Poltergeists: Week of June 29, 2016

Michael

i hate sex - “Happy Anniversary”

i hate sex is a band that I found a few days ago on a record label compilation. I have probably gone through their first album, Circle Thinking, over a dozen times and am still completely lost in it. It was really hard to find just one track to write about on this powerful debut. So many of the songs are catchy and aggressive while still maintaining an almost uncomfortable level of honesty. The guitars are wonderfully melodic and contrast in just the right way with the screaming, emotionally charged vocals. If you have a few minutes, even if you are not into the band’s sound, go through the lyrics for every song and let them soak in for a while. “Happy Anniversary” is a great example of this: “If you died I wouldn’t be light, but I wouldn’t be heavy anymore. Happy anniversary” is the tag on the end of the song, repeated a handful of times.

i hate sex is a screamo band from Edmonton, Alberta. You can pick up their most recent album, Circle Thinking, directly from their Bandcamp page.

Technophobia - “Negative Space”

Technophobia has a really great sound. Analogue minimal synth, EBM bass lines, and a great darkwave vocal style, all rolled into one tight package. The first glimpse from their new album, “Negative Space,” is a poppy, brilliant dance track that definitely will spread pretty quickly through the different clubs here in Portland. It hits all of the right areas of both markets in my mind. The vocals are distinct and clean and the synth work is catchy and varies nicely throughout the song. I am excited to hear the Alter Der Ruine remix on this single because I can see their style blending well with the original track. This single is only available - on vinyl (with digital download) - via the Working Order Records website, and all proceeds from the release are being donated to Life Pieces To Masterpieces, which is an art-based charity.

Technophobia is a darkwave/EBM band based in Washington D.C. The Negative Space 12” Single is available via Working Order Records.

Wes

Kindest Cuts - “Cold Eyes”

When I first heard “Cold Eyes”, I kept getting the feeling that I’d heard it before. I listened over and over, started searching the lyrics, wondering if it was a cover. It one hundred percent sounds like your favorite song whose name you just can’t quite recall.

But it wasn’t a cover, it is just my new favorite song. Perky synth bouncing along, held up by a fast moving baseline and excellent drum programming, and a vocal delivery that is rarely matched by modern synthpop bands in my view. The whole song has charisma; you can feel the power of performance and it’s not a stretch to imagine Kindest Cuts putting on a great show based on the character of their recorded performance.

Kindest Cuts is a synthpop and post-punk project from Winnipeg, Canada. Their latest release, Factotum, is available on Bandcamp.

Skuggsjá - “Skuggsjá”

Skuggsjá mixes traditional and folk instrumentation with influences for metal to a really fantastic effect. While this is not uncommon in metal now, the traditional instrumentation serves an additional purpose here; the album this track is from, A Piece for Mind & Mirror, serves to tell the story of Norway’s history through its instruments and languages. The band mixes modern Norwegian, Norse, and even Proto-Norse for the lyrics and spoken word elements.

The music itself is really fantastically executed. The heavy guitars and drumming is paired well with the folk instruments. You never really feel like there’s a disconnect between the styles; they are blended together organically, and provide an emotional depth I think it may have been hard to achieve with just one or the other.

Skuggsjá is Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved and Einar Selvik of Wardruna. Their album, A Piece for Mind & Mirror, is available on Bandcamp.

Poltergeists: Week of June 13, 2016

Michael

Autogen - “NFx2”

Latvian producer Kaspars Kalniņš is no stranger to the noisier side of music; he formerly released under the name Rosewater, which I will inevitably cover here in due time. “NFx2” is an interesting track because it is a collaboration with Erica Synths, a modular synthesizer manufacturer in Latvia. The crazy modular, bitcrushy noise elements that filter through this track work incredibly well. If the noises were by themselves, I couldn’t say that I would love listening to them, but with the syncopated beats and different bass elements, the track really comes together. This is not to say that this song sticks out from the rest of the album though; tracks like “Sub Terra” and “Momentuum” have a lot of really unique sounding noise elements mixed with a strong, driving rhythm section.

Autogen’s newest release, Antigen, is available now on the Audiotrauma Bandcamp page.

Letzte Ausfahrt Leben - “Obsession

Letzte Ausfahrt Leben (German for: Last Exit Life) is a rhythmic noise project that has a distinct atmosphere underlying every track. The faster, more traditionally noise tracks are intense and uncompromising. “Obsession,” however, is my favorite track from the Without Control album because it shows a large amount of restraint in the way that old Manufactura would. The album is brutal. It is unrelentingly crafted rhythmic noise. But this track, slow and somber throughout, is a beautiful step away. While Without Control is only the second album released on Germany’s Raumklang Music, Letzte Ausfahrt Leben has had more than a few independent releases. This album, however, shows a lot of growth in sound and production value. It is a lot cleaner than most of the previous releases in terms of sound quality.

