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Posts Tagged ‘Single’

Watch: ‘Shadow Mirror’ by Gnod

Posted: 5 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: 2026 tour dates, Chronicles of Gnowt Vol. 1, Gnod, Rocket Recordings, Shadow Mirror, Single, Stream, Video

Now in their twentieth year of uncompromising and mind-bending music, Gnod return with Chronicles of Gnowt Vol. 1, the first of a planned trilogy, to be released via Rocket Recordings on 10th April. Vol.2 should arrive in October and Vol. 3 in early 2027. Today, they share the first preview from Vol.1 ‘Shadow Mirror’.

“I am only interested in people engaged in a project of self-transformation,” Susan Sontag once remarked. Sontag never had the chance to work out how she felt about Gnod, given she sadly left this earthly realm in 2004. Yet Gnod’s now twenty year journey through spiritual and audial exploration has been nothing if not that. Driven by relentless curiosity, magpie irreverence and a fierce countercultural imperative, their project has always refused to acknowledge all or any rules and boundaries, internal or external.

The latest adventure of this band may never have been intended to celebrate their two-decade anniversary, but as long-time Gnod member Paddy Shine notes, they don’t always have a lot of say in these matters –“I know that we didn’t plan it this way but perhaps it was always in the plan and we just didn’t know it,” he notes cryptically. “I guess what I’m saying is that the Gnod thing seems to have its own energy now and certain things tend to take care of themselves”.

“We haven’t reflected too heavily on the twenty year mark and maybe we shouldn’t, but I’m glad we are marking it in true Gnod fashion by releasing too many albums” he laughs –indeed, what began as a trip into a residential studio setup in Hellfire Studios with producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy (Lankum, Black MIDI, Caroline) for six days resulted in more potent material than anyone bargained for.

“Working with Spud was probably the best studio experience we’ve had,” Paddy notes. “He was open to all our ideas, facilitated them the best he could and always had great suggestions. The vibe was right and things just flowed”. The end result has been three studio albums to be released over the next year. “This trilogy revealed itself to us in the studio,” says Paddy. “We were hoping to get a good album out of the session and lo and behold we got three of the fuckers. It’s interesting that we did pretty much capture the full spectrum of the Gnod sound across all three”.

2026 tour dates

05 May / UK / Bristol / Strange Brew
06 May / UK / Brighton / Dust
07 May / FR / Paris / les instants chavirés
08 May / DE / Duisburg / Stapeltor
09 May / DE / Berlin / Kantine am Berghain
10 May / PL / Poznań / Pawilon
11 May / CZ / Prague / MeetFactory
12 May / AT / Innsbruck / PMK
13 May / CH / Bern / Dachstock
15 May / NL / Nijmegen / Sonic Whip Festival
16 May / BE / Brussels / Obsidian Dust Festival
17 May / UK / St Leonards / The Piper
03-06 Sep / UK / Dorset / End Of The Road Festival

Photo credit: Jon Perry

GLDN – Vessel

Posted: 4 February 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
Tags: abrasive, GLDN, Harsh, Heavy, Industrial, Metal, Noise, nu-metal, Review, Riffs, Single, Trauma Economy, Vessel

6th February 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

GLDN – the musical vehicle of New York industrial / metal artist Nicholas Golden. It’s been a good couple of years since we’ve heard from him, but he’s back with what he’s calling a ‘hard reboot’. And there’s some emphasis on ‘hard’ here.

Of ‘Vessel’, GLDN is up-front, writing of ‘abandoning the organic grit of the First Blood era, this track establishes a cold, clinical architecture. It is an industrial-metal indictment of the “Trauma Economy”— where pain is sold as content…. merging the mechanical dissonance of 90s industrial with the high-fidelity aggression of modern metal.’

The first fifteen seconds alone are a brutal slab of overloading distorted guitar, bringing that nu-metal brick walling, lump hammer-like bludgeoning. The sound is thick and heavy, and when it arrives, Golden’s vocal is menacing and tortured, at first a whisper, then a scream. Amidst a snarling trudge of heaviosity, Golden evokes Trent Reznor circa The Downward Spiral in his vocal delivery, but occasionally veers into raging metal, following the instrumental work into squalling grindcore territory.

