Observer: Ghosts for Comfort & Mjöldryga

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Ghosts for Comfort
Serpent
self-released
You could absolutely be forgiven for thinking that the music from UK duo Ghosts for Comfort’s new EP was some recently unearthed and polished up dark electro demo from roughly 30 years ago. Everything, from the straightforward bass programming, to the plinky melodies and digital pads, to the pinched vocals (which are particularly reminiscent of early X Marks the Pedwalk) to the thudding, reverbed drums, screams 90s dark electro. That’s not a criticism mind you; Serpent is a refreshingly straight take on the style made popular by Zoth Ommog and Celtic Circle, delivered with a heaping dose of antipathy. While tracks like “Murder” and “The Seed” trade in the rough, rattling sounds of dark electro’s earliest evolutionary steps forward from EBM, the EP features hints of the baroque sound of later acts in the genre; the lo-fi funky bass and drums of “Prey” are accented by a twinkling lead that calls to mind Leaether Strip, and there’s a dash of Rudy Ratzinger’s imperial period evident in the ornate arrangement of instrumental “Dead on Arrival”. Still, the EP is at its best at its most immediate, as evidenced by opener “Detonate”, whose drums and springy lead are formed into a skeletal arrangement that doesn’t roll forward so much as it lurches towards the listener with ill intent. It’s an acquired taste no doubt, but those with yen for it will find it appropriately caustic and unpleasant.
Serpent by Ghosts For Comfort

Mjöldryga - Pulvis Ad Mortem
Mjöldryga
Pulvis Ad Mortem
Fluttering Dragon Records
The latest project from Fredrik Djurfeldt is of a piece with the gasping, unrelenting death industrial the Swedish artist has produced under the Analfabetism handle and most recently in collaborative project Hexophthalma. Mjöldryga’s debut finds him teaming up with Tomas Östergårds, whose work has tilted in a more dark ambient direction, but Pulvis Ad Mortem has precious little in common with that genre save for its steely and unyielding commitment to cold, impassive hostility. Refluxive waves of guttural feedback and distorted yowls make up the bulk of Pulvis Ad Mortem, from the circling static blasts of opener “Armar Ramlar Av” to the shuddering stutter of closer “Claviceps Purpurea” which blurs vocals and noise into a smeary grey morass. The tremoring radio pulses and samples perched atop the ebb and flow of sine waves on “Antoniuseld” or the almost naturally windswept stormy churn of “Bockahorn” are a reminder that the ur sources of this sort of noise are never too far from our day to day, regardless of whether we’re tossing a record like this on or not.
Mjöldryga – Pulvis Ad Mortem by Fluttering Dragon Records

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We Have A Technical 566: My Boo

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Laibach - Alamut

As is our custom when there’s a new record from industrial legends Laibach, we’re taking to the podcast to discuss it rather than simply knocking out a review. A deeply collaborative record between Slovenian and Iranian musicians, Alamut is a record steeped in history and which draws together diverse strands of Laibach’s own musical past and future as well as contemporary art music composition from around the world. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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ESA, “Sounds For Your Happiness”

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ESA - Sounds For Your Happiness

ESA
Sounds For Your Happiness
Negative Gain Productions

With a steady release schedule and having recently crossed its two decade tenure, Jamie Blacker’s ESA project’s long been an established quantity for rivetheads and DJs on both sides of the pond, and with good reason. Blacker’s long had his heavily stylized (and elevated) form of modern rhythmic noise down to a science; cue up any of the last handful of ESA LPs and you know you’re getting punishing beats and minimalist yet hi-def programming with some flourishes lifted from neighbouring genres like gabber and aggrotech, with a personal tour of hell offered by Blacker’s unmistakable vocals, an experience less like tagging along with Charon or Virgil and more like being dragged on a chain by a rampaging Cerberus. The latest ESA LP, arriving with the eerily prosaic title Sounds For Your Happiness, keeps that hot hand going with a dense and lengthy barrage.

