Yabibo Hazurfa
Avärtans Tron
Ant-Zen
Don’t let the kosmische arpeggios of “Tystnaden 1977” confuse you; this suite of reissued work from Sweden’s Yabibo Hazurfa is hardly coasting on dreamy ambience. Originally appearing on tape releases back in 2016 and 2017, Avärtans Tron‘s material shows off Jimmy Svensson’s (Alvar, Nuclear Sludge’s) tastes for industrial drones and the most menacing of minimal wave. Without ever giving itself over to pure noisy abandon, Yabibo Hazurfa maintains a sense of crawling dread, maybe suggesting some of early Nurse With Wound’s early textures being applied to the abyssal pulse of Chris Carter’s synthesis. It’s perhaps Svensson’s tenures in a range of other extreme acts which allows him to make tracks like “Mardrömmar” simultaneously clinical and antiseptic while also connoting grime, rust, and mold (imagine an abandoned operating theatre left to go to seed, perhaps), or apply just a patina of raw black metal distortion to closer “Mörkrets Tron”.
WLDV
Bloodlust Dominion
self-released
In contrast to WLDV’s last EPs The Blood And The Dagger and The Fourth Kind which explored the project’s giallo-disco and darkwave leanings, the Spanish producer’s new 4-track effort goes harder on a pure electro-techno feel, pursuing the same effect as his more atmospheric tracks via programming and sound design. The 909 kicks and claps of the winding, acid-infused “I Drunk Her Blood” keeps its synth sequences tight and tense, producing unease less through atmospherics than by ramping up the intensity of the lead’s tweaky filter. “Burst City” follows suit with a more laidback tempo, again forgoing outright spookiness in favour of jittery nerves delivered via a slow and ghostly pad that serves as backdrop for the rhythm programming. While the grinding electro of “Kinky Tale” acts as something of a combo-breaker in terms of subtlety – there’s nothing low-key about its x-rated samples and buzzing bass – there’s still some sneaky good death-disco hiding in the dry-mix of the sinister “Are They Shadows”, saturated drums and warbly synths winding themselves in ever-tightening circles around a distorted vocal mantra.
