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Australian’s love claiming New Zealander’s as our own, and quite frankly, the talented Kieren Hills is no exception. His crust punk, crossed with industrial stylings with the project Schkeuditzer Kreuz, is perched to release a new full length album on the 25th of August, named No Life Left, and a packed tour of Europe, over this September and October (which is well worth every cent). For now, you are able to listen to “Second Life,” the latest single off the album.

Photo by Jeremy Belinfante

Instantaneously, the pummelling, heavy as fuck rhythm grabs your ears, with a taste of black metal gloom, as the claustrophobic pall tries to suffocate the breath out of you. Hills snarls and growls lyrics such as ‘free to kill, free to take a life away’, a protest of the constant gun related killings in America, where the victims and families seem to have no voice. The loops and synths ooze discontent at the failing system.

“I’ve always had a policy of playing anywhere and everywhere with SK. I’ve played in a lot of weird and wonderful places in the last 3 years – in sheds and video stores, in the forest and in car parks, house shows, club shows, in-stores, and pub shows – under bridges and in skate parks.  Anywhere at all. So, I wanted to do that for the video.

I found an alleyway choked with long-dead street bounty – sofas and white goods and old guitars, and pots and pans and cupboards and sheet metal, and building waste and everything that gets left behind when people move on or move up. All long left in the elements to degrade and die. So, I set up there and played to a few friends – interspersing my usual walls of sound with throwing stuff around and bashing on things in the pile, more or less rhythmically along with the music.‘  – Kieren Hills on the video for “Second Life“

The video is beautifully shot/produced by Shaye at DMWC Films, filmed in an alleyway in Sydney. This track hits hard, not only in the voluminous reams of auditory crush, but also the overwhelming disappointment in a society where guns mean more than people’s lives. The vinyl records for the album are already on pre-order from Bad Habit Records (AUS) and Sorry State Records (USA)

No Life Left | Schkeuditzer Kreuz (bandcamp.com)

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Sorry State Records: punk, hardcore metal, garage, crust, vinyl

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Glaswegian band, Hanging Freud have a new single, out on the Belgian Spleen+ label, just before the release of their seventh studio album, titled Worship. The track is called “Falling Tooth,” and the name alone made me feel all creepy. Not sure what Paula Borges and Jonathan Skinner have been up to, but I’m not sure if I’m up to hearing about falling teeth.

The rhythm sounds like a clock, ticking down, while Borges vocals gracefully wander the soundscape like a ghost searching for completion. Electronics whir and drone, building the tension, as time ignores all of it, matching on.

Beautifully avant-garde and engrossing, like a fever dream that takes you down a path of your mind, you never knew existed. Hanging Freud’s first offering off the new album leaves you wondering what is next… though I am rather relieved to say no teeth were hurt nor fell in the creation of “Falling Tooth.”

https://hangingfreud.bandcamp.com/track/falling-tooth

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

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Today, we explore the album Lesser Gods by the Los Angeles project BARA HARI, which was released at the end of May, and the limited edition vinyl on the label Re:Mission Entertainment, The exotic BARA HARI is musician and producer Sam Franco, whom is also known for her darkwave and industrial collaborations.

Your ears are greeted by the sublime “Siren Song“. Delicate and short lived, a beautiful warning of the dire events to come. For her name is “Tempest“, she who will bring the ensuing storm to clear away the lies and deceit. Such foreboding in a pop like song, as BARA HARI casts her gaze over those that cause consternation, stalking them down. The guitar is heavy, matched by the thudding drums, for we are given the story of sexual double standards and moral gatekeeping in “Immoral Tales“.

The synths bring in “Violence Rising” and it is indeed about the abhorrent acceptance that it is alright to be brutal to one another. There are wonderful rounds of vocals joined by trumpet. Lust, love and “Looking For Oblivion” is an electronic buzzing gem, that settles in your brain. The buzzing is palpable but wait hold that thought. The next track, “House Of The Devil” is simply huge between the falling vocals and melancholic piano, as Franco gives us the modern version of “I Will Survive“.

Does going outside make you nervous or dealing with crowds bring on anxiety attacks? Maybe you are “Agoraphobic” and as this number plods along, almost unwilling to leave, while the first affirming lines, ‘Started off as a joke Now I can’t walk out my own front door’, fulfil the prophesy. The rock is fused with electronics and “Delusions Of Grandeur” is both angelic and full of angst, while “Easy Target” is a sassy and alluring track. The final track is the superbly dark and disturbing “Immortal” with the chiming keyboards and up beat rhythm, whilst the lyrics tell of the fact that as we age, what made us beautiful fades and many see our worth is only wrapped up with youth.

