by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
For the past three years, Ukraine's Bichkraft have been releasing relentless doses of industrial punk and experimental shoegaze, one grinding recorded swarm at a time. On their latest album, 800, the band continue to refine their sound without tempering their intensity. Things remain as noisy and uncompromising as ever, but there's a focus placed on the songs themselves. Due out March 16th via Wharf Cat Records, the band recorded the album with Carson Cox (Merchandise), giving the record a dark sheen that shines bright in moments when the light slips through the cracks of their mechanical menace.
"Some People Have All The Luck," the album's third single features Elizabeth Skadden (formerly of WALL, Finally Punk) on lead vocals, a natural collaboration choice pairing together two of the post-punk resurgence's best and brightest. The balance derived from Skadden's coldly spoken shouts and Bichkraft's electronic clamor is perfect, the band soaring into the deepest realms of outerspace grooves while Skadden pulls them down to Earth with deadpan delivery and engaging lyrics, both driven by narrative and hypnotic phrasing. Bichkraft's guitars lend a dreamy soundscape, a backdrop for the band's darting laser-beam rhythms and the vocals' caustic approach to melody. The layers all blend together, but pull them apart one by one and you're left with a dynamic surge of interlocked guitars and a dense web of pulsating beats.
Bichkraft's 800 is out March 16th via Wharf Cat Records.