We’d much rather be using this space to drum up excitement about a couple of new releases on the horizon or projects we have in the works, but it behooves us to put a note here about Ted Phelps and the reactions to his bigoted comments which have occupied a large number of industrial spaces over the past few days. We’ll talk more about it on the podcast, but for now let’s just say that whether these comments came as a surprise to you or not, they’re a reminder of the problems which have never been too far from hand in industrial music despite its origins, and that we can’t take our own sense of belonging within the scene as proof that it doesn’t have issues with this sort of bigotry and ignorance. More to come, on to more pleasant matters like this week’s tracks.
Curses
Encephalon, “Last Day at the Institute”
The Senior Staff had a conversation last week regarding the at the time unreleased new single from Encephalon, the gist of which was that we had no idea what the Canadian electro-industrial act would be doing next, and how exciting that was. We’re talking about a band that has released incredibly complex, self-referential concept albums and synthetic rock-operas, so who even knows what “Last Day at the Institute” could mean for the forthcoming record – what we do know is that it’s another example of Encephalon’s smart songwriting, and production that splits the difference between classic electro-industrial and modern electronics, all with their own bit of mutant flair. New record can’t come fast enough if you ask us.
Potochkine, “Endorphines”
Potochkine’s smartly tasteful linking of classic darkwave, coldwave, and EBM made 2021’s Sortilèges a favourite around the HQ, and if anything general circumstances and tastes have moved even closer to the French duo’s aesthetic in the intervening three years. The rubbery bounce of the bass on this new number feels as much a reference to Potochkine’s interests in turn of the millennium electo as it does modern TBM or club darkwave, and the momentum built up by the vocals on this one.
ACTORS, “Dead Inside”
Vancouver’s own ACTORS follow up their tremendous last single “In Real Life” with “Dead Inside”, a nice mid-tempo number that shows the quartet at their moodiest and most reserved. Some of the band’s best and most popular compositions come from this mold (think of fan faves like “L’Appel du Vide” and “Cold Eyes”), but it’s one of their deadliest approaches, as it allows their knack for hooks and Jason Corbett’s versatility as a vocalist to really shine. Another in a string of killer singles. Idea for an ACTORS greatest hits album: Death By 1000 Cuts.
Curses, “Another Heaven”
Running the gamut from EBM to darkwave to giallo to any manner of other throwback electronic genres, you never really know what sort of a mood Luca Venezia, AKA Curses, has been in of late until you actually click play on his latest tracks. The A-side of his new single, “Elegant Death”, finds him riding a line between low-fi and crystal-clear post-punk in a mode that perhaps fits having Johnny Jewel (Glass Candy, Chromatics) behind the decks, but it’s the grandiose synthpop of the B-side, which oddly the single is named after, half dreamy cinematic prom sequence track, half classic Book Of Love, which has us especially excited to hear what Curses’ next full length, coming in October, will have in store.
Null Split, “Matching Bodies”
Remember when early Nine Inch Nails singles were discussed alongside the likes of EMF and PWEI? Remember Reznor’s stated debt to the glammy thrash of Kevin McMahon? Null Split remembers. Or at least we presume that that moment in the zeitgeist was on the mind of Antoine Kerbérénès (Chrome Corps, Dague de Marbre) when this new single was conceived. Quite different from the oddball instrumentation of the last Dague de Marbre record, or even the much speedier industrial metal of the last Null Split EP, the sample-happy technicolor (or dare we say Hypercolor) of this cut and its equally of-the-time remixes are hitting us like the sugar rush of a Capri Sun.
Container 90, “Remote Mind Control (Katscan remix)”
Okay so we maaaaay have missed the album Swedish EBM punks Container 90 released last summer, but we’re catching up now – expect some chat about it on an upcoming podcast. That said, there are some remixes from it hitting Bandcamp, and one name stuck out to us, that being Katscan. While largely inactive for the better part of the last 20 years, the UK based industrial act had a stack of cult club hits, including “Screaming Like a Crack Baby” and the iconic “You Love It You Shlaaggs”. So yeah, we’re amped at this pairing, and it proves to a be a fruitful one, with some hard hitting electro-industrialisms added to the oi-bm stylings of the original cut.