Although tightly structured, ‘Vessel’ is not a verse / chorus song: it’s a relentlessly brutal assault of the most devastating order. It’s the sound of extreme emotional violence, it’s having your oesophagus ripped out by a clawed hand, it’s nihilistic rage distilled into less than four minutes. It’s nothing short of devastating.

Watch: ‘i know computer’ by mclusky

Posted: 4 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: alternative, Future of the Left, i know computer, i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley, Ipecac Recordings, McLusky, Noise Rock, Single, Stream, US tour dates, Video

mclusky have returned with new music (and some not-so-new music) in the form of a mini album called i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley, which ipecac recordings will release on 20th march (digital) and 1st may (vinyl). it will be released in the following formats: digital, black vinyl, ipecac/band translucent red vinyl and the rough trade exclusive variant, crystal fuchsia.

this follows their album the world is still here and so are we which was released in 2025.

content. it drives the modern music world. photos. opinions. more photos. more opinions (please note – not all photos and opinions are bad, just 99 per cent of them). how about – and indulge me here – music? that content-y enough for you? fact is we can’t stop writing, at least at the moment. it’s fun (that’s all it needs to be). it’s the common denominator of band. only death will slow us down (note – it won’t stop us).

the idea for this release started as a bit of a stop-gap – a thing with which to help promote the north american tour – and ended up as something else entirely. ‘i know computer’ and ‘as a dad’ are new and are singles (they may make the next album, who can say, it’s already half-recorded and you will like it). damien probably likes ‘i am computer’ a bit too much but that’s okay, the heart wants what the heart wants.

‘spock culture’ and ‘hi! we’re on strike’ were recorded during the the world sessions. why didn’t they make the album? i’m not sure. lyrically they are important historical documents, up there with the pusheen the cat books and/or the US constitution.

‘fan learning difficulties’ and ‘that was my brain on elves’ have only had a digital release before and are, to quote british children from forty years ago, ‘skill’. hopefully you can agree that i – and by osmosis, all of us – have read a lot of books. – falco x

the live dates in north america are:

march 24 denver, co marquis theater

march 26 seattle, wa the crocodile

march 27 boise, id treefort festival

march 28 portland, or aladdin theater

march 30 san Francisco, ca the chapel

march 31 los angeles, ca the regent theater

april 2 austin, tx empire control room & garage

april 3 minneapolis, mn fine line

april 4 chicago, il metro

april 6 toronto, on mod club

april 10 philadelphia, pa underground arts

april 11 washington, dc black cat

Photo credit: Rick Clifford (@rcstills)

Tombstones In Their Eyes – You Never Have to Love Me

Posted: 3 February 2026 in Reviews, Singles and EPs
Tags: alternative, collaboration, Depth, hazy, Indie, layars, Psychedelic, Single, slow-burn, Stream, texture, Tombstones In Their Eyes, Under Dark Skies, Video, You Never Have to Love Me

The release of this single is in itself a victory. Last autumn, Tombstones In Their Eyes lost guitarist Paul Boutin to cancer. Such a loss always poses the question of whether the right thing is to call it a day or carry on, and there’s really no right answer, no correct course of action. Things will never be the same again, and drawing the curtain out of respect acknowledges that, while to continue is to acknowledge that the future won’t be the same, but to go forward and carry the essence of that person on in future endeavours. I write this not as someone who has lost a band member, but my wife to cancer in recent years, and as such I find myself faced daily with decisions around transition and continuation, challenges over what feels like sacrilege and respectful accommodation of what once was.

Tombstones In Their Eyes are keeping on, and still count Paul as a member in spirit, which is why they elected to proceed with the release of Under Dark Skies in December last year, and now the release of the album’s third single.

‘You Never Have to Love Me’ is described as ‘occupying the uneasy space between collapse and clarity, tracing a moment where survival demands self-reckoning and the realization that repair begins from within’, and is dedicated to Paul.

