll▲, “MVRDERESS”
Been a crazy year for unicode music, especially for M‡яc▲ll▲ who have (in concert with V▲LH▲LL) been keeping the game on lock like a pause button, first with Għøsŧs of Λnŧįquįŧұ, and then with the remix companion to the same. I love how M‡яc▲ll▲ has these super tight basslines bubbling away underneath clouds of reverbed pads on their songs, hella spooky music for italian space horror movies that play behind closed eyelids. This one comes from a special mixtape by tastemaker/rumpshaker Theway Peoplestare, a worthwhile listen if you’re into this sort of thing.

Strauss Ex Machina, “Generic”
INDUSTRIAL DISS TRACK AHOY! J. Strauss of industrial rockers Morlocks’ solo project Strauss Ex Machina weighs in on the recent debate regarding sexism and aesthetic choices in the industrial scene with this pointed little number. Seriously, go read the lyrics, they’re funny and “oh snap!”-worthy more than a couple times and quite clearly directed at one artist in particular. The beef is startin’ to cook, lets stay tuned for the comeback we can only hope will be forthcoming.

Rabia Sorda, “Eye M The Black Sheep”
I described this song in a text to Bruce as “AFI with the dude from Hocico fronting”, which should tell you if you’re interested or not before you hit play. I kind of hated it at first – it seemed like something you’d hear at Hot Topic while browsing for cheap pants – but then I got the chorus stuck in my head and was like fuck, I guess it’s actually pretty catchy. I can also justify it by noting that the single has remixes from Absolute Body Control, Officers and Pankow (!!!) on it, so I’m gonna have to be looking out for that.