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The wizard of techno-industrial dance, Simon Carter, is inviting you to join your weird brothers and sisters in the mystical coven through the latest EP, Initiation. Released at the end of May, Simon has said that these four tracks were cut from the up coming 2nd album with collaborator Fabsi, because they didn’t quite fit the overall sound but gelled well together for the EP.

The curtain raiser is “Seher (Initiation Countdown),” a call to the floor for all the warriors of dance and a taste of what is to come. There is a mixture of psytrance with EBM in “Hexennacht Rave” that interchanges, giving the track ebb and flow, building the energy, bewitching your senses. Big bass beats wub into your chest cavity, cut by the voice speaking at you about reality versus dreams, and you are waiting for your next techno hit in “Dancefloor Delusion.” The last track, “The Magic Coven (Welcome To the Coven),” is slower and pulsating with power, hypnotic suggestion from Carter’s deep spoken words, that you join the witches circle.

May black cats and bats fill your dreams while Carter fills your ears with techno delights of the strange kind, bidding you to indulge in the Saint Vitus dance macabre. Welcome to the Initiation.

Initiation | Simon Carter (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/HumansCantReboot

https://simoncarter.contactin.bio/

https://www.instagram.com/simon.carter_official/

http://www.twitch.tv/sy_carter

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Darkwave duo, producer Mario Del Rio and vocalist Rayne Lew, are Adore Me. They are based between Los Angeles and Mexico City, and their EP, Kira #1 came out on the 28th of May, on the Sublime Exile label.

Oh yes… first and title track is electronic bass heavy, with a dance floor savvy. “Kira #1” is sexy musically, lyrically and the vocals melt like molten wax on bare skin. The techno is unleashed in “MABH“, crossed with 80s synth and Lew’s singing is light, floating in the uncertain grimly electronics. There is even a quote from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliette‘, which is in relation to the fairy Queen Mab or MAbh, whom the track is dedicated too.

The vocals echo within the cocoon of deranged synths of “Psyphon“, both beautiful and yet seemingly set on the edge of cliff, poised to fall into infinity. “Bruise” is the last track, not as fast paced but just as entrancing. It is delicate with a darker undertone. The imagery from the lyrics is coloured by red or rather the blood spilt by death.

Graceful darkwave sensuality oozes from Kira #1, but it is also has a bite about it. Lust, magic and death, create an aura of funereal delight which lures the listener to move to the rhythms. Adore Me or not to Adore Me, that is the question, but you should have a listen to Kira #1 so you might know thy self.

Kira #1 | Adore Me (bandcamp.com)

http://facebook.com/adoremeband

https://subexile.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/adorememusic/

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NØIR is the electronic project for Athan Maroulis (vocals) and Erik Gustafson (synths/guitar/producer). joined for live events by keyboard players Jamie Parganos and Kai Irina Hahn. The new single/EP “Fallen” was something NØIR had been working on just as Covid was kicking in and then was put on hold after the unfortunate passing of Metropolis Records creator, Dave Heckman, but now it has now seen the watery light of evening, in May.

There is a euro cool chic glamour that coats the slick synths and Maroulis‘ vocals are, as always, wonderfully smooth, entrancing your senses into the dance that NØIR is bewitching you with. The Paradox Obscur remix is far more filled with thumping rhythms that has a disco like attitude, that is aimed straight for your pleasure zones. The darkwave retro fingers of Silver Walks caresses “Fallen“, giving it the feel as if the track could have come from the early 80s during the time of Midge Ure’s Ultravox, while the Femme Mix features the sensual vocals of Kai Irina Hahn, as she goes from backing singer to replacing Maroulis.

You also get the brand spanking new track “Death Is Easy“, which is going to haunt you in your sleep and you are going to believe that death really is easy in a sexy, stalking and lurid way. If you are as old enough, like some of us, the Psychedelic Furs song “Love My Way“, was an iconic dark love of many in the 80s, where we could all feel the words pull at our heart strings. NØIR have taken the track, playing it as an acoustic and the vocals actually remind me very much of Bowie’s.

