Avant! Records

Over the past few years an increasing number of bands hailing from the former USSR have been appearing on the screens and the phones of the so-called Western world's underground music enthusiasts. With most of them being pretty obscure and only a very few ones having established a worldwide following (Motorama, Molčat Doma) the Sovietwave tag has worked usefully enough as a tool to identify a wide range of bands each one with a different sound and yet something in common.

Whether it be the harsh weather or just the distance creating an exotic effect, there is some icy-cold touch with these bands that immediately makes you know they're from Russia, regardless of the language they perform. This goes for Blind Seagull too.

The trio from Kaliningrad, a small russian enclave on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania, has been around since quite a few years now, releasing tapes and limited edition vinyls on labels like Detriti, Sierpen and Pine Hill.

Finally taking up the challenge of writing a longer full-length (previous albums were seven or eight track long at best), the trio led by Denis Zarubin has created twelve new songs that shine a light on the impressive skills of this young combo to deliver very classic and yet extremely fresh and modern cold post-punk gems.

Keeping it short and sweet, their twothree minutes long compositions cut right to the chase of the darkwave soul: stomping drum machines, frozen guitar arpeggios, tense bass riffs. The formula is occasionally rocked by the intervention of laser synths, noise raids and gothic chorale, while the industrial pièce of the title-track and the IDM-tinged collaboration with experimental giants Xiu Xiu 'Fear' will show how this band stands out and how their upcoming, new album is the best proof of this.

RIYL: Clan Of Xymox, Bauhaus, The Danse Society, She Past Away, Soviet Soviet.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. In The Open Field
2. Carpenter
3. Passing By
4. Asphyxia
5. Nothing To Feel
6. How We Communicate

Side B
7. Body
8. Inanity
9. Stray
10. Fear (feat. Xiu Xiu)
11. Stars Tonight
12. Personal Decay (A A U U)

The Australian master of the dark synth arts is back and - boy - he is out for blood. We've been missing Marc Dwyer solo project Buzz Kull since his latest single Last In The Club from late 2019 and since back then we knew he was up to something.

At first glimpse, the minimal wave days of We Were Lovers seem far away now that Marc has gone full Club Body Music with his upcoming new album, but there is a thread that binds Buzz Kull hits from the past such as Into The Void, Avoiding The Light and New Kind Of Cross with these ten new cuts: a thread of darkness proper to the most handsome man in the game and that’s here to stay.

Echoes of 90’s era Front 242 and Front Line Assembly will resonate from tracks like Fascination and Dead Inside; elements of early body music flirting with the dark side of British synthpop will rave from the grooves of Dancing with Machines and Man on the Beat, while late 80’s Belgian new beat cellar-like vibes rise from Do You See and Burn it to the Ground.

But Buzz Kull's third full-length is not just about music subgenres we all know and love, it’s about a feeling that comes alive only with the dark and drives you through the small hours just to leave you drained and filled at once.

The creature of the night is on the loose, the sticky dancefloor its natural habitat, its lust for the upside-down world of the club can't be cured.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Rise From Your Grave
2. Do You See
3. Last In The Club
4. Man On The Beat

Side B
5. Beyond The Ceiling
6. Fascination
7. Dead Inside
8. Dancing With Machines
9. Burn It To The Ground
10. Heaven Will Find Me

Deep, somber vocals filled with sorrow and anger cap it all. 45 rpm 12" vinyl + insert. A press of 500.

Contrepoison is the brand new solo project by Pierre-Marc Tremblay, young Canadian musician who’s been also involved in other extreme bands in the last years.

First step has been the self-released demo tape …Until Next Morning followed by the double-cassette compilation Around the Dragon's Broken Neck Hangs the Medal of St. Lazarus on Hospital Productions, both sold out damn soon.

So now it is time for a proper vinyl release and here we go: the 45 rpm 12” press of …Until Next Morning.

As you may already know Contrepoison is the French meaning of the word "antidote" and Contrepoison can be seen as an antidote for love.

This 4-track EP shows the darkest and most anguished side of the human feeling, where drum machines sound like heartbeats and synthesizers are as liquid as tears.

Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Until Next Morning
2. The Snake has Bitten Its Tail

Side B:
3. Heartbeat
4. To Never, Forever

Portland based act Dancing Plague has been a steady presence in the dark/cold electronic music scene for quite a few years now. Since 2016 Conor Knowles’ solo project has been putting out one constant flow of independent releases on multiple formats such as vinyl LPs, EPs, tapes and CDs, creating one sonic palette rich with Ebm, goth, industrial and synth influences.

On their 5th studio album, Dancing Plague continues to flesh out and perfect their unique brand of crushing darkwave. Elogium explores themes of loss, regret, rebirth and growth coupled with throbbing basslines, rave synths, and pounding drums.

