It’s hard to know what to put in this space when the world seems especially cruel and difficult to deal with; either you ignore it and write some dumb shit and feel like you’re being dishonest, or you dwell on it and risk spiralling out when you’re just trying to get a Tracks post in the can for Monday morning. This is one such weekend, and we ain’t got nothing to tell you don’t already know. Be kind to each other, lift each other up and stand up against these pieces of shit who are out in the streets trying to capitalize on these concurrent crises for their own ends. Fuck fascism, Black Lives Matter.
House Of Harm
Rotersand, “Hot Ashes (Radicalized)”
“Hot Ashes” was a favourite off of the most recent album by Rotersand, a spunky dance number with a message that everyone can get behind in the hellscape of 2020. Never would we have ever guessed that it would port over nicely to KMFDM-esque rock remix, but that’s just what happened on this “Radicalized” version, where big Gunther Schulz guitar chug riffs blaze through some freshly programmed kicks and the song’s original synth trill. This is probably a love it or hate it take on the track, but we’re trending towards love it.
House of Harm, “Always”
Like every other track we’ve heard from House of Harm’s soon to drop sophomore LP Vicious Pastimes “Always” is a very smooth and very catchy bit of dreamy post-punk with pop hooks for days. Maybe it’s our advancing age, or the generally fraught nature of day to day life right now but there’s something intrinsically appealing about this kind of fun and easy to listen to melancholia, an itch that we’re always ready to have scratched. Album is out on Friday, we’re quite keen to hear it.
Restive Plaggona, “Brand New Desires”
One half of a nice two-tracker from Restive Plaggona, AKA Dimitris Doukas, whose conceptual work as Matriarchy Roots has been earning plaudits from the HQ. The combo of heavy kicks and slightly detuned chimes has us thinking of the sorely missed work of Fostercare, albeit with some of the expertly tuned production we’ve come to expect from just about everything Doukas lends his hand to.
Hex Wolves & KK Null, “Wet”
“Wet” is a new collab track between Los Angeles noise and techno purveyor Hex Wolves and Japanese experimental legend KK Null, not a team-up we expected but certainly a welcome one. The programmed beats and samples dodge around one another as drawn out vocal samples echo above them, and deep thrumming bass bubbles up from underneath. Their cassette is out on Friday, pre-order yours now via the magic of Bandcamp.
Dismal Thoughts, “In The Cold Depths”
Extra strength, nitro-brew depressio from a brand new Pomona two piece. Lo-fi jangle and flat drums carry bleak mutterings befitting of the band’s name. Certainly not the most polished or developed take on utterly desolate goth, but there’s some promise on their three-track demo. Beatings will continue until moral improves.
Marlboro Hornets, “Addition”
We’ve recently been featuring some of the noise-related work of ex-Volt 9000 member Andrew Dobbels as XLV. Dobbels has recently dug into his vaults and reissued his work as Marble Hornets, a glitch-forward electro-industrial project rooted in deep net lore, creepy pasta, and the like. It’s immediate and pleasantly crunchy stuff, and pieces like “Addition” have more than enough charm in their own right in addition to offering insight into the origins of Dobbels’ later work.
