This week's episode has us each picking five pairs of tracks we've come to have linked in our minds, whether it be through our personal mixtape or DJ histories, or some other mystery of the human mind. From noise to synthpop to psytrance, we're hoping these picks also speak to the broader ways in which we all interact with music. All that plus some discussion of the just-announced Substance festival in LA!

Inland Empire coldwave and Bay Area no wave are far more different than nomenclature and physical proximity might suggest, as we find out in this episode of We Have A Technical. The loosely thrashing debut from Penal Colony and the abstracted to almost nothing experimentalism of Subpoena The Past are our picks for this two albums episode of the podacast, alongside some gleeful hand-rubbing over the impending arrival of Industrial Summer Camp season.

Bruce is away this week, which means we've tapped our good friend Mildred Strange from the excellent History Lessons for Misanthropes to join us as the resident academic. We discuss one of her favourite bands 12 Rounds, and the enduring appeal of their 1998 sophomore album My Big Hero before trying to make sense of the bizarre, somewhat inscrutable-to-us German medieval NDH act Tanzwut. What mysteries will we uncover and how many german words do we mispronounce? You'll have to listen to find out!

From post-futurepop to post-witch house, we're hopping across some big gulfs in style with this week's podcast's two records. First, the tasteful to a fault Edge Of Dawn's Enjoy The Fall puts Frank Spinath's unmistakable vocals squarely in the spotlight, and then, the first split record between V▲LH▲LL & M‡яc▲ll▲ brings us back to the days of artists using the witch house explosion as the opportunity to reconsider approaches to classic dark synth sounds.

Settle in for a lot of fast talk, as the Senior staff power their way through the debut LP from Texas' Twin Tribes. A modern darkwave classic through and through, be prepared for a lot of gushing about songwriting, albumcraft, and the beauty of simplicity on this I Die: You Die bonus podcast.

One of our chin-stroking big topic episodes is coming your way this week, as we discuss the thorny question of the cost of digital releases within the culture of the darker music scenes. What shapes artists' decisions regarding price points? What impact do people's motivations with their music play in how they try to distribute it? And what goes through the head of the budget-conscious music purchaser as they're browsing through slews of releases on Bandcamp? All these questions and more on the latest episode of We Have A Technical.

Two rather different records in terms of era, sound, and (presumably) audience make up this week's episode of We Have A Technical. We're talking about Ashbury Heights' debut Three Cheers For The Newlydeads and Contagion's Contaminant PCB. We also have some words about the passing of our friend Bryan Hughes, and Minuit Machine's upcoming North American tour.

It's a slightly spicy episode of We Have A Technical this week, as we find ourselves sharing an appreciation for the thoughtful dark ambient of Blink Twice…and debating the foibles of the nominal deathrock of Fear Cult. We're also talking Andy Fletcher, Front 242, and the Manufactured In Los Angeles fest.

As we recently opined, the new album by The Legendary Pink Dots ranks among the best works in the long-standing experimental band's voluminous discography. It's a timely honour, then, to speak to the band's frontman and chief songwriter Edward Ka-Spel on this week's episode of We Have A Technical. Edward spoke with us about the structuring and execution of The Museum Of Human Happiness, how his songwriting has changed to reflect different eras, and shifting senses of utopias past and present, all with the characteristic wit and humanity instantly recognizable to any long-term LPD listener.