Letzte Ausfahrt Leben is the solo project of Nina Heibling. Without Control is her second full-length album out on Raumklang Music in Germany.

Wes

Vainaja - “Kultti”

Usually when I’m listening to metal, I can’t get into the stuff where vocalists are trying to go as low as the human throat possibly can. For some reason, despite this vocal style, I’m finding Vainaja a lot of fun to listen to. It’s interesting; there’s nothing particularly special about this band. Much of it feels very typical, but it is done so well within its self-set boundaries that I can’t help but rock my head along to the slow, heavy riffs.

One thing I can say sticks out to me with this group, however, is commitment to a theme. Their album is based around the idea that they’re an evil cult from the 19th century Finnish country-side that was supposed to have been burned on a church altar, and that the album is the long lost gospel of the cult’s leader. A commitment to theatrics can be commendable when it adds to the tone of the music, and it certainly does here.

Vainaja is a Finnish doom metal group. Their latest album, Verenvalaja, is available on Bandcamp.

Patterns - “Fireface”

This is the week of music that is just fun to listen to apparently. Fireface is a poppy, disco-inspired track. Synths, guitars, and belted vocals work in unison to create a slow track with a great groove to it despite its slow tempo. I really enjoy how Patterns mixes different types of instrumentation; in one phrase, the bass is big and synthy, in others it is a more restrained bass guitar. Guitars are complemented by electric pianos and pads. I’ve listened to this track so many times, that I have to buy it before I can listen to it again; that’s how much I have been loving the upbeat feel of this track.

Patterns is a indie-pop/nu disco group from Costa Rica. Their latest release, Shout EP, is available from their Bandcamp.

Poltergeists: Week of May 16, 2016

Michael

Perturbator – “Vile World”

French outrun phenom and previously featured guest Perturbator is back with a set of new releases! The full-length album, The Uncanny Valley, is really great and I highly recommend you go check it out. But today I wanted to highlight the bonus-track disk, which is available for “name your own price” directly from Blood Music. The bonus disk really shows off James Kent’s ability to slow it down a bit and still make a solid dance track. I love the bass line in this track; it is simple and fundamental, but when it really kicks in, the track comes together in that special way that makes me bob my head no matter where I am. Kent does a great job of keeping that classic outrun feel but maintains great depth in his melodies.

Perturbator is an outrun project on the Blood Music label, and you can get his new album The Uncanny Valley on Bandcamp or directly from Blood Music in many, many beautiful formats.

In Flames - “Cloud Connected

At the Fear Factory show in Portland a few weeks ago, I likened Soilwork to In Flames and Wes said that he didn’t know/remember what In Flames sounded like, so I decided to dig out my favorite In Flames track and OH BOY am I happy about it being only available via YouTube (official music video). The early 2000s were a great time to make music videos, especially if you made fairly mainstream metal. I had a really hard time deciding between the videos for “Cloud Connected” and “Trigger,” which both came from probably one of the first metal albums that I wore completely out and had to buy another copy of when I was 13 or so: Reroute to Remain. It was fun and catchy metal with some decent melodies. I listened to the whole album again today and still love it. Ultimately I went with “Cloud Connected” because the video is ridiculous and the song has a catchy synth line.

In Flames is a Swedish metal band that started in 1990 but is still releasing albums. They got super popular for a while in the early 2000s, but their newest album is called Siren Charms and it is not as good – but only because I think they are trying too hard to be clean and fit in with metal now.    

Wes

Agalloch - “Into The Painted Grey”

I was late to the Agalloch party, and with their announcement on May 13, I decided I should go back and take a look at the first Agalloch I listened to. Before I had heard Agalloch, I didn’t have a clear idea of black metal; I think I had associated it with acts like Cradle of Filth, and steered clear of it. When I heard the field recordings and melancholy cello, I knew that this was not going to hold with my internalized idea of black metal.

Agalloch helped me come to love the more nature-inspired side of black metal, as well as the technical prowess that many bands in the genre have. I had come in expecting cheese and got an emotional, heavy ride alternating between blast beats with speeding tremolo riffs and slower, thoughtful movements underlined by acoustic elements. Agalloch opened me up to exploring an entire genre, and for that I am grateful.

Agalloch is a massively influential black metal band from the Pacific Northwest. Their latest and maybe last LP, The Serpent and the Sphere,  is available through Bandcamp and Profound Lore Records.

