[engl] We first fell in love with Antwerp’s BRORLAB with an urgently abrasive EP which ranked amongst our faves of 2020. Fast forward to 2023 and they are back with a totally out of control 12” of modern fuckwave. The A side is seven new songs of their trademark dadaist electronic punk, full of fuzz guitars and sharp nasty beats, with a vocalist that fits perfectly the Honey Bane – Chitose vocal range and smart attitude. The B side brings bang back to life the 8 tracks from their criminally obscure debut EP, which will make any lover of ear-damaging noise smile with pleasure. All in all an aberrant slice of psychedelic gabber infused punk for the end of time.

[engl] After "Demo Demo Demo" and "Single Single", this is finally the first full length album by one-man-wonder Doug out of Lorient. You may know the man behind the mask from his other exquisite projects SORDID SHIP or COUPE GORGE, in which, above all, he extensively expresses his preference for Oi! On the debut LP, as on the previous singles, he rather shows his passion for synthpunk and then simply combines both preferences into a pretty great and awesome style of Punk. Super melodic synth parts mix with angry Oi Punk and Roll sound. Voilà: CUIR. This LP comes on beautiful rose marbled vinyl!

[engl] It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from those weirdos The Death Set, their last full length came out in 2011. Ten years ago times were the opposite of quiet for these romper-stompers with festival appearances all over the world, songs on soundtracks, videogame features, releases on Steve Aokis’ - Dim Mak label and a support for The Beatsteaks arena tour. A decade later Dan and Johnny unleash new work with “How To Tune A Parrot“, a real rager of an album – the present glimmers in bent rainbow colours. I bet you guys will walk the ceiling while wetting your pants when you listen to the first songs “Set For Death“ and “Nowhere Is Here“. These punk-rock songs are like having ants in your pants or as the mighty DZ Deathrays say: “It’s as close as you can get to taking amphetamines audibly.” But only “punkrock”? Nah, it’s not so easy with The Death Set – is it Electro, Noise, Punk or Artifarti-shit? You better go watch a show of these maniacs, then you'll have your answer: it's 102% supernatural high energy power complete with moshpits, dives, jives and hi-fives. A mean and bitter person may think that this kind of music had its time – I say: “What the fuckin heck – let's have the best Death Set times of our lives!"

[engl] American synth punk band from Los Angeles.

[engl] A punk project involving analogue synths, a guitar, a bass, pedals, vocals, a drum-machine, nagging, gossip and drama- telling brought to you by 3 mortals trying to survive in a world of snake-eating bats, ex boyfriends, extreme weather conditions, self-improvement freaks and low wages. A fresh combination of synth-punk and post -punk / experimental music. Taking the drum machine beat arrangements and synth-heavy patterns of wave/ post-punk, but using those as the base coat in a sound that's much more informed by experimental and avant-garde music. This record is so much more than a genre exercise or a deft melding of influences. It’s an unadjusted highly experimental and totally addictive synth wave album with hints of minimal post punk. The music ranges from dirgelike chants to ethereal pop to haunting ballads. It’s pure melancholic beauty from start to finish. Even a retro, toxic synth pop that balances on a thin line between punk rock and cold-wave electronics. DRAMACHINE offer us a challenging sound, combining both electronics and instrumentation for a truly stunning musical hybrid. Just when you think you have this band figured out you get blasted with a coldwave influence! Edgy and recklessly punky with a dash of synthpop dropped in for good measure. It’s a wild ride, but somehow it hangs together and sounds like music rather than just aimless noise-making. If you crave music that both surprises and charms, I can’t recommend DRAMACHINE highly enough. So, if you want to enjoy this, don't concentrate on the any reference points, concentrate on how they push against and defy any expectations, and you'll see what a genuinely, thrillingly exciting band DRAMACHINE is.

[engl] Berlin-Neukölln 2022. The smoke of burning oscillators rises above the rooftops. It stomps, screams; in the distance, a saxophone bawls through the street canyons. What the world needs now is another record by Infant Sanchos, those sympathetic relegation figures without tenure. Look no further, you humiliated, despised, downtrodden and abandoned creatures: incriminating music is danceable again.

