KEYGEN CHURCH
KEYGEN CHURCH is a side project from synth-metal sorcerer MASTER BOOT RECORD. This album shifts from the heavy synth work to pianos and organs and it seriously evokes the mood of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, for those of you who remember that amazing game on the original PlayStation.
John Bergin, “KILLER”
John Bergin has been releasing rich, understated music for over 20 years. Back in the 90s he released albums under the band names Trust Obey and C17H19No3, both of which were built around cinematic and literary worlds, some of which accompanied actual stories and books, so of which didn’t. In all cases, the audio was a rich tapestry entrenched in conceptually rich worlds. With KILLER, the same thing applies, this time the setting is 90’s era cyberpunk against a psychological suspense thriller. Needless to say, I highly recommend this.
Castle If, “Sector 03”
Castle If is a project by Jess Forrest who has a fair sized catalog of albums now, this one being a high point for me. All of her work is made with rich analog synth work, but the character in this one is really fantastic. The analog washes are almost reminiscent of Kraftwerk, and the added, modulated vocals hammer home that comparison. However, where Kraftwerk was an exploration of machines and robots, this is far more emotive. There is still a strong tribute to machines present in the content, but stylistically we’re dealing with something much more human. Needless to say if you like Kraftwerk , it is worth a spin, but it also has an early Chris & Cosey vibe.
Uniform, “The Long WalkGet it on Bandcamp
Uniform’s “The Long Walk” is the best they’ve released so far, in my opinion, and that’s a bold statement considering what they’ve released in the past. It is angry. It is brutal. It is dark. It is intersecting my punk rock attitude with that sharp industrial music edge that I love. This stands out in rage and quality, in an era where I find myself listening to a lot of angry music.
