Terminus might be over, but a host of live events are occupying our minds in the coming weeks. In addition to the looming beast of Cold Waves, shows from Drab Majesty, Wingtips, Nitzer Ebb, Pink Turns Blue, The Chameleons and a whole host of others are rolling through our burg. Despite the real estate market wreaking havoc on local venues and opportunities, a whole new wave of promoters have stepped up in Vancouver, putting on the sort of dark shows that would otherwise never visit Vancouver. A hearty toast to the folks all over the world working to bring bands to their towns, often at their own expense. Let’s get on with this week’s Tracks!
Blanck Mass and some sinister apples
Iris, “Third Strike”
Iris have spent the better part of two decades carving out their place in the synthpop landscape, amassing a fiercely loyal and enthusiastic fanbase in the process. A quick listen to the first track on the soon-to-be-released sixth LP Six should make it pretty clear why; like Reagan Jones and Andrew Sega’s best material “Third Strike” is melodic, lushly produced and melancholic, with Jones’ wonderfully expressive voice soaring over a rich arrangement of electronics. Reports from some recent live shows have it the rest of the new material is equally strong, which has us eagerly anticipating the album’s release on August 23.
Comaduster, “Riverbound feat. Mari Kattman”
Remember a couple of years ago when Réal Cardinal banged out a cover of Handsome Family’s “Far From Any Road”, marrying his unique blend of bass music, technoid and post-rock with the original’s dusty alt country? We’re getting similar feels from new jam “Riverbound”, a lovely, subtly folky number that plays up the doubled vocals of Cardinal and guest vocalist Mari Kattman (Helix). The series of releases that Comaduster has been putting out regularly that will eventually be compiled into full length are ultra-diverse in style and execution, and we’re extremely keen to hear how they all fit together.
New Fabrik, “Chupa Pico”
Frankfurt’s Smashing Tape Records have gained a rep for latching on to some of the hottest and rawest throwback EBM well before the rest of the world catches on, and their latest find is no exception. One-man Chilean act New Fabrik have made a couple of comp appearances over the past few years, but debut tape First Hammer is full of straight-up, DAF-influenced slammers like this one, which add just enough synth quirkiness to avoid rote imitation.
Geist & Codenys, “Minor v2”
If you were paying attention you may have noticed that the debut track from Geist and Codenys (aka Alex K/Digital Geist and Patrick Codenys of Front 242) dropped last year on our Telekompilation digital comp. The duo have expanded on that track adding alternate versions and a remix by Marcos Cabral for a special 12″ release, available now via Bandcamp. Recommended for fans of complex, layered electronics with a bit of classic body and techno edge in it’s deep grooves.
Penelope’s Fiancé, “Those Who Are Left Behind”
Some interesting lo-fi murk and rubbery beats which come to us via Greece. Part martial industrial, part dark ambient, part ethereal, we like how pieces like these conjure both a sense of otherworldly regality, but also nuts and bolts bedroom tape experimentation. Should appeal to fans of early 23 Skidoo or Axon Neuron / Vagwa.
Blanck Mass, “Death Drop”
Lastly, former Fuck Buttons member Benjamin John Power’s work as Blanck Mass isn’t something we ever expected to feature on ID:UD. We’ve been big fans of Power’s blend of experimental, anthemic, and noisy electronics but it’s never been directly salient to the post-industrial landscape…until now. While we’d guess that the harsh vocal distortion and galloping synth bass of numbers like “Death Drop” and “Love Is A Parasite” is Power’s attempt to work some black metal into his sound, it’s impossible to listen to a number of tracks on new LP Animated Violence Mild and not think of aggrotech. Does this mean that legions of hiterto uninitiated Blank Mass fans will suddenly discover Hocico? Well, no, but we’d recommend deep genre heads at least check a tune or two out just to see how oddly proximal it is to something very familiar.
