February was definitely a better month in some ways, and its music releases are testament to the different energy that it brought about. We listened to 58 independent and underground albums, EPs and singles and we created the soundtrack of the month that took us on an electro/industrial, punk, darkwave, synthwave, post-punk trip which had neoclassical and black metal moments of brilliance as well.
We saluted the return of Diary of Dreams and Opera Multi Steel with new albums. Diary of Dreams offered one of their most melancholic and dark releases to date with ‘Melancholin’ and showed us that they haven’t turned their backs on lyricism and passion. Opera Multi Steel’s ‘Les Passions Tristes’ mixed the aesthetics of medieval music with those of nursery rhymes to create a unique album that needs to be listened to more than three times. grim and room of wires both released memorable albums through ant-zen, highlighting the tribal, hypnotic, and even breakcore sides of dark industrial music.
The two releases by SIAL and SPRINTS cover the punk side of this monthly playlist. With vindictive anarcho-punk, noisy garage-punk, and distorted guitar riffs, these two releases will awaken the fighting spirit which might have been left dormant for a while.
Occupying a genre of their own, the new albums by Death Valley Girls and Algiers gave this month’s soundtrack the hues that were missing from its palette of sonic colours. We had the pleasure of enjoying Death Valley Girls perform live at MOTH Club and confirmed our love for their dark, mesmerising, post-punk songs. Algiers, on the other hand, summoned a powerhouse of collaborators and offered a hybrid album with spoken word, elements of gospel, elements of indie rock, parts with music and parts where music was as discreet as could be.
If, like us, you appreciate good headbanging psychedelia, then ‘Land of Sleeper’ by PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS will not let you have a moment of peace! With relentless darkness, electrifying rhythms, and never ending distortion in the guitar riffs, this is an album that will colour the rest of your sonic year.
We want to give special mention to the synthwave albums of this month, coming from TORUL and Monsieur Crane. Nodding strongly to the early Depeche Mode sound but going a bit further by adding darkwave and industrial elements to the mix, the new album of TORUL is a dancefloor contender. The pulsating synth melodies of Monsieur Crane’s ‘Redux’ and the addictive cover of Spiritualized’s ‘Come Together’ will leave you wanting to listen to it plenty more times.
We hope you enjoy listening to this playlist as much as we did preparing it!
Blaue Rosen 