Built upon metallic programming and flitting between classic industrial club kicks and blast beats, Blacker sounds at home venting bile atop cuts like “Pound Of Flesh” and lengthy closer “The Gallows You Built For Yourself”. The immediacy of an oontzy banger like “Caligula” belies a deceptively complex arrangement, with chopped samples sidechained to beats and later being filleted into thin digital stutters for dramatic effect. It’s not all technical flourish, though, with the swinging chug of “It Will Never Be Enough” evoking death metal, or at least Ministry in their more downcast modes, and Blacker’s road warrior swagger in full effect on “Something For The Horsemen”.

The lengthy run time of the majority of the twelve tracks allows for a lot of shifts; the effect is marked when acidic washes of trance-cum-electro-industrial pads break through the thudding edifice of “Ratchet” at the six-minute mark (replete with some acid-house styled gospel samples). The same goes for the first appearance of truly ‘clean’ vocals from Blacker mid-album on “Rats Come Together”. The samples, breakdowns, and other tics and quirks peppered into the spaces between assaulting measures help to keep you on your toes through these epics, and occasionally add some levity (like the whinnying which punctuates “Something For The Horsemen”).

If there’s a weakness in Sounds For Your Happiness it might just be that there can be simply too much of its merciless assault, even with the aforementioned shifts and variances, over the course of its sprawling 75 minutes. It’s hard to cite that as much of a fault when none of the tracks feel repetitive or superfluous and each holds up well as a standalone piece, and may just be a question of endurance. As always with ESA, the beatings will continue until morale improves.

Buy it.

Sounds for your Happiness by ESA

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Mari Kattman, “Year of the Katt”

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Mari Kattman
Year of the Katt
Metropolis Records

Mari Kattman has been a steady presence in the broader industrial and darkwave community for the better part of the last decade or so, first as a striking guest vocalist with artists such as Comaduster, iVardensphere and Neuroticfish, as well as half of Helix with her partner Tom Shear, and as a solo act in her own rite. While the Boston chanteuse has a few self-released albums in her discography, Year of the Katt is the culmination of the dark, club-ready sound she’s been exploring over the last few years of EPs and singles. In practice the record splits the difference between Kattman’s considerable vocal charisma and power, and her growth as a songwriter and producer.

To that point, the entirety of Year of the Katt is written, produced, and performed by Kattman, and consequently plays to her strengths. One of her gifts has always been in conveying her personality through her performance, and the material here certainly leans into that, often quite literally. Opener “Typical Girl” paints a portrait of Kattman through candid admissions (“I’m a difficult person”) and taunting self-examination (“Who’s gonna love you now?”), and the deployment of an affected and effective sneer that makes a character of her own self-doubt. Similarly, “Anemia” takes its cues from her experiences with the titular condition, heightened and then turned outwards, slinky and inviting with a healthy dose of laidback menace that complements its big detuned synth hook and medium tempo rhythm programming. The theme of self-examination carries culminates nicely on closer “Pain” where Kattman gives thanks to adversity as a motivator and teacher, matching it up to a surprising but not unwelcome assembly of body-music ad-libs, a tasteful guitar solo, and one of her most straightforward and catchy arrangements.

The clubbable trad-scene mix of synthpop, EBM and dark electronics that informs Year of the Katt is a natural fit for Kattman, and she shows a strong understanding of how to put songs in the style together. While there are plenty of fun touches in the design of the record (the use of morse code and modem samples as rhythmic devices is clever, as is the throwback futurepop construction of “Take Myself Back”), the palette is kept minimal and effective, allowing lots of space for the vocals. Perhaps that’s a function of how often Kattman uses a cool, breathy delivery, sometimes ramping to higher registers, as on “Take”, or into her forceful but smooth mezzo range, like “Little Bullet Girl” and “PunisHER”. If anything the album is light on moments where she goes to full strength, although one has to assume that’s a conscious decision for the sake of consistency in mood and style across the record.

With that in mind, Year of the Katt ends up being something of a coming out party for Mari Kattman as a writer and producer. It’s less-focused on showing off her already established bonafides as a vocalist, and more about her ever advancing skills in song and albumcraft, a feat that it handily achieves.

Buy it.

