It’s been a big week for London’s Fabric nightclub, with the iconic techno venue overturning a much-publicised shutdown after settling a dispute with Islington Council and the local cops – albeit with the strictest venue rules in the whole of Britain.
But aside from the #savefabric saga that’s dominated the music press and DJ scenes over the last few months, Fabric’s sister label Houndstooth hasn’t wavered in releasing forward-thinking electronic music that often veers off the techno path.
English trio Snow Ghosts are a case in point, with their new EP Husk a slice of coldwave minimalism and post-punk melancholia, the bittersweet spot between Chromatics, Joy Division and Tropic of Cancer.
Husk opener Vetiver is propelled by a pitter-patter motorik beat you’d hear on a cult cassette compilation of 80s Euro synth acts, with tense guitar shards and just about legal levels of reverb. Hannah Cartwright’s detached vocals sounds like she’s swaying in the corner, literally gazing at her shoes as the wall of guitars builds around her.
The video is tense and unsettling too. Taking its literal cue from Cartwright’s opening line “I dug myself a small cocoon”, it’s a monochrome fever dream of insects, larvae and Rorschach ink blots. Maybe listen without the visuals if you’ve got a Sunday hangover.
Moo Kid 