It’s not always 100% visible to us when we’re in the thick of it, but when we step back and look at the content and coverage we’ve done over the last seven and a half years of I Die: You Die, it really does feel like we’re covering more different music today than at any point in the site’s history. That’s obviously a function of how much things have changed in the broader world of Our Thing, and also how our personal tastes shape ID:UD’s coverage, but we’d also like to acknowledge the influence of readers of the site and listeners of the podcast have on us. We rely on y’all to tell us about cool stuff that we missed or might not yet be aware of, so as to make sure we’re hearing and hearing about as much music as is possible. All this is of course a lead-in to our traditional ask, if you have stuff you think she be covered or cosidered hereabouts, why not drop a note in the comments? We sure do appreciate it. Tracks ahoy 2019!

Hatari are doing like a Mortal Kombat/Matrix/Brazil thing?

Hatari, “Spillingardans”
Trying to sum up Iceland’s Hatari is a difficult proposition but let’s have a go at it: Hatari is a multimedia collective that make politically infused dance music with oddball melodies that “aims to reveal the relentless scam of everyday life”. The band do things like give interviews while ordering and eating fast food, perform with buff go-go dancers and opera singers and make NSFW videos where the band gets worked over in a sex dungeon. Sound appealing? Check out recent single “Spillingardans” for a taste of what these cats are bringing in 2019.

Creux Lies, “Made”
Sacramento’s Creux Lies released “Made” on the last day of 2018, capping off the year that saw them release their debut album Hearth on Cleopatra records. We’ll admit to sleeping on them, but hope to rectify that going forward: any band doing this kind of chorus-driven (chorus as in the guitar effect and also the element of songwriting) gothy post-punk is generally the sort of thing we enjoy around the HQ. The band have a bunch of dates coming up with proven quantity ACTORS coming up, so hopefully we’ll get the opportunity to see them in the Pacific Northwest before too long.

Arctic Flowers, “Rose In Bend”
Records get lost in the year end logjam all the time here at the HQ, and we weren’t able to take a proper pass at the latest from Oregon’s now-veteran act Arctic Flowers ’til now. The band’s been dishing out a bracing brand of peace-punk for nearly ten which speaks not only to the stormy weather and political climes of our shared Cascadian homeland, but also to the long-running intertwinings of punk, goth, and post-punk. Don’t be any more late to the party than us, and check Straight To The Hunter now.

Download, “Gaslighter”
cEvin Key and Phil Western reuniting for new Download material feels like a natural cosmic phenomenon at this point: the somewhat rare but always reliable intersection of two astral bodies with their own orbits. Each will head off on their own excursions shortly after, but all manner of tidal and gravitational phenomena are likely to happen when they align. The teaser track from Unkown Room mixes some grimy and brapped out big beat production with the big and sweeping harmonic pads which the duo have used since their inception (no pun intended).

Randolph & Mortimer, “Reaganomic (original mix)”
Sheffield stand up, it’s a new one from native sons Randolph & Mortimer. Released on the massive 21 track techno-EBM [RND.R026] compilation, Randy & Mort vary it up on this one, summoning so classic post-industrial vibes with tweaky orch hits, punchy synths and nice rubbery bassline. We’ve made this point before, but R&M have a ludicrously good track record given how small their overall catalogue is, and it wouldn’t be hard to see their sound crossing over into a few different electronic music scenes. Get with it if you haven’t already.

Iron Court, “Dawn Falls”
You just can’t pin Detriti! down. As soon as you think you’ve circumscribed the boutique tape label’s yen for grimy oddball sounds from across all electronic and wave spectra, they’ll drop something incredibly clean and businesslike like the new EP from Italian techno producer Iron Court. Forget any retro sentimentality, it’s all strictly sequenced dancefloor stomping here, cleaving closely to the techno end of the current climate.