Knowles balances aggressive waves of electronics with enough pop sensibilities and catchy hooks to be inviting to those new to the genre. His skills can be clearly appreciated on tracks like the first single Fading Forms which explores the somber feeling of the years passing you by.

Knowles’ emotive baritone crooning paints a melancholic picture of the slow fading of time as you feel like you’re fading with it. The words fall like snow onto cold fields of pulsing 80s synths and pounding drum machine rhythms that bring forth nostalgic familiarity but feel fresh at the same time.

Fans of classic icons such as Depeche Mode, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails as well as contemporary torchbearers Cold Cave and Kontravoid do not sleep on this.

Plenty of disturbing beauty to be found in the depths of the underground.

Tracklisting:
1. Dreamless
2. Fading Forms
3. Shadow Self
4. Rot With Me
5. Elogium
6. Suffer the Senses
7. Cold Fire
8. Echoes of the Void

New, second press on White Vinyl limited to 300. Comes with lyrics insert.

Deluxxe is a new post punk/new wave band from Buffalo, NY.

It was formed by Mason and Greg, and later completed with Nick, Bailey and Mackenzie, sharing members of Oi and hardcore bands such as Violent Way, Bad Blood and Exhibition.

Their punk background can be heard in the music, but it’s the love for new wave, post punk, darkwave, and goth that led to creation of their debut record "If You Were Me”.
Written in the cold winters of Buffalo, you can almost feel the harshness of the weather affecting the sounds that propagate from these grooves. Icy and frostbitten but somehow still relevantly civic and urban.

The Chameleons and The Sound are two main references here, but that whole cold dimension is rocked by a strong pop vein reminiscent of After The Snow-era Modern English and occasionally enhanced by an hoarseness typical of a young Paul Weller. Passionate lyricism proper of Echo And The Bunnymen and hopeless romanticism à la Sad Lovers And Giants get balanced by a sharp songwriting which keeps everything in perfect order, giving you exactly what you need, nothing more and nothing less.
You can tell some skinheads are involved here because the outcome is so tidy and neat, without losing one inch of atmosphere or enchantment.

If you are wondering how something that was invented forty years ago can still sound, literally, fresh and cool, look no further because what this band delivers lives just up to its name.

"If You Were Me” is out September 22 on black vinyl LP limited to 300.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Waiting For a Sign
2. Queen of Hearts
3. In Another Place
4. Moving On

Side B
5. Sweet With Sin
6. Phantom Figure
7. Common Ground
8. Lightning in a Bottle

A Requiem For Father Murphy is the latest and final offering from the iconic Italian occult duo, Father Murphy. Composed in the classical Requiem format, Rising follows the "Trilogy of the Cross", a series of records that recounts the journey of the fictional character Father Murphy, and subsequently the band itself.

The album was mixed and mastered by long-time collaborator Gregory Saunier (Deerhoof), who is instrumental in helping craft Father Murphy's sonic descent over the years.

With Rising, the legend of Father Murphy reaches its culmination. Having gone from religious fanatic, to heretic priest, and ultimately concealing to his final fate on the cross, Rising is the moment Father Murphy finally meets his death. Taking the form of a requiem, Rising will be the final album from Father Murphy.

It brings an end to a journey into faith; one longing for salvation and embracing failure. Across the Italian occult duo's 2015 Trilogy of the Cross'(the Calvary cassingle, Croce LP, and Lamentations EP) Father Murphy's sound reached down into grave new depths, more inspired than ever by music from their Catholic heritage. They've long been integrating a wider variety of field recordings, empty space, drones, and sonic processes alongside their core elements of pounding percussion, ecclesiastical organs, gnarled guitars, and ritualistic chanting.

Again working with longtime mixer/masterer Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Rising takes the group's music into new territory. The format of a requiem mass for the dead'in this case for the late Father Murphy himself'brings with it all manner of traditional structural codes, musical reprises, and lyrical rhyming schemes.

Certain moments see the music adhere far more closely to requia traditions, including the grander sounds of timpani or trombone, and following the metres and rhyme schemes borrowed from traditional texts.

The words themselves have all been rewritten for Father Murphy's requiem however, disengaging from their standardized religious message. The lyrics across Rising are far longer and more complex than the shorter chants and verse that made up previous albums, while the variety and sheer detail of sounds used by the duo has never before been wider or more daring.

With Rising: A Requiem for Father Murphy, the project reaches its zenith.

Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Introit
2. Kyrie Eleison
3. Gradual

Side B:
4. Tract
5. Sequence

Side C:
6. Offertory
7. Sanctus
8. Agnus Dei
9. Communion
10. Pie Jesu

Side D:
11. In Paradisum
12 . Libera Me

House of Harm are proud to announce the forthcoming release of their new album Playground, out December 1st, 2023.

