/
DE

Wave Tension Vinyl, CD & Tape 13 Items

Vinyl, CD & Tape 13 Rock & Indie 2 Electronic & Dance 11 Pop 3
Hide Filter & Categories Show Filter & Categories
Filter Results
Format
Format
Vinyl
LP
12"
Close
Artist
Artist
Bleib Modern
Filmmaker
Neon Lies
Raderkraft
Soft Riot
Staatseinde
Suir
The Ultimate Dreamers
Transhuman Rebirth
V.A.
Wires & Lights
Close
Label
Label
!K7
100% Electronica
1332
20 Buck Spin
20th Century Masterworks
4AD
90's Tapes / HHV
A&M Records
ABC Records
Absolute
Ace
Acid Jazz
Act Music
Afm
Air Vinyl
Alive
Alone
AMIGA
AMS
Analogue Productions
Analogue Productions Atlantic 75 Series
Anti
Apollon
Apple Records
Archives De La Zone Mondiale
Argonauta
Ariola
Arising Empire
Arista
Arts
Asylum Records
Athens Of The North
Atlantic
ATO
ATO Records
Atomic Fire
Audiolith
Audioplatter
Back On Black
Baco
BBE
Be With
Bear Family
Because Music
Beggars Banquet
Bella Union
Best Record Italy
BFD
BGP
Big Crown
Big Scary Monsters
Black Buffalo
Black Screen
Black Truffle
Blanco Y Negro
Blue Note
BMG
BMG Rights Management
BMG/Sanctuary
Bongo Joe
Bordello A Parigi
Born Bad
Brainfeeder
Brutal Panda
Buddah Records
Bureau B
Burning Sole
Burning Sounds
Candlelight
Capitol
Capitol Records
Captured Tracks
Caroline
Carpark
Casablanca
Castle Face
CBS
CBS/Sony
Century Media
Century Media Catalog
Charly
Cherry Red
Chiwax
Chopped Herring
Chrysalis
Cinedelic
City Slang
Cleopatra
Clouds Hill
Cold Busted
Colemine
Columbia
Compost
Concord
Concord Jazz
Constellation
Cooking Vinyl
Craft
Croatia
Crosstown Rebels
Crucificados Pelo Sistema
Cult Legends
Culture Factory
Dais
Damaged Goods
Daptone
Dark Entries
Dead Oceans
Deathbomb Arc
Deathwish
Decca
Def Jam
Dekmantel
Delsin
Delusions Of Grandeur
Demon
Denovali
Destination Moon
Deutsche Grammophon
Dezi-Belle
DFA
Diggers Factory
Dischord
Discrepant
DMC
Dol
Domino
Don Giovanni
Drag City
Drumcode
Dying Victims
Dying Victims Productions
Dynamite Cuts
Earache
Earmusic
Earmusic Classics
Earth Libraries
ECM
Editions Mego
Electric Valley
Electronic Purification
Elektra
EMI
Emotional Rescue
Empire
End Hits
Epic
Epitaph
Epitaph Europe
Erased Tapes
Europa
Expansion
F.O.A.D.
Fantasy
Far Out
Fat Beats
Fat Possum
Fat Wreck Chords
Favorite
Feel It
Fire
Fire Talk
Fokuz
Four Flies
Friday Music
Frontiers
Full Time Hobby
Fun In The Church
Funk Night
Fuzz Club
FXHE
Gaphals
Geffen
Geffen Records
Get On Down
Ghostly International
Glassnote
Glitterbeat
Glitterhouse
Golden Core
Gondwana
Gordy
Grand Hotel Van Cleef
Greensleeves
Grönland
Groovin
Guerssen
Gunner
Hammerheart
Heavenly
Heavy Psych Sounds
HHV
High Focus
High Roller
Hip Hop Enterprise
Honest Jon's
Honeypie
Hopeless
Hot Casa
Hot Creations
Hot Tracks
Houndstooth
Hyperdub
Ikuisuus
Ilian Tape
Improved Sequence
Impulse
In The Red
Indie
Infine
Innovative Leisure
Insideoutmusic
Intermusic
International Anthem
Interscope
Interstellar Smoke
Invada
Invictus Productions
Ipecac
Irma
Iron Lung
Island
Island Records
Izipho Soul
Jackpot
Jagjaguwar
Jakarta
Jazz Images
Jazzland
Jazzline
Jealous Butcher
Jet Set
Jive
Joyful Noise
Jump Up
Karisma
Karma Chief
Kent
Kill Rock Stars
KingUnderground
Kniteforce
Kompakt
Kranky
Kscope
L.I.E.S.
La Agonia De Vivir
La Vida Es Un Mus
Laced
Laser Media
Last Night From Glasgow
Lawson
Legacy
Lex
Liberty
Light In The Attic
Liquidator
Listenable
Lobster Theremin
Lofi
Loma Vista
London
London Records
Lovely
Luaka Bop
M-Theory Audio
Mad About
Mascot Label Group
Massacre
Masterworks
Matador
MCA
MCA Records
Mello Music Group
Memphis Industries
