Coldwave/Synth charts

Review: "The final episode of this soap-opera of a band will be released in the form of a 7 inch on 24.01.2025." If this is your first encounter with De Nooit Moede, then welcome to the wake of the best group you sadly only cottoned onto when they were posting about their final release on Instagram. The Brussels seven piece's swan song certainly fits the bill for funeral soundtrack, with RIP's garage-punk-wave washing through your mind with equal parts melancholy and swagger. Four tracks run from the staccato-step of 'Doopsel', which opens the scoring and sets the mood perfectly, through the more melodic 'Sluiswachter', blissfully downtrodden 'Fake Niet', and motoring 'Alledaagse Nachten'. Each is as infectiously groovy as the next, and cooler than pretty much everything else you will have been listening to this week/month/year. More Flemish attitude, please.

Review: The duo of Anna Ersatz and Ole Cassette make up Das A&O. A Leipzig-based powerhouse in the form of two humans generating all manner of weird and wacky cacophonies, the pair's latest efforts have seen them come to their neighbouring Rat Life Records, based in the same city. Inspired by early human origin myths - "les hommes boivent" translates to "humans have to drink", nodding to a rather well-known myth of the first ever human couple, whose names begin with A and E respectively - this 7" deals in dark synthwave and staccato, rifting acid, with both the title track and 'The Rainbow Sponge' keeping as bangerific are they are wacky.

Review: Towa Tei is best known for his membership of the influential house music troupe Deee-Lite, the legacy of which has helped sustain a prolific solo career. Now comes the two fresh bits 'Ear Candy' and 'Muse'. Channelling the aesthetic spirit of Tei's many collaborators and influenecs - that of singer and drummer Yukihiro Takahashi, once a member of the legendary techno-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra, and the artist Yayoi Kusama - we get something between broken beat, electro-funk, and downtempo dadaist electronica as the result, as we are implored to "bring that funky music", an impulse almost certainly as addictive as the sugary highs elicited from actual candy.

Review: Narco Marco returns to Pace In Stereo for more adventures through yesterday's tomorrow. As ever, the production is incredible, offering two tracks that pack a timeless sound informed by Italo, early electro-pop, cold and synth wave, a twin delight that somehow serves as the ideal home or headphone listen, yet is also dance floor ready and primed for proper parties. Starting on the slowest, tempo wise, 'Bald Tag' doesn't exactly owe a debt to Kraftwerk but certainly offers a place for sounds could have evolved in the back catalogue of the German pioneers. It's a weird and warbling, stepping, highly musical ride. 'Ice Tea', meanwhile, opts to get more of a stomp on, glittering harmonies painting stars in the sky above, vocals swapped out for more melodic depth.

Review: Two distinctive tracks that balance industrial and techno grit and dancefloor energy. Side-1's 'Territorial Discrepancy' kicks things off with a driving beat layered over EBM influences and rave-inspired keyboard stabs. Its catchy rhythm and raw energy make it a surefire crowd-pleaser for peak-time sets. On Side-2, 'Notions Of Ceremony' takes a more experimental turn, blending techno grooves with a danceable, vocal-infused vibe. The track's unique character evokes comparisons to early Severed Heads and Underworld, combining fun, depth and innovation into a seamless whole. With its sharp production and bold creativity, this ia memorable addition to the techno landscape.

Review: Sexbeat are the latest gem you're about to fall in love with from the lost generation of punk, Now Wave and Neo-Goth. We only wish there was more information we could share about them, other than the fact they hit hard and manage to straddle the lines between raw and nasty and strangely romantic and melodic. It's rousing stuff that wants us to sing along while getting spat in the face because the front row is so close to the stage and the vocals are delivered with such resolute aggression. On this self-titled A-sider, they launch from the starting blocks with all the energy and atmosphere of an era that's sadly now confined to history, rolling bassline and driving drums immediately gunning for your attention, nodding to the likes of Surf Nazis Must Die and Aufrichtiges Zappa.

Review: The overdetermination of many sources of inspiration fed the making of this new EP by Asymmetrical (Giovanni Inglese), whose regular top-ups for the label have earned him his very own catalogue number reservation, this one coming as no exception. Said inspirations include: the digit 7, elevated to the status of Jim Carrey's number 23; a sticker glimpsed in a bathroom in a north-west Rome nightclub; and a long gestation of studio sessions, committed to between 2018 and 2020. The result was a slurrying EBM release of the coldest affect, consisting largely of all-consuming licky bass, mussitating monologues ('Estetica Della Notte' tells the tale of assuming nocturnal form while under the domed hoardings of Rome's famous Pantheon) and subtly vampiric overtones ('Porno Incubo').