Dälek - Brilliance of a Falling Moon (2026)

More Dälek can't be bad. I love their old-school, smart, heavy, dark and combative hip-hop. But I'm still being a bit disappointed by Brilliance of a Falling Moon. It's a good album, but won't be remembered as among their most inspired ones, sounding a bit too much more of the same. I feel they played it safe on this one. Their recent collab with Charles Hayward was more interesting and better. I hope they will challenge themselves more for their next one. That being said, a less memorable Dälek album is still better by far than almost any other hip-hop album.

 

The BC page. 

 

Shapednoise - Absurd Matter (2023)

Second album from Shapednoise (Berlin based Italian producer Antonino Pedone), Absurd Matter is a finely crafted piece of industrial dub / illbient. And featurings from Armand Hmmer and Moor Mother are always welcome. Interesting stuff. 

The BC page.

 

Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar (2023)

Lockstep Bloodwar is the second album from Sightless Pit, a band with Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), but this time without Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota). The vocals are now done by many guest vocalists. The whole thing is rooted in industrial / noise / illbient, but there's a lot of diversity, and it goes from more ambient to very aggressive through trip-hop to trap to power electronics and vocals going from singing to rapping to growls. Often surprising and interesting. But I'd say would have been more memorable as an album with more cohesiveness. You often feel like you're listening to a mixtape, more than to an album. But why not. I'll keep following what they'll do next.

The BC page.

Traître Câlin - De la Ruine (2022)

Traître Câlin are not so easy to label, but I'd go for industrial rap madness, De la Ruine is their third and best yet album. Vocals are screamed, rapped or spoken in French, with smart lyrics somewhere between Baudelaire and Anorexia Nervosa, over beats that are boom-bap or trap, with also various elements of power electronics, free jazz samples, etc. in general various industrial noises and sound in a way or another. It could evokes Sadistik, Dalek, Kabal, Picore, The Bug, that kind of stuff. This new album is maybe less French rap rooted than the previous ones (which I recommend as well), going further in a noise rap / trap / power electronics directions. Disturbing, different and finely crafted. Recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

 

Dälek - Precipice (2022)

Five years after the last album Endangered Philosophies and three after the last EP Respect to the Authors, alt/noise/gaze rap duo Dälek are back with Precipice (and back with Ipecac records). Long time collaborator and guitarist Mike Mare/Manteca replaced Oktopus since Asphalt for Eden, and Precipice is maybe where his shoegazing guitars are the most prominent, bringing a strong melancholic feel to the album. But everything that made up the Dälek sound is present, old school and smart rapping, boom-bap beats, subtle sampling and production, heaviness. Precipice is a worthy addition to their extraordinary discography. Recommended! 

The Bandcamp page.

 

Backxwash - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (2021)

On I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (a good album, but I hate this all caps thing!) there are a few screams and a bit of trap, but this is more classic horrorcore with noise elements than trap metal. But any way you describe it, what matters is that it's excellent dark underground hip/hop from Backxwash, modern sounding but rooted in the old school. 

The BC page.

 

Moodie Black - Fuzz (2020)

Moodie Black are not the first to do the "noise rap" thing, a band like Dälek did it long before, but maybe we could say they're leading a "second wave noise rap". Their fourth album, released in march, Fuzz, is totally awesome. Some tracks like the amazing opener Selfieness are instant classics, but the album overall is a grower and shows more subtleties after each listen. Smart & visceral lyrics, good mcing, sometimes close to spoken words, but good as well for some faster trap like rhyming, over excellent prods that, through samples, noise and guitar, could evoke as well NIN, shoegaze or some power electronics. Could very well stay as most memorable hip-hop album for 2020.

The Bandcamp page.