Stream And Destroy used to be a series of playlists with the same mindset, a summary of those tracks we didn't get the chance to cover, but that gradually became a bit redundant, and we came to the conclusion that an actual blog post would give more substance to the tracks and the artists feature, even if it crams up a bunch of them at a time. 

So, here it is, the first edition of the redefined Stream And Destroy.

It's questionable how many or if any D//E readers are interested in what Donovan has to offer in 2021 at age 75. His new track, I Am The Shaman, doesn't only pique our interest because it's been produced by David Lynch who also directed the video, but for a psychedelic freak folk it's not so bad on its own merits.

The prolific 65daysofstatic have another ambitious ongoing project which they call Wreckage Systems, and we still have to catch up with it. New EP, Tomorrowd, is part of it, and it's immediately convincing.

Finnish noise rockers, Throat, take a darker direction on their new album accordingly titled, Smile Less, and their nineties rock sound comes in the vein of Faith No More and Helmet, with extra punch regarding the heavy facet of it.

Progressive veterans Zombi return with a five track EP a little after their recent collaboration with Uniform, and once again, they appear to be masters at coming up with compelling structures and moods, while preserving a rather high level of quality concerning their productions.

The extreme metal of Austin Lunn's Panopticon has produced a whole lot of notable releases over the years, and from the first sounds of the new album, .​.​.​And Again Into The Light, it seems like virtue and consistency are distinctive marks of this lomg-serving project.

Swiss-based darkwave act THYMIAN emerges with a piece sung in Croatian, the artist's native language, which introduces their coming album, Rhythm of Doubt.

The great Clan Of Xymox are also back with a 7-track release, continuing their strong recent run of EPs and remixes.

Odonis Odonis have a new album cooking, expected through Felte, and the first examples off it so far show a straightforward darkwave/industrial orientation which is quite palatable.

Czech vampires Body Of Pain struck out of the blue with a very well constructed and promising album which comes off great in its entirety.

Goth Dad release the third and final single ahead of their anticipated album, and it's viewed by the band as their favorite song they have ever written together.

San Francisco's The Tunnel put together a very moody video for the closing number of last year's The Nightfall EP, in advance of the band's new material which will be out in the near future.






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Ottawa-based electronic-bent dreampop duo, Paragon Cause, will be releasing their third album, Autopilot, on August 13th, 2021 through Neko Records. New single, Think I’m Going Crazy Over You, represents the band's foundation and influence from the front ranks of synthpop, and reveals the exploratory approach to their songwriting.

The new track is part of an exercise with three different takes on the same track, each going for a new interpretation. Think I'm Going Crazy Over You (Jupiter Mix) was produced with Liam Howe of Sneaker Pimps, and sounds pulsating and forceful, with the duo's dark disposition and their glimmering components still prominently placed in their sound.

Paragon Cause are guitarist and songwriter Jay Bonaparte, and vocalist and keyboardist Michelle Opthof.

Paragon Cause Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram





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Melbourne-based band, Keaper, release their debut EP after a few early singles on which they showcased their propensity toward a guitar-laden dreampop sound, citing inspiration from bands like The Sundays, Smashing Pumpkins and DIIV. Keaper were founded in 2019 by vocalist and guitarist Ameya and bassist Julia, and are rounded out by Austin and Sam.

Come & Go was previously issued in its demo form, and it's now presented in its fully realized rendition as one of the quartet's characteristic pieces, mingling qualities of warmth and melancholy, as the band makes clear and excellent use of its influences from the nineties and beyond.

"Come & Go was the second song we ever wrote," Keaper reveal. "Lyrically through the course of the song its like an internal conversation of trying to find meaning during a period of nihilism."

Keaper also double as a visual art project, actualizing their vision in further art forms, and constituting their act as a multilayered and able endeavor.

Bizou come with supergroup attributes running in their core since its members derive from the ranks of greats like Smashing Pumpkins, Wax Idols, Glaare and Light FM, and proof of the band's excellency has already been documented in their earlier offerings, especially the EP, stilllifeburning, from 2020.

Bizou's debut full length, Tragic Lover, was recently introduced with its title track, and another part of it, the opening number, Days Of Honey, has just been unveiled paired to a video directed by Thomas Nelson, Brandon Pierce and the band themselves.

The band's amalgamation of shoegaze pop, dark synthpop and post punk inclines toward its most attainable and graspable as Days Of Honey blooms through a fairly fuller style of production, and Bizou's unmistakable identification with nineties alt rock.

Whether it's by way of their candid punk rock, the more approachable facet of their compositions or their generally weightier side, it has been made clear that San Francisco's Pardoner has made a solid punk record which has just been released through the estimable Bar/None Records.

Pardoner have had a notable path thus far, delivering a very expressive and angular punk rock close to the lo-fi rock of Pavement of the sentimental punk of Hüsker Dü. Pardoner's sound comes with a sense of sentimentality which compares to what is now being labeled as proto emo, and feels close to bands which defined and shaped a style at a time when emo punk wasn't even close to being a thing. 

After Uncontrollable Salvation from 2017, and its follow up, Playin' On A Cloud which came out two years later, Pardoner return passably ripened, but with a tangible playful intent, and make an album on which they sound easygoing and more assertive than before. Came Down Different is arguably Pardoner's finest, an album which throws equal parts of its focus to the lyrical and the musical fronts, and gives out a kind of sharp rock that's both fun and balanced.

The efficacy of Came Down Different goes way beyond the thrill of its lively singles though, and the record works great en mass, and appears fully collected despite the fact that it was recorded in only two days, hence its observable hastiness. Additionally, super-producer Jack Shirley's contribution makes its presence palpable once more. 

