August: 8 electro releases you need to hear this month

Cardopusher 'New Cult Fear' (Boysnoize Records)

Cardopusher (aka Luis Garbàn) returns to Boysnoize Records with the follow-up to 2015’s ‘Manipulator’. Embracing the eerier end of the electro spectrum, ‘New Cult Fear’ is teeming with depraved synths and distressed rhythms. There’s no pandering to the electronic zeitgeist here, just a producer with a laser-like focus on trying to freak you out. ‘Dreamjumping’ and ‘Crystal Nightcap’ are both straight-up electro, combining occult-ish soundscapes with noodling acidic leads, while the horror-inspired ‘Mind Eraser’ and ‘Drunken Incapacitants’ sound like the dying embers of a John Carpenter soundtrack. There are more straight-edged cuts too, with ‘Idol Worship’ and ‘Just One Fixx’ swapping the filmic atmosphere for a more groove-based sound. It finishes with a trio of tracks that showcase Garbàn’s ability to fuse acidic motifs with a range of timbres, rounding off an LP that’s big on scary bangers but lacks real emotional weight.

7/10