- Björk — “Army of Me”, 1995.
Björk has many amazing songs, but it’s tough to find one more anthemic. That rolling beat was a love-at-first-listen revelation over the grunge wasteland at the time. - Haujobb — “Eye Over You”, 1994.
Critics panned Haujobb as a Puppy knockoff after their first album. But those that were listening heard something deeper, richer and more lasting than much of the electro-industrial field of the 90s. - Daniel Gregori — “Tremendo”, 2019.
Moody, slow and throbbing for the darkest and dirtiest disco floors. - HIDE — “Resurrection (Statiqbloom Remix)”, 2015.
A true clash of titans. The shoot-him-if-he-twitches fury of HIDE transformed into a heat-seeking dancefloor goliath by the inimitable Statiqbloom. This is everything I want from everything. - Downwell — “Tears of the Sun”, 2019.
Modern industrial techno born with a knife between its teeth. This EP was a highlight of 2019. - Front Line Assembly — “Eye On You (Orphx Remix)”, 2018.
Modern FLA remains as relevant as ever, especially in the hands of beat maestro Orphx. That bassline is so heavy it should have a place on the periodic table of elements. - Individual Totem — “W.W.W. (Club)”, 2001.
A critically underrated act who delivered back-to-back albums of next-generation electro-industrial in the 90s, this single was a furious late career uppercut that should have ignited the world if futurepop hadn’t set the bar so low. - gusgus — “Teenage Sensation”, 1999.
I’m just gonna leave this one here. - Cruel Reflections — “Voices”, 2019.
Absolutely sensational pop-oriented post-punk whose ultra-tight production and manic dark energy tense every muscle in your body. A personal favorite from the last decade. - French Police — “Je Te Veux”, 2019.
Similar to groups like Antipole, the magic is the exceptional guitar work that works as hard as the lyrics to give this song a truly beautiful voice. - L’Avenir — “Heart of Hearts”, 2019.
Riveting coldwave that occupies the very narrow triangle within the Venn diagram of “heavy retro influence”, “immediately danceable” and “artistically intelligent”. Works equally well on dancefloors as well as secret mixtapes. - Linea Aspera — “Attica”, 2019.
Sultry. Dark. Pulsing. Cold. Lustful. And that’s only the first 30 seconds. Every gram of hype for this duo is deserved. - Bauhaus — “Kick in the Eye”, 1981.
The most Bauhaus-sounding Bauahus song ever. David J’s bassline is the true star, and it takes every trick in Peter Murphy’s arsenal to control that prowling diesel beast. - Nocturnal Projections — “You’ll Never Know”, 1982.
Equally classic post-punk from the early 80s, thankfully given a thoughtful resurrection by Dais records.