Browsing Tag

EBM

Skimo followed the muse of dystopia into their most scintillating release to date, Let It Fly, ft Ash

Skimo’s seminal single, Let It Fly, featuring the hauntingly introspective vocals of Ash, is a mesmerising journey into the depths of EBM. Taken from the LP, Connected Memory, the single begins with a cascade of shimmering reverb, wrapping around the striking non-lexical vocals of Ash. This introduction draws listeners into a world where darkness and mechanical synthetics mercilessly construct a platform around the raw vulnerability within Ash’s vocals.

The electronic beats, meticulously crafted, ensure a deep immersion into Skimo’s artistic vision allowing Let It Fly to unravel as a narrative painted in sound; a vignette which portrays the relentlessness of our evolving for the worse climate. The track resonates with a sense of harbingering urgency, which filters from the progressions into a trepidation shared with the listener. The result is a piece that not only captivates but also invites them to delve deeper into the themes Skimo explores. For any electronica fans who want their eyes wide open to the world, to lock horns with the chaos, the Connected Memory LP is as essential as they come.

Stream the Connected Memory LP in full on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fleisch – FIREFLY: Meet the New Icons of Industrial

Fleisch have dropped their latest viscerally augmented industrial earworm, FIREFLY, allowing the darkwave electronica genre to evolve around the pulsating euphoria that spills from the fierce interplay of influence from Rammstein and Depeche Mode.

With synth carved hooks that will latch onto your consciousness for days between the harsh ensnaring industrial metal rancour that riles your rhythmic pulses, FIREFLY pays ode to the three-piece’s inspiration while refusing to let it define their anthemic sound, which keeps the techno tempo upbeat and the tones dark to deliver the ultimate industrial floor-filler.

If Zeromancer, Combichrist, and Powerman 5000 feature heavily on your playlists, you’ll easily find space for Fleisch and their authentic take on the genre.

FIREFLY buzzed onto the airwaves on December 1st; stream it on Spotify.

Follow Fleisch on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

FanFixion took synth wave into dark unchartered waters with ‘Jackets Domain’

The US-based artist and producer FanFixion surpassed the synth wave trend with his 3-track project, Bleach Bitten, featuring the ensnaringly glitchy standout single, Jackets Domain.

As the emotions run high, the synth lines soak the darkwave score with atmospheric electricity which bridges the gap between new wave synthpop artists such as The Midnight and EBM icons including VNV Nation and Covenant.

With the inventive use of distortion to the hooky vocal melodies to amplify the intrinsic sense of disquietness and rock nuances bleeding into the hit that will leave your heart in your throat as soon as the chorus hits, it is safe to say that FanFixion has been triumphant in his mission to push synth wave into dark unchartered waters.

FanFixion released his 3-track single, Bleach Bitten, on August 11th; stream it in full via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a trip with GeoMike122’s synthwaves in ‘Mode’

Ride the synthwaves in GeoMike122’s latest single, Mode, right through the 80s nostalgia and into the electrifying escapism the alt-electro single provides. The trippy tendencies of the pulsating basslines are only amplified by the official music video, which distorts reality as much as the oscillating trance-y EBM beats and synths that put a myriad of EDM genres under heel to knock you off an even keel.

When GeoMike122 isn’t orchestrating alchemy in his studio and allowing his audience, affectionally dubbed ‘the travellers’, to sonically arrive at new destinations, he’s sating his desire for wanderlust or enriching minds by the more conventional means of being a teacher. Mode is a scintillating convergence of his adventurous tendencies; grab your passport and sink into the cinematic sci-fi-esque tones.

Check out the official music video for Mode, which premiered on May 15, via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Last Clouds epitaphed society in their debut LP, Illuminism

The Last Clouds

After a string of emotionally wrenching singles, The Last Clouds’ first album, Illuminism, has finally arrived. Bringing with it proclamative liberation from the idea that alienation makes you an outlier in 2023.

Short of being prescribed a trip to the seaside with a bottle of laudanum. I couldn’t think of a better way to find sanctity as our era is epitomised by the descent of truth, meaning, refuge, and connection.

With poetically forlorn lyrics that push the chill of modernity through light and dark malleable elements to reflect our increasingly arduous associations with our disunited society, the LP kicks off to a phenomenal start with track 1, Becoming.

Track 2, Origin, is instrumentally reminiscent of the latest LP offering from Editors. While Matt Schott endeavours with his harbingering vocal lines that effortlessly gel with the turbulently distorted bass around the scintillatingly futuristic synths.

Track 3, Empty Room, starts with a cinematically cavernous ambience to set a tone of Lynchian isolation before the interstellar lyricism drifts across the detachment-reflective instrumentals that are pushed far enough back in the mix to conceptualise the titular allusion.

Track 4, Earth’s Light, starts with an arcane neo-classic electronica score before bursting into a fervid outpour of future pop; the ardent backbeat rails through the reverb as the vocals and lyrics run through in a similar visceral vain to Nova by VNV Nation.

