There’s nothing like a caustic cut of blackened industrial alt-rock to catharize the mind from the dystopic night terror that is modernity; that’s exactly what the Brighton-based trio, Warning Signal, delivered in their debut single, Nightmare.
The infectiously antagonist energy in the hooky indie vocals from Eva Sheldrake, which declare there’s no waking up now, paired with the gnarled guitars and harbingering percussion is by far one of the most exciting new additions on the airwaves this year.
If you could imagine what it would have sounded like if Powerman 5000 had a softer indie-pop edge, you’ll be able to get an idea of the explosive yet intimate alchemy in Nightmare. Naturally, we can’t wait to hear what follows. It is going to be incredibly sweet to watch the world wake up to Nightmare and the hits that will undoubtedly follow.
NUMB! is the latest scuzzy industrial pop track from the caustically indulgent alternative artist, Peach Giraffe; it is a no-wave league ahead of the current garage punk trend and easily one of the most authentic alt-rock hits to have hit the airwaves so far in 2022
If any track has what it takes to unite fans of Fidlar, $uicideboy$, and Skinny Puppy, it is the angst-rife earworm, NUMB! The tumultuous triumph of a single succeeds in lyrically and sonically depicting the frenetic and fraught emotions that broil to the surface when a relationship delipidates. The clever touches to the production and the vocal FX stand as a testament to Peach Giraffe’s ingenuity. They have exactly what it takes to go viral. Watch this space.
‘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.
Taken off his highly-ambitious and awe-inspiring 26-track album called ‘Is There Anybody Out There?‘, Alex Wilson is quite outstanding on his brand new single about trying to find that special woman to be romantic with on ‘Young Lust‘.
Alex Wilson is an Austin, Texas-based industrial funk/rock bassist, songwriter, and music producer who makes that raw type of music creation that has you listening twice.
”Alex (Wilky) Wilson brings a variety of influences from Peter Gabriel to Pink Floyd to Daft Punk to Metallica to Prince.” ~ Alex Wilson
Alex Wilson unquestionably has an impressively trimmed beard. He shapes through this track like an old pro too as no shaving cream is required, with a rugged display of guitar playing that will have you buying this man a drink from the bar.
‘Young Lust‘ from the Austin, Texas-based industrial funk/rock bassist, songwriter, and music producer Alex Wilson, shows us his music love potion that is rather enticing on the ears and has you wondering if that girl came around last night. His bass-bending skills are rather superhero-like – and there is much to admire – about an artist who just lets it rip and leaves it all on the line. This is that old school feel that the world needs more of in its overly-sensitive veins.
Hear this fresh new single on Bandcamp and see more news on the IG music channel.
Any fans of Bob Vylan and Saul Williams will want to cut their teeth on Pan!c Pete’s electro-industrial hip hop sonic palette through his latest instrumental mix, Metallic Taste.
With gothy darkwave synth-carved melodies bringing bright polyphonic texture to the harsh and caustic bass lines and solid rattle of glitchy beats, Metallic Taste is an energetically dystopic track like no other. You’re left hooked right the way through the indulgently caustic single; it’s impossible not to be left absorbed by the discord in the fiery release.
We can’t wait to hear what Pan!c Pete serves up from the deep end of the south next.
Metallic Taste is now available to stream on Spotify.
Romy’s latest single, Penance, is enough to make Peaches sound tame. Against the industrial Nine Inch Nails-inspired beats, her sultry, fierce vocals spill enough magnetism to rival Shirley Manson while she roars through the lyrics that lament the dankness of society while making the unignorable request for the world to be gentle amidst the chaos.
The Australian LA-based artist and producer has exactly what it takes to dominate the mainstream and the grimy underground of alt-electronica. Any fans of Skinny Puppy, Grendel and Faderhead will be won over by the caustic beats. When it comes to the hooky pop elements, no one will be immune to their draw.
After a bass-dripping slam of an intro, KURO’s latest single, Lividity, asserts its volatility early in the mix before unravelling around poppy industrial hooks and serpentine antipathic vocals. If you’ve been mourning the downfall of Jimmy Urine recently, you’ll find just as much salacious charisma here.
It has been a while since I’ve had my finger on the pulse in the industrial scene, it took the incandescent talent of KURO to draw me back in with their monolithically fierce guitars and the earworm potential in the magnetically antagonistic vocals. Not only is it an instant hit at surface level, but Lividity also serves a deeper purpose. In their own words. here is how Lividity transpired:
“I wrote Lividity in an attempt to capture the discomfort, rage, and volatility felt by ethnic minorities during the tumultuous events of the BLM riots sparked in the wake of 2020’s events as well as the StopAsianHate movement- which was exacerbated by the racial division sadly spurred on by pandemic.
