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“HYPNOTIZED” is the latest single from female French darkwave project CODE 150, and they have curated a lush video, which should come with a warning for those who suffer from arachnophobia. Don’t say you were not warned, and back in 2023, I advised you to check out CODE 150, and this track, I think has reinforced that opinion.

The idea of a human/spider hybrid is a creepy concept brought to life and she is luring you in with her sexuality, before sucking out your soul, leaving you a husk. The lead’s voice is deep and power, just a demon’s should be, with a hint of the forbidden. The synths feel stressed with blooming darkness, waiting for the ultimate date, filled with terror and lust.

The video feels a little retro, like 70s Hammer Horror, and that is all sorts of brilliant. The use of singular words, matched by the ticking time bomb of the electronic rhythm is indeed mesmerising, while the music drives into the recesses of your mind, worming “HYPNOTIZED” into the subconscious. Quite brilliant! CODE 150 is often a CyberSource error, but there is no glitch in the machine here

HYPNOTIZED | CODE 150

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Sweden’s Hatif are on the verge of releasing their next album, Small States, with Town And Towers Records. The electronic duo have dropped the last single for this album in March called “Direction.”

PHOTO BY DANIEL KWON

Pulsating and bouncing rhythms match perfectly the smoky synths, and that recognisable voice invites you into the hypnotic dance. The lyrics for the chorus ‘What we have to wish, what we have to do, what we have to look at when the sun sets on you,’ seem to speak of dreams and a past remembered, but also the end of those days .

I really love how Hatif always manage to mix the exotic strains of Middle Eastern music with modern electronic, that gives their tracks a really wonderful timeless feel, using invisible threads, tying us to other cultures. “Direction” is catchy while conveying a certain amount of introspection and observation, and is utter Hatif perfection.

Direction | Hatif

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Fans of The Birthday Massacre have been waiting with bated breath, for the release of a new album, and it seems they don’t have much longer to hold on. Pathways will be out on the label Metropolis Records, however for now, you can immerse yourself in the new single “Sleep Tonight.”

There is a nice, harsh edge to the electronics to compliment the guitar. Chibi’s vocals are so much of what defines The Birthday Massacre’s sound, both sweet and strong… and occasionally creepy. For “Sleep Tonight” she is like an angelic dream, haunting, next to the weighty drum beats and raucous guitar, that hints at the promise of violence.

I remember first seeing The Birthday Massacre on a German music compilation video and proceeded to find the first album, and I thought it was amazing that these kids where putting out some great songs. Yeah, we won’t go into how old I feel now, but this band have never lost sight of their purpose in life and it has kept them accountable when creating music that is artistic and pleasing for themselves. “Sleep Tonight” proves that the wait was worth it, so bring on Pathways.

Sleep Tonight | The Birthday Massacre

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Holy Toledo Batman. Pawn Pawn are a band from Ohio, birthed in 2018 and on the No Focus Records label. It is no long Halloween, but this is the title of their three track EP, released at the end of January.

The title is Halloween and you cannot have it without a bit of “Trick or Treat.” The beat is like the hurried footsteps of someone being followed by the neighbourhood friendly stalker. The vocals are slightly echoing and the lines ‘All the souls you steal will never be enough, The only thing that turns you on is unrequited love’, sung so sweetly, so you know this person is a keeper.

“I Can Only Tell You With My Eyes” could be at any disco night, hanging out, surrounded by dance music, with your obsession that you can’t pick up the nerve to tell them how you feel. It is wishing they could see those hints in your eyes. and while this plan won’t probably work, the track is still a sexy ode to the unwary.

What would you do anything to hold onto someone? “Jealousy Looks Good On Me” has mean streak with spikey guitars and even more abrasive electronics. The green eyed monster minces its way, sinuous and unable to accept rejection.

Let’s face it, it is always going to be spooky season for most of us, year round Halloween is an extension of this joyous, never ending fest, with three tracks exploring the darker side of the human condition. Let’s face it, humans are pretty much the scariest monsters on this planet. Pawn Pawn have mixed their take on obsession, jealousy and unhealthy one sided relationship, with music that is equally as dark and very enjoyable. This is Halloween.

