You may have noticed us discussing the pros and cons of Depeche Mode’s early catalog yesterday, a subject which has sparked no small amount of discussion on our personal walls. It’s that sort of back n’ forth about records, in earnestness or jest, which occupies a huge amount of our lives and really formed the backbone of what we wanted ID:UD to be; a slightly more formalized version of the (semi) critical discussions of music which ate up so much of our time regardless. We’ve noticed a bit of an uptick in comments on posts here at the site, and that’s more rewarding than you can know. While we want to give our readers at least something to ponder, we don’t ever want the conversation to stop with us. Pour some coffee, check this week’s Tracks, and let’s keep the conversation rolling.

Depeche Mode - Wrong

The loser of the Great Depeche Mode Debate has to reenact the "Wrong" video.

Architect, “Neon (Demo)”
Here’s a little something on the audience participation: local favourite Daniel Myer has posted two versions of a new track by his Architect project (you know, the one responsible for our 2013 album of the year) and he’s looking for feedback on which one to finish. The idea is that after a set amount of time Daniel will look at which mix has the greatest number of likes on Soundcloud will be completed and released. Do you dig the quirky minimalism of the first version, or the dark and slappy build of the second? Make sure to head over and hit the lil’ heart for your fave, it’s like being a co-producer or something.

X-Marks The Pedwalk, “Drowned Words”
The reformed incarnation of X-Marks keeps on rolling, preparing its third album since 2010. Sevren and Estefania are steadfastly refusing to go back to the well of old, carrying on from The Sun, The Cold And My Underwater Fear with tunes that might share some component parts with their earliest stuff, but are honed in a far more pensive and perhaps unsettling direction. New LP The House Of Rain drops in just over a month.

Kirlian Camera, “Edges (John Fryer Mix)”
Our favourite Italian commandos of darkwave and theosophy have never been gunshy when it comes to their past. Indeed, past and present seem to exist simultaneously for Elena Fossi and Angelo Bergamini, as evidenced by their recent 12″. Consisting of four mixes of “Edges” (including this one by legendary producer, 4AD wingman, and DarkDriveClinic honcho John Fryer), it hearkens back to their italo disco roots and gives an eye to newer house floors as much as it coalesces their own recent grandiose presentation; this is in fact a reworking of a version from 2009’s Shadow Mission HELD V, rather than the 1984 original.

Operation Blue Eyes, “Stone Cold Hearts (Dynamikk remix)”
Here’s something fun from Sweden, the newish project from the Pain Machinery’s Jonas Hedberg. Whereas fellow TPM’er Anders Karlsson has been going the hella-mechanical techno-electro route with his Celldöd project, Jonas has been pursuing a more melodic post-punk sound, rendered even more chill on this sweet synthwave mix by Dynamikk. We just got wind of this last week, and are now quite keen to see what this outfit has to offer: our Swedish fanboyism knows few bounds and we’re suckers for the occasional slow jam.

Pure Ground, “Second Skin”
Hard minimal synth action from Los Angeles’ Pure Ground, this is the first taster for their forthcoming LP Standard of Living. While this is certainly in line with the lo-fi tracks we’ve heard from this project in the past, we’re really feeling a slightly more clear mix for maximum sinister vibes. If you like analogue electronics and a touch of body music in your tunes you’d do well to add this act to your watch-for list: we’ve got ’em pegged for a very interesting release in 2015.

Slimy Member, “The Corpse”
Finally, some no BS deathrock from all the way down in Dallas. Slimy Member may be namechecking Rudimentary Peni in their moniker, but there’s a fair amount of TSOL style classic west-coast punk in their ichor-choked genome to boot.