The album's three last tracks, Totally Evil Powers, its title track and the very straightforward Fuck You! come as paragons of the its dynamics, by presenting three discernible aspects of what Pardoner do; their snotty punk angle, a lyrically and instrumentally hefty kind of noise rock, and lo-fi rock immediacy of acts like Polvo to which they are frequently compared.

Pardoner's new album indeed came down different than its predecessors, not by a lot, still, it's more than good enough to finally earn the band some of the attention they've been deserving since their debut.

Pardoner Facebook | Twitter | Instagram




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In March 2021 Mouth Washington introduced their very interesting in both theme and sound impending album, Remiss, with the storytelling first single, Constance, which they now follow with a straightforward noise rock cut. 

Statue finds the band looking at the direct punk sound and songwriting of their previous records, yet, it also appears more realized, better formed and more elaborate than ever, suggesting the Mouth Washington are heading toward the setting of defining moment for their path with album number five.

The coming album was produced by the band alongside producer Scott Webber, and it's expected out  Summer 2021 through Repeating Cloud. 

Statue comes with a fine video consistent with Mouth Washington's directness and their black and white aesthetics.

A very pleasant surprise comes from the ranks of Exile On Mainstream, in the form of a new band with a cinematic heavy rock approach which includes dark folk artist Connie Ochs in its ranks, also know for his collaborations with Wino, and for the gloom of his solo releases. Trialogos are rounded out by acclaimed and rising film composer Sicker Man, and singer/multi-instrumentalist Kiki Bohemia (both also of Slutty Clowns). The band's debut album, Stroh Zu Gold, comes out on June 18th, 2021, and its title track was just unveiled paired to an excellent performance video by Milan Pfützenreuter, which premiered at Roadburn's Redux Festival. 

In a little over six and a half minutes of steady drive and intensity, Stroh Zu Gold hits hard as a heavy psychedelic krautrock piece, and it's tough to feel immersed in its sharp instrumentation and the trio's dedication.

Stroh Zu Gold was recorded at blankstudio Berlin in October 2020, produced by Tobias Vethake and Trialogos with additional recordings by Conny Ochs, and mastered by Andreas 'Lupo' Lubich. The artwork was created by the band members, mainly Ochs. For what it's worth, the album is going to be the esteemed label's hundredth release.

Photos supplied by the band members

Trialogos Facebook | Instagram

If one thing is to characterize the artistic core of Death Hags the most, is that Lola G. is an artist who emphasizes with comfort and dexterity on many different genres, and has long established herself as a style challenging act with a considerably big range.

Synthetic Nature finds Death Hags leaning toward an experimental electronic ambient sound with a more graspable approach, coming across like a blend between Eno, Kraftwerk and Ladytron. The track is part of  Big Grey Sun #3 which will be available on streaming services and CD on May 14th, 2021 with a limited edition Bandcamp-only lathe-cut seven-inch. 

"Synthetic Nature is a fever dream about the seduction of hyper modernity and the confusion it causes in our brains," the artist describes. "The more we race towards a post-human world of synthetic beings and biology, the more we long to go back to what we think is Nature, only to find (to paraphrase Baudrillard) that we only have the map and not the territory."

As prolific as always, Death Hags will be pairing Big Grey Sun #3 to a companion space ambient album and VHS limited edition titled Life of a Space Tree. 

Death Hags Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Rising after the breakup of their previous band, Creepoid, Philadelphia’s Lovelorn will be releasing their debut album What’s Yr Damage on August 6th, 2021 via 6131 Records, previously introduced with Sickness Reward. The couple of Anna and Patrick Troxell have released another part of the anticipated full length, the bright new single Reason.

With each new offering the duo manifest the unconventionality which runs in the essence of their multifaceted synthpop, and although Reason appears adapted to the more polished and easy to grasp aspect of Lovelorn's sound, it still appears much off the beaten track.

Curse Mackey is a very prominent figure in the word of darkwave, post punk and industrial, mostly known through the industrial greats, PIGFACE, and his time with My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. The artist initiated the solo project under his own name a couple of years ago, and released the album Instant Exorcism to very positive reactions. 

Ahead of the anticipated follow up to his first full length which is expected Fall 2021, Mackey is to unveil a series of summer releases featuring remixes, unheard B-sides, live videos and new, original artwork. The first of those is a new take on Submerge including Clan of Xymox frontman, Ronny Moorings, with whom Curse recently toured, and who also plays guitar on the track. The single comes with a club remix by Chase Dobson (Tycho, Neon Cities, Cellar Graves), and a remix of another Instant Exorcism track, Dystopian Dope, done by Martin King (DogTablet, Test Dept. Pigface).

Mackey comments: “The club mix of Submerge was created as tribute to all of the darkwave/industrial/goth DJs out there who have kept the music playing during the shutdown. This is a track meant to be played loud when the darkwave clubs of the world can reopen. Chase Dobson really captured the spirit of the original version while elevating it from it’s mid-tempo post-punk industrial feel into a Darkwave dance floor anthem and Ronny’s guitar just soars across the top….I feel like a reemergence is taking place for music, both as a connective spirit amongst fans around the world as we start to see glimmers of hope on the horizon for live events, and for me on a personal, artistic level. I’ve been quite insulated, lost in my head and deeply involved in the creation of my follow up album. I needed to resurface and come up for some air. This single is a vital step towards emerging into the future of this new strange world we have been presented with and a moment to reflect on the Instant Exorcism album experience in the here and now.”