Mercury
Merge
Metal Blade
Metalville
Metronome
Mexican Summer
MIG
Milan
Mississippi
Mnrk Music Group
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Modern Harmonic
Mondo
Mord
Morr Music
Most Wanted
Motown
Mr Bongo
Mule Musiq
Munster
Music From Memory
Music On Vinyl
Musik Produktion Schwarzwald
Mute
Napalm
Nature Sounds
Needlejuice
Nettwerk
New Platform
New West
Ninja Tune
Noise
Nonesuch
Northcyde Vinyl
Not Now
Not On Label
Now-Again
Nuclear Blast
Numero Group
Odeon
One Little Independent
ORG Music
Original Gravity
Outta Sight
P-Vine
Parlophone
Parlophone Label Group (Plg)
Partial
Partisan
Past Inside The Present
Peaceville
Pelagic
Peoples Potential Unlimited
Phantom
Philadelphia International Records
Philips
Pias
Pirates Press
Planet Mu
Planet Rhythm
Play It Again Sam
Polydor
Polysom
Prestige
Private Records
Profound Lore
Project: Mooncircle / HHV
Proper
Prophecy
Prophecy Productions
Prosthetic
Public Possession
Pure Noise
Pure Pleasure
Radiation Reissues
Rawax
Razor-N-Tape Reserve
RCA
RCA Victor
Real Gone Music
Record Kicks
Rekids
Relapse
Renaissance
Repertoire
Reprise
Reprise Records
Republic
Return To Analog
Revelation
RhIno
Rhino
RHINO
Rhymesayers
Riding Easy
Ripple
Rock Action
Rough Trade
Roulette
Rrc Music
Run For Cover
Running Back
Rush Hour
Rvng Intl.
Sacred Bones
Sanctuary
Sargent House
Sbäm
Schema
Sdban Ultra
Season Of Mist
Second
Secret
Secretly Canadian
Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Shall Not Fade
Ship To Shore
Sic
Sichtexot
Silva Screen
Silver Lining
Slumberland
Smalltown Supersound
Smoke On
Sony
Sony Classical
Sony Legacy
Sony Music
Sony Music Catalog
Souffle Continu
Soul Jazz
Sound Signature
Soundflat
Sounds Of Subterrania
Soundway
Southern Lord
Speakers Corner
Spinefarm
Spittle
Staatsakt
Stag-O-Lee
Star Creature
Steamhammer
Stones Throw
Stroboscopic Artefacts
Strut
Sub Pop
Subsound
Suburban
Suicide Squeeze
Sundazed
Sundazed Music Inc.
Sunny Bastards
Superior Viaduct
Supraphon
Svart
Tamla
Tapete
Target
Temporary Residence
The Flenser
The Get Down
The Sign
The Spitslam
The Trilogy Tapes
Third Man
Threshold
Thrill Jockey
Tidal Waves Music
Tiny Engines
Tommy Boy
Tonefloat
Tonzonen
Topshelf
Tough Love
Trading Places
Transgressive
Tresor
Trikont
Trouble In Mind
Tuff Kong
Ubiquity
Ultimix
Unique Leader
United Artists Records
Universal
Universal Music Japan
Urban
V2
Vampisoul
Vertigo
Vertigo Berlin
Verve
Verve Records
Victor
Vinyl Magic
Vinyl Passion
Virgin
Virgin Music Las
Voodoo Rhythm
VP
Wagram
Wah Wah
Warner
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Classics
Warner Music International
Warp
Wave Tension
Waxtime
Waxtime In Color
Waxwork
We Are Busy Bodies
We Jazz
WEA
Western Vinyl
Wewantsounds
Whirlwind
White Peach
World Music Network
WRWTFWW
XL Recordings
Yep Roc
ZYX
ZYX Music
[Pias] Le Label
Close
Year
Year
2024
2023
2021
2018
Close
New In Stock
New In Stock
60 Days
90 Days
180 Days
365 Days
Close
Back In Stock
Back In Stock
7 Days
14 Days
30 Days
60 Days
90 Days
180 Days
365 Days
Close
Preorder
Preorder
Preorder Only
No Preorder
Close
Wave Tension
Neon Lies - Demons
Neon Lies
Demons
LP | 2024 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
21,99 €*
Release: 2024 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Preorder shipping from 2024-05-07
Neon Lies started as a synth wave bedroom solo adventure in late 2015 by Goran Lautar while he was still singing and playing guitar in prominent bands from Zagreb’s D.I.Y. punk and post punk scene.

