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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We Have a Commentary: Cold Cave, “Cherish the Light Years”

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Cold Cave - Cherish The Light Years

For this month’s Patreon-supported bonus podcast, we’re talking about the second LP from Wes Eisold’s post-punk/synthpop act Cold Cave. A record that has taken on more emotional resonance as it (and we!) have aged, so there’s gonna be a lot of talk about feelings, not to mention Cold Cave’s unique place in the transition from the landfill post-punk boom into the contemporary darkwave era. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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Observer: A Shrine To Failure & Viva Non

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A Shrine To Failure - Undone
A Shrine To Failure
Undone
self-released
Despite the heavy trad-goth connotations of German duo A Shrine To Failure’s name, promo photos, and hell, even choice of fonts, there’s precious little influence from gothic rock or deathrock to be found on their debut Undone…at least on the surface. The beats and synths which make up most of Undone aren’t that dissimilar from the instrumentation that makes up so much run-of-the-mill darkwave in 2025, but A Shrine To Failure press them into plaintive, heart on sleeve tunes which hearken back to a broader pool of inspirations. Tunes like “Reverie” and “This Is Surrender” borrow from all manner of classic goth acts both in terms of lyrical drama and musical flair, or at least more adept contemporaries like Wingtips and Rosegarden Funeral Party who have a clear read on how much goth history was built on pop and rock fundamentals. Despite its minimal and modern construction, “Bleakware” brings a decent amount of melody and harmonics without relying too heavily on its pure darkwave rhythm. Similarly, the straightforward staccato punch of “Starving”‘s synth program builds alongside increasingly anxious vocals, almost recalling early Ashbury Heights. A very strong debut from a band with clear songwriting chops beyond their tenure. Recommended.
undone by A Shrine to Failure


Viva Non
Natural
self-released
Winnipeg’s Viva Non has been a lot of things over the course of last decade, touching musically on darkwave, industrial, techno and ambient. With the James Hofer recently announcing a return to performing and releasing synthpop-styled material, the most recent EP Natural takes the role of summarizing the project’s instrumental technoid era, a role that it does in fine fashion. “Hollow” is encapsulates the shuffling, rhythmic sensibility of Hofer’s live PA sets, its judiciously placed kicks and snatches of programming immersed in waves of hissing static and low hypnotic drones. Alternately, “Break” dips into straighter kick-snare patterns, but subtly layers in more synth parts, some chirpy, some fluid and snake-like, all leading to a tense crescendo that recalls Mlada Fronta amongst others. “Encircle” in both its original form and its Filmmaker remix embodies Viva Non’s focus on mood via production; the former keeps its pads and non-percussive elements ephemeral, the latter has them follow in the wake of the beefed up drums, suggesting distance and scale through placement in the mix. If this is the last EP of this style for Hofer for the foreseeable future, its certainly a fine capstone for this incarnation of the project.
Natural by Viva Non

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We Have a Technical 564: Get It Together

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The Galan Pixs

The Galan Pixs

We have a classic two albums episode for you this week folks, including the last decidedly industrial-related work from German act The Galan Pixs, plus the experimentation of latter-era Portion Control with their SEEDEP3. We’re also looking ahead at some records set to be released in the back half of 2025. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below.

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General Dynamics, “Where Animals Play”

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General Dynamics - Where Animals Play

General Dynamics
Where Animals Play
X-IMG

The styles of the two respective members of General Dynamics (William Maybelline of Lebanon Hanover and Qual, and Emad Dabiri of SARIN and half a dozen other projects, not to mention boss of the X-IMG label) were well established by the time the side-project’s debut, Weaponize Your Dreams, arrived at the tail end of 2022. So much so, in fact, that the record was more of a test case of the pair’s chemistry rather than of what its component parts might sound like. Second LP Where Animals Play carries that forward with another clutch of nasty yet club-ready tunes which triangulates Dabiri and Maybelline’s broad reach of classic post-industrial and brings it to bear with their own flow and aesthetic.

The album’s titular first full track draws most of General Dynamics’ sonic and thematic interests together and distills them into a noxious cask-strength spirit where the Dionysian slaughter of gods sits side by side with samples from old phone sex line ads and taut, pinched, and wormy bass programming. It’s in that combination of Maybelline’s unmistakable voice and lyrics (this is, after all, a man who can effortlessly flip between quoting “American Psycho” and releasing songs with titles like “Rape Me In The Parthenon”) with Dabiri’s yen for VHS kitsch and sleekly produced modern TBM that General Dynamics finds its strengths. Anyone with an interest in classic dark electro or modern EBM should be able to hop aboard Where Animals Play easily, but spend enough time in the swampy stomp of “Something Unnatural” or with the scraping lope of “Creepin’ In” and you’ll see just how effective the duo are in putting their shared interest in the grimiest of 90s material to good use – one can easily imagine them talking shop about yelworC for hours.

In closing out with “Chasing The Scream”, which keeps the record’s noiser and more pained impulses in check for the sake of a speedy cyber-autobahn cruise of nimble, simple arpeggios and icy pads, the structure (and well-edited run-time) of Where Animals Play reads almost like a winking acknowledgement of the ease with which Maybelline and Dabiri’s instincts gel and fit into current club culture. General Dynamics is a project which couldn’t help but sound exactly as it does, and while it’s as idiosyncratic and specific as the extant work of the artists who made it, it’s also primed to inject some vintage toxic sludge into modern club sets.

Buy it.

Where Animals Play by General Dynamics

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