Demdike Stare: Junk / Tuff Crew 7”

Demdike Stare return to Modern Love with their first release on the label since 2018, a sick addition to the label’s 7” series. One side of charred bruk-pop rufige featuring Alice Merida Richards on vocals, with a murderous pipe-bomb riddim on the flip.

Both cuts find Demdike in wickedly rambunctious mood, the a-side ‘Junk’ weaving gated filters and squashed subs into the gynoid vocal delivery of Alice Merida Richards, formerly of baroque pop band Virginia Wing, and here giving it a full Nico via Trish Keenan thing. Imagine the Chain Reaction label doing monochrome, mutant pop, and you’re just about there.

’Tuff Crew’ on the flip sees the duo panel-beating sheet noise, gnashing drums and hyperpop hiccups into a seething industrial dancehall swivel made to swarm warehouses with its dizzying stereo diffusions. Hands down some of their best gear, play extra loud for the full madness.