I always do like 50 different drafts for just the opening alone then end up with one stripped down thing like this at the end of it all because I just wanna get this ish out there to the masses. 2021 has been up’s and down’s in the world but a pretty solid year overall for music. So much so that I almost considered not ranking my massive list of 21 releases that did it for me in 2021. Almost. As always, thanks for liking and following and most importantly, thanks for reading!
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It’s never too early to start planning the following year’s “Most Anticipated” list especially when news comes that an artist responsible for one of our most favorite’s of the previous year is back with what’s sure to be another banger.
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The RIYL section of the press release for Refrigerator from Bikini Death Race mentions Ladytron, Le Tigre, Kap Bambin and Light Aslyum but if you want the whole sonic portrait then you’ve GOT to add The Network, Devo, Wall Of Voodoo, and Shiny Toy Guns in there as well. Does that sound like a lot? Well, it is! But it all works. Especially considering that, despite all those comparisons, Bikini Death Race sound like Bikini Death Race.
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No artist out there today comes close to replicating the magic of early KMFDM classics or Front Line Assembly’s more guitar-driven forays into the Industrial genre. That is, until Rise In Fire by Order Of The Static Temple drops. As an original banger, it owns. As an homage or history lesson for the uninitiated, it’s kind of perfect.
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It’s an understatement that 2020 was a pretty fucked up year, right? Machine Head was the last live band I saw back in February and a few days after that I found myself in an emergency room with some unexpected surgery to be had (Don’t worry, I’m fine now!) followed by the shutdown across the country. There’ve been ups, downs, and everything in between in 2020 but one constant has been the music. Artists have adapted with some keeping those schedules and releasing new albums despite not being able to tour behind them while others are holding off altogether. Some have done well with the new norm of livestreamed concerts and while I’ve checked out a few, personally they’re just not my cuppa.
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This is such an interesting piece of art! Kind of hearkening back to the mid-’90’s and downtrodden tunes that were emerging from the underbelly of Grunge (Think Kim Gordon-led Sonic Youth moments and the majority of the Lou Barlow-driven Kids soundtrack as a template), grabyourface’s Sea takes that sound, combines it with lo-fi Hip-Hop and the beginnings of Trip-Hop and wraps it all in an Industrial setting. Intrigued yet? Because you should be!
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I love me some Industrial. If we’re being honest, that’s my favorite genre. But Darkwave is a very, VERY close second. And artists like Corlyx really solidify that ranking for me and make me question whether or not I should reconsider my current genre rankings. But let’s face it, in a lot of the cases the biggest difference is the delivery. Industrial has yer heavy guitars while Darkwave relies on sultry synths to convey intent but in each case, the results are potent.
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I’ve said this before but there are certain records that I’m so into that I find it hard to articulate properly within these pages so, more often than not, those records remain as an unfinished draft or at least saved for a year end list. Then there are those that are out and available for the masses that I don’t feel the need to type about after the fact because who needs a critic’s take when it’s out for all to consume???
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