Synthwave – Page 3 – 7th Level Music

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord

One of the best things about King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is that you never know what you’re going to get from album to album with them. It could be alt-folk, a psychedelic freakout, microtonal shredding, thrash metal, or, in the case of The Silver Cord – an album of synth music.

The album has the band diving headlong into their not-so-secret love of synthwave, EDM, rap, and krautrock, starting with the uplifting “Theia” – a song about how we are drifting on silver cords that attach us to ethereal planes we can’t describe but sometimes catch glimpses of now and then. It’s instantly catchy and uplifting, with all the synths and electronic beats rising us up to the natural follow-up of the title track – a beautiful track about birth, death, and rebirth. “Set” is about the wicked Egyptian god (and Egyptology and mythology is all over this record, which delights me to no end) and has a cool rave beat throughout it.

“Chang’e” has the band singing about a goddess of dreams and builds from almost an ambient track into a full-blown dance cut in perhaps the loveliest moment on the record. “Gilgamesh” brings techno-Viking beats to the classic tale of the eternal hero. “Swan Song” uses industrial beats to encourage us to cut the cords that bind us to our attachments and egos and “Go explore. Be untethered. Be unequalled. Grab the sword. Be emperor. Be yourself. Be an orb. Be your spirit. Don’t fear it.”

The closing track, “Extinction,” tackles one of KGATLW’s favorite topics – the destruction of the Earth by mankind’s idiocy and greed. There are hints of “Crumbling Castle” in the beats and lyrics (“Castles crumble with a groan.”) as well. The album ends on an encouraging note, however, as they sing, “I can see everything. I can be in the music.”

So can all of us.

As if The Silver Cord isn’t good enough, and a cool enough project from KGATLW, the band also released an extended version of the record in which they explore long-form synth-jams and add further lyrics to delve further into the album’s themes of death, reincarnation, the afterlife, and enlightenment. The shortest track on the extended version is the ten-minute and eighteen-second-long version of “Set.” The longest is the extended mix of “Theia,” which is just over twenty minutes. All the extended mixes are excellent, and some could be dropped into a DJ set without trouble.

This makes the second excellent album KGATLW have released this year, the first being the epic thrash metal album PetroDragonic Apocalypse: or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation. To go from that to The Silver Cord is a stunning accomplishment that few other bands could pull off and make look easy.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review – Augustus Muller – Cellulosed Bodies

Diving further into his love / obsession with 1980s horror / thriller synthwave music, Boy Harsher‘s Augustus Muller teamed up with artist / kinky movie maker Vex Ashley of Four Chambers to create two films scores – one to a film that already existed and another to one that is new, and both of which explore the sexual relationship between humans and technology on the album Cellulosed Bodies.

The first half is a tribute to David Cronenberg‘s 1996 film Crash – in which the main characters are turned on by car crashes. Muller’s six-song “score” to the film (originally done by Howard Shore). “Fur and Metal” slowly takes us into this new, weird world of strange pleasures and soon we’re “Sharing a Smoke,” but how much of it is from a cigarette and how much is from burned wreckage along a dark road? Muller’s use of synths throughout the six tracks are at times haunting and other times throbbing like the pulse in your neck after something stressful and / or sensual. “Perverse Technology” is a perfect example of this, as somewhat creepy synths rise and fall like a lover’s chest taking deep breaths to maintain control while the beats mimic the twitchy brain impulses to seize pleasure now instead of making it last as long as possible. “Body as Machine” sums up the theme of the album’s first half (and Cronenberg’s film) in the title and in the grinding, pulsating synth-beats, and “Shattered Glass” ends the first half with something that isn’t quite afterglow, but more “after-shadow.”

