Back catalogue: Industrial/Noise

Review: BOOM! Our favourites, Cititrax, roll the third editions of Tracks out onto our shelves, and the results are unsurprisingly strong on this excellent various artists comp. It's a mixed bag of skills, as per usual, and the sounds are those of a new NYC, fuelled by a new sort of post-industrial sensibility. Amato Y Mariana open with the tight beats and groove of "Queires Bailar", followed closely by the ominous compositions of the EBM-flavoured "Montgat" from The Sixteen Steps. On the flip, His Dirty Secrets bleeps out some morphed acid on "Structures", and "Another Stranger" from Further Reductions churns out a slow, mild-mannered house experiment with its roots clearly planted in the coldest of waves. Sick.

Review: There is a ton of sonic scuzz and frosty electronic texture to both cuts on this new limited 12" from Natural Sciences. And that is frankly to be expected when you are dealing with these two artists - the long-time LIEs associate Beau Wanzer goes first with the fucked up drums and gnarly synths, wiry electronics and dark vocal mutterings of 'The Table Scrap'. On the flip is Chicago noise specialist Hieroglyphic Being with 'This Is The Right Time In Human History 2 Be Stupid.' It's a lo-fi and fuzzy world of busted drum loops and anxious synths.

Review: LA based industrial trio HEALTH have had quite the curious trajectory from their confrontational noise-rock beginnings, to providing the acclaimed score to Max Payne 3, all the way to redefining themselves as a gritty, synth-metal behemoth on 2019's Vol 4: Slaves Of Fear. Following on from their lockdown-inspired two-part Disco 4 collaborative project which boasted cuts written in tandem with artists ranging from a multitude of differing sonic spheres, such as alternative hip-hop (JPEGMAFIA, Ghostemane) to hyperpop (100 Gecs) and even grindcore (Full Of Hell), their latest endeavour appears to be taking cues from both their more vicious experiments as well as their newfound collaborative ethos. With features from the likes of Godflesh and Willie Adler of Lamb Of God, whilst embracing both their metallic and techno-leaning indulgences simultaneously, Rat Wars promises to distil the myriad of components essential to the sonic makeup of HEALTH into one oppressive, melancholic, hellish, absorbing and vital collection.