OPM: Dances to Dirges

TWSN – “Half of Your Heart”

If you like your house music pulsating, funky and discoriffic, with a soulful-yet-robotic vocal, this one is for you. The obvious point of comparison is Daft Punk, but it’d be reductive to say it sounds like that – it’s more like the shorthand to put you in the right neighborhood. 

That vocal is certainly the obvious hook, but the real star of the show is the propulsive, high-energy bassline that drives the track and fuels the vibe. Weighing in at a reasonable 5 minutes and change, this one will leave you wishing it was twice that long, at least.  

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Loot – “Horrible Person”

Videogame-spiked breakbeat with just a hint of IDM makes for good times. Featuring the infamous voice of GladOS from Portal, this one entwines some engaging percussive sound design and some lightly processed breaks into a compact and fun track. The frequent breakdowns might make this one hard to drop into a DJ set, but if you could manage it, it’s the kind of thing that would get everyone throwing their hands in the air and making a ruckus.

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Blackout Princesses – Lost

Dungeon synth meets kosmische and they go on a journey thru time and space together on this 8 track album. Turns out that somewhat unusual mixture is a match made in heaven, and just for fun the angels threw in bits of ambient, industrial, synthwave to keep things interesting. Tracks “Natura non facit saltus” and “Sorcery” showcase this curious blend at its best, offering up constant thematic and sonic variations throughout. 

When it’s firing on all cylinders, the result is something lIke Tangerine Dream and Cabaret Voltaire joining forces to make soundtracks for the 16 bit RPG era. An unusual proposition, sure, but certainly one worthy of attention. 

(Listened to the entire album)

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Mason Andrew Freak – A Dream of Love as Suffering

Borderline shambolic noise rock in the tradition of Sonic Youth, Husker Du and everyone who ever picked up a guitar and went HAM, but wasn’t afraid to fold a little art, pop and beauty into the chaos. This updates the classic formula with the occasional bit of straight up metal riffage and/or drumming, and it fits quite well. 

The rare quieter moments also seem quite at home and end up pointing this in the direction of early Flaming Lips (a direction I adore, BTW). The real selling point is that underneath all the feedback-drenched freakouts, there are some honest-to-gods solid songs to be found – so start digging!

(Listened to songs 3 thru 8)

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Kilim Mosh – Secret Rites of the Kilim Mosh

A collection of dark, brooding soundscapes, at times interlaced with hypnotic drum machine rhythms and weird, often wordless vocals, perfect for enjoying alone, after midnight, in a haunted house. Hard, if not impossible, to slot this into any recognizable genre, but it’s probably most closely related to the occult-laced industrial of Coil and their ilk. 

Impressionistic and largely abstract, these moody set pieces unfold slowly and reveal themselves bit by ever-stranger bit, getting more intriguing as they go. Definitely not for everyone, but those who get it should find it deeply rewarding.

(Listened to the entire album)