The second half is Muller’s score to Ashley’s film Automaton – which, according to the liner notes, “…features a severe computer entity and trapped prey, succumbing to pleasure…” Reading that, and then hearing the ten tracks that follow, you think, “Yeah, that sounds about right.” The tracks featuring fewer beats, but more experimentation – again the theme of exploring new pleasures that at first might seem frightening – such as “Initialize,” “Next Subject,” and “Endoscopy.” “Examination” uses some subtle industrial clangs for beats, but they never overwhelm the track. “Acceptance” has the “trapped prey” accepting its pleasurable fate (or is the computer accepting it?). I’m guessing it’s the former, because the next track is “You Belong to the Machine” – which builds with a slow menace like a snake that’s been released into a dark room.

“Observation” sounds and feels like the evil / sexy computer is watching its prey / lover from a drone that rises and falls like a hawk drifting on warm wind. “Stretching / Invading” is about…well, I think you can guess. “Who Is in Control” can be taken in multiple ways. It’s the question in a BDSM relationship. On the surface, the computer in Ashley’s tale is in control, but what would it be without its lover? The computer needs the lover to achieve some kind of feeling. The second half of Cellulosed Bodies ends with “Subdue Yourself” – the only track with vocals (from dominatrix Miss Marilyn) – on a whispering aftercare note.

It’s a strange, lovely, sexy record, and one of the more intriguing releases of the year.

Keep your mind open.

NSFW!

[Embrace technology by subscribing today!]

[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: The Serfs – Half Eaten By Dogs

In case you weren’t aware, Cincinnati has a growing underground synth scene, and The Serfs (Dakota Carlyle, Andie Luman, and Dylan McCartney) might be leading it if their new album, Half Eaten By Dogs, has anything to say about it.

Opening track “Order Imposing Sentence” has the band chanting / singing, “I can’t remember anything.” at one point as hot grease fire synths burn up everything around them. “Cheap Chrome” thumps with old racing video game beats. “Suspension Bridge Collapse” has echoing vocals that are difficult to decipher, but I think that’s the point, and the synths sound like they were pulled out of a burning garage and played while partially melted.

“Beat Me Down” has guitar rock riffs that simultaneously remind me of early Rolling Stones and The Go-Go’s. The haunting saxophone (by Eric Dietrich) on “Spectral Analysis” almost makes it sound like you’re listening to two different records (one goth-synth, the other 1980s Japanese city pop) at the same time.

“Club Deuce” is your new favorite goth dance club track, complete with frottage-inducing synth-bass and sexy vocals that practically light your clove cigarette for you. The harmonica on “Electric Like an Eel” is something The The might’ve done if they’d gone more industrial. I love the mix of electronic percussion and keyboards on this track, and the bass on it is a trippy hum.

“Ending of the Stream” brings The Velvet Underground and The Vacant Lots immediately to mind with its tribal drumming and vocals that sound like they’re sung by someone who just emerged from a sweat lodge. The bass riff on “The Dice Man Will Come” is as intriguing as the song’s title. Who is the Dice Man? I doubt it’s an Andrew “Dice” Clay reference. Or are The Serfs saying that mankind will become dice, being cast about for random purposes and producing random results? It’s probably something like that. It’s difficult to figure out while you’re mesmerized by the twitchy guitars and shimmering synths. The liner notes I received for this album described the closing track, “Mocking Laughter,” as sounding like “an end credits sequence.” I can’t put it better than that. It’s perfect. The synths, simple programmed beats, and echoing / fading vocals practically have The Serfs bowing as they walk backwards out of a room.

This is a solid record from beginning to end, and a welcome blast of coldwave perfect for the coming winter.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Mandy, Indiana release new remix and tour dates for this winter.

Today, i’ve seen a way — the acclaimed debut from Manchester quartet Mandy, Indiana released via Fire Talk Records — was named one of Rough Trade’s Best Albums of 2023. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Mandy, Indiana present “Sheared (Pinking Shears Rework),” a clipping. remix of album standout “Pinking Shears.”

clipping.’s rework of “Pinking Shears” filters the politically charged track through a US lens. “The dream is all crooked cops, retail mark-up on basic goods, an ex-president getting away with treason,” raps Tony and GRAMMY Award winner Daveed Diggs. Rough Trade’s exclusive 12”features the clipping. remix alongside the original “Pinking Shears” and an instrumental version of the track.