Fairy tales and fables were often stories to teach people wise lessons, and when I listen to BARA HARI’s Lesser Gods. this album is very much in this vein. Modern fables of not judging others, through to when good people do nothing to prevent evil. Colourful and descriptive language within the lyrics are carried by the melodious electro/indie pop, topped off with the gorgeous vocals of Franco. Lesser Gods indeed when it comes a goddess like BARA HARI.

Lesser Gods | BARA HARI | Re:Mission Entertainment (bandcamp.com)

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Kicking off July with a bang. We are talking the new industrial single “ROTATIONS” from UK artist MATT HART, with the added extra bonus of a remix by SERAPHIM SYSTEM, aka Jon Stancil, from the USA. This is the ongoing human versus machine, cyber saga of epic proportions.

“8 HOURS AWAKE. 8 HOURS ASLEEP. THIS IS THE WAY OF THE TIME MILL.” This is the mantra here, for there is not time for anything, except digging into the ground beneath, for the humans to escape their electronic assassins. The synths are ripe and juicy, while the beats are rampaging, forcing you to move that body. HART’s vocals broker no argument for this is how thing must be, as the shifts rotate through continuously, like a colony of ants, slaves to the rhythm for survival.

The SWAGGROTATIONS REMIX has the massive slamming beats and screaming electronics. It summons a feeling of utter panic, suddenly dropping into drum and bass, before whirling off, pounding your skull into a pulpy mess.

MATT HART’s original version is chock full of scintillating synths, club floor filling rhythms and rounding vocals, building the air of a will so stubborn, one shall do whatever to avoid elimination. With the SERAPHIM SYSTEM mix, we definitely find ourselves with a different beast. Harsher electronics, mixed with dub and dropping bass, combined with the crushing beats. All of this is a reflection of the desperation and even loss of humanity by the survivors…. ah well, at least they are doing it in style, while carrying out “ROTATIONS“.

Music | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

ROTATIONS (SERAPHIM SYSTEM SWAGGROTATIONS REMIX) | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

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Many Australian musicians are amazingly talented, and Melbourne’s Body Maintenance, saw in April, the release of their debut album Beside You, with the vinyl LP out on Drunken Sailor Records and cassette on Unwound Records. Now I am going to tell you that if you love post-punk music, and if you haven’t listened to Body Maintenance, then maybe you aren’t as cool as you think you are.

The tendrils of “Silver Yarns” wind around you and unleash the gorgeous guitars, that run and take flight. The vocals are within the mix and yet still ring clear, and you know that any song that mentions sinners and martyrs has got to be good. In fact it is an amazing start. It is a gothic gun duel at high noon in “Circles“, or at least the dark spaghetti western guitars say be there or be square. The synths swirl between and you wonder where the rattle snakes are hiding.

“The Spiral” feels like the most glorious vortex, berating your ears with tribal beats, and that is at complete odds with the far more reticent and thoughtful “Time Enough” that curls within your chest, like a hand gripping your heart. The bass guitar steadily pushes forward in “It’s Theatre“, and again those synths soar in your ears, which has a beautiful chorus and the guitar playing that could take your breath away.

The title track is the heavenly forlorn “Beside You“, which is about dedication no matter where it leads, and it has the air of freefalling. “The Fools, The Frauds” is verbose and has tinges of Virgin Prunes. The rhythm section pulls this track tightly in, while the guitars fight to contain themselves, all the while caressed by the vocals. The vocals in “Ends” catches your ears as does the big guitar sound and before we know it, there is the last track, “A Compliment“, which wanders in the ether of ghost like memories, gently roaming the shadowy paths.

Damn… how do I summarise this album. It is like chills down the spine due to the familiarity of the style, as it reminds me of British post-punk bands from another era, especially Play Dead, Danse Society, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and closer to home Ikon and The Church. Probably because it is very much guitar driven, with the use of reverb and pedals, and yet for me, it is the fact there is an air of magic in Body Maintenance’s sound, so richly dark and so invitingly warm at the same time. I am sure their influences are far more modern, but my hot take is Beside You is a brilliant post-punk album by Body Maintenance and I can’t wait to see what they do next.

Beside You | Body Maintenance (bandcamp.com)

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

https://www.unwoundrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DrunkenSailorRecords

http://www.drunkensailorrecords.co.uk/

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We are delighted to bring you a nice slice of post-punk gothy goodness in the form of a new single from New York’s’ Black Rose Burning. George Grant (bass/vocals/keys), Luis Infantas (drums) and Frank Morin (guitars), are on the verge of dropping their brand new album Ad Astra, and “Sing To Me (E.L.E.)” is the first single, released on the 23rd of June.