‘You Never Have to Love Me’ is a magnificently hazy mid-tempo song that builds layers and blooms gradually, and is more of a work of collectivism than simply a band recording, as John Treanor (vocals and guitar) set out: “There are a lot of musicians on this track, with 3 guitar players, 6 people contributing vocals, 2 bass players and 1 drummer and 1 keyboard player. We split the bass parts as Joel was not longer going to be in the band and Nic was coming back in. I had them both do parts and we used some of each. Phil did an amazing outro guitar part that to me is a highlight of the song.”

The result is a magnificently layered piece that starts of gently and grows and swells to towering enormity, a texture-filled sonic monolith. This is a song that fills you up, then lifts you upwards, in a glorious surge, which arrives almost subliminally: one moment you’re drifting along, and then, before you know it, you’re floating… a beautiful blur.

Watch: ‘Katy’s Wart’ by Ecce Shnak

Posted: 3 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Dandy Variances, Ecce Shnak, extended feelm version, Heavy, Katy’s Wart, narrative, Noise, promo, Single, Stream, Video

Serving as a bridge towards their full-length album Dandy Variances album, out later this year via Records, Man Records, genre-defying NYC outfit Ecce Shnak deliberately revisit ‘Katy’s Wart’, a hidden gem originally released on their 2019 Joke Oso album. Telling a visceral tale of justice, the new video introduces a cruel madman, who finally meets his end at the hands of five purple goddesses of righteous vengeance.

The story is presented in two formats: as a three-minute ‘Animated Music Feelm Version’, and an immersive ten-minute ‘Extended Feelm Version’ – which we’re sharing here – with a dramatic backstory that builds tension and context, centered on a well-dressed maniac lacking basic human dignity, whose harmful acts finally trigger a cosmic intervention. The heroic twin sisters, played by Rachael Rae Robertson and Rebecca Robertson, ultimately fend him off with the help of otherworldly agents of chaotic justice. In a supernatural animated turning point, five spirits are conjured to deliver him a dose of instant karma.

A blistering indictment of bigotry and cruelty, this surreal narrative was brought to life through a collaboration with some of the industry’s most innovative creative minds. The project’s striking visual identity is the work of the production-direction team of Hollye Bynum and Sam Owens, as well as the band’s own David Roush. The eery and mind-boggling animation was crafted by the industry titans at Titmouse Productions.

Based in New York City, Ecce Shnak (pronounced Eh-kay sh-knock) is made up of David Roush (composer, bassist and one of two singers), Bella Komodromos (vocals), Chris Krasnow (guitar), Gannon Ferrell (guitar), and Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums). With this high-fidelity animation, ‘Katy’s Wart’ is now a definitive piece of Ecce Shnak lore, bridging their historical catalogue with their ambitious future. In revisiting this slept-on art, they are clearing the path for new music and film works.

Watch: ‘Soft Capture’ by Lowsunday

Posted: 1 February 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Catherine Wheel, Chapterhouse, dream pop, Indie, lowsunday, Projekt Records, Shoegaze, Single, Soft Capture, Stream, Video

Legacy postpunk-shoegaze outfit Lowsunday has shared ‘Soft Capture’, with a new video by Jer Herring. This is the second single from the Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP, following ‘Love Language’. Released via Projekt Records and ranking second among Post-Punk.com’s Best EPs of 2025, this is the band’s first record of all-new material since 1999.

Born in the mid-1990s within the local Pittsburgh scene, Lowsunday (initially known as Low Sunday Ghost Machine) emerged as a “retro-futurist” pioneer, blending darkwave and shoegaze long before the genres saw their modern revival. Their legacy was cemented with their debut album Low Sunday Ghost Machine and the 1999 masterpiece Elesgiem, both of which were re-released via Projekt Records over the past 18 months (for their 30th and 25th anniversaries, respectively).

The band dissolved, leaving behind a cult reputation for mercurial sounds and blistering guitar work that set the stage for subsequent generations of alternative artists. Following a nearly 25-year period of inactivity, the band resurfaced as a duo in 2025—consisting of original members Shane Sahene (vocals, guitar, synth, bass, drums) and Bobby Spell (bass, guitar, drums).

“With ‘Soft Capture’, we wanted to layer vintage synths over a droning bass line, topped with a wandering guitar melody. As the guitar descends, we felt it taking on a darker tone, but then it creates a bit of a silver lining as the melody climbs back up. We used the lead guitar feedback almost like a theremin, letting it melt through the background,” says Shane Sahene.