Next month, Mandy, Indiana will bring their ”physically — yet brilliantly — overwhelming” (NME) live show to the US for their debut tour, featuring stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and a newly announced date in Chicago. Mandy, Indiana thrive in the unexpected, and their performances have become a vehicle to explore the boundaries of tension and release. A full list of dates are below and tickets are on sale now.

Listen to “Sheared (Pinking Shears Rework)”

Mandy, Indiana Tour Dates [New Date in Bold]:
Sat. Dec. 2 – New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right [SOLD OUT]
Tue. Dec. 5 – Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
Thu. Dec. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
Fri. Dec. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ Popscene – Brick & Mortar
Fri. Feb. 9 – Dublin, IE @ The Workman’s Cellar
Sat. Feb. 10 – London, UK @ Village Underground
Thu. Feb. 22 – Nijmegen, NL @ Merleyn
Fri. Feb. 23 – Utrecht, NL @ EKKO
Sat. Feb. 24 – Groningen, NL @ Hybrid Festival
Wed. Feb. 28 – Berlin, DE @ Kantine Am Berghain
Sat. July 6 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival

Stream/Purchase i’ve seen a way
Watch “Pinking Shears” Video
Watch “Drag [Crashed]” Video
Watch “Injury Detail” Video

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

You’re going to love Kirin J. Callinan’s new track – “Eternally Hateful.”

Kirin J Callinan; Australian artist, actor, writer, provocateur and musician releases “Eternally Hateful“ a super-charged, 80’s synth-pop track with repeated bold ambivalent lyrics. To accompany the video Callinan shares a medieval-inspired torturous music video – watch here. ‘Eternally Hateful’ is yet another taste off Callinan’s upcoming fourth full length LP titled If I Could Sing. The last four years new music from Callinan has been much speculated and mythical, but after some ambiguity and delay “Eternally Hateful” is here with more music on the way and arguably this is his finest work yet.

When asked about the new single “Eternally Hateful” Kirin says: “Musically, it could not be more simple. Three chords. A. E. B. IV-I-V. Over n over n over again, eternally. Hate, on the other hand, is a far more complex idea. Distressing, tbh. Destructive. Embarrassing. But no more so than Love. A resentful rage, a bitter overflow, a pointed supervex; forged from hurt, seeping from a seething heart, desperate to heal, by any means available, finding validity in anger, making sense of its pain, thin air turn to rage, some other type of cage. “You don’t know what love means anyway… Eternally Hateful! I hate you. I love you. And so on and so forth.””

This video directed by Isaac Brown and shot in France at Château de Sarzay, Ferme La Lande and Château de Crozant, is everything Kirin is, entertaining, provocative and creates a swirling train of thoughts of the juxtaposition of that love / hate game making it the perfect accompanying video for this single. Is there a cameo by Mac DeMarco? The video adds to the recurring phenomenon that is a Kirin J Callinan music video and strikes a fine balance between vision, vulnerability, complete and utter absurdity, pure pathos and unadulterated joy and have gone on to be cited as references and influences for countless others.

“What you’re about to witness is by far the most ambitious video project I’ve ever had the dis-ease, dis-comfort & dis-gust to have ever been involved with.” Kirin shares of the video. “It’s all entirely real. All of it. And it’s a miracle that I’m still here, alive today. Not only did the shooting of Eternally Hateful involve showing up to locations that none of us had ever been, to shoot things none of us had ever shot, without permission nor any other lawful, moral or divine right to do so (a scenario I have had more than some experience with before, to be perfectly honest); it was Isaac’s vision and the nature of this specific shoot ~ it’s scope, it’s impossibility, and it’s high potential for disaster &/or death ~ that was the most insane, most intoxicating & most appealing aspect of the idea to begin with. I hope you are as engaged and inspired watching this clip as I was ~ literally & figuratively ~ pushed, pulled & all round tortured making it.”