Year Of The Katt by Mari Kattman

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Tracks: July 7th, 2025

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Hey friends and neighbours, thanks for stopping in for Tracks this week. As with every week, it’s kind of overwhelming how much music there is to write about right now, and how many artists we’re already following closely are putting out new stuff, but this week feels particularly stacked for IDUD faves. Indeed, with the year half over and still a solid dozen albums yet to drop that we’re anticipating, not to mention the inevitable surprise drops and brand new acts yet to emerge, it feels like we have yet to see the complete shape of 2025 musically. If you have some stuff you want us to know about, please feel free to put it in the comments, we’re always on the lookout. Tracks ahoy!

Louisahhh x Helsmoortel

Lousiahhh x Helsmoortel, “Sugar & Violence”
Louisahhh has been one of the bravest and most exciting presences in leftfield electronic dance music for a few years now, both in her solo material and her collabs with Maelstrom amongst others. Her latest project is an EP sized team-up with Belgian producer Helsmoortel, and finds her applying her strident, forthright vocals to a cool electro beat on “Sugar & Violence”, sinister and alluring in equal measure. Given how harsh a lot of Louisahhh’s material has been, this ends up being a move towards a smoother, if no less bracing sound.
Sugar & Violence by Louisahhh x Helsmoortel

Diesein, “Monday Morning”
The difference between Laslo Antal’s work as one half of Sixth June and that in his solo project Diesein hasn’t ever been stable for too long, with the latter’s releases at times tilting very close to the atmospheric, sultry darkwave we expect from Sixth June, and at times wandering into very poppy or confessional songwriter territory. This taster from forthcoming third Diesein LP splits the difference, coating the elegant core of Sixth June writing with some brightly coloured synth fondant psychedelia.
I like it / I hate it by DIESEIN

XTR HUMAN, “Sledgehammer”
We had the pleasure of seeing Johnannes Stabel perform as XTR HUMAN here in Vancouver a few months back, and it solidified our view that the project is some of the best modern EBM going. New single “Sledgehammer” is another great example of what the project does best, marrying classic body music basslines and drums with shouted vocals and a healthy dollop of raved-up techno, hitting the balance between them just right. With his next Canadian performance looming at Terminus in a few weeks, this is just the thing to get us even more hype for some stomping, sweating dancefloor action.
Sledgehammer by XTR HUMAN

Ash Code, “Scar”
We’ll absolutely cop to darkwave burnout being a real phenomenon, both while seeking out new tracks for ID:UD and for the club, but we have no such concerns when it comes to Italian stalwarts Ash Code. We’ve been hearing tracks for September’s Synthome since November, and the last few that’ve seen release, like this absolutely oppressive and smothering number which sounds like a Soft Moon/Frozen Autumn hybrid we never knew we wanted, are raising its profile as a contender to be reckoned with in a very crowded scene.
Synthome by Ash Code

Blood Rave, “Dead Inside”
Speaking of bands we saw at Verboden, our second time seeing Napa’s Blood Rave perform was revelatory; we liked the modern electro-darkwave act plenty the first time we saw them last year, but the performance and the quality of the material on this year’s Exponential Decay showed some considerable advancement in a relatively brief period of time. And we weren’t the only ones feeling it, as evidenced by the number of Blood Rave shirts we saw for the rest of that weekend. “Dead Inside” will no doubt be on plenty Summer gloom playlists, ours included.
Dead Inside by Blood Rave

Ghosts For Comfort, “Murder”
The debt UK duo Ghosts For Comfort owe to classic dark electro is apparent from the moment you cue up any track on their new Serpents EP. Thankfully, it’s a style they pull off well. Raw, grimy, and minimalist in construction and production, tunes like this draw a line between classic Klinik and some jacked up new beat rhythms.
Serpent by Ghosts For Comfort

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Moon 17, “TX_1320”

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Moon 17
TX_1320
self-released

It’s been almost two years since Kansas City duo Moon 17 released their first tracks: “Jellyfish”, which bridged mutant EBM and modern darkwave in a cascade of glitches and orch hits, and “Mirror Side”, a mean slice of lo-fi industrial with screamed and crooned vocals and churning programming. While active live, it wasn’t until the recent surprise release of the debut album TX_1320 that we got another taste of Zack Hames and Samantha Conrad’s self-described “sci-fi industrial”, a style that finds them dipping into classic and contemporary sounds in intriguing fashion.

