Dalek : "Brilliance of a Falling Moon"

This is the 10th album from the New Jersey-based hip-hoppers. Once again, they bring old school rap stylings that are in your face into collision with a haze of electronic atmosphere that almsot has more in common with trip-hop than what you typically think of hip-hop being. One thing I have always appreciated about this project is how dark and depressing what they do is. It offers a different perspective on the bleak urban landscape hip-hop is born in, with none of the ghetto fabulous excess. Surreal in its soni but more real in the overall picture it paints. 

The first song that finds a mix closer to conventional hip-hop is" Expressions of Love". That seems to be more focused on the fact that" the only answer/ is to rip out the cancer." There is a similar vibe carried over into "Substance," which is more about drug use. Whenever I hear surreal music, I normally assume they are pro-drugs, but I guess here it is contingent on what drugs are and how they affect society, when it is fair enough for me. There is a double meaning in how substance also refers to how they are rapping, so it flips onto a double meaning from the opening verses. 

"I AM A MAN' is the first song that feels like filler to me, and really the only song on this album that falls along these lines, though things are a little less straightforward for "For the People"; it does finds things finds a formulaic, droning pulse. The last song is "By the Time I get to El Salvador." Which lyrically is the most political, but it still works as it is the catchiest song as well, perhaps even the album's best track. I will give this album a 9.5; it works off of what made hip-hop great in the 90s but with more sonic depth and lyrical integrity. 

The Melvins with Napalm Death : "Savage Imperial Death March"

 

This collaboration between the two bands finds these elder statesmen of Grind Core and Sludge blending what they do in a way that makes sense. The first song, "Tossing Coins into the Fountain of Fuck", sounds like the Melvins are in control of the instrumental arrangements and have Barney Greenway roaring over them. Some impressive riffing kicks off the nine-minute "Somekind of Antichrist." Buzz Osborne's vocals lead into this, with a call-and-response featuring Greenway's more savage snarl. Three and a half minutes, things ebb down to allow for atmosphere.  This ambient weirdness consumes the rest of the song. 

More electronic elements than you might expect from this pairing comprise the two minutes of "Awful Handwriting," which is more like an interlude than a song. The dark and stormy metal intentions that you might expect from them are the backbone of "Nine Days of Rain". The sludgey mood of "Rip the God" finds Osbourne's sung vocals dripping with melodic unease. It is hard to detect Napalm Death's contributions on this one until Barney's vocals come in later. 

The pace picks for "Stealing Horses" which finds them splitting the difference with a more punk flavored riff that still holds the Melvins angular ugliness. There is a fair amount of chaos injected into this. "Comparison is the Thief of Joy" finds a weird synth groove in the midst of a dreamy atmosphere. They rear the metallic head back up with a mean riff driving "Death Hour" that finds Buzz and Barney, layering their varied vocal approaches over this. Once again, the weird wave of experimental ambient noises takes over to wash the song away from going in a more metallic direction. This seems to be the theme of this partnership which is almost too odd for its own good, but works like old Pink Floyd in this regard. I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. Out on Ipecac Records April 10th. 

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SLAYYYTER : "WORST GIRL IN AMERICA"

 NO, I did not misspell Slayer. This pop artist has been grinding her hips online for a minute now. This is her 3rd album. If any of these songs sound familiar. It's because over the past year, Catherine Grace Garner has been dropping these bangers like breadcrumbs for you to follow her to this moment. "BEAT UP CHANEL$" is the most notable calling card that embodies her vibe the best. She celebrates all the drugs and swags with confidence and embraces the trashiness of it all. 

"CANNIBALISM" is more of an organic apporach in poppy funk. She does not possess the most stunning set of pipes; I would say she is more on par with Charli XCX in this regard, but with a chaos grounded in trailer park fab. She does throw her voice into the mic more aggressively than the average pop singer, though is not marketing herself to a rock audience like Poppy. There is a very 2026 groove to "Old Technology," which embraces drug use in a manner not commonly heard outside of hip hop. "CRANK" is another high-energy declaration of her manic coping skills set against a dirty backdrop of beats that divert from a safe, radio-friendly approach. 