Isaac Brown adds: “I’ve always wanted to torture Kirin, so when there was an opportunity to do it for real, on camera, I was over the moon. “Kirin J Callinan’s performance is the heartbeat of our cinematic masterpiece. It’s a pulse of intensity and emotion that makes every scene come alive. This was a dream shoot if your dreams are like mine – cloaked devils with goat heads tying you up, slitting your throat and setting you on fire. People will love it. Singing, dancing, and some questionable swordplay. There is something for everybody”

If I Could Sing, Kirin’s fourth full length body of work will be released via a new signing deal with Callinan’s own record label Worse Records and [PIAS]. “Kirin J Callinan is ecstatic to announce that WORSE Records and WORSE WORLD WIDE Industries Incorporated (“It can only get WORSE™) ~ in our second coming and new configuration since the label’s initial insemination and honest beginnings as the honorary off shoot of TERRIBLE RECORDS USA and the humble home away from home for Quebecois superstar Hubert Lenois, Australian icons JACK LADDER & The DREAMLANDERS, and the long forgotten, one hit wonderkids SECONDS FLAT ~ have now, with the wind in our sails and our sales though the roof, signed on for exclusive distribution with the world’s best distributor & unrivaled international music network, PIAS. Our debut collaboration with PIAS will indeed be the release o’ my, KIRIN J CALLINAN’S, long awaited & well overdue opus IF I COULD SING, with a slew o the worlds very WORSE artists to follow soon thereafter. I’m excited. Thank you for your patience. It only gets WORSE”.

To celebrate the release Kirin will be performing a one off special show in Perth at Mojo’s in Fremantle on December 2. Tickets will be going on sale today. For more information and tickets please visit this link here.

Kirin J Callinan, misunderstood by the masses but loved and revered by artists the world over and his niche, eclectic and growing fanbase alike, Kirin’s new work with “Eternally Hateful” is here and his much speculated fourth full length LP If I Could Sing is rumored to be released any minute now…

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll be eternally grateful if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Desire covers Frankie Goes to Hollywood for Johnny Jewel’s “Holly” soundtrack.

After recently announcing new album Holly (OST) is out Oct 13th via Italians Do It Better,Johnny Jewel is sharing the second track from the score with Desire’s new single “The Power Of Love“, a beautiful Frankie Goes To Hollywood cover. Johnny Jewel created the the original motion picture soundtrack for the highly anticipated Fien Troch-directed new film Holly, his tenth solo album of experimental film music, following on from critically acclaimed works Windswept, Digital Rain, Home (OST), & Lost River (OST). Johnny Jewel is also set to embark on a special live tour throughout Europe in October and November, performing 60 minutes of cinematic bliss from his music for films.

Nominated for the Venice Film Festival and opening the Ghent Film Festival, Holly follows the story of a 15-year-old girl who calls her school to say she is staying home for the day. Soon after, a fire breaks out at the school, killing several students. With everyone touched by the tragedy, the community comes together, trying to heal. Anna, a teacher, intrigued by Holly and her strange premonition, invites her to join the volunteering group she runs. Holly’s presence seems to bring peace of mind, warmth, and hope to those she encounters. But soon, people begin to seek out Holly and her cathartic energy, demanding more and more from the young girl.

On the new single, Holly film director Fien Troch offered “I knew ‘The Power Of Love’ had to become part of Holly’s universe. We just needed to unlock the right door to enter the same space as the rest of Johnny’s music. While discussing the film, it became so clear to me that the voice had to be female. A strong & tender one, full of love. Desire is all of that to me. Desire became Holly’s voice.”

Johnny Jewel added “In the first version of the film I watched, Fien presented this idea to close with a Frankie Goes To Hollywood song. There is no other pop music in the entire film, so going out over end credits with a baroque ballad is a daring tonal shift. All the musical tension that precedes this moment makes the release all the more effective. While we were brainstorming on the texture of the score, Fien wondered what it would sound like to have Megan sing it. We worked on it privately in our studio, then I brought a rough version with me to show Fien in Amsterdam where we were mixing the film. The moment she finally saw it on screen for the first time was pure magic. It’s a true testament to her vision as a director to be able to merge those two very different worlds in her imagination.”