His fourth full length album “Demons” is the logical progression from the minimalistic lo-fi darkwave sound crafted on the highly praised previous album “Loveless Adventures”, but on this one you can expect even more of this desperate and introspective display, dwelling into the darker dystopian side of up-to-date electronic sounds from European underground clubs and sweaty stroboscopic flash dance floors. Both restless and intimate, “Demons” brings eleven personal hymns full of icy synth lines, rubbery bass punches along with minimal wave drum beats that are all accompanied by desperate and warm cry out of his vocal manoeuvres.
V.A. - We Are Electric: Gary Numan Revisited
V.A.
We Are Electric: Gary Numan Revisited
LP | 2018 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
18,99 €*
Release: 2018 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Agent Side Grinder, Ash Code, Shad Shadows, Box & The Twins, SUIR, Synths Versus Me, Then Comes Silence. The electronic pioneer and founding father of synthpop, Gary Numan, celebrates his 40th anniversary as recording artist. During these 40 years, Numan’s impact made itself felt; his dark, paranoid vision, theatrically icy alien persona, and clinical, robotic sound were echoed strongly in the work of many goth rock, wave and industrial artists. Wave Tension Records invited 7 contemporary dark wave, gothic and dreampop artists to honour their inspirator with an exclusive tribute. The album opens with Agent Side Grinder’s nostalgic analogue rendition of “I’m an Agent”, followed by Ash Code’s fresh sounding fast paced post-punk/dark wave version of “Down In The Park”. Shad Shadows turn “Metal” into a whispering heated darkwave track. On the last track of side A, Box & The Twins create warm and dreamy soundscapes in their version of “Complex”. SUIR opens side B with a hypnotic psychedelic slowed down art-punk version of “Cars”. Synths Versus Me turns Numan’s monster hit “Are Friends Electric?” into a fresh synthpop & EBM take with Art of Noise-esque vocals. The album’s closing track is a gothic rock rendition of “My Name Is Ruin” by Swedish rockers Then Comes Silence, which encourages you to sing along.
Raderkraft - Politiestaat?!
Raderkraft
Politiestaat?!
12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
21,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Dive into darkness and discover the pulsating sounds of Amsterdam based Raderkraft: a masterful fusion of minimal synth, darkwave, and post-punk elements. His love for synthesizers combined with the right dose of DIY spirit has resulted in three EPs.

Raderkraft takes you on an introspective journey to the darkest corners of the human mind. “Politiestaat?!” is a raw and unapologetic expression of the times we live in, inviting listeners to reflect on their own input and behaviour regarding pressing issues that dominate our world today.

The icy synthesizers, hypnotic rhythms and piercing vocals weave a story with the central themes of fear, misunderstanding and rejection. Raderkraft brings his signature sound, a unique mix of raw energy and refined minimalism, back to life. This time only up-tempo songs, partly in Dutch and also including a remix of Dyatlov track “Insect Paranoia“ (exclusive 2023 remaster) plus a cover of Belgium 80’s minimal wave act Violence Conjugale. It -finally- marks the vinyl release of crowd favorite “De Witte Streep” (exclusive 2023 remaster).

