Morning, gang! The senior staff had a solid weekend meeting marked by rad vegan paninis, the Bob’s Burgers/Archer crossover, and mucking about with the RPM on classic A Split Second and 242 vinyl. We even managed to get some actual work done on some interviews we’re excited to be bringing you in the couple weeks. Oh yeah: I also finally got around to watching Gypsy 83, an absolutely ridiculous gothsploitation flick featuring much of Metropolis’ roster circa 2001, and far too many cheesy moments of teenage goth angst. Hilarious. Anyway, to business!

Marburg, “Nikad (Nowhere)”
Oh man, am I excited about this: a tribute to the late, great Belgian minimal wave/new beat act Snowy Red featuring loads of young, dark bands has just been announced, and the first preview from it sounds like the project will do Mickey Mike proud. _ever Alive will also feature ID:UD faves like //TENSE// and Violent Tremors, and our fellow Vancouverites Animal Bodies taking on my absolute favourite Snowy Red tune, “Lies In Your Eyes”. Big tip of the hat to the good people at Peek-A-Boo for drawing our attention to this!

MARBURG – “Nikąd (Nowhere)” excerpt from “_ever Alive – a tribute to Snowy Red” // Weyrd Son Records 2013 from Weyrd Son on Vimeo.

W.A.S.T.E., “Are We Just Animals”
More no-bullshit, classic rhythmic noise from those masked maniacs in W.A.S.T.E.? Yes, please. Not sure if this is a preview from a forthcoming LP or just a one-off, but whether you’re Awaiting Silent Tristero’s Empire or Seeking Total Entropy, W.A.S.T.E. are delivering the goods once again.

Marsheaux, “Alone”
We’ve been waiting for a follow-up to the Greek synthpop duo’s fantastic 2009 release Lumineaux Noir since well before this site started, which has resulted in a lot of hand wringing and revisiting of their old records (which keep improving with age, for our money) in the interim. Marianthi Melitsi and Sophia Sarigiannidou have been releasing a steady stream of demos and outtakes (many of which we’ve posted here), but here it is: the first official album cut from Inhale. Has all of the full-bodied oomph of their mid-tempo dancefloor burners, but also just the right helping of the classic synthpop melodies the pair can weave so well.

BLVCK CEILING, “HATE”
Keeping up with BLVCK CEILING’s torrent of tongue-in-cheek witchy releases is nigh impossible; just about every time we’ve checked in on their Bandcamp there’s been a full slate of new tunes. I’ll give SWANSONGS a full spin shortly, but in the meantime check this one bleepy cut which avails itself of some classic, possibly chemically aided genius from the one and only Randy Poffo.

Ghost & Writer, “Hurricane (instrumental mix)”
Given our love for Frank Spinath’s vocals we sometimes run the risk of overlooking the strength of the music produced by those he’s collaborated with. This vocal-free mix from Ghost & Writer’s hotly anticipated sophomore album Red Flags lets Jean-Marc Lederman take center stage and show off his chops with a punchy but spritely piece which somewhat brings to mind 16-bit video game scores. (Odd tidbit I just discovered: Lederman recently worked on an iPhone sequencer with none other than Karl Bartos!)

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, “Decimal”
Here’s a little bonus bagatelle: a brief interlude from undisputed synthpop gods OMD’s forthcoming English Electric, the second LP they’ll have released since the core duo of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys reunited. History of Modern was a fantastic survey of the band’s more lush and accessible history, but might this bit of wackiness suggest that English Electric might hold more of the experimental bricolage of the band’s overlooked masterpiece, Dazzle Ships?