"The Blackout" delves into a world of sound unheard of on any prior Tunnels release as Bindeman steps away from the heady guitar wizardry of Eternal Tapestry to craft a pulsing and dark record steeped in cold dread with a pop sheen. bass lines, often the centerpiece of the song, play alongside glistening, glass slipper synths and jagged guitars, seeping like silver lined shadows into disaffected vocal incantations. drawing on a disparate palate of sounds from various facets of electronic music, his version of a new cold wave is a sound both novel and infectious, the sounds gently caressing and enveloping your entire being. taking after synth pop pioneers such as Charles de Goal and Crash Course in Science, with a hint of Throbbing Gristle, The Blackout appears carelessly adrift in the reflective mire of it’s own influences yet still manages to resonate with the new. many songs revolve around sampled sources which Bindeman then collages together to create the framework for any given piece. opener “Crystal Arms” draws it’s slightly off kilter pulse from a Laurie Anderson performance in which she sports a pair of contact mic’d sun glasses which pick up the vibrations of her fists pounding on her skull.

available on professionally-dubbed, limited edition chrome Sweating Tapes cassette on July 27th, and on LP/CD August 18th from Thrill Jockey.