Spoiler for the podcast this week – we got super hyped watching the Damned this past weekend and so are gonna dedicate the podcast to talking about them. Without wishing to go deeply into the specifics of what we’ll be talking about, it’s probably fair to say we’ll be doing a lot of gushing about the show itself, the ways in which the band are both very much of Our Thing while also often sounding nothing like anything else in that broad umbrella. Buckle up and get ready for lots of superlatives, but in the meantime here’s this week’s Tracks!
The March Violets
Sacred Skin, “Waiting”
The second single from Sacred Skin’s anticipated sophomore LP Born Into Fire is “Waiting”, a fine synth-driven number that shines a light on the band’s excellent songwriting. We loved their debut record for its cinematic new wave thrills, but the Los Angeles based act have always had sneaky great hooks and arrangement skills; where so many acts are content to ape the aesthetics of the early eighties, Sacred Skin have the tunes, the musicianship and the pop instincts to back it up.
The March Violets, “Hammer The Last Nail”
Continuing on with the reactivation which began about ten years back, first wave goth royalty The March Violets have the forthcoming Crocodile Promises LP primed and ready, with a North American tour about to kick off to boot. The first taster is a swampy boogie with flashes of dark panache and the understatement you could find in the corners of their original discography. Purple, slinky, and oh so groovy.
Zanias, “Ashes”
“Ashes” is Alison Lewis’ single raising funds for Palestinian aid, which in and of itself makes it a worthy inclusion for a Tracks post. That its also a rarely heard side of the performer is perhaps less important, although it’s very interesting to hear Zanias leaning towards a classic strummy 4AD sound that recalls This Mortal Coil and some eras of Dead Can Dance, a natural fit to be certain. A lovely song for a good cause.
Run Level Zero, “Cross Over the Line”
It’s always a good day when we get something new from our Swedish friends Run Level Zero. In recent years the industrial project has been largely dormant, occasionally decloaking unexpectedly to show off what they’ve been up to musically. Like all their cuts there’s a strain of classic post-industrial sounds hear, but shot through with their uniquely proggy sensibility – think FLA, think Encephalon, but also just go and listen and then go check out their whole catalogue why not?
Sophia, “Hunt / Hung”
Sophia, the martial/ambient industrial side-project associated with Peter Bjärgö’s Arcana, is the sort of lumbering beast which wakes from its hibernation on a schedule and with motives both unknown to passing observers. At first glance, the creaking menace and jackhammer beats of a number like this suggest that we’re in for a much rougher listen with The Age Of The Narcissist than we were with 2016’s comparatively restrained Unclean
Dolorosa, “The Hermit”
Tip o’ the hat to Michael from Chrome Corps for coming across this one, a tape out of Spain linking first wave industrial noise with later dark electro wooziness and general rhythmic weirdness. Somewhat reminiscent of some of the earliest work to appear on the late great Complete Control Productions label.
