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After almost three decades of friendship, Zurich-based musicians Benedikt Merz and David Hänni moved into a studio together in 2019. They found common ground over their shared love of psychedelic music and spent long, woozy nights jamming together. But while one wanted to focus on live electronics, the other secretly wanted to start a band. The outcome was Dâdalus & Bikarus, a project which sits somewhere between these two worlds, welding elements of krautrock, punk and big beat into tripped-out dancefloor rhythms.
Their second album, Off the Shelf, captures the obsessive energy of those early nocturnal experiments, which they’ve since built a reputation for in their live shows. Anchored by drawn-out loops, each track slowly builds tension to dizzying, near-erotic heights. On Erebros, this takes place across a hefty 11 minutes: led by propulsive drums and a scuttling bass riff, the track pushes and pulls, eventually developing into an angular acid-punk workout. In Kill Your Feed, another standout, a simple drum sequence gradually kicks into a shuffling Madchester-esque groove, with plenty of feedback along the way. For all their repetition, the instrumentals are moreish and never dull, thanks also to the ominous sirens and metallic clangs scattered throughout. Merz’s vocals are similarly enticing, channelling Peter Murphy’s moody drawl at points, and gruff EBM-style yelps at others.
The less club-minded tracks are just as compelling. Kuhlio, about halfway through, sounds like it was snatched from the score of an 80s horror flick: weighty synths hang over it like a grey cloud. There are moments throughout the record when the storm clears: a dreamy arpeggiated synth line drifting over a swampy rhythm, or the sounds of tropical birds and trickling water that linger between songs. But even these intermissions are disquieting, only amping the intensity in this whirlwind of an album.
Also out this month
The latest from the brilliant DIY Basque label Hegoa is s/t, a small-batch tape release from a little-known artist called Jmur. It’s a lovely, cosy listen, full of rudimentary folk-pop jams and modular excursions from across his life. Highlights include a take on When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine, with a granular quality that only adds to its melancholy feeling.
Another charming collection of songs comes via A Profound Non-Event, the debut album by Sydney-based group Daily Toll (released by Tough Love). Think folky guitars, homespun production and unfussy lyrics with vocals so unaffected they recall the intimacy of K Records indie pop.
One for the later hours is The Art of Memory by Salon des Amateurs affiliates Sequence of Events (Subject to Restrictions Discs). Combining EBM and new wave sensibilities with shoegaze scuzz, the Düsseldorf duo debut a collection of tracks that wonderfully evoke their post-industrial surroundings.
