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One of our favourite songbirds is back. The heavenly voiced, singer/songwriter Madil Hardis has released the latest track called “Melancholia” in March.

The synths are like rays of sunshine, reaching out into the darkness, soft and gently probing, with Hardis‘ vocals tracking along side, a literal angelic sigh almost imperceptible next to the electronics. Even with all that airiness, there is a weight of uncertainty, and maybe this is where the melancholy lays.

The singing is so delicate and yet if it was not there, this track would not even have half the impact. “Melancholia” is a sweet vignette that goes for under two minutes and teases you. Is there something else to come? Wallow in the “Melancholia” with Madil Hardis.

Melancholia | Madil Hardis (bandcamp.com)

https://facebook.com/madilhardis

http://madilhardis.com/

https://www.instagram.com/madilhardis

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Warning… this is a Guns’nRoses free zone! With that said “You Could Be Mine” is a single from Australian band S:Bahn and the second track dropped from the album Love Songs, that will be released on the 12 of April. The band is made up of Dik Detonic (vocals,guitar), Kristian Brenchley (guitar), Rene Schaefer (bass) and Denis Leadbeater (drums), with
additional vocals by Louise Love.

It has been noted that the start of this track is very much inspired by the Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and indeed it really does have that tone, however it doesn’t stay that way for long, resolving into sounding like The Smithereens. The duet between Detonic and Love was described as Meatloaf like…. mmmm, no. It is decidedly far more like the rugged Aussie intonation of Detonic, dancing with the sweeter vocals of Love. And that might be the crux of this track. It is the Australian indie rock bar song of flirtation and after all, it is from an album called Love Songs. “You Could Be Mine” (back off Axel).

https://sbahn.bandcamp.com/track/you-could-be-mine-3

https://www.facebook.com/SBahnReboot

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US industrial rock band, Warm Gadget have signed to the label Re:Mission Entertainment and soon will be dropping their new album Sorrows, but for now you can get a taste with the second single “Annoyed,” with a b-side remix by Dread Risks.

The drums of discontent lumber forth, herald in the the heavy bass that blasts your senses, while the vocals are violent, directing you to the maelstrom, coated in bombastic floods of tarred frustration. The Dread Risks remix pulsates with an electronic smirk, pulling off a perfect balance of dance and crushing noise.

Tim Vester (vocals, lyrics, samples) and Colten Tyler Williams (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, programming, production, additional vocals) are bringing on the heavy in a throwback to the late 80s, when industrial metal was taking off and the choice of having Dread Risks doing the remix is the icing on the cake. We are not “Annoyed.”

Annoyed | Warm Gadget | Re:Mission Entertainment (bandcamp.com)

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Music | Dread Risks (bandcamp.com

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Nikola Stanojkovski (guitars, bass, synths) and Christopher Cronce (vocals, lyrics) make up Pennsylvania based industrial metal group Agremorta. Their single “Adrocitas” is also their debut and herald’s in the March 15th release of the EP Anomalia.

What strikes me first is the blending of styles within the one track. A combination of clean and heavily growled vocals, plus there are fluid classic guitar solos by Louis Snyder that would not sound astray in Amon Amarth or some other European band of that ilk. The chorus harmonies are a throwback to Linkin Park and tempered by the synths and howling gurgled utterances.

Verbose and powerful guitars, matched with booming rhythms, dynamic vocals and you have “Adrocitas,” a track about self loathing, doubt and never feeling good enough that soars high.

Adrocitas | Agremorta (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/agremorta

https://www.instagram.com/agremorta_official

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The album Crystalline was released in 2023 and spawned the intensely rich single “Bleached,” via the Norwegian and British collaboration of Antipole & Paris Alexander. US based musician, Mareux has taken “Bleached” and given it a 2024 remix treatment.

MAREUX AND ANTIPOLE

The low rumble of electronics perfectly showcases Alexander’s ghost in the machine style whispered vocals. The synths and programmed rhythms, sinuous in their way above the oppressive fuzzed undertones.

There is an unease created with the mechanised mix by Aryan Ashtiani (Mareux), that slowly ignites and bristles with smouldering intent, building on a track that already dripped in sensual tension. “Bleached” remixed by Mareux just proves what great songsmiths Antipole & Paris Alexander are.

Music | Antipole (bandcamp.com)

http://www.facebook.com/antipoleband

Music | Paris Alexander (bandcamp.com)

https://m.facebook.com/parisalexandermusic

Music | Mareux (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/mareux

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Label Negative Gain has dropped the newest single “Necessity Meal” from Florida’s darkwave based Astari Nite, a follow up to their previous Thin White Duke inspired track, “Bowie In Daydream.”

