Like a reincarnation of Suicide without excessive drug use or a bizzarro Devo without any sense of humor, Oakland’s Brotman & Short plumbs the depths of no-wave minimalism and proto-industrial nihilism to feed its dark, synth-heavy jams. Even on “Eastlands,” one of the relatively lighter numbers from the duo’s forthcoming nine-song LP for start-up label Cold Dick Records (side note: the label is helmed by occasional XLR8R scribe Thomas Rees), entitled Heights, the Bay Area outfit channels memories of Ian Curtis’ disarming, baritone yawps and some of the more cohesive and driving numbers in Cabaret Voltaire’s discography. Whether Brotman & Short are attempting to simply relive these ominous moments in musical history or actually take them to new heights remains to be seen, but with material like this, we wouldn’t mind sticking around to find out.

Heights will be released as a limited pressing of 500 LPs on February 8.

Eastlands