Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


For a four track electronic music EP, there's a lot here. Opening with 'Burning Fields' by Aphonia, the uninitiated might expect the whole package to nod to that classic electro sound, highly detailed but lo-fi, packed with dark atmosphere but all about dance floor energy. Skip to track two, though, and Angles of Pompeii present mutant indie-punk-dance in the vein of Detroit Grand Pubahs at their most guitar-y, and minimalistic.

Elsewhere, 'Retreat' is a slow mo maximalist triumph, acid lines flailing over the top of a muffled cacophony of noise that places the emphasis on a lunging, head-nodding bassline. Add 'Athma', Odopt's sinister low end and drum machine tune up that could almost be an accidental piece from the movie They Live and you've got not only a complex release, but one boasting replay value set to last for years after the investment.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


It's hard to straddle euphoric and dystopic, but Chilean producer Manuel Ortuzar aka Aural Trace has just about done it. The borders between new wave, electroclash and post-punk are all but shattered on their new EP 'Midnight Thoughts', wherein the artist finds it no great feat to inspire a sense of both tension and wonderment in the listener, through combinations of chuffy clap-whacks, quadruplet bass patterns, and an overall neon-drenched synthy style reminiscent of what might happen if William Friedkin directed a cyberpunk film.