The HAL 9000 samples set against spacey ambience that introduce the record on “Velcro Shoes” act as a mood-setter, but it’s on the first proper song “Ronnie Rocket” where Moon 17’s ambitions come into focus. The slow-rolling tempo of the song and screamed vocals are plenty appealing on their own, enhanced by some choppy programming, the placement of drum hits and synths playing off one another, and the wormy funk lead that recalls Nine Inch Nail’s funkier moments. There are plenty of those clever ‘nice touch’ moments for those paying attention; little production details and arrangement choices that take songs from solid to quite good. Hear how smoothly the guitar on “Bersicker” (courtesy of Cort from Spike Hellis) transitions from chugging rhythm to mirroring the vocal line to peeling off into a solo, or how the chaotic second half of “Helios” reflects the almost gentle build of it’s opening minutes.

For their obvious attention to detail in the recording, the band never get lost in the weeds when it comes to delivering on their hooks. That lack of preciousness means that for all the fun layers of FM bass, gated and looped samples and mountains of percussion that fill-out “Cherry”, it’s never at the expense of screamed and shouted lyrics and corroded synth-hook. Similarly, while the instrumental “Spark” dips into piercing chiptune and sountracky ambience, there’s an intentionality in how those sounds support its recurring and recognizable motifs.

The tightrope-walk of keeping TX_1320‘s intricate construction and appropriate roughness around the edges balanced with the focus on the songs themselves is no small feat, and one that certainly justifies the wait for Moon 17’s debut. As both a highly listenable (and re-listenable) collection of modern industrial cuts, and a statement of purpose for Moon 17, it’s a winner. Recommended.

Buy it.

TX_1320 by Moon 17

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We Have a Technical 565: Undead King Of Cartoons

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Front Line Assembly

In a wide-ranging open topic conversation, we discuss our thoughts about the purpose, value, and reception of negative music reviews in Our Thing. What’s the line between constructive criticism and a hatchet job? Why write them or, conversely, avoid writing them? All that and plenty of questions in between await on the latest episode of We Have A Technical. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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Empusae, “The Alchemist’s Rift”

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Empusae - The Alchemist's Rift

Empusae
The Alchemist’s Rift
Arcane Dirge

Nicolas Van Meirhaeghe of Empusae’s always had a relatively brisk release schedule since his 2002 debut, but that pace has accelerated to a super-human level over the past few years with a near-constant slew of new music from the Swedish dark ambient vet, ranging from some expected collaborations (continuing his work with Shinkiro, teaming up with Peter Bjärgö of Arcana) to absolutely left field ones (the Præter project, which saw Van Meirhaeghe working with choreographers and fashion designers). Those have all done a solid job of showing Empusae’s flexibility as a project and Van Meihaeghe’s growth in both sound design and composition, but new proper stand-alone LP The Alchemist’s Rift offers the opportunity for a clear reappraisal of Empusae’s progression.

Despite a fairly short run time The Alchemist’s Rift serves as a solid reintroduction to the range of sounds and styles Empusae has at hand and moves through them at a fair clip; ranging from the cosmic grandeur of “The Echo Of Shadows” to the way the ritual minimalism of foreboding opener “Invocation (The Fractured Self)” blossoms into hi-def symphonic sweeps. That’s not to say that it’s underdeveloped or rushed; all six pieces are given more than enough time to establish themselves, and the loose theme of alchemical exploration of the beyond threads nicely through it.

More than anything, The Alchemist’s Rift showcases just how well Van Meirhaeghe’s technical sound design chops have grown alongside his compositional ambitions. Album centerpiece “Through The Rift” builds to an evocative and ever-shifting arpeggiated riff both mechanical and wholly abstract pads and percussion creating a constant sense of movement and drama. It’s a tour de force of composition which doesn’t just point to old cliches about “cinematic” sounds and “soundtracks to non-existent films”, but should call the likes of undisputed masters like Zimmer and Jóhannsson to the minds of film score aficionados.