“The Power Of Love” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVAkTLOUUfN3DBOX7bTIzA
“The Power Of Love” on other streaming services: https://idib.ffm.to/poweroflove
Pre-save album: https://idib.ffm.to/hollysoundtrack

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll feel the power of love if you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Johnny Jewel releases “The Witch” from his latest soundtrack – “Holly.”

Johnny Jewel (Chromatics, Desire, Glass Candy) has created the original motion picture soundtrack for the highly anticipated Fien Troch-directed new film Holly, which will come out October 13th via Italians Do It Better. The score also features Desire and is Johnny Jewel’s tenth solo album of experimental film music, following on from critically acclaimed works Windswept, Digital Rain, Home (OST), & Lost River (OST). Today the first single from the Holly soundtrack “The Witch” is streaming online. As well as this, Johnny Jewel is set to embark on a special live tour throughout Europe in October and November, performing 60 minutes of cinematic bliss from his music for films.

On the soundtrack, Johnny Jewel said “I used music to usher in the unseen elements of Holly’s story. Underscoring the supernatural overtones of the film, I studied the wind in her hair, counted the plumes of smoke billowing from the burning high school, & stared into the howling forest swaying in the distance. The looming musical foreshadowing mirrors her gifts. As Holly’s character slowly unravels, the score begins to warp as it’s stretched to an ominously slow crawl.

Throughout the film, vague hues overlap seamlessly like clouds constantly morphing. As the audience, we project meanings to the shapes that emerge from the chaos in what appear to be patterns. It’s abstract enough to be unrecognisable, yet it’s somehow familiar. Inspired by the masters of mood like Goblin’s blood curdling chimes for Dario Argento, Tangerine Dream’s spiraling synthesis for William Friedkin, & John Carpenter’s hyper-minimalist approach to scoring his own films with Alan Howarth, I explored a genre-based language to trigger the audience’s subconscious. Metallic synthesizers, celeste bells, mellotron flutes & detuned music boxes haunt the recurring musical motif. Like an inevitable storm rolling in, the soundtrack is eerily elusive & at times, almost formless. At other times, the music is crystal clear & so sharply in focus you could reach out & touch it.”

On the collaboration, writer and director of Holly Fien Troch added “I’ve always been drawn to Johnny’s music, as it is reckless & physical. His music is an emotional roller coaster. Every time I see scenes of my film with Johnny’s music on, everything I’ve done & worked for is lifted to another level. When you work with Johnny, you don’t just get the score for your film. It’s like finally finding that missing element to make the story complete. It makes the film whole & gives it its own identity.

“Listen to “The Witch” via YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEtM7hR-QvM
Listen to “The Witch” via other streaming services: https://idib.ffm.to/thewitch
Pre-save album: https://idib.ffm.to/hollysoundtrack

See Johnny Jewel live:
Oct 25th – Saint Sebastian, Dabadaba ES
Oct 27th – Neuchatel, Case A Chaos CH
Nov 2nd – Vienna, Rote Bar Im Volkstheater AT
Nov 3rd – Milan, Circolo Magnolia IT
Nov 4th – Prague, Meet Factory CZ
Nov 7th – Berlin, Hole 44 DE
Nov 8th – Amsterdam, H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 48 NL
Nov 9th – Brussels, Botanquie – Rotonde, BE
Nov 10th – Barcelona, MIRA Festival ES
Nov 11th – Porto, Mouco PT
Nov 14th – Paris, Le Hasard Ludique FR
Nov 15th – Dublin, The Sugar Club IE
Nov 16th – Manchester, The White Hotel UK
Nov 17th – Glasgow, CCA UK

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Sally Shapiro covers Pet Shop Boys’ “Rent” for their newest single.