These traumatic happenings seemed to create a black hole of negativity and distrust in society that enabled many in positions of power to engage in horrific behaviour with little consequence at the expense of the vulnerable. The video highlights this. I and we, as a band, wanted to highlight this, raise awareness for it, and hopefully push to make a positive change that could contribute to the ending of these problems. However, to really do so, we all need to come together, and time will tell with that.”
Industrial music and gripping lyricism don’t often go hand in hand; instead of offering a series of thoughtless reprises with the aid of a rhyming dictionary, KURO digs deep into the macabre to exhibit the veracity of contempt behind this instantly infectious harsh electro-rock hit. Frankly, we’re obsessed.
Lividity is the first single to be released from their upcoming EP, Death by Aesthetic, due for release in October 2021. KURO are also set to join the industrial icon, Grendel, on tour. Tickets are available for purchase via Bandcamp.
After a successful debut with their single, Probe, the electronic space rock outfit Alien Al and the Juperoids, fronted by actor and singer Alyx Nazir, have released their ground-breaking self-titled debut album.
The perfect introduction to their conceptual, expressionist style is the pop track, Alice, which starts with the same arresting atmosphere of existential sci-fi films that welcome you into cold dystopic futures. Through the eerie progressions, the single picks up some more archetypal pop tendencies along the way before a frenetic rock outro. In the strangest and most beautiful way, Alien Al and the Juperoids prove the value and warmth of music in our embittered world through Alice.
The debut album from Alien Al is now available to stream on Spotify.
Under the influence of Robert Smith, Butch Vig, Jimmy Page, Trent Reznor and Brian Eno, the Toronto-based alt-electronica artist and musician R1OT released his debut EP, DIGITAL R1OT, in 2015 to introduce his glitchy industrial big beats to the airwaves. Any fans of Skinny Puppy will want to delve right into the entrancingly melodic standout single, Intermission.
Intermission hits midway through the EP to indulge you in a histrionically progressive rave track that keeps your rhythmic pulses captivated throughout the entire 5-minute duration. The preceding and subsequent tracks are slightly more caustic, but if you find yourself inclined to seek out the filthiest electronic basslines, you won’t be disappointed.
Intermission is now available to stream and download on Bandcamp.
The Deaf Institute became a welcome sanctum away from the culture-blind chaos that spilt from most venues on bank holiday Saturday in Manchester with the sublimely curated line-up featuring The Last Clouds, Woman You Stole and Mercury Machine.
The Last Clouds kicked off proceedings with their confessional lyrics, imploring vocals and dark indie electronica stylings that will be familiar with any fans of Covenant, VNV Nation and Apoptygma Berzerk. If any artist can prove there is an intrinsic beauty in vulnerability, it is the Last Clouds. Their recently released single, How to Get Up From This, was all it took to allow my curiosity to transpire into fanatic adoration. The theatrical atmosphere of the single wouldn’t be out of place on the end credits of an apocalyptic blockbuster. Yet, it was the heart-wrenching lyrics, “I tried to speak but it is hard because nobody cares/ I’ll tear the books from my shelf just to lie in the words of somebody else”, that cemented a place on my radar for the criminally underrated act.
If anything can spice up a line-up, it is the je ne sais quoi of Woman You Stole. They set themselves apart by an avant-garde mile with their lively debonair set that easily commanded the crowd into feeling what was orchestrating between them – even if it was fascinatingly unpredictable from one progression to the next.
Their capriciously experimental style is arresting on record, seeing it first-hand is something else entirely. Describing Woman You Stole as entrancing may sound hyperbolic but their sophisticated originality that emanates from their authenticity and mind-blowing talent, rather than through diehard determination to find obscurity, is something everyone should make an effort to witness at least once.
It almost seems needless to rave about Mercury Machine; the band that falls outside of the Manchester post-punk assimilative trap and find themselves in far darker territory, one that made me pretty nostalgic about the soundtrack to Cradle of Fear. The Manchester-based dark indie electronica five piece’s set instantly made it obvious why most of the room were sporting their t-shirts and why why so much hype has amassed around them since the release of their critically-acclaimed debut album in 2019.
Their lyrics are too efficacious in allowing you to explore the fucked up avenues of the human psyche while the pace of frenetic rhythms allow you to find euphoria through defiantly dancing to depictions of our mental precariousness. I couldn’t have asked for a better hit of post-lockdown catharsis.
Bands should always be judged by how much they move you emotionally and how much they can make you move; as Mercury Machine got the first post-lockdown dance from me, I can’t give them much higher praise than that.
Their inhibition-stripping histrionic sound still finds space, occasionally, for Marr-style guitars that add even more energy to their caustic industrial sound could fill stadiums. If goths felt more inclined to leave their bedrooms, that is.