Eight Bells - “Landless”

Over the course of “Landless”, Eight Bells gives us a great array of moods that really demonstrates their technical strength. The track starts with a strong and quick-paced movement, layering in heavy drums, drops us into a mellow vocal section, then tears us straight back out. Rather than feeling like whiplash, the relative mellow of the vocal sections gives a strong emotional context to the roaring movements afterwards. A few minutes into the track, everything breaks down; the song becomes a wash of cymbals and distortion, with some cleaner picking floating through; this wash serves to set up the back half of this almost 13 minute track. The back half holds the mellow tone of the earlier vocal sections before building into a screaming roar of tremolo picking and rapid drumming. The end of the song almost serves as a distorted reflection of the first moments; it ties the two ends together without feeling repetitive.

Eight Bells is a Portland trio that feels like it rides the borders of several metal genres. Their latest album, Landless, is available through Bandcamp or Battleground Records.

Poltergeists: Week of May 2, 2016

Michael

Hovert - “ACKET (The Ascetic)"

I am always on the hunt for black metal that inspires me to write more symphonically dark industrial sounds. Hovert is a great example of the blend of sounds that I look for when seeking inspiration because there are emotional upturns that build until they can’t exist anymore and then break into softer acoustic moments. The calmer aspects of “ACKET (The Ascetic)” are beautifully orchestrated - the instrumentation and the way the violins come in make the song whole to me. It is very clear that the song would still be well written without the violins and synth elements, but when they come in and the drum pattern shifts to a slightly downtempo beat, it makes the song much more impactful.

Hovert is an atmospheric black metal band from Russia. Their latest EP, The Sickle, can be purchased digitally from their Bandcamp page.  

Swarm Intelligence - “Gulf”

This track is crazy minimal. I love how subtly the sounds weave their way through the mix. What starts out as a pretty basic (but bass-heavy) pattern grows so strangely into an only-slightly different version of itself. The drum and bass element in the forefront of the song stays there through the entire song, but way off in the background there are so many different layers - a lot of which are obscure and wonderfully placed field recordings - that pop up and change the atmosphere of the track. There is something primal about it that works for me, like the track is literally breathing in and out with every hit of the bass drum and moving forward.

Swarm Intelligence is a Berlin-based producer who has released on a number of labels but most recently signed to Ad Noiseam to release Rust on LP, CD, and digitally.

Wes

Schwefelgelb - “Balancier Dich”

With the new Schwefelgelb, Wie Die Finger Durch Den Nebel, recently being released, it was probably predictable that I’d be writing about it this week. It’s no secret that these guys have become one of my favorite projects. If in the past, you thought maybe these guys were a little too techno, not enough EBM, this track should help bring you over. In “Balancier Dich”, Schwefelgelb turns up the pressure, with heavy, banging beats overlaid with growling bass lines. Where songs like “Irgendwo Vereint” on Dunkel Vor Den Augen Uns felt like heavy, angry techno, “Balancier Dich” shows how much Schwefelgelb has moved towards EBM over the past three years. There’s definitely some techno feel to the track though; it has a kind of a groove to the way the kick mixes with some plucky little bits of percussion that feels a little more techno, giving it a distinctive feel that I don’t get from a lot of other artists.

Schwefelgelb is a Berlin-based duo whose most recent release, Wie Die Finger Durch Den Nebel, is available on their Bandcamp and is the first release from Fleisch Records.

Phase Fatale - “Rot”

If you’re thinking “But I really liked the angry techno!” after reading that last review, then I have got a track for you! “Rot” starts us out, slow and brooding; the bass line pops along heavy and intentional. The kick is deep, and little bits of percussion echo around the edges. Soon, though, the techno influence of the track really kicks in - the bassline opens up, hi-hats start hitting on the offbeats, emphasized by the occasional open hats and claps. The track keeps a consistent tone throughout; the bass never really leaves us, and the kick stays roughly the same. However, evolving percussive elements - a faster high hat, a nice tom line - provide enough evolution that the track never gets boring to listen to.

Phase Fatale is the Germany-based project of Hayden Payne. His works have been released through aufnahme + wiedergabe and Avant! Records.

Poltergeists: Week of April 18, 2016

Michael

Sonic Area - “it’s about time”

Sonic Area - the solo project of Arco Trauma (Chrysalide) - has always been something that I go to when I want to hear something that is well off the beaten path. Arco has a way of constructing original music that is completely unique. The new album, Eyes in the Sky, put me immediately into a trance. From the opening track (which I highly suggest listening to early in the morning while driving into work) through the more chaotically-tuned tracks like “it’s about time,” to the well named closing track “spacewalk incident,” the album took me to a place like very few albums do. Coupled with the music video for “pale blue dot,” Eyes in the Sky is a great space odyssey of classic 80s synths and crazy atmospheres.  