Today Swedish synthpop duo Sally Shapiro (made up of Sally Shapiro and Johan Agebjörn) announce a new 12″ ‘Rent‘ co-mixed by Johnny Jewel, which is out Sept 20th digitally & Oct 6th physically via Italians Do It Better and have shared the title-track, covering Pet Shop Boys, online now.

On the single, Johan offered “I am a longtime fan of Pet Shop Boys and have been thinking from time to time about covering some PSB song, without any clear idea of how to do it. Suddenly it became apparent that the melancholic and painfully beautiful harmonies of ‘Rent’ would suit our style perfectly, and I started playing a synth line over the chorus.”

Johnny Jewel added “Sally Shapiro’s cover of this Pet Shop Boys classic keeps the original close to the heart. Emphasizing the baroque leanings of the chord progression, they take it further with a 16th note melody careening over icy pads. The result is a Synthwave skyline scraping the upper atmosphere in the never-ending race to survive the first of the month. It’s a twisted tale of the politics of economy in relationships where the currency is love. Sally’s crystalline coo glides over Johan’s elegant Italo production as the bass line anchors the galloping rhythm section. Home is where the heart is…but shelter comes first in this game of love.”

Sally added “We also think the lyrics to Rent are intriguing, how the singer – in our version, a mistress – tries to convince herself that she’s happy, while the melancholy shines through. Pet Shop Boys is also very much childhood nostalgia for me.”

Johan was a member of the Pet Shop Boys Club as a child, and even got a penpal request published in the official fanclub magazine in 1993. Johan said “I received numerous answers! I had a pretty long correspondence with a fan from the UK.”

Listen to “Rent” on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/sallyshapiro-music/rent-1
Listen via other streaming services here: https://idib.ffm.to/rent
Pre-order 12″ here: https://sallyshapiro.bandcamp.com/album/rent

17 years ago, Sally Shapiro shared their first song online. Blogs & record labels immediately took notice and Italians Do It Better’s introduction to the pair was I’ll Be By Your Side, a shimmering Italo Disco track with ethereal vocals that hypnotised everyone who heard it. Johan’s elegant production was years ahead of what anyone else was doing at the time, & the elusive falsetto of the dreamlike singer was unforgettable.

In 2007, their debut album, Disco Romance, was revered by the press. The album was given a spot in Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2007 & is even ranked as the best italo disco album of all time on rateyourmusic.com. Their sound was a unique take on the romantic club music of the mid 1980’s. At the time you could count the artists exploring this territory on one hand. Johnny Jewel began corresponding with Johan later that year resulting in Johan’s remix of Glass Candy’s “The Chameleon“.

Their debut album saw remixes by other likeminded producers like Lindstrøm, Tensnake, Junior Boys, CFCF, & Juan MacLean. In 2009, My Guilty Pleasure, picks up where Disco Romance left off. They collaborated with Electric Youth (known from the ”Drive” soundtrack) on their third album Somewhere Else in 2013.

Johan is a fixture on European dance floors collaborating with Lindstrøm, Glass Candy, Annie, Wolfram, Hercules & Love Affair, & more. In 2018 he produced the addictive Samantha Fox single “Hot Boy”. Sally is notoriously shy, remaining shrouded in anonymity. To this day she insists on recording her vocals alone in the studio & refuses to perform her songs live. In 2016, the duo went underground & released what was thought to have been their final single. Working in deep seclusion over the last half decade, they released “Sad Cities”, an incredible collection out in 2022 via Italians Do It Better, to critical acclaim. They also appeared on Italians Do It Better’s Madonna cover compilation (with ”Holiday”) and on last year’s After Dark 4.

‘Rent’ will also feature on Sally Shapiro’s new album, which is currently in the works.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Review: Mandy, Indiana – I’ve Seen a Way

Recorded, no joke, in caves, gothic crypts, and shopping malls and next to construction sites and yoga classes, Mandy, Indiana‘s first full-length album, I’ve Seen a Way, expands on their sexy, creepy, synthy sound with a mix of heavier dance beats and stranger field recordings.