The lavish lyrics reflect a sense of rejection in an indifferent polarizing society. This mini album will make you think, feel and finally realize that we live in turbulent times.
The Ultimate Dreamers - Echoing Reverie EP
The Ultimate Dreamers
Echoing Reverie EP
12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
20,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Pop
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Active in the mid-80’s and heavily influenced by the British post-punk dissonant style and the Belgian cold-wave melancholic atmosphere, The Ultimate Dreamers resurrected during the Covid lock-down, releasing a selection of good old demo songs on their “Live Happily While Waiting For Death” release. A dynamic impulse that brought them not only back on stage but also into the studio to work on new material. The magic is back!

The Ultimate Dreamers feel stronger than ever and enjoy uniting past, present and future on this exciting “Echoing Reverie” album, on which they reach a subtle balance between light and darkness: a poignant cold wave fusion of futuristic danceable dream pop with a retro noisy post-punk attitude with surrealistic introspective cynical lyrics dealing with fleeting life, melancholic solitude and other inner demons..

The new songs intelligently merge nostalgic cold wave chills and alluring poignant vocals with carrying basslines and irresistible danceable beats to become “less is more” addictive tunes that capture you in no time. If you like bands such as New Order, The Cure, Minimal Compact, Trisomie 21 or yet Section 25, “Echoing Reverie” comes highly recommended for a timeless dusk sonic experience at the crossroads of darkness and brightness.

See the magic operate and let The Ultimate Dreamers carry you in their echoing reverie…
Transhuman Rebirth - Preparing Singularity
Transhuman Rebirth
Preparing Singularity
LP | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
21,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
“Preparing Singularity” is the debut album by Berlin-based EBM act Transhuman Rebirth, currently a one-man side project of renowned German synth-punk artist Ben Bloodygrave. Already instantly recognizable on the European synth/wave scene and touring circuit with his high octane aggressive minimal synth, Bloodygrave started this new project over the past few years focusing more on classic, first-wave EBM, moulding the nine tracks on “Preparing Singularity” into a sound that’s recognizable to fans of the starting foundations of the genre. While retaining a sound that’s unique and solely its own, elements of minimal wave and synth-punk are fused in these propulsive tracks, with nods to old idols such as Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft, Front 242 and Absolute Body Control.