In the same way War of the Worlds is an apocalyptic narration of the end of the world, track 5, Turnpike, chronicles the uncertainty that perturbs even the most resilient minds as we anticipate the future after the everyday disasters we have numbed ourselves to through over-exposure.

Track 6, Another Way to Fall, is a ruminative masterpiece. Rich with romanticism and abjection in equal measure. Definitively proving that few things are true in this world without bitter-sweet duality.

The previously released single, Damage, is by far one of the most poetic accounts of the repercussions of living in a post-truth era I will probably ever hear. The Covenant-ESQUE synths give way to an exposition of how far the mainstream media is willing to let us sink under divisive propaganda.

The concluding single, Fog of Lies, is another sonically disassociated depiction of where we collectively lie in a society that is as glitchy as the artfully jarring orchestration. It’s the perfect continuation from Damage, which will undoubtedly be the most poignant aural memento of how we came to disaffectedly be.

Considering that protests are now effectively banned, this is as close was we are going to get to objection. The fear-encompassing LP is a boldly vulnerable dissent against the forces that are working together in perfect design to welcome us to our worse than Orwellian future. For your own sake, get your resonance fill from it.

Illuminism will officially release on January 20th. Hear it on all major platforms via this link.

Follow The Last Clouds on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Take a nostalgic ride with Autoleisureland’s brooding ode to 80s electro-pop, Infiniti Drive

With scratchy Covenant-Esque synths and atmospheric beats that build a portal of 80s nostalgia, Autoleisureland’s seminal electro-pop single, Infiniti Drive, is a ride you will want to take time and time again. While the crooned vocals bring the stylistic indie soul, the brooding groove-deep beats take the steering wheel with your rhythmic pulses.

Autoleisureland may be new on the retro-modern synth-pop scene, but the Sunderland, UK-based founding members Paul Woods and David Brewis earned their electro stripes in the critically-acclaimed indie-soul band, The Kane Gang before launching the title single from their upcoming debut album, which is due for release on November 25th.

Infiniti Drive was officially released on October 14th. Check it out for yourselves on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Classic pop meets dark EBM in Shards’ latest single, I Know You Feel the Same

The up-and-coming solo alt-pop artist, Shards, became the voice of melancholic reason in his latest spacey electro-pop track, I Know You Feel the Same, which contrasts dark EBM-style beats with classic pop harmonies as it cries out for mutuality.

The line “I’m so in love I don’t want to be alone” is a poignant testament to his inhibited approach to lyricism, an approach that will undoubtedly see him go far with his romantically scorned fans.

While there is some room for improvement on the mastering of the single and the synergy between the vocal melodies and the beats could be improved, I Know You Feel the Same is still a hard hitter of a single that is powerful enough to test your soul’s capacity to feel.

I Know You Feel the Same is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

AKMV-18 shows us what it sounds like when nature turns mechanical in his latest release, Chevalerie

‘Chevalerie’ is the latest dark and caustic electronic track that acts as a blackened sign of our times from the up and coming US artist and producer, AKMV-18. With visceral reminiscences to Celldweller, the pulsating beats thrash through the cavernous soundscape that embraces the darkest facets of our dystopic age.

The mechanical rhythms pierce through the comfortingly cold and hollow atmosphere of the track that bleeds an all too relatable melancholy while taking control of your rhythmic pulses through the psytrance nuances. Even the most pretentious cybergoth snobs would have a hard time picking holes in this entrancing hit which was just one of the seminal singles to feature on their latest EP.

Chevalerie is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lauren Nikohl brings the ‘Energy’ with her latest synth-pop hit

Indie pop singer-songwriter Lauren Nikohl has released her most commanding synth-pop single to date with ‘Energy‘, which carries the soul of disco and the cold cutting atmosphere of darkwave electronica. It’s an alchemic fusion of creatively contrasting tones, textures and emotions that brings exactly what it says on the tin.

The LA & Minneapolis-based artist has made waves with her introspectively deep lyrics and robust vocal timbre that will be a hit with any progressive pop fan. With a debut album in the works, there has never been a better time to find a spot on your radar for Lauren Nikohl, who has exactly what it takes to reach the same heights as Empathy Test, Mesh, and VNV Nation.

Energy officially released on September 24th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lux Kiddo has released his harsh electronic hit, Robot Curmudgeon 

With percussive inspiration from the likes of Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, Lux Kiddo’s latest harsh electronica mix, Robot Curmudgeon, flows with an ensnaring tempo and an even more magnetic pull through the progressive influence of Infected Mushroom.

The Brooklyn-born, Phoenix-based experimental artist has worked as a sound tech and musician since the relocation from his home town; in 2020, he dropped his debut album Cityscapes. Now that dancefloors are back open, we’re sure they will be eager to hear more of his uniquely explorative style that uses familiar industrial/EBM elements with refreshing melodic flair.

Robot Curmudgeon was released on August 5th; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast