Back in stock: Industrial/Noise

Review: BOOM! Our favourites, Cititrax, roll the third editions of Tracks out onto our shelves, and the results are unsurprisingly strong on this excellent various artists comp. It's a mixed bag of skills, as per usual, and the sounds are those of a new NYC, fuelled by a new sort of post-industrial sensibility. Amato Y Mariana open with the tight beats and groove of "Queires Bailar", followed closely by the ominous compositions of the EBM-flavoured "Montgat" from The Sixteen Steps. On the flip, His Dirty Secrets bleeps out some morphed acid on "Structures", and "Another Stranger" from Further Reductions churns out a slow, mild-mannered house experiment with its roots clearly planted in the coldest of waves. Sick.

Review: IAMX is Chris Corner's solo project, which can be traced back to 2004, around the time his former band, Sneaker Pimps, went on hiatus. Spanning multiple genres, from burlesque-hued dark cabaret to electronic rock and unbridled dance music, there have now been eight studio albums, two remix records, two live albums and two experimental albums released under the moniker. Fault Lines² is among the finest in that oeuvre, and the most recent. Fresh for 2024, this collection of work paints a vivid picture of the artist - at times unsettling and slightly eerie, in other moments melancholic-yet-euphoric, it's dramatic, theatrical, innovative and strangely teetering on the brink of traditional and more explorative schools of sound. Probably not something you'll hear much like again this month.

Review: If this is your first encounter with Geneva Jacuzzi clearly you need to spend more time in the Los Angeles underground art-music scene. The artist has been building a huge reputation for herself through eccentric and often unhinged shows that border on performance pieces, often using masks, mind-blowing costumes, large scale art installations and confrontational design to leave a lasting impression. The fact her music sounds like contemporary pop stepped into a time machine, hit the 1980s button, and then realised travelling back through the ages renders things raw and lo-fi, also helps with the impact. Here were are then, album number three and her first for the exceptional Dais. It's mechanical, it's groovy, it's human, it's plastic, it's big, it's accessible, it's weird, and it's enough to make you remember pop music can and should be high art.

Review: We've extensively covered the work of Greek electronic music project Neural Network for a long time now, thanks to their compelling fusion of experimental techno and industrial music with themes of malevolent AI and/or cyborg takeover. Mostly active during the 1990s, the trio were instrumental in bringing robotic ideas to EU techno. This reissue of 'Cybernetics' is a big curio, with four new alternate takes on classic neuromantic cuts including 'Authentic' and 'Mechanic'. For those who like to sprinkle a bit of dystopianism into their DJ sets, this EP littered with sinister vocal samples scraped from future-facing TV documentaries abut cyborgs.

Review: Chicago mainstay and Disctechno label head Mark Grusane reunites with Detroit's Eric Schwab for the second instalment of the Midwest Rhythms series. It's a real quality EP that takes you to the heart of the Motor City with 'Easy Strider' blending low-slung, skittering drum patterns with a classic FM bass line and hints of 303. 'Acid Hole' offers an acidic pulse that builds tension over a jacking 707 beat that is brought to life with spacey effects and on the B-side, 'You're In Danger' merges dissonant pads, plucky synths, rich bass and warped verbal warnings. The record closes with Eric's reimagined version of 'A House of My Own' which brings fresh textures to a modern Chicago house classic.

Review: 80s Techno Tracks is an essential compilation series for those looking to complete their collections of retro classics. The third vinyl edition of this series of ZYX is another doozy that contains 12 carefully selected gems from the earliest days of techno and despite the fact these are around 40 years old they still do damage on the dancefloor. The likes of Bigod 20, Song, Robotiko Rejekto, Scarecrow, technic and Aircrash Bureau all feature with authentic old-school tracks that wear their hardware aesthetics on their sleeves and cannot fail to make a mark.