Tag: ATH IT Department

Houses of Heaven Release Within Without

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Industrial synth pop from Houses of Heaven, “Within/Without” is the first single and title track from the forthcoming album. The song briefly eases in before going full on with an anchor bassline, EBM kick and synth flourishes that lead to the elevated and cathartic chorus.

Shipping at the end of April, the pre-order for the marbled-gray vinyl released via Felte Records is live over on their Bandcamp. Other tracks on the record boast guest vocals from Nitzer Ebb’s Douglas McCarthy and (former Austinite) Mariana Saldaa of BOAN. Probably gonna pre-order this one for use at vinyl nights…

Lusine Shares Long Light Video

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Lusine has a new record landing on Ghostly International this Friday. To celebrate the pending release, Lusine has shared a video of the title track, “Long Light” that features vocals by Benot Pioulard. In typical fashion, the vocal is twisted and turned into percussion in between the sequences where it elegantly floats above the loops, clicks, air and space that Jeff McIlwain is known for. Elegantly optimistic, yet haunting, give it a listen below before placing your order. Ninth full length, crazy, really looking for to this one. The Waiting Room and A Certain Distance both still find their way into my evening listening, the former making cameos at ATH vinyl happy hours.

BTW, take a listen to this catchy piece of hazy pop by Benot from earlier this year called “Thursday Night” here. I think you’ll like it.

Have A Nice Weekend with OMD

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We love Nation of Language around these parts. They were the best thing about ACL last year. Their upcoming record is going to be an absolute banger given recent well-shared singles. Did you know one of their key influences was OMD? Of course, you did. Listen to “Wounds of Love” not tell me it is a love letter to the synth pop, hit making pioneers. The thing is, OMD is still making music. Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys reunited in the 2006 after a brief time apart after Andy kept the ship afloat following their success in the 80’s. Since then, new material has been released, as well as one of the best box set releases in Souvenir. We may have missed the single release for this post, but you gotta give it the duo for keeping loyal to their roots yet modernizing their sound on “Bauhaus Staircase”. The song is the title track to the upcoming release in October, which they have hinted may be the band’s last. This video is pretty damn cool and the synth riff in the break just before the two minute mark, perfect.

CHVRCHES 10th Anniversary Rerelease

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Hey, Chuh-vurches left our orbit a while ago, but when the singles from The Bones Of What You Believe were released, we shimmied and we shook. I got to catch Lauren and company in small venues early on and the transformation from shy vocalist, to a confident, powerful front person was rather cool. There will be new material, live tracks and more bonus stuff. Pre-order here. New track will be here. In lieu of an easy share with this announcement, lets bask in the glory of one of my fave jams.

Breeze share Heart Attack Waiting To Happen

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Ya, I’m with ya, pondering a life without Harry Kane, heart attack pending. But Breeze‘s late-90’s dark synth jam puts a focused head nod into motion to distract you from whatever may consume brain cycles. Several contributing genres, from early techno’s synth loops and plinking hooks to darker New Wave’s vocal harmonies and guitar/bass riffs, the track comes at you from multiple directions. Josh Korody leads a strong group of contributors to build the band’s forthcoming release, Sour Grapes, that will land 10/6 on Hand Drawn Dracula.

ATH IT Department – Try Some Stuff

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I’d asked a while back about how people listen; ear buds, headphones, through TVs, bluetooth speakers. It actually spawned me to do some tweaking. I moved my speakers a bit further apart and into the room, tinkered with toe-in (no benefit as my kids and highs are concentric) and then reran DIRAC room compensation. If all that sounds technical, it is. However, a little effort yielded a nice benefit. The music now extends further out past the rooms walls. I know that sounds strange and pretentious, but if you ever hear it, you chase the dragon. We love our music and you should enjoy listening.

Anyway, on to some new/recent tracks to listen to intently and critically. Well start below with the latest from Lindstrom, a four song EP titled Everyone Else Is A Stranger. Syrene is the opener, a rather joyous, but tempered study with guitars joining the party a couple minutes in as the build up progresses through to the minor chords and break before smoothly flowing to an elegant end. Solid way to start the weekend.

Click through for a couple more can’t miss songs that may have been missed.
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Body of Light Share Bitter Reflection

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I recently posted about their full on new wave synth jam that harkens to earlier Depeche Mode or Japan. With the title track to their upcoming release Bitter Reflection, Body of Light goes with a movie soundtrack darkly introspective ballad, catching me completely off guard. The video features James Duval that you may recognize from Donnie Darko. Is it a step too far into nostalgia or glorious indulgence?

Body of Light will be in town as part of Oblivion Access on a day show bill with Drab Majesty and Choir Boy.

Lust For Youth release Giorgia

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Piling on to what appears to be a VERY busy day for jams, we have Lust For Youth releasing the single “Giorgia”. The track will be instantly recognizable musically with airy distorted synths, great riffs and a driving drum track. What changes here is the language. For the first time, Hannes sings in Swedish. You will still get that feeling in your chest, you will still nod your head in a melancholy that empowers. Interpret what you hear to be what you need at the moment.

Grab the digital track here. Of note, you can get their entire digital catalog for $42. Cool.

Body Of Light and This Conversation

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ATH has seen Body of Light a few times as they have played shows with some of our favorite dark-synth-pop-jams over the years. Two legitimately nice people hailing from Arizona, we can hear in the latest material a bit of a swing towards an earlier era new wave, still dark, but the build up has well-located hooks layered in front and behind the vocals and underlying atmospheres create an anchor for the more percussive elements to flourish. The imaging on this track is lovely; headphones or well-placed speakers in your listening area, chef’s kiss.

The new record called Bitter Reflection is due 6/30, but a pre-order gets you two tracks now.

Underworld And The Colour Red

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The absolute legends in electronica, to me at least, Underwold have released the video for “and the colour red”. The song uses a driving premise, minimal lyricism and trails off at the end hinting at the blend into another track, hopefully released soon. They are between performances at Coachella; those of you in the bay area should see them Friday at The Warfield.

While I have your attention about the band, be sure to listen to “Juanita 2022“, a reimagining of the front half of “Junaita/Kiteless” from Beaucoup Fish.

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