Shizune - “Notes of Decay”

This one is for all of the Aviator fans out there. Shizune is a great emotional hardcore band from Italy that really scratches that Aviator itch for me. The lyrics and the instrumentation are very similar. They manage to capture a kind of frantic aggression with the structure of each song. Something cool about the Le Voyageur Imprudent is that there are at least three different languages on the record and even though I don’t understand all of them, I can feel that the songs are very emotionally driven.

Fun fact: Le Voyageur Imprudent was a novel by French writer René Barjavel about time travel. That kind of puts a different spin on the album for me, which is kind of cool.

Wes

Youth Code - “Doghead”

Listening to Commitment to Complications, I had an incredibly hard time deciding what I’d like to write about; from the d-beat of “Transitions” to the heavy “Glass Spitter”, every track on the album is worth writing about. Eventually, though, I really was drawn to “Doghead”. I love the funky feel of the track. During the verses, the way the bass pops along, accented by the bum chsh, bum-bum bum chsh of the drums, created a flow that was really easy to fall into. When the chorus hits, that flow morphs smoothly, breaking into a new emotional space without feeling disjointed.

Also, just gotta say, that little funky synth hit near the front of the verses is wonderful. It’s probably better that it’s used as sparingly as it is, but I can’t get enough of it.

Soft Riot - “Attrition's One Horse Rider (Soft Riot's Sunday Driver Version)”

I wasn’t familiar with the original version of the Attrition’s “One Horse Rider” when I found this track; I checked it out for some context after falling in love with this track. I gotta say, as good as I found the original to be, this track treats it in a really interesting way. While the original is dark and brooding, the instrumentation of this track brightens the tone of the track significantly. The punchy drums kick along nicely; it’s easy to imagine dancing to it. The little plucky synth mixed with the kind of morphing saw bass hits consistently through the song, but with the little additions of kind of electric piano sounding chords and choir and vocal samples popping in and out, it never really feels like it drags. This song is continually fun to listen to, front to back.

Poltergeists: Week of April 4, 2016

Michael

Shape of Despair - “Descending Inner Night”

When we were loading into Highline Bar in Seattle last Thursday, there was a really epic-sounding doom metal song being played over the sound system, and Wes and I immediately started banging our heads. The staff there was awesome and very excited to tell us the band was Shape of Despair. I am up and down on doom metal, but this band really takes the things that I love about symphonic black metal and makes it work. Overall, it is a pretty slow and doomy run through each track, but there are constantly escalating moments that I find particularly to my liking. A lot of synthesizers and epic choirs are mixed into the brooding guitars and steady drums. The clean vocals in “Descending Inner Night” just add to the fire that is already started in the long and drawn-out intro.

SØLVE - “what remains”

If you haven’t heard already, Brant Showers (of ∆AIMON and the European Tour edition of Bestial Mouths) is an amazing sound designer. SØLVE is his solo project and I can really feel the raw power that he put into these tracks. There are a lot of elements that are similar to ∆AIMON but taken to their most extreme level and thrown through a crisp overdrive. The first little EP that came out for this project was mostly atmospheric and, while I believe that this full album (out on Audiotrauma in just a few weeks) has some of those elements, it was a different mindset – more of a developing model. To me, the negative feels tight and emotional. There are subtle shifts in the background of “what remains” that are so crisp and well-tuned that they almost go unnoticed. Those background sounds, though, are what makes Solve stand out from other rhythmic noise/Ant-Zen/Hymen projects.

Wes

Spectres - “Strange Weather”

I really love the punk feel to this track. It moves along at a great pace, and while it has a definite post-punk vibe in the guitar tone and the vocal delivery, there’s something about it that just feels like it’s pulling from the punk roots a little more than your average post-punk track. That punk feel might be the crunchier feel to the rhythm guitar; it really has that drive that you might hear from a late 80s, early 90s era punk track. Don’t get me wrong though, the punk feel isn’t the only great part of this track; the vocal delivery, drenched in reverb, helps the drive of the track and the lead guitar is wonderful - it tears along, demanding your attention.

Gazelle Twin - “Blood Gushes I”

I am a huge fan of Gazelle Twin. This particular track is a great example of what makes her such a great artist. The track slowly builds from a bass line, pulsing like a heartbeat. There is discomfort - an unnerving soundscapes starts to build beneath the pulsing beat. Breaths. As words take form, the track beings to change faster; the beat picks up, the heartbeat fading behind the percussion. While the track was made to accompany an animation, the construction of the track builds a feeling and a mental image that rivals the Lynchian visuals of the film.