WHITE HEX – ‘Heat’ LP (AV!018)
White Hex are Jimi Kritzler and Tara Green who got together in their native Australia, where they both lived in a “decrepit old house for neighborhood criminals, junkies, scumbags and teenagers“. This environment perhaps explains a sluggish drag sounds which feels like listening to the early Gun Club on loads of downer. Formely residing in Berlin and now Melbourne, the duo’s takes influence from the Aus graveyard blues tradition, turning it into something new and minimal at once, perfectly oscillating between drugstore cowboy lush guitars and Tara’s beautifully worn-out voice. The latest venture of Jimi Kritzler, who is also member of the critically acclaimed Brisbane band Slug Guts, takes the post-punk of his main outfit’s 2011 album Howlin’ Gang a step further and resolves into something the duo likes to calls “tropical goth”.
NATURAL ASSEMBLY – ‘Arms of Departure’ LP (AV!019)
Natural Assembly is a new two piece dark synth-wave group from London, UK, consisting of J.Cannon & Z.Zsigo. Since the first demo tape released in 2011, when the band was Jesse’s solo project, a few limited cassettes have emerged. The sound is somehow similar to what our comrades Lust For Youth and Contrepoison offer, still these guys have developed their own version of what we like to call industrial synth-pop, with Arms of Departure being the first major work. Influenced by Front 242 and New Order, pounding drum machines sustain liquid synthesizer melodies and reverberated vocals beat until decay. Six tunes to mark a personal debut that will be the perfect soundtrack for your last days on Earth.