Listen to our music editor Mike Kieffer’s selection of tracks from the features and the albums reviewed in the October/November 2013 Issue!
October/November 2013 Issue playlist :
Mother of Crows – iVardenshpere
Hail to His Majesty (Peasants) – Ministry
First & Last – Youth Code
Dkmajestic – Hecq
Here in the Black – Gary Numan
Various Methods of Escape – Nine Inch Nails
Still Life – Oneohtrix Point Never
Still On Fire – Trentmoller
Wrong – Ginger Snap5
Outrun the Gun – Accessory
Altitude – Architect
Not to Be Here – Covenant
The gothpop princess from Florida is back with her third studio album Comfort for the Desolate released on Quantum Records. I’ve been silently following Miss FD for a while now and over time she has continued to evolve and focus in on her talents. This album is a shining star in a year that has been full of disappointments from female fronted electro-industrial/synthpop groups.
Comfort for the Desolate is available for purchase online at the Fixt store and can be listened to on Spotify or Bandcamp.
The past ten years have really gone by in a flash and with this release of Celldweller 10 Year Anniversary Edition it has really brought back some memories and made me reflect. Well my memories are for me and let’s just say that if I had to pick a top album for 2003 the original would have been it. Listening to this anniversary edition made me realize that it was advanced for it’s time and all eighteen tracks were just incredible. With this edition you also get a second disc with unreleased songs, remixes, and demos. If you were into Celldweller ten years a go, chances are you listened to the album on a burned CD of stolen mp3s (hey that was the thing to do) so I suggest picking this up. If you are a modern day fan or never heard of Celldweller than this is a must check out!
Celldweller 10 Year Anniversary Edition is available for purchase online at the Fixt store and can be listened to on Spotify.
OOFJ is quickly becoming my new obsession and their debut album, Disco To Die To, which was released this week, has lived up to all my expectations. For a little taste check out this video for “Pinstripe Suit”. It has a nice film noir feel to it and it even comes with a trench coat. The members of OOFJ, Katherine Mills Rymer and Jens Bjørnkjær, also take on the roles of video directors and actors! Truly these ambitious people have some talent. Oh and here is my quick review of the album: pretty fricking sweet!
Disco To Die To is available for purchase online at OOFJ’s website and can be listened to on Spotify.
The Knife have now officially released Shaking The Habitual and it is getting mixed reviews. Now think about all the people who jumped on The Knife bandwagon after the 2006 release of Silent Shout and how they just did it because it was the “cool” thing to do. These are the people who just don’t get The Knife and I think you need to have an open mind and appreciate creativity to enjoy them in whatever they do. I personally love Shaking The Habitual and am very glad that The Knife progressed and didn’t puke out a second Silent Shout.
Depeche Mode has been around forever and with the backing of a major label, some Sony Music division, they are still relevant to the masses. Now as many of you know I don’t really care for them, I didn’t like them in the 80s (that I remember), I wasn’t a fan in the 90s nor the 00s, and now Delta Machine is their first release in the 10s and well I don’t know if I like it or I just dislike it because of my previous views. But like any good music editor I gave this a try. I did like the music, it is very well produced, and it is interesting throughout. I won’t comment on the lyrics or vocals. Perhaps I just need some recommendations on what are the really good songs on this album. Anyways Depeche Mode is more than important in the subculture I feel I belong in and for that they do deserve the release of the week.
Give me some feedback on your favorite tracks off Delta Machine!
Delta Machine is available for purchase online and can be listened to online on Spotify.
Ghost & Writer’s Red Flags, which is out now on Metropolis Records, marks the return of the collaboration from Frank M. Spinath (Seabound/Edge Of Dawn) and Jimmyjoe Snark III (The Weathermen). Ghost & Writer present music, melodies, and lyrics that cut through you like a knife and leave you bleeding from the heart. What made me fall in love with Ghost & Writer when their 2011 album Shipwrecks came out was the stories that were told within the lyrics. This trend still continues with Red Flags and with time, I am hopeful I will enjoy this album just as much.
This week is all about How To Destroy Angels with their first full length release Welcome Oblivion. Yeah Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails is in the band but I don’t think of it as a side project. I think of it as a band that he is in along with Mariqueen Maandig (his wife), Atticus Ross, and Rob Sheridan. The album has many parallels to the sound of NIN, I expected it and welcomed it. I feel that NIN is more aggressive emotionally than this project conversely How To Destroy Angels seems a bit more sophisticated.
I heard birds for the first time this morning on the walk to my car. This is a sign that spring is almost here and I am going to be burdened by the bird poop all over my car. It’s time to get angry and let out all your frustrations out on the dance floor and this week Chainreactor will help us get there. The new album The Silence & The Noise, out on ProNoize, is hard industrial techno with plenty of stomping power. This album is a nice progression from the 2011 release Insomniac, it’s like the second DJ went on for the night and they are just slightly better than the guy before.
The Silence & The Noise is available for purchase at Storming The Base and can be listened to online on Spotify.
It’s late February and I am getting restless and I can tell that because I have been in the mood for some sloppy raw punk music. Lucky for me the band from Copenhagen, Iceage just released their sophomore album this week on Matador Records titled You’re Nothing. This album has an old school punk feeling to it. The raw emotions and rough edges remain in tact which is often lost in recording and post production. They’re also headed over to North America soon to do some touring!
You’re Nothing is available for purchase at Matador’s Store and can be listened to online on Spotify.