Halloween | Pawn Pawn

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Pawn Pawn (@pawnpawn.bsky.social) — Bluesky

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Dan Söderqvist, Karl Gasleben and Jocke Söderqvist have been together under different guises, making music since 1981, though they are best known as Twice a Man.. They are on Dependent Records and Twice a Man have dropped the single “Birds eye view,” off the soon to be released album The Coloured Breeze is a New Dimension.

There is almost a gentle calm in the beginning, though the echoing is unsettling. The vocals take strength and synths are soaring above the rhythms, pure and clean. An explosion of warmth as if the sun’s rays are gracing us through music.

“Overview can light sparks in the place where your roots are waiting. If you follow the time you can destroy the eradicating wheels of commerce. Don’t drown yourself in pretended sleep! There is a common knot that must be untied. Our thoughts are the light and nature sings our lullabies.” – Twice a Man

Between the video and the lyrics, Twice a Man seem to be tied to the natural world, using electronics to delve into their connection and love of the environment versus the industrial world. The crows in the video, make their way through different art styles and they look beautiful. “Birds eye View” is an ambient lullaby and Twice a Man have proven they are as relevant as ever.

The Coloured Breeze is a New Dimension | Twice a Man

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Warsaw is a hotbed for darkwave music, and Grief.Christ are hitting you with their 2025 demo, called Make me wish I couldn’t beg.

They have mastered the ability to create a pall of claustrophobia in the creeping “Sinner Messiah,” that oozes the intent of a want-to-be saviour that cannot leave the entrenchment of death. An air of insanity taints “Safekeeping” with clattering electronic rhythms and fuzzed out vocals that wind over the retro science fiction sounding synths. “Child of hate” is going to grind you up and spit you out with the whirring drone, and yet it is not the fault of the child. It is a modern litany of pain and hopelessness, culminating in the ultimate end.

Blood and bone are good plant food and the track “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red” suggests that the more upper class the blood, the better the quality. A duel of female and male vocals are the present reminder of a relationship gone very wrong. Final track is “Push me back,” and it echoes the sentiment of “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red,” reiterating the ideas of blood and roses, and for me, pays homage to the Bjork single “Army of Me.” in the turbulent rhythm and humming electronics.

This is a name your price on Bandcamp and that is pretty good for a five track EP. Most tracks average out at about three minutes, with each entrenched in heavily morose imagery combined with an industrial edge. This is Grief.Christ and Make me wish i couldn’t beg (demo 2025).

Make me wish i couldn’t beg | Grief, Christ

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US/Swedish band Normoria, released their second EP, Welcome To Normoria, at the end of 2024. The EP is made up of five tracks, and three of those include guest artists in the form of Erk Aicrag (Hocico/Rabia Sorda),  Nysrok Infernalien (Alien Vampires) and MATT HART, who join Angel Moonshine (vocals), Johan (bass) and Gustav (guitar).

Your introduction is an instrumental, which is also the title confirming this is going to be an electronic journey. We think of colonialism as something that is in the past.. history that we should be learning from, because it destroys lives, cities, countries and even civilisations. The track “Stolen Lands” is not just about the past horrors, but also the most current ongoing wars and genocide. Featuring the vocals of Aicarg, it is a fierce cyber industrial song, sung in both English and Spanish, and whipping you up with its frenetic energy. The last lines are ‘Corran defiendan sus tierras que vienen las bestias listas para atacar,’ which loosely translates to ‘Run, defend your lands, for the beasts are coming, ready to attack.’

The man with the most wicked moustache in all of the British industrial scene, MATT HART features in “Paralyzed.” Why am I not surprised that this track is about alien invaders, but none the less, those tricky space beings are tormenting people in their sleep. Moonshine vocalises the distress of abduction, while HART’s emphasis on the chorus word ‘paralysed,’ bringing home the crushing affect of no control.

The fourth track is the intro piece “Divided Colors,” which is slow and laboured, as Moonshine builds up the anticipation for the last track which is the main “Divided Colors” featuring Infernalien, and it is a big finish. Brash and bold, “Divided Colors” stands between hip hop and industrial, and this alone is a comment on what the track is about. This is a timely reminder that being a fascist, believing in some weird racial purity bullcrap doesn’t cut it in the modern era, so Moonshine and Infernalien growl this out to the world as the music pounds out to reiterate the theme. The EP is very current with its ideals and spot on with its delivery, plus three very danceable tracks, so Welcome To Normoria.