The synths literally sing themselves, sparkling in “Fallen” and the vocals…. well, Maroulis proves his vocals are scintillating and beautiful as ever. The remixes have been wonderfully handled, and the extra tracks definitely show the depth of the musicianship of the members of NØIR.

Fallen | NOIR (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/NOIRmetropolis

https://www.instagram.com/noir_nyc_official/

https://metropolis-records.com/artist/noir

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They say the road to ruin is paved with good intentions and maybe US band, Bellhead might know this better than many. As of May the 8th, their latest EP, aptly named Good Intentions, was released on Oppressive Sky Records. What makes this project a little different is the fact that there are two styles of bass being played and no lead or rhythm guitar, so you know from that fact alone that their sound is going to be something a little special. The Chicago based duo is made up of Karen Righeimer (low bass, vocals) and
Ivan Russia (high bass, vocals, drum programming), while they have entrusted Bellhead’s sound to regulars, audio engineer Neil Strauch (Iron and Wine / Counting Crows / Owls / Joan of Arc / Walking Bicycles / Slow Mass) and mastering engineer Carl Saff (Acid Mothers Temple / Smoking Popes / Red Fang / Guided by Voices).

When you say “Bad Taste“, I admit I think of the New Zealand comedy horror movie, but in the case of this song, it feels more like Steven King’s ‘Misery‘, claustrophobic and just a tad a bit deranged in a stalkerish kind of way. The music for “Into The Deep” feels like really dark surf rock, that has the even darker tale of a relationship that is dragging the couple to their proverbial doom. The vocals are beautifully carried off between Righeimer and Russia. “Valentine” is both sweet and bitter at the same time. There is something poignantly timeless about this track as it wends it way through the unabashed sorrow and loss.

Oh my, Righeimer is vocally channelling Kim Gordon for “Apathy“. In fact, the whole song has the signature groove of Sonic Youth all over it, making lassitude ever so cool. There is a cover in the track “No Big Deal“, which was originally written and performed by Love And Rockets, appearing on their 1989, self titled album. Honestly, I can hear why they picked this song, and I think Love And Rockets might be a big influence on Bellhead’s overall sound. The two basses absolutely inject the funk into this cover. Last track is the delicious “Drugstore Keri“, a raw and sleazy ditty about some bird named Keri, who can supply the drug of your choice, on the sly.

Bellhead literally rumble, causing your speakers to buzz at times, in a very good way. Having the two bass married to a drum machine makes for an ever so tight rhythm section, also giving you the melodies as well. This definitely gives the music a dirty post-punk groove to each track, and this new EP leans more into pop rock. The Good Intentions of Bellhead is fun, nostalgic and rocking… in that fabulously gloomy way.

Good Intentions | BELLHEAD (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/bellheadband

https://bellheadband.com/

https://bellheadband.com/

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Weimar is an experimental industrial EP in three parts, by Brian Tibbs of Chicago. A little bit of background on Weimar, that not only is it a city in Germany, but it became in 1919, the German Reich (Republic of Germany), which also heralded in the rise of the Nazi Party

Part 1 is “Dream, Reminisce and Secession“. that starts off light and airy, with dreamy chimes, yet then it seems to have a darker level below… That darkness is so low key that the listener might not realise, considering this track full of sparkling synths. The menace of what is to come, starts to flower in “The Fruits Of Ingenuity“, as the music snakes along, the light absorbed by the encroaching storm The music bleeps and bleats, becoming almost insistent, clashing and claustrophobic. The piano wanders aimlessly, before the interspersed harsher electronics beats, let themselves be known, and that dalliance with the off-kilter synths in Part 3 called “Agnosis And Rupture“. There is a digital distress in the second half of this track and a foreboding in the dominate piano, amidst the screams and cries.

I don’t think this is that far a reach to correlate a musical comparison of the rise of political powers that seek to remove human rights in many countries, and how the Nazi’s came to power under the guise of being a country’s great saviour. What are they saving people from? From threats that they have deemed relevant and supported by zealots. Brian Tibbs has brought you Weimar which is thought provoking and a journey into the socio-political rabbit hole, through a combination of industrial married with experimental classical music.

