Gridlock’s Trace returns, and this is a classic industrial IDM release. As a reissue, there’s nothing here that’s reinventing the wheel in regards to production, it was released at a time where this type of sound was innovative and thriving.
Reviews
Bearclaw :: re[Ø]load EP (Clean Error)
re[Ø]load presents a focused study in kinetic fragmentation, balancing technical finesse with a visceral, bodily pull that makes its abstract architecture unexpectedly physical.
The Music Liberation Front Sweden :: Lost Hope Society (Subexotic)
Lost Hope Society doesn’t deal in easy optimism. Instead, it locates hope as a kind of underlying signal—constant, even when masked by noise. Like Midsommar, it uses brightness to reveal shadow, and in doing so, turns discomfort into clarity.
F~M :: Fose (Old Technology) — [concise]
Two of my favorite sonic sculptors converge as F~M, alias of Roel Funcken and Jeroen Bax (aka exm), shaping Fose into four extended chapters that warp and reassemble rhythmic glitch fragments, threaded with fluid collisions of bass pressure, flickering bleeps, and meticulous sound design.
Poladroïd :: Accelerate EP (Roulette Rekordz / Selvamancer)
Accelerate doesn’t chase nostalgia or novelty in isolation—it integrates both. Poladroïd works within electro’s lineage while actively reconfiguring its edges, balancing discipline with invention. The result is a concise but fully realized statement: technically sharp, atmospherically rich, and rhythmically compelling throughout.
2View — memorysound/Fading Bright & Spectrical/Litchfield (Perceptual Tapes)
Taken together, Fading Bright and Litchfield reveal the emotional and conceptual breadth possible within contemporary ambient music when approached with sincerity and imagination. Both artists resist easy categorization or formulaic structures, choosing instead to create deeply immersive worlds shaped by texture, emotion, and atmosphere.
Vera V Almgren :: I Det Vassa Ljuset (Istid)
Mastered and recorded at Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm between 2024 and 2026, I Det Vassa Ljuset is based on close-miking of organic materials such as wood, metal, stone, and glass. These recordings have then been processed and transformed into software instruments that can be played live. Released on her own label Istid Records, I Det Vassa Ljuset is available digitally and on cassette.
iNFO :: Sorry I Didn’t Realize (Touched Music)
The resulting experience of Sorry I Didn’t Realize feels untethered from trends or nostalgia bait, instead standing defiantly above contemporaries as both tribute and evolution — easily deserving placement near summit of any Best of 2026 conversation.
V/A :: ZEROTHREE EP (Black Shapes)
Changing shape for their third outing, ZEROTHREE from Rome’s Black Shapes shifts away from the straight four-to-the-floor techno of the previous release m into something way deeper and more essentially elastic.
Janus Rasmussen :: INERT (Embassy One)
Rasmussen incorporates his own vocals more than ever, weaving them seamlessly into intricate electronic textures as he expands his sound into new territory while retaining the subtle restraint that has defined his work.
Burial Grid :: NORD Compendium (Spinal Constellation)
Burial Grid (Adam Michael Kozak) has long occupied a fascinating space within the darker fringes of experimental electronic music, blending industrial grit, ambient decay, rhythmic abstraction, and noise-driven architecture into something uniquely cinematic and emotionally charged. With NORD Compendium, that vision feels sharpened to its most raw and unforgiving form.
Recent Posts
Bitbasic :: The Cosmological Constant (Glitchpulse)
rheom :: _ 729.root (Polygon Network)
Yu Miyashita / Yaporigami :: IDM Collection 21-25 / The Structure of Silence (The Collection Artaud)
Morphtables :: Absurdance (Mestnost)
Vijunns :: 1991 (Hyperreal Projects)
S. Salter :: Ara EP (Plusha)
Marco Simioni :: MSdrift++ EP (Fear of Silence)
Zeta Reticula :: The Human Scientific Vessel EP (Eudemonia)