“Love Theme (4K VHS)” opens the album with synthwave bliss as you drive Charlie Sheen’s car from The Wraith down a street lit by solar-powered batteries embedded in the ground. It flows into “Drag [Crashed]” and turns the romantic lounge of the previous track into a slightly frightening industrial club floor-filler with Valentine Caulfield singing / shouting about toxic masculinity and the male gaze in French as her bandmates pound you into the ground. “Pinking Shears” is full of thick synth bass from Simon Catling and hip-hop drumming from Alex MacDougall while Caulfield’s vocals move around the room like a panther proclaiming, “This shitty world has exhausted me.” and verbally slapping us awake with lyrics like “…we elect bankers and big bourgeois and rentiers and we are surprised to get fucked.”

Her vocals on “Injury Detail” are only slightly subdued, which provide an interesting balance with the snappy drums and hissing, throbbing synths. “The Driving Rain (18)” layers the synths atop Caulfield’s vocals to make them almost robotic. On “2 Stripe,” she tells the tale of peasants serving a king, a queen, and their daughters while they sleep in cold cellars and nearly starve…until they realize they far outnumber the royals and take the castle and land by force. It’s a cautionary tale for the 1%, who are treacherously close to losing all of it all of the time.

Scott Fair‘s guitar wails and squeals through “Iron Maiden,” a mostly instrumental track with Caulfield sometimes crying out like she’s stuck in the titular device. “It’s not a revolt, it’s a revolution,” Caulfield sings on “Peach Fuzz.” “They take us for idiots,” she proclaims as the track builds into a synth war march.

“Crystal Aura Redux” is aptly named because it sounds like you’re walking through a hall of mirrors with crystals hanging from the ceiling that are light by a disco ball. The album ends with “Sensitivity Training” – a warning for all of us. The instrumentation brings alarm klaxons, protest chants, and marching beats to mind as Caulfield asks, “Do you hear the sound of the the boots clattering on the pavement? They’re coming for us.” She’s warning us of the rise of fascism, or perhaps to flip the script and make it a warning for those same fascists who will one day realize they’re vastly outnumbered.

I’ve Seen a Way (or i’ve seen a way, as it’s often written) is a stunning debut LP, one of the best of the year. It’s a dance record, a protest album, and a synthwave stunner all in one. Their creativity seems to have no bounds, as does their anger and passion for calls to action. Go visit them.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be a drag. Subscribe today.]

[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Lindstrøm – Everyone Else Is a Stranger

The New Yorker once dubbed Norwegian DJ and producer Lindstrøm as “the king of space disco.” That’s as good a description for him as any I could dream up, and it’s epitomized in his latest record, Everyone Else Is a Stranger, which is full of neat rhythms, pulsing synths, and a vibration to it that seems to defy gravity.

The first few seconds of “Syreen” alone are designed to fill dance floors with the synthwave beats and inspiring electric piano notes. “Nightswim” is perfect for just such an activity at your lake house or a Las Vegas rooftop pool. It instantly makes you feel cool and sexy, but not so much that you turn into a “trying too hard to be cool” d-bag. He finds that sweet spot of “Let’s have fun and be sexy and cool with each other. No bad vibes here, just love.” The whole record is like that, really.

I can’t help but think Lindstrøm was influenced by Giorgio Moroder (and who isn’t, really?) when I hear the opening synths of “The Rind” – a neat synthwave track that prepares you for dancing, sparring, or shagging with an android (possibly all three). The ending title track is like a ten-minute cool-down meditation after the dance fest that’s been happening for the previous three songs. Lindstrøm has always excelled at evoking dreamy imagery in his music, and the title track is a fine example of that craftsmanship.

I also like the title of Everyone Else Is a Stranger. Except whom? Well, you, of course. You know who you are. You’re whomever is touched and moved by this record in anyway. He made it for you. Don’t refuse the gift.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t be a stranger to the subscription box.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]