Weimar | Brian TIbbs | Brian Tibbs (bandcamp.com)

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Vermin, vermin everywhere, and now there is the EP Vermin by Non-Bio. Non-Bio is UK based, Howard Gardener’s power/rhythmic noise project, when he is not working on Decommissioned Forests or Pillars Of Golden Misery.

As soon as I hear the first bars of “Vermin“, my lips turn up into a smirk. Yeah, this is the good stuff. It is heavy on the vibrating bass and fritzing electronics that are completing crescendos and decrescendos. It is verbose and Gardner’s voice is within. Feel yourself consumed by the wubbing loops of “The Feast,” as it literally feels like it is trying to pull itself apart at the seams. The rhythms fighting against each other like a battlefield, as they celebrate the gourmet banquet provided for Death.

“Center Negative” is an instrumental track and as it rolls on, it gathers more and more noise to itself, growing exponentially in terrifying voracity. It leads into the last track, “Clarity“, which is about where truths meet half truths, feeding into lies, The rhythms jackhammer with Gardner’s words and the crunchy noise threatens to overtake all.

Humans are amazing creatures but they are also the scourge of the planet. We over populate, consume resources and destroy the habitats of the other animals that we share Earth with. In fact, we will even destroy each other to gain that which is not ours. The EP is a look at this darker side/nature of the human race and Non-Bio’s disillusionment embodied in Vermin, with its beautiful, skull beating rhythms and brain addling reverberations.

Vermin | Non-Bio (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/nonbiomusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

http://www.downwithfreedom.com/non-bio

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Mike Smith is also known by his project named Fiction 8 and he has produced the new EP, Life Is Fiction by Bow Ever Down. The EP contains five original synth inspired tracks that walk on the dark side of life.

“Life Is Fiction” is the jaunty start to the EP and there is a subtle 80s vibe to this track. A sweetness tempered by memories and the delicate ideal that life is not real. Oooh, the guitar in “Seasons Change” struck me being very much in the vein of Wall Of Voodoo, while the electronics dance through with Kimberley’s vocals.

Next we are “Somewhere In The Nightfall” and the beautiful synths flow forth. A tale of being more than the people that try to control us and when we do escape, they are nothing but a spectre. “Ready To Die” is a meatier track, even with the music swirling, there is a seriousness lurking beneath and speaking of serious, the last track is the “How I Wish You Were Dead“. That title basically speaks for itself. The lament of being involved with the wrong person comes through in the vocals, while the synths soar like they have been given wings of freedom.

Church. Photo by Kimberley Bow Ever Down

Often, things that happen to us don’t seem real, or we create a narrative to escape the sadness, poverty, or crushing expectations of life. So, Life Is Fiction and the production is spot on by Smith, so clean and magical. The title track and “How I Wish You Were Dead” are probably my favourites and for those who are wondering about the cat on the cover, created by Ange Battiste… that is Church, and she is there to give a bit more joy with Bow Ever Down.

Life is Fiction (produced by Michael Smith of Fiction8) | Bow Ever Down (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100034743804349&mibextid=ZbWKwL

Music | Fiction8 (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/Fiction8sound?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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The late Burt Bacharach asked us what do I get if I fall in love, but in reality, maybe he should have asked what do we get when Sonikdevil and Mach FoX (Zwaremachine) join forces? For April, it seems to be an EP called New Dead Wave, with FoX as the vocals and Kyle Sonik playing instruments, with the pair cowriting all tracks.

The title track is the starter, and it sets the mood for the EP with a music vibe of that period of time where the 80s melded into the 90s industrial and the unquenchable hunger of the vampiric kind. The possible hint is in the name, “New Dead Wave“. If you were in doubt, this was a horror themed release, there is the guitar filled “Little Monster“, a rock ode to the female terror in your life that wants to reduce you to a tasty jelly mess. Psychedelic effects and a big rock sound stalks, waiting to “Let Us In“, where there is actually a liberal amount of glam rocker style in the offering.

