“Usé”, his solo project since 2011, releases today an album on Born Bad, Chien de la casse. On the cover, a dusty van stands in the half-light of an abandoned barn, with a pack of dogs hastily gathered : nothing here is made-up. Yet, the colors are warm, the mood is relaxed. No pity party here. We almost envy the guy at the centre of the picture, who is lucky enough to spend his days indulging in the child-like pleasure of hitting anything the hardest you can, in a pristine environment solely surrounded by animals. Usé’s music is like that free party that we’ve looked for in this pitch-dark night, in the heart of the forest, led by the thumping noise coming from the ground : wild and aggressive, yet welcoming and touching in its bareness. You surrender to the mighty power of the trance, embrace the regressive pleasure of the drums wreaking havoc, the flimsy jingles, the texts rhythmic as a Dada poem. The heck with tomorrow, when the day will rise, because right now everything shivers with a frenzy that feels like life itself, and you won’t find this anywhere else.
There are seven tracks on Chien de la casse, duly introduced by the spiteful grunts of a pissed-off mongrel, most likely a Cerberus guarding the trailer of a meth dealer in Indiana. Over the course of six tracks, Usé sounds as though he is writing an ode to break-ins in garbage dumps with the sole purpose of banging on rusty cans until they burst. Only “Sous mes draps” echoes like a sad nursery rhyme, but leaves the realm of social realism to wander on the foggy heights of a fairground horror flick. “C’est si lisse” concludes the album with a fire alarm and some human barking, in an atmosphere of a black mass saturated with backward tapes : the dream ends up in chaos, it’s almost day. Actual violence begins. I’ll see you next week at the squat.
Vinyl LP / Digipak CD / Digital Album
Supernova 1006 is a cold wave / neo-post-punk band from Khabarovsk, Russia.
Rot On The March is a gothic rock project from Voronezh, Russia.
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Date at Midnight formed in Rome in 2007, and quickly established a reputation both in Italy and abroad: during last years they’ve been playing extensively in Germany, Spain, France, Austria, Switzerland; the current line – up features Daniele De Angelis (voice), Pasquale Vico (bass), Francesco Barone (guitar) and Francesco Mignogna (drums), who joined the band in 2012, succeeding to former drummer Danilo Staniscia. After their debut, self – titled EP (2008), they signed an agreement with Manic Depression Records to release in 2012 their first full – length, “No Love”.
They are distinguished by a powerful sound in which the ruins of the Eternal City meet the chaotic feelings of metropolitan landscapes, introspective sensations, and pervasive irony, combining the instinct of Post-punk, the dramatic attitude of Deathrock and Gothic Rock, and the atmosphere of (Italian) New Wave in a very personal style, resulting in solid rhythms with abrasive guitar and theatrical vocals, both with English and Italian lyrics.
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From Croatia, Cyborgs On Crack is a “one man band” music project founded in 2010 by Domagoj Krsic. The Industrial Polka Classics compilation contains selected works from 2012 to 2016.
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Winter Severity Index is a New Wave project from Rome, Italy, by Simona Ferrucci, singer, guitarist, composer and songwriter. It was born in 2009 as a traditional band, formed by four young women. During 2010 the band published a self-released EP, “Winter Severity Index”, distributed by AF Music, now sold-out. In the same year and in 2011 the band received lots of good reviews all over Europe and performed gigs in Italy, in Berlin and in Lisbon, at the Graveyard Fest. In January 2012 the project took the form of a duo, after the decision of two members to leave the band. Simona continued collaborating with Valentina Fanigliulo (a.k.a. Mushy) .
Simona and Valentina recorded the new EP “Survival Rate”, released on May 2013 by Blood Rock Records. The EP, now sold out, has been widely distributed all over the world and collected many of good reviews from music magazines and web-zines. Now Simona is collaborating with Alessandra Romeo ( ex Cat Fud and Bohemien).
They recorded the first LP of the project, “Slanting Ray”, released on April 2014 by Manic Depression and Blood Rock Records, now sold out. The album was presented in several venues and festivals all over Europe and it was mentioned as one of the best New Wave album of the year by many magazines, both in Italy and abroad.
Their second LP Human Taxonomy, released by Manic Depression Records in may 2016, was presented in first preview at the Wave Gothic Treffen in Leipzig, receiving a warm welcoming by the audience.
Listen here and order here.
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