There is such a burst of overwhelming joy from the first strains of music. Ringing guitar with not quite chip tune synth, court your ears. Grant’s vocals come across between an ode to that which is lost and the sadness of being emotionally tortured by said loss. It is a rollicking track, foot tappingly quirky and yet it still pulls at your heart strings.

For those that do not know what an E.L.E is, the clue is in the song itself, that it means Extinction Level Event, say like a meteor hitting the Earth. Black Rose Burning are staying true to the mission statement, with their love of science fiction (as well as science fact!), fuelling the rocket engines of creativity and shooting them out into the stars, giving us aliens music to marvel at and enjoy… even if there ever is an E.LE., I would want Black Rose Burning to “Sing To Me (E.L.E.)“.

Sing To Me (E.L.E.) | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

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

http://www.blackroseburning.com/

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German industrial project Neon Insect has released another single as of May, with the title “Implant“. Nils Sinatsch is Neon Insect, whose forte is delving into a cyber-punk future of apocalyptic proportions.

The flesh screams in defiance as the cybernetic additions consume the body, taking away pain and everything else that makes a human feel. Nils‘ gruff vocals are the programmes and nano bots seeking to assume control, as they pulsate through their victim,

It starts with a few changes of enhancement, until the machines decides mankind is frail and prone to breaking. The road to human race’s doom seems to be paved in the industrial dance rhythms of Neon Insect and his “Implant“.

IMPLANT | Neon Insect (bandcamp.com)

https://www.neon-insect.de/

https://facebook.com/neoninsect

https://www.instagram.com/neoninsect/

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Some music projects go on hiatus, but they never truly go away. After twenty years, DC Astro and Martha A. Hoffmann, have breathed new life into their electronic/darkwave band Deep Red, and what better way to celebrate this than with the release of a new single, “Battle Lines” which features Element 104.

The low tones are heavy and bass driven, giving the track a voluminous depth, and a long with the rhythm hurtle this track forward. Hoffmann’s vocals range from whispered to clear and true, just as the synths chime out and spin about a relationship gone sour, and the fight to be able to walk away from other person.

In 2002, the album Chimera was released, which has the original version of “Battle Lines” on it. I can hear why they wanted to, in a way, resurrect this track and give it another run, modernising it. A note of interest is that the mastering was done by Doruk Öztürkcan of She Past Away fame. The over all feel of “Battle Lines” is a big break through track bound for the dance floor, which will ensure we will be hearing more from Deep Red.

Battle Lines | Deep Red featuring Element 104 | Deep Red (bandcamp.com)

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https://www.instagram.com/therealdeepred/

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The first half of the year has seen a lot of really great new darkwave albums, and this includes, Crystalline, the latest from Norwegian Karl Morten Dahl, also known as Antipole and Brit Paris Alexander. This album is now out on the Young & Cold Records label with it being recorded between the UK and Norway, and the production, mixing and mastered by Alexander at his Blue Door Studio.

The album starts with “Perceptions“, which is one of three singles and it is a smooth affair between the synths and Alexander’s vocals, raising your heartbeat with anticipation with the rising guitar. “Nightshade” has been known to kill, yet the solemn delicacy of this track might make you want to live just that little bit longer so you might be able to hear “Bleached“, another single. Bleak and creeping with sorrow, but yet you cannot but be mesmerised by the sensual vocals and dirty electronic bass.

The desolate lushness of “Disjointed” brings a delicateness that sets you up for the third single, “Midnight Shadows“, where you can almost feel the spirits are reaching out to you through the echoing and enticing whispers. that draw spectral fingers up your skin, catching your breath. The rhythms knock away and the guitar draws you into its embrace as you share with Alexander, his hope and anguish in “Marble“.

We find ourselves at the gently flowing “Infractions“, bathing in its warm heart. The track has a Johnny Marr glazing with a pop sensibility. The final track is the sublimely elegant “Sentiments” with the low bass electronics balanced by the both the sweet guitar work and high end synths.

The production of the album is clean and so fluid, making it almost ethereal, and yet the tracks will also guide your feet to the dance floor. Paris Alexander’s vocals truly convey a lot of emotion, sometimes bordering on dark seduction, while Karl Morten Dahl’s playing in this conjures reminders of Robert Smith’s tantalising guitar prowess and form. Each track is devastatingly beautiful, unveiling the never ending cycle of the dark versus the light, with hints of all the shades of grey in between, as Antipole & Paris Alexander take you to the places that yesterday’s ghosts still haunt, in perfect Crystalline.

Crystalline | Antipole & Paris Alexander | Antipole (bandcamp.com)

http://www.facebook.com/antipoleband

Music | Paris Alexander (bandcamp.com)

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

https://bluedoormusicproductions.com/

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

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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