EBM – MELT REVIEWS

Album Review: Bustié – Throb

Rating: 8/10

Due to loss, grief, and immense focus on perfectionism, New York-based act “Bustié’s” sophomore album Throb faced many delays, but now 7 years after their debut Birds of Paradise, the album has finally arrived at the perfect time. Living in the U.S. right now is frightening if you’re a person of color, LGBTQ+, or just simply don’t support a fascist regime, so now more than ever we need music that comes from people of said communities to inspire, provide hope, raise awareness, and provide a dance party of escapism, and Bustié does just that. Combining genres such as Hi-NRG, Synth Pop, EBM, and Freestyle, Throb celebrates the elements that make these genres so undeniable and infectious. Topped with lead member Angelika Padilla’s chant-like vocals that provide another layer of rhythm on top of the already entrancing beats, this music will make anyone want to move. Whether you’re the type to cut up a rug on the dance floor, or the type to stand back and bob your head to the beat, this music is for you. Thematically this album deals with lust, loss, and sexuality, and though it’s often dark sonically, it’s perfectly contrasted with heavy elements of 80’s-styled Pop which helps prevent the album from diving into doom and gloom. It’s Janet Jackson at a Nitzer Ebb concert, and it’s fantastic.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize Detail New “Nine Inch Noize” Album

Following their highly successful tour and incredible Coachella set, “Nine Inch Nails” and “Boys Noize” are set to release their collaborative album Nine Inch Noize this Friday. The album will feature re-imagined Nine Inch Nails tracks, as well as a reworked version of How to Destroy Angels’ “Parasite,” and a cover of Soft Cell’s “Memorabilia.” According to Trent Reznor, the album was recorded “all over the place, some of it’s live, some in studios, hotels, planes, etc.” Check out the tracklist below:

Tracklist:

01. Intro (Nine Inch Noize Version)

02. Vessel (Nine Inch Noize Version)

03. She’s Gone Away (Nine Inch Noize Version)

04. Heresy (Nine Inch Noize Version)

05. Parasite (Nine Inch Noize Version)

06. Copy Of A (Nine Inch Noize Version)

07. Me I’m Not (Nine Inch Noize Version)

08. Closer (Nine Inch Noize Version)

09. The Warning (Nine Inch Noize Version)

10. Memorabilia (Nine Inch Noize Version)

11. Came Back Haunted (Nine Inch Noize Version)

12. As Alive as You Need Me to Be (Nine Inch Noize Version)

Pre-save here:https://presave.umusic.com/nineinchnoize-presave

ADULT. Release New Single “R U 4 $ALE”

Detroit duo “ADULT.” have been at it since the late 90s. They were a prominent group during the “Electroclash” movement in the early 2000s, made some killer anxiety-ridden “Synth Punk” in the mid to late 2000s and in recent years have been an important group in the world of modern “EBM” and “Industrial.” However, all of those genre tags still don’t do the band justice when describing their sound. ADULT. sounds like ADULT. After all these years the band haven’t skipped a beat, and now they have a new album on the horizon titled Kissing Luck Goodbye. The album will be released on March 27th via “Dais Records,” and following their previous single “No One is Coming,” the band have released another banger titled “R U 4 $ALE.” You can listen to the track below:

Pre-order the album here:

https://adultmusic.bandcamp.com/album/kissing-luck-goodbye-2

Album Review: PVA – More Like This

Artist: PVA

Album: More Like This

Genre: Trip Hop/EBM/Synthpop

Label: It’s All For Fun

Rating: 7/10

Four years after their debut album BLUSH, London trio and Windmill scene affiliates “PVA” have returned with their second full-length album No More Like This, and it’s a more developed version of the Industrial-tinged post-club sound featured on BLUSH with instrumentation more focused on making you feel than making you dance. The Downtempo and Trip Hop elements complimented by lead singer Ella Harris’ deadpan almost spoken word vocals bring to mind a band like Massive Attack. This album is rhythmic, atmospheric and somber in tone with a heavy emphasis on either consistent instrumental repetition or instrumentation that builds and builds but maintains a steady flow instead of bursting out into an all out dance party. However, with how brilliantly produced these tracks are, I feel like much of this album would be complimented more if the vocals didn’t always sound deadpan and carried the same weight and emotion as the instrumentation. The talk singing makes sense during the album’s more anti-melodic moments, but there’s some tracks with dreamy synth lines that just feel a bit underwhelming when contrasted with Harris’ subdued vocals. The track “Anger Song” finds Harris giving us a more passionate and luscious vocal delivery which at times frustrates me that the album doesn’t feature more of that, but even with that critique the album is still an enjoyable listen, and it’s interesting hearing the direction all the Windmill alumni are going in.

