The Senior Staff did some podcast moonlighting this past weekend, recording an episode with our pals at History For Misanthropes. Tune in on Tuesday to hear us discuss the unlikely heroism of Stanislav Petrov, a tale we often mused about over a pint in the Before Times. We had a lot of fun with all of the apocalyptic twists and turns the conversation took, and we hope folks enjoy it. Like we said, the episode drops on Tuesday, but we heartily endorse checking out some of the arcane and morbid corners of history in the podcast’s archives until then…along with this week’s Tracks.
thewalkingicon
Ultra Sunn, “Night is Mine (New Beat mix)”
The SARIN remix of electro-darkwave act Ultra Sunn’s club banger “Night is Mine” has been a regular staple in streaming sets for a minute now, working a nice middle ground between evocative atmosphere and DJ friendly beats. Enter this brand new New Beat mix (dig the Belgian flag on the single artwork for extra authenticity), a slowed but equally hard hitting take on the track. Big orch hits, portentous spoken vox and the addition of glass bottle percussion are the big markers here, and for real, this kind of seems like the way the song was always meant to be.
thewalkingicon, “Naïve”
We’ll admit to ignorance of the various projects the members of Russia’s thewalkingicon were previously involved in, but you don’t need much background to enjoy “Naive”, the first taste of the duo’s second LP and first on Negative Gain Productions. An immediate blend of darkwave and electro-pop sounds, “Naïve” is bringing to mind the bounce and melody of the likes of Parralox and Zeigeist.
Xibling, “Butterfly Curbstomp”
How do you even start to describe Portland based electro-oddballs Xibling to the uninitiated? You could start with some genre markers – darkwave, electroclash, maybe a splash of synthpunk – but that would only be describing the duo in a moment. They move fast and each release works as a refinement or stylistic shift, keeping them unpredictable. Enjoy “Butterfly Curbstomp” and the Maladjusted EP, and know that whatever Xibling get up to next it won’t sound exactly like it.
Semita Serpens, “A Voice Beyond”
In the “rather unexpected” category, here’s something from a new EP by Semita Serpens, the new side project of Denman Anderson of ID:UD mainstays Statiqbloom. While perhaps not as sunny as the album art might suggest, the style of techno Anderson’s working with here is far less grim and oppressive than his work on the past few Statiqbloom LPs might lead you to expect, though there’s certainly something of that project in the woozy and druggy drones weaving through this number.
Empusae, “The Wraiths And Strays Of Paris”
There’s an incredibly broad list of contributors to Coitus Interruptus’ new Coil tribute release, though that’s perhaps no surprise. Everyone from Snowbeasts to God Mod to Flint Glass to Michael Idehall does, in fact, owe some fealty to Coil. Here, Empusae lends a neo-classical ascent to one of Black Antlers‘ gnarly and knotted creations.
Second Skin, “Colder”
We’re probably stretching things a bit with the inclusion of this song from Los Angeles act Second Skin, their first single as a matter of fact. That said, in a world where some bizarre, cartoon version of “the 80s” propagated by hundreds of generic synthwave acts has taken hold, it’s great to hear something that actually sounds like it reflects the production and songwriting sensibility of the decade (Matia Simovich in the studio will help with that, natch). This is the music that plays in the movie while a montage of a band of teens makes their preparations to go fight vampires.