“Garden Of Rust” kind of reminds me quite a bit of the Ramones when they wrote “Pet Cemetery” with that very up-beat punk attitude, though this is at complete odds to the far more electronic “Circus Of The Damned” with FoX channelling a bit of Alice Cooper thrown in for good measure. The reminiscing of crazier times is the punk “Barstools & Broken Fools” and yet there is a story of loss behind the bravado. Of course, the aliens have not been forgotten about, and the last track is “The 4th Kind” that almost has horrorbilly feel to it, which is a really nice end to the EP.

Feels a bit mealy-mouthed to call this an EP when I’ve seen albums with fewer tracks on them. This is a recording that runs the gamut of rock from the wham bam glam 70s, punk, post-punk to industrial, with a sprinkling of psychobilly horror tongue in cheek, giving it the spooky flavour of B grade monster movies, which I think are the best sort. The hills might have eyes, but Sonikdevil and Mach FoX have New Dead Wave.

New Dead Wave | Sonikdevil & Mach FoX | Mach FoX (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/machfoxband

https://sonikdevil.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/SonikdevilOfficial?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Apparently, the project Habitable Moons is air and atmosphere out of Stockholm, but actually, it is a guy called Peter Lindström out of Stockholm and back in January, they debuted the EP, oddly called….well… EP1. This kind of alludes to the fact that there might be other EPs in the future.

“October 3” kicks off, with highly rhythm intensive textures layering over each other. The pulsating electronics are almost futuristic in nature. Perhaps this is a date in future that we are awaiting with trepidation. There is the feeling of movement and the build-up of something ancient in “Winter Storm, Baltic Sea“, though it does not seem like a violent storm, but rather swells and ebbs with driving rain. The third track is “Cape Breton, Nova Scotia” and the sounds of gulls and guitar give you a glimpse of sun drenched beach running into the ocean, and early morning when the day is but young. It seems at peace with the world as the land wakes up. The guitar looping could be mistaken for church bells, and we even get to hear the voice of the progenitor, Lindström.

Just a small observation of mine was that the Bandcamp player that you can preview tracks on, was not showing any minutes, nor seconds for any of the three tracks, which is something I am not used to and it kind of gave an air of uncertainty as to how long the tracks went for. Maybe I should pick the word “timeless” as that suits these electronic tracks that conjure up visions with their rhythms and experimentation. EP1 runs for approximately twenty-five minutes, but it definitely doesn’t feel that long, and maybe that is what happens on Habitable Moons.

EP1 | Habitable Moons (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/habitablemoons?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Australians Gerry Hawkins (Cryogenic Echelon) and Lawrie, aka Lawrie Masson (Studio X), are back with a new single/EP for their project Avarice In Audio, called “War Tanz“, tanz meaning dance, on the Alfa Matrix label. 2022 saw the release of the fifth studio album, Our Idols Are Filth and “War Tanz” is the second single.

Slamming electronic beats, Hawkins‘ gravelled vocals and those warbling synths that breakout during the chorus. They are pounding the dance track into your skull, the motivation to stop being a observer inside your own life, in “War Tanz“. Alien:Nation next have the remix, injecting heavenly synths into the more techno influenced version, though those mammoth beats still blast through, highlighted by the tinkling keyboards.

Lawrie is no slouch nor stranger when it comes to the remix, so the Studio-X mix is hardly a surprise. From the beginning, it is stripped down with the vocals at the fore, with hints of synths and it is amazingly effective, and equally danceable. It might be time to bust a move with the “Downer Grooves“, an instrumental to get on down with, and get on up again, which does not appear on the album.

Brilliant heavy beats, evocative vocals and scintillating remixes…. does it get any better than that? Industrial dance music done right by Avarice In Audio and they are calling you to the “War Tanz” against mundane.

War Tanz EP | AVARICE IN AUDIO | Alfa Matrix (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/avariceinaudioaus?mibextid=ZbWKwL

http://alfa-matrix-store.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix?mibextid=ZbWKwL