New releases last eight weeks: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Blkmarket Underground Music Party Edits is a sub-label to the influential Blkmarket, an esteemed label and event series in New York. Contrary to what that catalogue number might indicate, this is actaully their second release and has Facets at the controls. First up is 'Computers' with its raw and snappy analogue drum sounds and late-night synth details. 'Time Of War' is another full-fat blend of analogue drum thump and driving synth motifs, 'Talk To Me' has crashing cold-wave synths and deadpan vocals and 'Paranoia' has loopy vocals and moody atmospheres for freaky dancing. 'Lies' and 'Dub To Destruct' shut down this varied and retro-tinged EP with jerking rhythms that will do plenty of damage.

Review: Back by popular demand comes this four track revisitation of the famous 80s synthpop classic, which emerged in December 2024 with the kind of slightly Euro twist in the vocal department you might expect from the Netherlands-based Random Vinyl stable. The Master Mix is perhaos the most poignant, given that its airy, lush pads were put together by the late producer Marc Hartman who very sadly passed away in August 2024 at the far too young age of 58. But all four show due reverence to this monolithic moment in electronic music history, without resisting the temptation to add a little new. Grey-t stuff.

Review: UV & Nenor link up once more and return to Fossils with three new edits that take the form of spaced-out deep cosmic chuggers. These are all classy tunes with an analogue edge, great deference to the classic synth sounds of days gone by but all with nice modern touches. 'Space Love' is a widescreen odyssey with sultry female vocals and a sweet theremin sound. On the flip, 'Shwag' has hazy pads and slowed down, rugged, sleazy drums and bass and then last of all comes 'GoGo Stomp' with another bubbly bottom end, squelchy bassline and weird but wonderful vocal sounds. A brilliantly high-grade addition to your record back.

Review: Zarkoff taps into myriad different sources for inspiration here - there are swirling vocals that remind of Bowie, chilly synths from Depeche Mode and lithe beats from the contemporary underground. It's all crafted from melancholic synths as the heavenly voices soar up top and hypnotic drum machine beats lock in the groove. It makes for music that is both suited to more cultured club sets but also home listening sessions. 'Bureau Degradation' is our favourite for the slightly speedier beats and more pained vibes of the synths. A brilliantly original EP, wherever you look.

Review: Cititrax proudly presents the debut LP from Another Body Found here, which is the latest moniker of A// who is well known for his pioneering work as Le Syndicat Electronique. Emerging from the French underground with a dark electro, industrial, minimal synth and wave style, he has a stark and visceral take on raw energy and haunting atmospheres. There are plenty of mechanical, hypnotic beats here with heft bass and hints of dystopian fears. The title track reimagines Bronski Beat's 'Smalltown Boy' and strips it to its emotional core, 'Lost In The Northern Lights' has a cold, urgent sound and 'Murderous Earth' is brilliantly unsettling and melancholic.

Review: Last year, regular collaborators Ian Boddy (a Sunderland-based electronics wizard who founded the ambient-focused DiN imprint years ago) and Erik Wallo (a long-serving Norwegian guitarist primiarly known for his experimental and ambient releases) performed their first joint concert for a decade. It's that performance, where they jammed out extended and much-changed versions of tracks featured on some of their prior studio sets, which forms the basis of their latest full-length, Transmissions. As you'd expect, it's a wonderfully atmospheric and evocative affair that gets the most out of both artists, with highlights including the wonderfully creepy 'Uncharted', the krautrock-style hypnotism of 'Aboena', the icy and ethereal 'Ice Station' and the slow-burn bliss of 'Salvage'.

Review: Broken English Club is the alias of techno veteran Oliver Ho and here he explores his signature industrial wave and post-punk sound with unflinching intensity as he lands on Dekmantel's UFO Series with Songs Of Love And Decay. It is a raw, brooding album dedicated to the late Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant with tracks like 'Crawling' and 'Death Cult' echoing his tribal techno roots. 'England Heretic' meanwhile channels eerie synthwave and Giallo vibes and 'Vessel Of Skin' delves into distortion-laced post-punk that contrasts with the stark futurism of 'Pacific Island Kill.' Ho blends cinematic textures with club energy throughout so makes for a dark, emotionally charged tribute that pushes beyond typical boundaries and is sure to resonate in the club.