For those who often find releases marked with the dark ambient tag to be too static or droning, The Alchemist’s Rift offers kinetic action and fully sculpted individual pieces, as well as a properly executed LP structure. Mature without being too ponderous or self-reflective, it’s the sort of record that Van Meirhaeghe might not have been able to pull off with such aplomb a few years back, but now is able to fully realize.

Buy it.

The Alchemist's Rift by Empusae

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Tracks: July 1st, 2025

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We’re rejiggering our week’s posting given the slightly odd experience of our national stat holiday falling on a Tuesday, so it’s Tracks today and reviews coming on Wednesday and Friday. And hey, if you’re at all curious about how we as Canadians feel about celebrations like Canada Day or patriotism in general during this strange new era of trade war, well, that’s something we specifically touched upon in our Patreon-only bonus Bombers podcast this past weekend, but we certainly don’t need to dig into that now while offering you six fresh cuts.

Grimmer than thou, it’s Lebanon Hanover

Sleek Teeth, “Same”
The hybrid style of LA duo Sleek Teeth have made them one of the most talked about bands of the last 12 months, and a new tune like this only pushes them further up the list of bands we’re most pumped to see at Terminus at the end of the month. Expertly blending synthpop, EBM, classic rave tracks, and a plain old sense of pop songwriting pays off for them well with “Same”, and keeps their run of Kite-like quality control going with this being just their sixth track to go public.
Same by Sleek Teeth

Comaduster, “Way With Me”
If you checked out the podcast last week, you heard us talking about how much we’re anticipating the new album from Comaduster, a full five years since the project’s last missive Darker Matter. Our first taste of that soon the be announced record is the single “Way With Me”, a classic example of Real Cardinal’s insanely detailed production and sound design, as filtered through his particular style of emotional songwriting. If you’ve never heard Comaduster before, this tells you what you need to know about the band’s ordered chaos, if you’re already a fan like us, you’ll appreciate the mixture of the familiar and the alien here. Welcome back, you’ve been missed.
WAY WITH ME + THE LESS YOU KNOW by Comaduster

Zanias, “Dawn”
We were talking on last week’s podcast about artists with records in the pipeline we’re looking forward to, and since then Zanias has dropped another tune from her forthcoming Cataclysm LP. Lyrically it offers a clear historically materialist read on the current panoply of disasters and atrocities we’re all weathering, and continues to sprinkle in just a little hint of contemporary hyperpop into the emotive mix of ambient and electro we heard on Cataclysm‘s preceding title track.
Dawn by Zanias

Street Sex, “Turn Blue”
It’s been a few years since we’ve had some new machine-operated death trips from Texas nightmare merchants Street Sects, but it looks like August will bring not just a new Street Sects album in Dry Drunk, but also Full Color Eclipse, an LP released under the slightly nudged name Street Sex. If the sound of this track is representative, it looks like we’re in store for a slightly more electro and funk influenced spin on Street Sect’s sound, but don’t worry – with lyrics like “fuck until your eyes pop out, then maybe you’ll never suffer again” they’re not exactly getting coy on us all of a sudden.
FULL COLOR ECLIPSE by STREET SEX

Synthetische Lebensform, “Distance (feat. Eudgen Provkov)”
We’re fans of Russian electro-industrialists Synthetische Lebensform, and thus were very keen to check out the first single from them since the release of their February LP Current Profile. While initially suprised by the vocal style and emphasis on guitars on the song, we were quickly taken with the song’s dramatic chorus and scope, which brings :SITD: of all bands to mind. Not what we expected, and all the more interesting for it. An album of this wouldn’t be unwelcome.
Distance feat. Eudgen Provkov by Synthetische Lebensform

Lebanon Hanover, “Torture Rack”
We kinda neglected to mention Lebanon Hanover in our rundown of forthcoming 2025 albums, probably because we didn’t know that Fabrika was releasing Asylum Lullabies on July 10th. “Torture Rack” features the influential darkwave duo at their most gloomy and funereal, with Larissa Iceglass solemnly intoning each lyric with the duo’s signature gravitas. Not exactly a Summer fun time single, unless your summer plans include glumly staring into the middle distance, which lets face it, many of the folks reading this probably do have on the agenda. Fuck us up Lebanon Hanover.

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