“Lyrically, we were thinking about the traps of life and the ways we often submit to things, but the song eventually circles around with an optimistic glimpse of having the opportunity to run away. We feel like the backing vocals on the chorus are what really bring that sense of strength and hope to a situation that might otherwise feel like a surrender.”

Serving as both a reflection and a resurgence, the White EP ushers in a welcome return, marked by superb production and a renewed creative clarity, bridging three decades of distinct sonic legacy with balanced doses of escapism, dreamlike sounds, drones and feedback. This first of a two new EPs planned this year, their crystalline shimmer, classic song structures and melodic hooks shows their atmospheric sound to be as timeless and relevant as ever.

The White EP is a natural expansion for Lowsunday, building upon guitar-driven atmospheres, synth textures, emotive vocals and drum beats. A confident return to form that explores darker yet more expansive sonic territory, they bring atmospheric noise and, at more delicate moments, a dream pop air of deeper melancholia. Distilling years of sonic exploration and inspiration, lyrically and sonically, classic post-punk rhythms and atmospheric layers merge to express raw and genuine emotion.

Listen: ‘Lighthouse’ by Hunter As a Horse

Posted: 31 January 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Cinematic, Dance, electronica, Hunter As a Horse, Lighthouse, Metropolis Records, Mia van Wyk, Pop, Single, Stream

Hunter As a Horse (HAAH) is the South African musician and vocalist Mia van Wyk. Based in the Western Cape, she has spent the last few years self-releasing a diverse series of singles and EPs that combine electronically-focused songs with intense, melancholic lyrics that are given a darkly cinematic production.

Having recently signed to Metropolis Records, the first HAAH single for the label is ’Lighthouse’, an extremely personal song that weaves together mythology and psychology. Inspired by Carl Jung and ‘shadow work’, it is about how only the broken can truly understand each other. “But, one who was broken and is now healed has greater power to lead the broken through the dark night of the soul because they know the territory,” explains van Wyk. “It’s like if someone who died came back to guide the lost back home. I’m ignoring every warning about how you can’t save someone and declaring that I can. It’s about fearlessly challenging somebody else’s demons.”

Seamlessly genre-hopping between alternative, indie, electronic and dream-pop, with diversions into alternative dance and even nu-goth, the songs of HAAH have been described as mysterious, apocalyptic soundtracks for the strange happenings of our time, with the UK newspaper The Guardian commenting: “Brings to mind the mesmerising atmospherics of Lamb and Zero 7. Dark and very lovely indeed.”

The song lyrics of van Wyk are a mystical ride through her strange and synchronicitous life. Deeply authentic, they are inspired by death, addiction, astral visions, CPTSD, melancholia, nostalgia and magical thinking.

Hear ‘Lighthouse’ here:

HUNTER AS A HORSE | Mia van Wyk

Listen: ‘Rage’ by Damage Control with Leæther Strip

Posted: 30 January 2026 in Singles and EPs, Recommended Streams and Videos
Tags: Damage Control, electro-industrial, Front Line Assembly, Leæther Strip, Metropolis Records, Oblivion Grid, Rage, Single, Skinny Puppy, Stream

Damage Control is an electro-industrial music project centred around its current core members Bill Barsby, Richard Thacker and Alex Wise, who are all based in Australia, plus Markus App from Germany. Both Barsby and Thacker are originally from Birmingham, England.

Having collaborated with a number of other like-minded musicians from all over the world on their well received 2017 debut album, Ultranoia, they have repeated the trick for its long-awaited follow-up, Oblivion Grid, a release date for which will be announced shortly. As with the first record, they have also retained the skills of Canadian producer Chris Peterson (Front Line Assembly, Noise Unit, Unit:187) and engineer Greg Reely (Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Fear Factory).

‘Rage’ is released today as the first single from the new album and features the Danish musician Leæther Strip aka Claus Larsen on vocals. “We like working with guest singers and have always loved Leaether Strip since the early ’90s industrial and darkwave club scenes,” states Barsby. “We were curious to hear what the combination of our song, Claus’ vocal and Chris’ production would sound like.”

