After a few weeks’ rest we’re back at the grind, with a whole slew of new records to discuss, as per last week’s podcast. Having some high profile records to dig into (not to mention some interesting local shows on the horizon) is always fun, and may give us a bit more sense as to overarching trends and motifs in a year which thus far hasn’t broken too far from last. But we don’t want to disappear up our own back-ends with meta-analysis when there’s so much new stuff to point you towards, starting with our first Tracks post in three weeks!

Sleek Teeth, sleeker sounds

Everything Goes Cold, “Nadir”
A decade on from the release of their excellent Black Out the Sun, Everything Goes Cold, the project of industrial scene fixture Eric Gottesman makes an unexpected return with the moody single “Nadir”. As with so many of EGC’s best songs it’s a song with a deep melodicism that meshes wonderfully with the electronics and Gottesman’s vocals to great emotional effect. Assisted with able production by Matia Simovich of Inhalt and with a single with an excellent Physical Wash remix, it’s a welcome return from a ever-familiar voice.

Vioflesh, “Always”
Coming to us from Chile, the prolific Vioflesh deliver some immediate darkwave with their latest single. On the one hand the disaffected vocals and ghostly atmospherics here sound very of the moment, but there’s a little bit of punch and swing on the programmming which hints towards Euro-focused dancefloors of decades past. Having just a hint of that richer production in the mix is a nice reminder of what can still be done with the current sound.

Haujobb, “Opposition (Actors Remix)”
The looming prospect of the first new Haujobb LP in nearly a decade has us on tenterhooks, and as if the mystery of what Dejan and Daniel have cooked up wasn’t enough on its own, here’s an unexpected reworking of new pre-release single taken on by none other than Vancouver’s own Actors. It’s a pairing which sounds odder on paper than in practice, with the hazy club instincts Actors show in their less overtly rock moments pairing very nicely with the tense mechanisms of the original track.

Sleek Teeth, “Endless”
Los Angeles’ Sleek Teeth have but one previous track to their name, the excellent “Gone” from October of last year, but that song was good enough to make us excited for future cuts from the duo. Turns out it was worth the wait, as “Endless” takes the same melodic EBM template into more fully fleshed out territory, complete with the same clanging percussion and funky bass programming, but a sticky-as-hell hook that should make it a playlist and club set staple over the waning months of 2024. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 10 months for more music this good.

Bara Hari and genCAB, “There Goes that Dream”
What do you get when you take the heartfelt singer songwriter stylings of LA darkwaver Bara Hari and combine it with the equally emotional glitched out stylings of the prolific industrial act genCAB? A really lovely track in the form of “There Goes that Dream”, a number that takes it cues from a shared sense of longing and loss, and synthesizes it into an increasingly intense ballad that ramps up in feeling as it pushes ever upwards. A lovely bit of business, and one that should appeal to fans of either act.

INVA//ID, “Show Me Your Spine”
We have mixed feelings about industrial covers of industrial tracks, but it’s hard to look askance at this take on a classic Ministry/S’Puppy side joint. LA’s INVA//ID remain one of the most tantalizing prospects in the scene still poised to fully break through, but in the meantime relive one of industrial culture’s most memorable appearances on the silver screen.