Review: Swedish EBM icon Celldod returns to Electronic Emergencies with a new album pressed on striking transparent magenta vinyl. Pa Liv Och Dod is a superbly emotionally charged release that channels the raw energy of D.A.F. and Front 242 while blending dark electronic beats with intense lyrical themes. It has collaborations with Leroy Se Meurt and Michael Zodorozny, plus Anders Karlsson's haunting Swedish vocals exploring death and life's meaning also appear across tunes that are both urgent and dance floor directed. Pa Liv Och Dod will force you to confront fear and chaos head-on while offering a soundtrack that offers some catharsis from it all.

Review: Wolfgang Flur is of course the former electronic percussionist of Kraftwerk during their classic era from 1974 to 1986. He's now set to release a new studio album featuring collaborations with several synth-pop and dance music icons. They include German techno duo U96, Yello's Boris Blank, Thomas Vangarde - better known as former Daft Punk mainman Thomas Bangalter - Juan Atkins, Antony Rother, Emil Schult and New Order legend Peter Hook. Flur has since become a celebrated solo artist whose music blends retro-futurism, melody and narrative while always maintaining an optimistic vision for humanity.

Review: This release, which was recorded for Bremen Radio in 1971, features four extended tracks showcasing German pioneers Kraftwerk in a very different light from their later work. The short-lived lineup of Schneider, Rother and Dinger fused electric guitar with their then-signature electronic sounds and it gives rise to unusual, exciting and innovative music. Half of the tracks here, as hardcore fans will recognise, are drawn from their debut album, Kraftwerk 1, and the recording quality is excellent. This release also includes full recording details along with extensive sleeve notes that help offer a fascinating glimpse into Kraftwerk's early, experimental sound before their more iconic and pioneering electronic phase.

Review: Reissued over two decades since its original release, the second full-length from Liverpool's Ladytron still thrums with the same sharp-edged futurism that made it such a cult touchpoint. Tracks like 'Seventeen' and 'Evil' captured a tension between robotic detachment and raw emotional charge, anchored in the band's icy synth palette and minimal, deadpan vocals. While 'Blue Jeans' flirts with glammy melancholy, 'Turn It On' and 'Fire' dial up the menace, tapping into something more volatile. There's something surgical about the sequencing tooi'Cracked LCD', 'NuHorizons' and 'Cease2exist' stretch into more abstract terrain, before folding back into hook-laced electro-pop with the closing title track and 'The Reason'. With Daniel Hunt and Mickey Petralia co-producing, the album took shape in Los Angeles but never lost the European chill that defined their sound. It's a record that helped redraw the map for synth-pop in the early 2000sineither retro-futurist pastiche nor pure nostalgia, but something sleek, cinematic and entirely their own.

Review: In 1984, Gary Numan launched Numa Records and started a new phase in his career with the release of Berserker. This album introduced a harder-edged digital sound into his canon while maintaining the analogue textures of his earlier work. It's a testament to the fact that Numan's creative evolution never stopped and blends both personal and fictional narratives into haunting tracks like 'My Dying Machine,' 'This Is New Love' and 'Berserker.' The remastered double vinyl edition includes the original album with bonus tracks that add extra perspective to this pivotal period in his career.

Review: Legendary British outfit Saint Etienne returned with their 12th studio album late last year, and now it lands on vinyl via Heavenly Recordings. A much-awaited follow-up to 2021's I've Been Trying To Tell You, this ambient collection offers a gentle, immersive experience designed to ease the noise of daily life. It was produced with Augustin Bousfield and blends songs, spoken word and rain-soaked textures into a seamless dreamscape, all recorded between Saltaire in the north and Hove down on the south coast. It captures the fragile space between waking and sleep with highlights like 'Half Light' and 'Preflyte'. As such, The Night is best experienced on headphones and is ideal for late hours, reflection and introspection.

Review: A warm welcome back to long-serving French duo Scratch Massive, a DJ/production twosome who have been active locally and internationally since 1994. Nox Anima is, somewhat remarkably, the duo's first studio album since 2018. Rooted in the stylish, atmospheric and occasionally moody new wave sound they've been developing for decades, the album frequently pairs dark and clandestine analogue and modular synth sounds - throbbing, arpeggio-style sequences and ghostly chords - with metronomic or sparse beats, moments of melodic positivity, spacey electronics and whispered or sung female lead vocals. It's a musical blend that pays dividends far more often than not, making Nox Anima a must-check for fans of leftfield synth pop and chilly coldwave sounds.