From the beginning, there is an air of tension, set by the stressed and wavering synths, matched by the keening guitar. The vocals tell a tale about not living up to expectations, having fears and even needing drugs in order to appear perfect. Those vocals lilt and melt over you with dark intent, while the drums power on.

On first listen, the track feels off kilter, a loss of control is conveyed, and yet it is this state of honest disclosure that truly brings “Necessity Meal” into focus. It is the seeing beauty in what is not perfect, because in the end, perfection will never fuel creativity. If Bowie had been a goth, I can imagine he might have sounded like Astari Nite.

Necessity Meal | Astari Nite (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/astarinitemusic

https://instagram.com/astarinite43

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ASSASSUN is a relatively new project for German musician Alexander Leonard Donat (aka Vlimmer), with its inception back in 2021. The latest single is “Sling Me Out” off the third ASSASSUN album Post-Climax, out on Blackjack Illuminist Records.

It is evident why ASSASSUN is described as synthpunk, vocals full of sneering contempt and snappy synths. Donat spits out ‘sling me out, sling me out‘ because in the end when you are no longer wanted, what is there left to lose. There is an 80s inspired jauntiness with the electronics dipping into menacing deep tones, and quite frankly it doesn’t get better than this!

Post-Climax | ASSASSUN | Blackjack Illuminist Records (bandcamp.com)

http://www.facebook.com/assassunband

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blackjack-Illuminist-Records

https://www.instagram.com/blackjackilluminist

Stream ASSASSUN – Sling Me Out by Blackjack Illuminist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

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If you had a friend such as Irish actor and wordsmith, Ben Keaton, it would be a no brainer to collaborate on a track, and this is exactly what Lunar Paths have done with the latest single, “New.”

Keaton has written the spoken word poem that tells a story about a relationship where one promised change that could lead to a better life, yet they failed,  falling back into bad habits and violence. The rhythm laid down by Hunter lends itself to a trap feel, while Dubois had looped and extruded shoegaze guitars and clever synths.

The track slow burns, doused in regrets of a life waiting with disappointment over and over again, just like echoes within the music, heightened by the Julie Cruize (Twin Peaks) inspired floating vocals of Dubois. This is in juxtaposition with the very matter-of-fact style of Keaton where there is no candy coating. A reflection of a tale as old as when humans formed relationships,  beautifully executed while picking at your heart strings,  and as they say,  something olde, something “New.”

▶︎ New (feat. Ben Keaton) | Lunar Paths (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/LunarPathsMusic

https://www.lunarpaths.com

https://www.instagram.com/lunar.paths

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The return of Nils Sinatsch’s Neon Insect, has arrived in the form of the latest single “THERE IS BEAUTY IN NOISE.” From Hanover, Germany, the cyberpunk flavoured industrial Neon Insect has a message…”Dictatorships must fall…”.

Laboured electronics greet your ears, as you are plunged into the chaos that is the grating industrialised melody, tortured and extruded, seemingly screeching in metallic convulsions. Sinatsch’s vocals bleed like verbal lacerations on a world that is the noise inhabits.

It is gritty and severe, set in a time of uncertainty, where making noise is the only way to be heard in a world that is already in turmoil. Indeed “THERE IS BEAUTY IN NOISE,” so check out Neon Insect.

THERE IS BEAUTY IN NOISE | Neon Insect (bandcamp.com)

https://facebook.com/neoninsect

https://www.neon-insect.de

https://www.instagram.com/neoninsect

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When you mention a video with floating Margret Thatcher heads in it… well, that just piques my curiosity. Bite Marcus is an independent musician from Manchester, and his single “Society! (There’s No Such Thing),” is the third, just before the release of the debut album, Amalgamation.

There is something delicate about the electronics and programmed rhythms in “Society! (There’s No Such Thing),” which leaves you focused on the smoothly executed vocals. An exercise at dissecting the current British politics, where the ruling party seem to have forgotten the people they are meant to be working for. 

The bonus track is a demo called “G O D ! (Is A They/Them),” a clever hybrid of two other tracks, ie Lady GaGa’s “G.U.Y” and Whitey’s “G.I.R.L.” It is subtle and wonderfully dark, and for a demo it feels very complete.

This is something that is very close to my heart…. music with something to say.  The commentary condemns the Tories for their seeking status and making money out of those who need the most protection. “Society! (There’s No Such Thing),” is a call to notice the injustice and recognise the treachery, served to you via a post-punk track that hits all the sweet spots.  All there is left to say is Bite Marcus before Marcus bites you. 

https://bitemarcus.bandcamp.com/album/society-theres-no-such-thing

http://instagram.com/bite_marcus