- New Today – ‘Butterflies’
I choose for this week’s mixtape this brand new project/band. New Today are a collaboration between Two One Six and Casuistry, both from USA and involved in post-punk with a clear mood in experimenting. New Today released their art on 28th October, informing that an EP is coming soon, so here we listen to ‘Butterflies‘, an amazing song blended with shoegazing craft, post-punk ingredients on a dancing floor. Y’know…Loud!
Mike Dimitriou
- Aztec Death – ‘Into This Grave‘
The ‘Aztec Death Whistle’ is a creepy skull-shaped instrument probably used by the Aztecs in battles as a psychological warfare to intimidate the enemies or in sacrificial ceremonies to honour the God of wind, Ehecatl.
Its horrifying sound is said to be like ‘humans howling in pain’ or the ‘scream of a thousand corpses’.
Maybe this was the creepy image they wished to conjure up when the North Texas’ deathrock/post punk anarcho power trio were choosing their name.
After a more than promising 3-track demo, where the band already gave an indication of its fresh and personal approach to a genre often too dull and predictable, here’s their debut full length ‘Machine‘ that confirms all their enormous talent and imposes Aztec Death as one of the leaders of the pack.
Their anti-government lyrics follow the 80’s Anarchist heritage of legendary groups like Crass and The Mob and, amidtst the sad spectacle of so-called ‘alternative punk’ bands endorsing the champion of a corrupt and warmonger establishment, are a truly breath of fresh air.
‘Into This Grave’ is a compelling clear example of the band’s essential, mature, crackling dark post punk sound: steady driving drums and bass rhythm, beautifully evocative reverb-drenched guitar and emotional deep baritonal voice (Christopher’s ‘the anarchist speaker’) in the foreground…think a batcave version of The Cure with a Slowdive feel just to have a clue.
The band’s infamous death whistle sound is a double-edged sword: highly bewitching and addictive for the listeners but terribly dangerous to the power.
Fabrizio Lusso
- Sabled Sun – ‘A World Emptied’
Sabled Sun is the side-project of Simon Heath best known for Atrium Carceri. However, Sabled Sun has become just as cherished among fans of dark ambient. Sabled Sun ‘2145‘ began the story of a protagonist who awoke from cryo-hibernation in the year 2145 to a world abandoned by all humanity and inhabited only by robots and “the night-walkers”. The 21XX Series takes us through this man’s journey, as he seeks answers. ‘2148‘, the latest installment, gives the listener just as much cinematic sound as the previous albums, while continuing to delight and intrigue. The whole series is very highly recommended but this one in particular is a true masterpiece.
Michael Barnett
- Bing & Ruth – ‘Starwood Choker‘
The legendary 4AD label won’t ever be at the same invaluable quality level of the 80’s, but from time to time it never fails to pull a rabbit out of its hat.
The recent signing of the Brooklyn-based collective Bing & Ruth is a clear example of this. Led by the avant-garde pianist and composer David Moore, the five-piece minimalist ensemble is contributing, along with artists as Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick, A Winged Victory For The Sullen and Ólafur Arnalds, to push the boundaries of the ‘neo-classical’ , ‘modern classical’, ‘indie classical’ music or whatever you wanna call it.
‘Starwood Choker’, taken by the forthcoming third LP ‘No Home Of The Mind’, is a sublime slow-flowing melodic piano-led composition, echoing back to mind the minimalism of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, introduced by the the wind whistling, it takes the listener to a meditative, magical and mysterious journey into the dusk and dawn, the darkness and light, the natural and the transcendental, the body and mind, perfectly captured by the contemplative and eerie visuals from French director Sébastien Cros.
Fabrizio Lusso
- Junky Palms – ‘Death’
Junky Palms is a Scottish, electronic project from Aberdeen. ‘Death‘ is taken from their latest album ‘Anxiety‘, and is a mixture of cinematic dubstep and garage, difficult to resist. What else? No info on the web about these chaps. Although, I have a feeling, we shall listen about them, sometime really soon….
Christos Doukakis
Compiled by Mike Dimitriou, Fabrizio Lusso, Michael Barnett & Christos Doukakis