Transhuman Rebirth is subjectually futuristic to dystopian, interspersed with political statements. The lyrics focus on topics that are current and modern, including science, technology, surveillance and artificial intelligence — all delivered through Bloodygrave’s well-known vocal style with a sound that is much rougher and with compositions and sound designs that are more complex than his main Ben Bloodygrave persona.
Wires & Lights - A Chasm Here And Now
Wires & Lights
A Chasm Here And Now
2LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
29,99 €*
Release: 2021 / EU – Original
Genre: Rock & Indie, Pop
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
“A Chasm Here And Now” is the critically acclaimed debut album of Justin Stephens’ (ex-Passion Play) current band Wires & Lights, with which the Berlin based indie-pop/post-punk quartet redeemed everything they announced at earlier live shows and on the Pagan Love Songs Vol. 3 compilation (2014) with an early demo version of “Swimming”. After a successful cd release two years ago, the album will now finally be released on vinyl in a limited edition (300 copies) gatefold double LP, complete with four bonus tracks (one unreleased track and three remixes by Ash Code, The Foreign Resort and Traitrs). Right from the off, the brilliant opener “Drive” leaves nothing to be desired in terms of thrilling, hymnic danceability. A grandiosely updated “Swimming” sustains the urgent sense of drive unconventionally, before “Anyone”, one of the most gripping and sweeping mid-tempo ballads of recent years, changes down a gear. And that was just the beginning. Every time you think you’ve grasped the band musically, they immediately prove you wrong with the next track, e.g. with “Dead To Us”, the calmest and most introspective track according to its loss subject, which stands out for a beautiful ending that develops without haste. If you’re still in any doubt, listen to the conclusion of the album: “Going, Going, Gone” – this masterfully polished gem of a song, with its New Model Army-like bubbling structure, its genetic connection with Passion Play’s “Running On Empty” and its epic deliverance will be a classic for all time that everyone always wants to hear.
Raderkraft - Dust & Debris EP
Raderkraft
Dust & Debris EP
12" | 2021 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
15,99 €*
Release: 2021 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Somewhere between minimal synth, electro and wave is the irresistible sound of Raderkraft, aka musician / producer Willem Stinissen from Amsterdam. As cold as it is catchy and hypnotic, armed with pulsating analog synths, staccato drum computer beats and sampled vocals, Raderkraft takes you into a dystopian past, present and future. His third 4-track EP called “Dust & Debris” treats global world problems such as the devastating impact of drug addictions; the future existence of our planet due to climate change; the global widespread destruction by nuclear war; and the fear for terrorist attacks. The title track “Dust and Debris” describes the 9/11 catastrophe and contains a chronological frightening news report from several media sources telling us what happened that day 20 years ago. With this EBM style track Raderkraft perfectly catches the incomprehension and fear that shocked the world.
Suir - Studio Session
Suir
Studio Session
LP | 2021 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
17,99 €*
Release: 2021 / EU – Original
Genre: Rock & Indie, Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Suir is a duo based in Cologne, Germany. Formed in 2016 when Denis Wanic (guitar and vocals) and Lucia Seiss (synths, guitar and bass) joined forces for their band project. In a constant interplay of guitars and synthesizers, supported by minimalistic and electronic drum rhythms and melancholic lyrics, Suir produces a reverberated psychedelic post-punk defined by a dense, lynchesque sound. Especially their live shows are known for their cinematic, atmospheric music defined by complex sound walls and the hypnotic visualisation – like waking up from a dark and intense dream. Being locked down in their apartment/studio in Cologne during the Covid-19 crisis, not able to play live shows, they re-recorded a selection of tracks from their previous albums in a live rendition to capture the raw intense feeling of their live shows which they are dearly missing right now. The session also includes the previously unreleased track “Not Accustomed To Be Hurt”.
Bleib Modern - 2 Afraid 2 Leave (Part One) EP
Bleib Modern
2 Afraid 2 Leave (Part One) EP
12" | 2024 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
16,99 €*
Release: 2024 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
After 2021’s critically acclaimed album “Afraid To Leave”, Berlin based post-punkers Bleib Modern invited artist friends to take an outside perspective on their tracks, resulting in the “2 Afraid 2 Leave” compilation, featuring remixes and reworks from several esteemed names within the darkwave, post-punk and EBM music scenes.

From club bangers like IV Horsemen’s version of “Bitter Smile” and M!R!M’s dreamy lo-fi bedroom synthpop sound on “Into The Night” to Danish deviant pop artist Dune Messiah’s crooner “Loony Voices”. The album also boasts contributions from luminaries like The KVB, The Underground Youth, Blind Delon, Shad Shadows and various Bleib Modern band member side projects.

“2 Afraid 2 Leave” offers listeners a chance to experience Bleib Modern’s music from an altered vantage point, a welcome interlude as the band forges ahead with new creations.
Bleib Modern - 2 Afraid 2 Leave (Part Two) EP
Bleib Modern
2 Afraid 2 Leave (Part Two) EP
12" | 2024 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
16,99 €*
Release: 2024 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
After 2021’s critically acclaimed album “Afraid To Leave”, Berlin based post-punkers Bleib Modern invited artist friends to take an outside perspective on their tracks, resulting in the “2 Afraid 2 Leave” compilation, featuring remixes and reworks from several esteemed names within the darkwave, post-punk and EBM music scenes.

From club bangers like IV Horsemen’s version of “Bitter Smile” and M!R!M’s dreamy lo-fi bedroom synthpop sound on “Into The Night” to Danish deviant pop artist Dune Messiah’s crooner “Loony Voices”. The album also boasts contributions from luminaries like The KVB, The Underground Youth, Blind Delon, Shad Shadows and various Bleib Modern band member side projects.

“2 Afraid 2 Leave” offers listeners a chance to experience Bleib Modern’s music from an altered vantage point, a welcome interlude as the band forges ahead with new creations.
Staatseinde - De Nieuwe Golf
Staatseinde
De Nieuwe Golf
12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
21,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
The interstellar cosmonauts of Staatseinde create a theatrical mix of pulsing electro with nostalgic hopeful synthlines, all performed live with synthesizers, a sequencer and tantalizing vocals. From Wave to EBM, from NDW to Punk and everything else in and out of the box. It is like walking into a club meeting Kraftwerk on speed and The Sex Pistols on acid.