The new record builds and expands upon the three-piece’s enthralling shadow-pop sound, a mix of midnight atmospherics, 90s era jangle pop, and contagious synth drenched hooks that further elevate the transcendent vocals of lead singer Michael Rocheford.

Rounded out by Cooper Leardi (guitar / synths) and Tyler Kershaw (guitar / synth), House of Harm have amassed an impressive following as something of a best kept secret among their growing fanbase, leading to sold out shows on both coasts by the power of word of mouth alone.

The band members have been drawn to music for as long as any of them can remember, and the drive to be around like-minded artists and make their own noise drew them all to Boston after high school. There they all quickly enmeshed themselves, playing in other bands before meeting each other. Ever since, House of Harm have been quietly making a name for themselves among music fans with darker pop persuasions via a steady stream of releases in single, ep and album form.

That attention to detail and workmanlike approach at the expense of chasing instant gratification seems to be paying dividends after years of steady effort.
The journey of their new album Playground saw House of Harm stay true to that ethos.

The band painstakingly narrowed the record down to an efficient 10 tracks that they felt made the most sense, both standing on their own as well as fitting into an LP that built a cohesive world for the listener to get lost in. The album’s name also reflects the experimentation and happy accidents that came about during the writing and recording process.

On “The Face of Grace” they set out to explore different dynamics by writing a song entirely without drums, but couldn't help themselves from putting emphasis on the song’s 6/8 waltz time signature. “Two Kinds” is another first for House Of Harm in that it’s predominantly driven by acoustic guitar.

That aforementioned vulnerability shows up in other areas of the songwriting process as well with “Two Kinds”, one of their most revealing songs to date from a lyrical standpoint, written from a place of reflection and weakness and tackling feelings uneasy to be put on display for public consumption.

Taken as a whole, the end result is an album representing a collection of the band’s most raw and expressive songs yet.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Before The Line
2. To Last
3. Roseglass
4. The Face Of Grace
5. Soaked In Pastel

Side B
6. Two Kinds
7. Endlessly
8. Ignore The Taste
9. Moving On
10. Place It Back

Two years after his previous Bodies LP, French synth solo project Hørd is back with a new full-length.

Started in 2014, producer Sebastien Carl has proven himself to be able to gather a cult fan-base around his creation, collaborating with artists as Hante, Winter Severity Index and Radical G, remixing goth legends Clan Of Xymox and performing live in most European countries.

Debuted by Giallo Disco in 2016, two records on Avant! have followed until this upcoming fourth album. While the music keeps on flirting with darkwave aesthetic in a forward- thinking way, the sound is now clearer than ever. Elements of EBM, shoegaze and techno are reflected through arctic synth pads, ghostly reverbs and urban spleen-filled lyrics to create haunting soundscapes, but Sciences also features beat-driven lead singles that twirl space synths and rounded kicks all over the place like never before.

Enhanced by the great mixing and mastering job done by scene-guiding light producer Maurizio Baggio, you’ll find balearic arpeggios and clangorous trance crescendo on Arrows, italo suggestions over groovy acid house beats on Ice, while mid-tempo synthwave marches menacingly on Turn and vibrates deeply on Fires.

Typical nebulous atmospheres are now less blurry and more on point without losing a single bit of enchantingness, marking a major step-up in Hørd discography.

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Arrows
2. Ice
3. Blood
4. Turn

Side B
5. Challenger One
6. London
7. Fires
8. Bridges

You might know Sweden's electronic act Lust For Youth thanks to their Solar Flare debut album we released just one year ago.

Today, after the defection of the early female member Amanda, Hannes Norrvide is back solo and born again. To celebrate the new season, the filthy patina that used to cloak the band's previous recordings has gone to leave room to clearer sounds which allow the different sides of the project to come to life.

That's how, on Growing Seeds, you'll find synth-pop hymns (Behind Curtains) along with noisy industrial tracks (We Planted a Seed) and powerful EBM beats (Cover Their Faces).

Ten songs to give new life to one of Europe's most interesting synth/wave bands. Comes on 33rpm black vinyl with insert.

Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Behind Curtains
2. It's You
3. We Planted A Seed
4. Champagne
5. La Rouge

Side B:
1. Cover Their Faces
2. Always Changing
3. Modern Life
4. We Got Lust
5. Neon Lights Appear

Here comes something unapologetically goth. Male Tears is the dark electro group consisting of vocalist, James Edward and synthesist, Frank Shark. Hailing from Los Angeles, what began as a solo project re-established itself as a duo in 2021, simultaneously moving from the breezy sounds of the first self-titled album to darker realms with their sophomore Trauma Club.

Krypt is their third full-length recording and it shows a fully grown ensemble capable of pushing everything over the top; blending elements of darkwave, goth rock, EBM and futurepop into a sound they call Dark Rave.