Written By: Steven Sandoval

The Reality TV Shares New Single “Beats”

Musician Benjamin Mace-Crossley has released his new single “Beats” under his “The Reality TV” project, and it’s appropriately titled because this track has a danceable drum machine beat that will get you moving immediately. Topped with goth-tinged guitars and synthesizers that evoke the spirit of 80’s “Dark Wave” or “EBM,” this song is a gloomier and doomier dance tune that brings poppy fun to the aforementioned genres without straying into despair. You can listen to “Beats” below:

ADULT. Share Music Video for New Song “Total Total Damage”

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Electronic duo “ADULT.” are set to release their new album Perception is/as/of Deception on April 10th via “Dais Records,” and today the Detroit duo have released another new track off the upcoming album as well as a new music video to accompany it. The track is titled “Total Total Damage,” and the music video was made in quarantine and features the two completely annihilating the set they had built for the video with sledgehammers, which perfectly reflects this stir crazy time we’re forced to endure at the moment in quarantine. You can watch the music video for “Total Total Damage” below:

ADULT. Announce New Album “Perception is/as/of Deception,” Share New Single “Why Always Why”

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Being over 20 years in the music world, Detroit duo “ADULT.” still manage to sound fresh and reinvent themselves with every release. Their last album This Behavior was a back to basics triumph that recalled the Electroclash sound of their early work, but with a veteran sense of focus the band improved on that sound incorporating the darker EBM-laden grooves we’ve come to know the band for. Now, just two years after that release the band have announced they will be releasing their follow-up Perception is/as/of Deception on April 10th via “Dais Records.” The band have also released the album’s debut single “Why Always Why,” a synth-heavy track that is as urgent sounding and anxiety-inducing as it is danceable, because you know with “ADULT.” it’s anxiety always (if you know you know.) You can watch the music video for “Why Always Why” below:

Nine Inch Nails’ “Pretty Hate Machine” Turns 30

On this day in 1989 “Nine Inch Nails” released their groundbreaking debut album Pretty Hate Machine. Recorded almost entirely by sole member Trent Reznor, this album took the “Industrial” style and combined it with elements of “Pop” with traditional verse-chorus structure that added accessibility as opposed to bands such as “Ministry” or “Skinny Puppy” whose music was on the more harsh and tumultuous side. This was the beginning of Reznor’s typical lyrical themes of angst, depression, obsession, addiction, society, and religion, and the sincerity of it all still to this day can resonate with anyone whom feels misunderstood and alienated. Sure this album sounds instrumentally skeletal compared to what followed in the “Nine Inch Nails” discography, but I can’t think of a better starting point for what became an important legacy in music history. Happy Anniversary.

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Chelsey and the Noise Share New Song “Are You Afraid?”

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As far as i’m concerned, “Chelsey and the Noise” are one of the most innovative acts in Industrial/EBM music today. They adopt traditional Industrial sensibilities all while fearlessly incorporating a darker version of Pop to make us dance and even Metal to make us thrash. Halloween is upon us, so of course we need a new track from the duo, and on their new single appropriately titled “Are You Afraid?” they deliver an enticing combination of EBM, Metal, and even a little Trap, proving once again that they aren’t afraid to drag the genre of Industrial kicking and screaming into the new age. Don’t be afraid to listen to this track. Link below:

https://m.soundcloud.com/chelseyandthenoise/are-you-afraid

Chelsey and the Noise Release New Track “Mercy Kneel”

Bay Area based “Industrial” duo “Chelsey and the Noise” released an impressive E.P. last year titled Blank Frames, an E.P. laden with hard-hitting “EBM” inspired production along with catchy songwriting that brought an undeniable sense of catchiness to the usually chaotic world of “Industrial.” Today the duo dropped a stellar new track titled “Mercy Kneel,” and this thing is incredibly addictive. You can listen to the track below:

https://m.soundcloud.com/chelseyandthenoise/mercy-kneel