'GAS STATION' finds her backing off into a more ambient synth drone, and the beat lingers on for dynamic effect. I think her in-your-face approach works best, but you need these moments to create dynamic variance. I think "Yes Goddd" achieves this in a manner that retains her edge better, though, willing to go to more intense extremes. It highlights how her approach is half-rapped, half-sung, without trying to be anyone but herself. You could even mix this into an industrial set. 

"UNKNOWN LOVERZ" is another one where she lowers the intensity level. Not sure how much of this is influenced by a producer trying to steer her in a Sabrina Carpenter direction. There is a better club thump to "I'm Actually Kinda Famous".  "St. Loser" is another gritty hyper pop thumper. She takes a more radio-ready approach on "What it is Like to be Liked?", on this song and previous one there is an album Lords of Acid feel. "Brittany Murphy" is almost a commentary on her lifestyle in a more self-aware manner. Though sonically falling into a more accessible pop lens, aside from the lyrics. Overall, I think this is a great pop album. I will give it a 9.5 and see how it grows on me; some of the more mellowed-out moments might need time to click with me. 

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PIG : "Hurt People Hurt People"

 Raymond Watts is not only a founding member of KMFDM, but has also worked with Psychic TV, Foetus, and Einstürzende Neubauten, making him industrial royalty. This is clear when you hear the heart-thumping lead single"Tosca's Kiss Things" that steers the album in a direction that is brooding and bombastic all at once. Jim Davies of Prodigy and Pitchshifter fame aids him in these endeavors. The vocals are not an afterthought but an emotional expression that adds more depth to the crunching, larger-than-life anthems that unfold here. The range from a gothy baritone croak to a more glam rock-inflected croon. 

With the kind of beats that established him in KMFDM, clearing the path on songs like "Sex  & Suicide." The album continues to flex its dynamic range. The title track is a recovery-themed musing that ironically carries a Marilyn Manson vibe.  "Scars" emerges from a chaotic dark hole and is not as groove-focused, but carries a quirky Tim Burton feel. There is more of a grimy machine-powered march, "Quid Pro Quo," that makes me think more of a 90s industrial. The synth sounds are well-layered on this one, though the entire album sounds great, and I found the perfect mix. 

There is an almost gospel melody that hovers in the background of "Ruins", as well as other contrasting sounds that come from left field. With lyrical references to a church of fire, I suppose it's the subtext to this."DNA" hits the hardest groove, and it the most dancefloor appropriate song thus far. The big layers of backing vocals on the chorus carry a KMFDM mood. "Imposter" required a second listen to fully digest; it was not as dynamic as the last song. It carries a creepier, more bluntly unsettling feel like a Manson tune. The last song contrasts this with a greater melodic range. 

The Verdict

Overall his experience in defining this genre shows him displaying his mastery of this while bringing a new mood to the table rather than a recycled attempt at nostalgia, so I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me. 

Drops May 27th on Metropolis Reccords

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Years of Shame :"Primary"

This French post-punker Years of Shame lean closer to the more depressive moments of coldwave in the bleak opener to this album. The vocals are coated in effects, but this helps add another sonic layer that helps sell it as the droning throb aptivates my ears. "Heat" finds the beat shifting to a more anxiety-ridden tremble. The vocals are more forward in the mix and fall back on the chorus, which is an odd choice. The expressive manner in which they are delivered compensates for this. What is becoming clear is something common with this sort of thing, when it comes to the arrangements working off a simple throb as they follow the programmed drums, which leaves little surprise when it comes to dynamics. 

The vocals are generally able to to compensate for this for the first few songs. "Violence" finds them shifting the dynamics on the chorus to conceal that the music is not doing much aid from a faint ebb and flow around them. They go from emotive to emo with the expressive pout the vocals take for "Primary Choice," but it is pretty catchy, so hard to complain about it. I can hear how this might appear to fans of newer projects like TR/ST, but it is also rooted in things like early Depeche Mode and "Pretty Hate Machine" era Nine Inch Nails. The guitar parts are mixed way in the back of the mix for some reason, but it works overall so far. 