Welcome To Normoria | NORMORIA

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Portland based Mercury’s Antennae are back after a break with a new single,  “The Reflecting Skin,” which has been released on the Sett Records label and mixed by William Faith (Faith & the Muse/Bellwether Syndicate). Multi-instrumentalist, Erick r. Scheid of The Palace of Tears, vocalist Dru Allen and bassist Cindy Coulter, who are both from This Ascension, make up Mercury’s Antennae and an interesting tid bit you might not know is that Coulter and Faith are siblings, and Coulter was a live member of Faith & The Muse.

“This track has quite a storied history! I originally came up with the primary bass part back when I was in This Ascension with Dru in the mid 1990s! I presented it to the band, I jammed it out with our drummer Matt and Dru a number of times, but it was one of those ideas that just never took flight. It got shelved for decades, but I always felt like maybe it would find a home somewhere. Erick was very energized by the part and was like “we need to make this a song!” I didn’t have a chorus written, so we collabe’d on that, Dru added her wonderful lyrics and voice, and it all came together very nicely”. – Cindy Coulter

Allen’s voice has matured, and, to my ears become more powerful and evocative. Now that guitar, which happens to be a twelve string… it is sinuous and writhes in a glorious way, and yet it smoothly entwine with the synths, creating an echoing, dark ambience that feels timeless. This is a track that has waited until now to emerge, and maybe this was fortuitous, as it has received the sparkling Faith workover, and “The Reflecting Skin” is now a gothic gem by Mercury’s Antennae.

The Reflecting Skin (William Faith Remix) | Mercury’s Antennae

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New year and new single from the transatlantic team Lunar Paths. Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter have dropped a technoir terror in the form of “Zero Trust Mentality.”

The clatter of looped rhythms, first started as drumming that Hunter laid down, have been fed into Dubois‘ sequencer, and it almost thunders, distorted and melding with the synths. An urgency from the electronics as they pulse frenetically, exploding around the cool vocals, that are almost spoken word, building the tension.

Apparently Meta in Facebook, at the end of last year (2024) left people wondering if they had been hacked, and honestly, in recent times, our online data has come under attack from individuals and even other countries. That is what this track is about, where we are finding new ways to protect our electronic lives. “Zero Trust Mentality” is kind of like Lunar Paths’ “Sleeper in Metropolis” and this might be an unconscious nod to Anne Clark. Not to mention the synths in the beginning have an 80s feel as it kind of reminded me of Japan’s excellent “Quiet Life.” This is Lunar Paths’ most industrial and dance floor friendly track in this era of “Zero Trust Mentality.”

Zero Trust Mentality | Lunar Paths

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Postpunk, Darkwave, Music | LUNAR PATHS

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That’s right. We are covering two remixes by two bands who remixed each other’s last singles. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania boasts having both Hemlock For Socrates and Take Me With You, and it seems a shame to not review both these darkwave acts together.

We reviewed the Hemlock For Socrates’ original version of “You’re Not Here,” and it was a perfect song about a relationship that has gone sour. Now there is the Take Me With You mix, and it is has echoing and glitching vocals build the tension. The electronics are, for the better use of a word, prominent, with meatier rhythms. They do great justice to Shore’s singing, which is seductive and at some points, it almost sounds like a call to prayer at the house of sorrow.

“Chameleon” was released back in 2022 by Take Me With You, and the original is this cool dark electronic music with a vocalist that, at least in this track, sounds like Kate Bush. Wow, the remix by Hemlock For Socrates in a whole different creature, with bubbling programmed loops, making everything feel so light and space age. There are vocal distortions and odd bleeps that warm you further to the track.

There are no versions of these remixes on YouTube, but I figure you should still indulge in the singles before you have a listen on Bandcamp. It is wonderful to see independent musicians working with each other in the dark scene and I already knew about Hemlock For Socrates, but now I have another band to watch in the form of Take Me With You. They have reworked each other’s music and Interestingly enough, one is about losing a lover to indifference and the other about (I believe) an individual that needs medication but finds it changes everything about them, so it is never their true self. All this has brought us a whole lot more joy.

You’re Not Here – Take Me With You ‘Hands on Your Skin’ Mix | Hemlock for Socrates

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Chameleon – Hemlock for Socrates ‘Never Be a Girl Again’ Mix | Take Me With You

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