Naturally drawing inspiration from the Californian goth tradition (45 Grave, Christian Death) and the Canadian post-industrial brood (Skinny Puppy, FLA), as well as the best UK synthpop (Depeche Mode, The Human League), Male Tears emphasizes the most glamourous, and at once, gruesome aspects of the whole gothic subculture, bringing everything to the next level, resulting in a contemporary and cutting edge album.

Eight new cuts that alternate rarefied synthwave (Krypt), dark eurodance (Slay) with goth techno-pop (Sleep 4Ever) and pounding electro-industrial (I Expire) to create something we may call New Romantic Body Music. It's no wonder we wanted the scene’s top studio, La Distilleria, run by Maurizio Baggio, to master this for the most bombastic outcome.

And yet Krypt is not just about the music, it’s about one up with the times attitude that can review aggressive EBM in the light of an extravagant pop sensibility and a theatrical grandeur worthy of the Blitz Kids from London circa 1979-80. 

You may think it takes quite a bit of nonchalance to do so but the L.A. duo easily succeeds at this. Akin to their aesthetics, they may seem spooky from the outside but their approach is nothing stuffy. Quite the contrary, everything regarding Male Tears is a celebration of life’s most bizzare shades, driven by some of the best dark humor you’ll find around. So Dance with me, my dear, on a dancefloor of bones and skulls / The music is our master The devil controls our souls.

Tracklisting:
1. Krypt
2. Sleep 4ever
3. Domin8
4. I Expire
5. Deal3r 
6. Never Again
7. Jaded
8. Slay

Release Date: 12/07/2024

One mere year after their previous pitch-black sounding album Krypt, LA outfit Male Tears is back with a new full-length and – oh boy – everything is changed.
The used-to-be duo is now a four piece with James Edward as the sole founding member remaining and apparently this new line-up helped the original vocalist to shapeshift again.

Remember their very first debut album from 2021 and those dark synthpop sounds?
With their upcoming fourth album (in only three years), this American electronic-pop act from Southern California doubles the stakes once again and where Krypt was all about being goth and gloomy and disturbingly paroxysmal, Paradisco is somehow quite the opposite.

Eight new tracks of pure italo disco, hi-NRG and freestyle bliss that pick up where the band left off three years ago to pursue much darker realms. Now that the quest for darkness is done, it is time to polish our nails and dress up for the night-out cause there's more in life than feeling sorry for yourself. Yes you will need to cut out the deadwood but there is no change in stillness.

So join Male Tears and their new arsenal of bangers and floor fillers with assertive titles such as Out of my Life, Regret 4 Nothing and Leave it Alone.

Get yourself wrapped up in one warm cover of delicate nostalgia and reborn romanticism, driven by sounds that  pay homage equally to Miko Mission and Ken Laszlo, Lisa Lisa and Exposé and, well yeah, even The Smiths because say what you wanna say but you simply cannot not love The Smiths.

Embrace the vintage vibes that organically propagate from this new record's grooves and get in the mood for this new course in full-on 1980's Pop.

Tracklisting:
1. Talk to Me
2. Leave it Alone (feat. Corlyx)
3. Sex on Drugs
4. Out of my Life
5. Where Is It?
6. He Wants Everything
7. Regret 4 Nothing
8. This Party Ends in Tears (feat. Digital Love)

NEW EDITION ON CURACAO BLUE VINYL.

Nuovo Testamento is the Los Angeles & Bologna-based trio featuring members of Horror Vacui, Sheer Mag, Tørsö, Terremoto and Crimson Scarlet. With the addition of Chelsey Crowley on vocals, synthesists Andrea Mantione & Giacomo Zatti found that their initial coldwave tracks, originally written for the male voice, took on an undeniable synthpop feel.

While still recording these songs for the debut Exposure EP in 2019, the band leaned into this evolution and their shared love of Italo disco, beginning to write what would become the New Earth LP.

Recorded in isolation during a global pandemic, New Earth is a dark Italo record dappled with light. For eight new tracks, dancing synths perfectly balance the rich dream of a charmed life with melancholy.

Guitars have taken a step back, allowing disco beats to flood the floor and joyful fun to prevail. The record anticipates a return to dance spaces, imagines shared experiences and celebrates personal power.

Produced by sound engineer Maurizio Baggio (The Soft Moon, Boy Harsher and many more), with vocal recording by Riki and featuring guest vocals from B. Sven Gustavson (Spectres, Nouveaux), New Earth reflects international influences from the goth club scene to Hi-NRG classics, reminiscent of Italian Baby Records, Mute Records and the spaces in between. 

RIYL: Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Human League, Gazebo, Eighth Wonder

Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Michelle Michelle
2. The Searcher
3. Electricity
4. Golden Boy

Side B
5. Vanity
6. Prayers
7. New Earth
8. Intuition