Their new release “De Nieuwe Golf” is characterized by dystopian prospects and hopeful sounds, confirming Staatseinde’s name as the founder of the “Neue Niederländische Welle”, in other words the New Dutch Wave.

The uplifting italo rifs in opening track “Grauw” take you on a journey through a gray world in which color cannot be taken for granted. Minimal wave track “Einzelganger” makes you feel like an outsider who can’t keep up with society. “Geef Me De Tijd” sounds like a schizophrenic dreamer swinging casually, but ending as a hard hitting track. Dystopian doom and pessimism is captured in EBM/techno floor filler “Doembeelden”. The raw West Coast Sound of Holland infused “La Haya” is a tribute to the city of The Hague which calls out on everybody to get wasted. The epic ode to space travel “Ruimtevaart Vooruit (2022 Refix)” is back in a rendition inspired by Rude66’s 2010 remix version. “Isla Inutile” is a dark and tropical delirium. In the hopeful “Alles is Weg”, Staatseinde takes you from the downfall on the way to…?

Staatseinde’s “De Nieuwe Golf” holds up a mirror to humanity…progress has not helped us any further. There is hope…but will this new wave be on time? Or is it already too late?
Filmmaker - Machinations
Filmmaker
Machinations
12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
21,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
Colombian producer Faunes Efe known under his moniker Filmmaker, is one of the most productive and vital producers in the EBM, Industrial, Synth-wave and Electro community. He has quickly built a cult following amongst those with an affinity for dystopian electronics drenched in seductive darkness.

After more than 20 records within a 5 year span, Filmmaker keeps running engines with “Machinations”, a mini-album containing 7 cuts that blast a mechanical blend of Electroclash and Minimal Synth. This ride of prominent square waves, robotic beats and detuned atmospheres is born from mainly two instruments: a Syntakt & a processed guitar.
Soft Riot - No.
Soft Riot
No.
12" | 2023 | EU | Original (Wave Tension)
23,99 €*
Release: 2023 / EU – Original
Genre: Electronic & Dance, Pop
Add to Cart Coming Soon Sold out Currently not available Not Enough Coins
No. is the tenth Soft Riot album by Glasgow-based Canadian synth auteur Jack Duckworth (also known as Jjd). With origins from the mid-nineties in the vibrant art-punk/hardcore dominating the West Coast American/ Canadian underground at the time, he has clocked in over twenty five years of musical output in various bands and projects.

No. is the logical follow-up to When Push Comes To Shove, released in November 2019 on the Glasgow UK-based label Possession Records, which saw some critical acclaim in the increasingly diverse synthwave scene — a crystallization of the artist’s signature “SynthLord” sound.

With No. things have been shaken up and pushed into new directions. Many different factors came into play, including the conditions of the pandemic lockdowns and an urge for listening to music favourites from beyond his own scene informed developments on this new record. One key feature of these tracks is that under these conditions they were developed as individual pieces — a contrasting approach from previous albums where tracks were written with an album in mind. An evaluation of all of these individual tracks in the summer of 2022 unveiled a common pattern going through these new compositions.

One can still hear any number of echoes of the spirits of original synth artists in his sound, such as Images in Vogue, The Box, Section 25, Thomas Dolby, Skinny Puppy, Chrome, Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget, Japan and Bill Nelson. However, some of Jack’s halcyon punk influences surface as well, taking inspiration from legendary punk/hardcore labels such as Dischord and Gravity, as listening habits over pandemic steered back towards more guitar-based styles. The introduction of expanded production techniques, experiments with vocal styles and tones, and stylistic shifts mark a progression of Soft Riot’s sound. The result is a snarkier, urgent and more playful, with a focus on pure synthpop, new wave, art-punk, proto-EBM as well as grittier synth-punk and post-punk tones.

The variation, energy and tone of this collection of tracks illustrates Soft Riot’s ability to transcend the hallmarks of today’s music environment, which increasingly is fragmenting into smaller and smaller micro-genres. Dry wit and dark humour take the lyrics and the tone of this album on a fun ride through music scenes, dark alleys and inside jokes.
Back To Top