[engl] Johnny Notebook is back. In tow the 28th Century Mates. Having emerged from the remnants of the bands Dean Dirg, Toyotas, Metric Eyes and Tetallica, the synth-punk duo Johnny Notebook, rooted in Düsseldorf, Wuppertal and Madrid, releases all their pent-up energy onto society after almost three years. The result is the energetic, driving sound of the new long player Johnny Notebook and the 28th Century Mates. It is played with the proven mixture of the danceable beats of the Roland TR505 drum composer, the catchy cadences of the PolyKorg800 synthesizer, recurring hooklines and a ruthlessly nasal, but no less melodious voice. Influences from genre gods like Devo, Screamers and Aviador Dro are still the unmistakable foundation of Johnny Notebook. 28th Century Mates is also enriched by repeated Italo-Disco elements, for example in the form of overlaying synthesizer melodies through to shorter keyboard solos, which makes the sound a bit more positive and light-lived than on previous Johnny Notebook releases. Lyrically, many of the songs address the sometimes absurd interactions between digital and analog reality and oscillate between nostalgia, sarcasm and fatalism, without sounding even remotely melancholy

[engl] The ‘PEOPLE FEEL’ EP is the debut body of work by Irish duo Nixer. The offering comes in the form of a 6-track concept EP which follows the events of a night out told chronologically. The story begins in a corner shop at the start of the night and ends at a crossroads the morning after. This story of events is used solely as a vessel for the true meaning and focus of the EP, which is the feelings and emotions that are attached to these events rather than the events themselves. ‘PEOPLE FEEL’ is a welcome introduction into the conceptual worlds that Nixer will build around the project in years to come. Driven by surroundings, experiences, and nightlife; delivered by a love for storytelling, sounds and production.

[engl] After last year’s Stump Soup cassette, Powerplant is back with a sharp five tracker. On every release Powerplant mutates, changes and rotates their sound and on this EP it’s no different. The rigid march of drum machines is now more determined and powerful than ever. Grass serves as their fatalist manifesto against burning daylight spending time fruitlessly. Like an intrusive thought or a ghost, the theme of time passing, barges into every song, calling to action. Powerplant, like a converted believer, is here to guide you through. “It gets worse before it gets worse”, says bandleader Theo Zhykharyev, “I waited forever for things to get better and a perfect time to put out these songs, but judging from the trajectory of events - this is as good as it’s going to get.” With the same necessity to get out and make up for lost time, the EP opens its gates with title track “Grass” - a force of nature that charges into a dizzying riff, bridging into a crooning verse with a pompous backing. Powerplant’s catchy sensibilities and affection for intricate song structures is at the forefront with a hint of weirdness that is yet to come. "Broodmother" is like the march of an evil and twisted army with military drums, distorted bass hook and sinister vocals. "Walk Around - Hang My Head" comes over like a mid 80’s 4 track Stranglers demo with a vocal that chops and snarls with an odd twang to it. "3 Medallions" is a brief instrumental interlude that leads into final cut "Beautiful Boy" which is the most straightforward song - but isn’t straight forward at all. It starts like it’s going to be an 80’s synth pop gem but ends up like a ghostly version of early Wire or art punks that make every second count with some different happening, knowing that this might be their only ever release. Luckily, for us that isn’t the case for Powerplant.

[engl] Powerplant return in 2022 with their long awaited second full length, but things are not quite what you may have been expecting. Started in late 2020 during ‘that’ time and finished this January, Stump Soup finds Powerplant taking the instrumental interludes from previous releases to their natural conclusion and have delivered an 20 track, hour long dungeon synth album. Yes, really. Theo Zhykharyev: “A year ago I landed on all these really cool left field DS releases from the mid 2010s, kind of like egg-punk of the crypt world, and it made me smile because I could go there. New timeline just got weirder, but life's a movie and I wouldn't want to have it any other way.” The album is available as a 60 minute cassette, limited to 300 copies