October is in full swing, which means that we’re now within reasonable range of year end to start thinking about our lists. Yeah, there’s still a lot of records to come, and plenty we need to revisit, but honestly we find that starting to casually think about what our favourites are mid-Fall helps when the hammer comes down a couple weeks before year end. Will there be a dark horse number #1, or a surprising rise from the early spring to the top honours? Who even knows at this point, but we’d love to know what you think the best of the year thus far is in the comments below. On to Tracks!
Rue Oberkampf, practiced in the Weirding Way.
ACTORS, “Object of Desire”
As much as the rock and live band feeling of the ACTORS catalogue is an important of the band’s identity, there’s always been a strong synthetic pulse beneath the surface of the Vancouver quartet’s material. New single “Object of Desire” brings that way up to the front, not only through some very strong programming, but through the way that voices, drums and guitars are processed and reconstituted, making the band’s grand pop sensibilities all the more menacing and discomfiting in the process.
Ultra Sunn, “Stories”
Steady gigging has helped to cement how strong a statement of arrival Ultra Sunn’s US was earlier this year, and the Belgian duo is continuing to play the hot hand with a new single. Some italo flourishes atop classically chunky and rubbery body music rhythm programming will likely be the first thing folks notice on the dancefloor, but there’s also a solidly structured tune and structure guiding the whole thing, pointing to the band’s obvious facility with classic 80s pop.
Cardinal Noire, “Diatribe”
We’ve been pretty excited to hear more from Finnish electro-industrialists Cardinal Noire, especially as it comes in the form of a new album via Artoffact Records. Like all of their best work, the songs we’ve heard from the duo have been indebted to the Vancouver school, but spiked with a specifically rough edged version and European take on the sound, reflective of their side-projects like W424 and Protectorate. “Diatribe” absolutely slams, and has us very keen on the forthcoming “Vitriol” for late year honours.
Rue Oberkampf, “Solitude (Buzz Kull Remix)”
Icy German darkwavers Rue Oberkampf have been releasing a string of singles in anticipation of new EP Essenz, “Solitude” being the latest of which. The tight and shuddering programming of the original itself already has plenty in common with the most recent material we’ve heard from Aussie expat Buzz Kull, and so tapping him for a remix must have been a no-brainer. Relaxing the tenser muscles in the original into a chiller, trance-styled state offers a nice inversion of the drama baked into Julia de Jouy’s vocals, and should appeal to fans of recent Bite releases.
Harsh Symmetry, “Stained Glass”
This new cut from Harsh Symmetry finds the LA project cashing in some of the chits its earned via the austere style of coldwave it’s plied over the past few years. When the minimal synth structures which have been the project’s bread and butter are built up with some chilly new wave guitar and a real grab the brass ring composition, the time Julian Sharwarko’s spent playing it cooler pay off wonderfully.
modebionics, “Flesh Hardware (demo)”
We’re unabashedly into the classic electro-industrial stylings of San Antonio’s modebionics, and the steady flow of material has been really bracing of late. The roots sound is one that has come in and out of style in recent years, but the stripped down way that Rolan Vega approaches the sound cuts right through to its core appeal; mechanical cybernetic noise, complete with samples, processed vocals and those drums that hit just so.