I like the darker feel of "ECHOES", though the entire album is leading you in the direction of the shadows, there are no whimsical "Love Cats" moments. "LIGHTS" is more of an interlude as it feels more like the idea of a song that was never a completed thought. "Terror" has more form and function it comes from the nu-darkwave school more rooted in indie rock like Boy Harsher, as it works a simplistic, murky pulse, but with less heavy breathing here. 

The Verdict

The album really delivers when it comes to taking from a few sub-genres of goth and fusing them into something that pays tribute to the roots of the genre, while still looking to the future to keep the scene alive so I will give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me. 

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Mouth Ulcers : " Prevail"

This ep just dropped a few weeks ago. British post-punkers come from the genre's motherland, so they have it in their DNA. The guitar tones really more of the tune, while the hushed, breathy vocal mutterings on the title track that opens this trio of songs create a narrative shrouded in the midnight hours of smoky clubs. While this works for one song, the guitars have a more alluyring on the second song "A Perfect End." Things are in play that are going to ask you what you want from your modern post-punk. If you are looking for a dark pulsing sound that is coated in atmosphere, then you are in luck. 

However dirfting deeper into the second song, I am confronted by the sound vs song debate. It can be more of a challenge when the sounds they are offering check off all the boxes for what you want from goth music, though, for me, one box is left unchecked. That is with the vocals, the first two songs found them rather t one dimensional, and I prefer more expressive voices, granted they are not trying to be Ian urtis, who at least knew where to place his mono declarations of despair. This is handled din a manner more like a gender flipped version of Boy Harsher. The advantage they have over Boy Harsher is the flow of guitar they dance around here. 

The last song "Western Horror Story" grooves andd flows more organically, as the vocals shift a little more, though it's not a huge outpouring of vocal color, andd things ride the one-dimensional dance of tension, which works, but in the context of a full album, I might get bored.

the Verdict

Great Guitar work, and the songs flow with their brand of moody shadows in a very natural fashion, leaving the vocals as this album's big weakness making me skeptical of how well this would translate to a full-length album. As more than three songs of the same approach might bore me so I will round this one down to an 8.5, but if vocals are not something you put much weight in and just want something moody to dance to they have you covered. 

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Starbenders : ' the Beast Goes On"

 On the pop side of glam rock, they do indulge in a more biting dynamic upon occasion, but their strength seems to be leaning into this 80s-drenched sound that marries Pat Benatar and Cyndi Lauper. Music is not created in a vacuum, so the title track that opens the album is darker andd with some Ghost-like aspirations in how it's mixed and the overall vibe to some extent, as it feels like a late 60 hippie-garage for of spooky like Coven or Shocking Blue. Then they rock out harder for "Nothing Ever Changes' which is less hook-focused, so not as effective.

Things begin to find their groove with a touch of anthemic 80s arena rock, heavier on the hairspray than the metal for "Chantilly Boy". They also display a very taunt songwriting hook and let the vocal take on more introspection on "Cold Silver." The beat picks up on 'Forever Mine,' which tries a little too hard. "Hello Goodbye" is more like 90s dream pop. The vocals create more of a backbone. "Tokyo" digs more into the new wave side of the 80s. The chorus works really well, reminding me of the Bangles.

"Saturday" does not veer from the formula they have in place, and it is hard to argue against it as it works here." Summon My Heart" finds her voice taking on a Stevie Nicks-like tremble, which, given a more epic arena setting, is not unlike the 80s era Heart. They nail this sound and have it convincingly dialed in, which is coming from someone who remembers when this sort of thing wa a more dominant force on the airwaves.  Things drop back to the more tense, emotive brand of 80s power ballads on " Somebody Else," that really when this crossed over with the evolution of new wave. 

They end the album with a cover of Bad Religion's "21st Century" , and make the msot of what they do with it even if it is an odd choice. I like what goes down here and think they are talented songwriters who have captured an era intact and make it there own, so I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. 

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