Solid sets by legacy acts continues to be one of the threads of the last year or so, with half of the Senior Staff (guess which) catching a set by stone goth legends The March Violets this past weekend. The material old and new sounding charming live, and Rosie & co have a great sense of themselves and how to win over a crowd even sans original member Simon Denbigh. They have three shows left on their NA tour in California this week; check them out if they’re in your town.
Sad Madona, sunlit but still in shadow.
Spark!, “Vi är två (Mot En Miljon)”
When we got word that original vocalist Stefan Brorsson was rejoining the Spark! camp, we did our best to keep expectations in check. Sure, the last full LP to feature Brorsson pairing with Mattias Ziessow has earned a hallowed place here at I Die: You Die as one of the best EBM albums of the millennium, but that’s a lofty standard to hold any new material to. Still, even more than intial single “66 ton krom”, this new number has everything we want in a Spark! track: energy, hooks, and an uncanny balancing of pop and EBM elements we’ve not heard the likes of since before or after the last time these two teamed up.
Beborn Beton, “Ticket to the Moon”
Slow and low-key aren’t strangers to German synthpop stalwarts Beborn Beton, in fact pretty much everyone of their LPs has one or two torchy ballads that make proper use of Stefan Netschio’s wonderful voice. “Ticket to the Moon” is one of the original numbers that appears on the forthcoming remix EP To the Stars and in contrast to the previously released “American Girls” (a cheeky bit of bubbly synthpop in the club style) this is the BB’s going baroque; the song has sections, builds, flourishes, all to give it a certain stoic grandeur commensurate with it’s scope. These guys know their way around a proper bit of ornate songwriting, and don’t mind showing it off.
Nordvargr, “Our Lord Of The Abyss (Part Two)”
The recently represented box set of Henrik Nordvargr Björk’s Resignation material was a deep and immersive reminder (not that we needed it) of just how far Björk’s muse carries him from what most think of when “extreme” electronics are mentioned. The big man is taking up that project again, and the teaser tracks for Resignation IV submerge us in a hypnagogic and hauntological primordial soup, with some fractal-pop takes on ambient recalling Balam Acab.
Sad Madona, “Blush”
More hypnotically sad shoegazey darkwave from Parisians Sad Madona is always cause for celebration, or at least as much celebration as you can manage while moping. Like all their previous songs, “Blush” has a preternatural sense of sorrow woven into it, with the ethereal production creating a ghostly effect; it’s like getting haunted by someone going through a break-up. But in a good way?
Ash Code, “Nostalgia”
In case that Sad Madona track wasn’t enough to fix your darkwave jones this week, Italy’s Ash Code have just the scrip. Punching in heavily with just a little hint of grit, “Nostalgia” is another showcase of how the trio balances the beats, harmonies, and atmospheres that the style they’ve been trading in for a decade hinges upon, with just the right amount of wistful poppiness to offset the weighted doom.
Harsh Symmetry, “Fossil Brain”
We’ve always enjoyed the post-punk stylings of Los Angeles’ Harsh Symmetry, but “Fossil Brain” brings something new to the table. The tenorous vocals and guitars that have defined the project’s sound up ’til this point are still here, but the song is built around bright synthwork, taking on bass and lead duties, entering the world of synthpop, albeit in the darker and moodier style.