Peterson adds: “Ever since my first conversations with Bill Barsby over a decade ago that led to the first Damage Control album, I believed in the project and that he was making music from his heart that was something special. This is also the case the second time around and holds true with the artists we were lucky enough to have come on board; we all wanted to help and be a part of it. The result is a wonderful release with a variety of songs that is their best work yet. It is a testament to the creative spirit and joy of making and sharing music that attracted so many valuable contributors to lend their talents over the time it took to realise.”

Watch: ‘Noir’ by Port Noir

Posted: 30 January 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: alternative metal, noir, Official Video, Port Noir, Progressive, Single, stream. InsideOutMusic, The Dark We Keep

And so they shall return: Port Noir are starting the year not just with their newest single “Noir”, released today, but the band has also announced their 5th album “The Dark We Keep”, to be released May 15th, 2026, via InsideOutMusic. The newest record by the Swedish prog band will include 11 tracks, delivering their signature blend of alternative metal with progressive influences – creating a captivating journey told by powerful arrangements and pure emotions.

‘Noir’ offers a further glimpse of what people can expect of the band’s newest record, being one of the heaviest songs Port Noir have ever released while keeping it true to their dark atmospheric nature and raw emotionality.

The band comments on the new single:

"’Noir’ taps into the dark and raw energy that signifies the vibe of the new album. We wanted to create something that relentlessly keeps building, like an overwhelming void of light that won’t give in. It’s a lot heavier than anything we’ve released to date, yet there is a sense of sentimentality and solace that guides you through the storm that is ‘Noir’. Lyrically it takes you through a seemingly endless night that bends you to its will. Where bliss and despair make you grasp at anything to get through.”

Photo credit: Björn Glasare

Watch: ‘Sanitizer’ by Culture Clash

Posted: 28 January 2026 in Singles and EPs, Recommended Streams and Videos
Tags: Culture Clash, Hull, movie references, noise-fest, Official music video, Punk, Rock, Sanitizer, Single, slash-horror, Stream, Warren Records

Following the success of their debut single Bad Odour, Hull’s explosive punk outfit Culture Clash return with the dramatic new single Sanitizer inspired by 70s & 80s slasher horror movies like Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), Basket Case (1982) & Maniac (1990).

Produced by renowned local indie producer Adam Pattrick & released on Warren Records, the track follows a serial killer called “The Cleaner”, a school janitor who, having been driven mad by years of messy teenagers, kills anyone who doesn’t clean up after themselves. With this song, the band were keen to create something grungier & heavier than their normal punk sound, which was initially inspired by Nirvana’s album Bleach, with songs like Swap meet & Floyd the Barber being a key focus, as well as The Misfits, with its horror-based theme.

Vocalist Kaii states “This song is important to me as it represents a shift in our song writing format. ‘Sanitizer’ takes Culture Clash as a group of vague floating ideas & shoves those ideas into a bag creating a tight concept of what we are as a band & what we want to do – in short, it gave us a sense of direction”.

The video’s a direct homage to various horror movies & follows the band being murdered by The Cleaner for various crimes against cleanliness! The deaths are mainly carried out practically with real fake blood & each is a reference to a different horror movie – Rymer’s death relates to The Evil Dead 2 (1987) with lots of blood, intense camera movements & facial expressions, Freddie’s death is a homage to Psycho (1960) with him being killed in the shower & Kaii’s death is inspired by Death Becomes Her (1992) as he gets a hole cut through his torso.

Comprising of Kaii Boulton (guitar, vocals), Freddie Abbott (bass, guitar, BVs) & James Rymer (drums, BVs), Culture Clash describe themselves as a three-piece noise making machine that mixes various musical influences with a big serving of distortion in a witch’s cauldron, who then serve it up straight to their audience. They focus on mixing many elements from their influences (The Misfits, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Pixies, The Cure & Talking Heads) to tell a narrative that they hope people will relate to.

According to Kaii, Culture Clash exists as a band because “the sky looked nice one day” & he thought it would make a good album cover! Having spent 30% of an early recording session talking with their producer about Star Wars (a mistake they will not be repeating), this determined group have learnt from their mistakes! Headlining gigs in their local area during 2025, Culture Clash are definitely on the rise. Be sure to keep up ….

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