Die Sexual
Electric
self-released
The Los Angeles-based duo of Rosselinni and Anton Floriano have been slow-dripping their take on the now familiar electro-darkwave sound for a few years now, with a small but solid catalogue of club-ready numbers, usually themed around S&M, and more broadly submission and domination. New EP Electric feels more strident and less sultry than some of their preceding releases, although no-less concerned with sexual matters. A big part of this is in how Rosselinni attacks these songs vocally, as on “Pulse” where she spits out the song’s unsubtle come-ons in rhythmically, matching the syncopation of the rhythm track. Similarly “Darkest Hour”‘s warbling synthlines and solid kick-snare patterns, reminiscent of Anton’s other project Black Light Odyssey, similarly use her voice as a rhythmic device, both via sampled stutters and the way she slides words into the thin space between its layers of programming. The EP also features a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Dressed In Black”, cutting words out of the lyrics to recast Rosselinni as the narrator, abandoning the submissiveness of the original for a message of dominance, paired with a dark, driving beat for maximum impact. It, and the whole EP, are another step forward for Die Sexual in terms of defining their sound and identity beyond their most obvious and identifiable markers.
Yeun Elez
La Croix Des Cinq Chemins
Antibody
While the “neofolk” tag could theoretically be a limitless reworking of nearly any stripe of non-program music from around the world, so often what it means in practicality is “weak Death In June tributes”. That’s what makes La Croix Des Cinq Chemins, the latest tape from Hoel Von Helvet’s Yeun Elez project so rewarding. Sure, it’s rooted in European mysticism and occult murkiness, but every element of La Croix Des Cinq Cheminsfeels designed to connote the particular French landscape for which the project is named. Smoky vocals which seem to be recorded specifically to accentuate the sonorous elements of the French language slowly drift through stoic (but at times surprisingly jiggy) hand drums on “Le mirage”, and the quavering strings of “Gwerz ar game” trade off the spotlight with eerie pads and hurdy gurdy-styled drones on the rich and fully realized title track. And when Von Helvet elects to cash in the atmospheric chits he’s earned by building tension with the full-bore icy dungeon synth of “La Lune Rouge”, it’s a move that feels earned and puts the core elements of that style in a fresh light. To be sure, La Croix Des Cinq Chemins is a record which prioritizes mood and ritual over composition – there aren’t individual tracks which stand out by virtue of a particular hook or compositional tactic – but as an exercise in conjuring a particular atmosphere and place, it absolutely hits the mark.
