Street Sects – Dry Drunk/Street Sex – Full Color Eclipse [Compulsion Records]

The Texan industrial/noise/hardcore duo Street Sects have never been just another project aping the sound of established acts, or confirming to commercial logics. Leo Ashline and Shaun Ringsmuth have been crafting over the years a personal sonic and aesthetic universe in which American hardboiled and noir meet existential dread, depression, histories of crime, addiction, and nihilism. This aural assault has been scattered through a plethora of limited EPs, stand-alone singles, digital releases, and only two full-lengths to date, the albums End Position (2016) and The Kicking Mule (2018).

Now, Street Sects return with two twin releases: Dry Drunk, released under their usual moniker, and Full Color Eclipse, released as Street Sex. A «2-in-1» video has been released for the singles Spitting Images and Turn Blue, fusing the two tracks in a Lynchian way and cementing the idea of two works that are each other’s mirror. The albums will be released in physical format by Health’s own label, Compulsion Records.

Dry Drunk starts with the self-eloquent A List Of All Persons I Will Harm, a resentful ride introduced by evocative synth sounds and celestial arches, but soon configured into a destructive industrial/punk cacophony outlined by more melodic parts. Entertainment Law is a classic Street Sects track, if such a thing exists, made of syncoptated broken rhythms and stalking vocal deliveries in which desperation and aggression become one. Electro-industrial sounds and noisescapes are the main elements of this short pastiche.

The single Spitting Images offers a fast-paced track where the way Street Sects’ songwriting has grown is shown by both their ability to hold back when needed, both their unrestrained violence, while Ejection Button perverts psychedelic sounds through fragmentation, usage of samples, and acoustic elements, a sort of intro for the following A Dying Wage and its trip made of melancholic melodies, soulful vocals, and moving refrains.

Full Color Eclipse sports a sound informed by their recent experiments with cyberpunk atmospheres and club sounds in stand-alone tracks like X-Amount and Passenger Of Death, giving us a more melodic and structured vision. Timing Belt is a perfect example of this sound, thanks to its strong basslines, regular rhythms and even house-music elements. Coming Of Age is more aggressive, a modern electro-industrial/EBM affair in structure, but graced by sudden subdued parts that prepare us for further attacks, while the single Turn Blue plays with throbbing club bass sounds, electro-pop innuendos and synthwave touches.

Rock Salt is a mutant new wave piece with engaging dissonant synth parts, a cleverly laid melodic pattern, and riffing refrains – the result is like a soundtrack for Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas rendered as a dance track, New Braunfels a trippy late 90’s electro song infected by Street Sects’ taste for broken rhythms and strong kick drums. The Squeeze is probably the closest thing to eurodance we ever got by the duo, and probably their most melodic and «normal» song to date, The Big Heat ends the album with hints of funk, trip-hop, club sounds and shadows of punk assaults well hidden under the melodic structure.

With this cleverly conceived double release in two albums and entities, Street Sects allow themselves to stay true to their roots and experiment at the same time, even giving an artistic perspective to the whole thing. If Dry Drunk is the sonic equivalent of mixing William Burroughs, Cormac McCarthy, J.C. Ballard and Raymond Chandler, Full Color Eclipse is the soundtrack to a night of hedonistic self-destruction in a fashionable club, with a stupefied and anesthetized smile. Once again, the punk ethos, early industrial music roots and modern electro-industrial are displayed in their sound, but thanks to the aforementioned trick, their recent fascination with contemporary club sounds, synthwave and house music is further explored, too.

Release date: August 15th, 2025.
Text by: Davide Pappalardo.

El dúo texano Street Sects de industrial/noise/hardcore nunca ha sido un proyecto más que imita el sonido de bandas consagradas o se pliega a lógicas comerciales. Leo Ashline y Shaun Ringsmuth han construido a lo largo de los años un universo sonoro y estético personal donde confluyen el noir y la crudeza estadounidense con el terror existencial, la depresión, historias de crimen, adicción y nihilismo. Este asalto auditivo se ha dispersado en una plétora de EPs limitados, sencillos, lanzamientos digitales y solo dos álbumes completos hasta la fecha, como son End Position (2016) y The Kicking Mule (2018).

Ahora, Street Sects regresa con dos lanzamientos gemelos: Dry Drunk, bajo su nombre habitual, y Full Color Eclipse, firmado como Street Sex. Un vídeo «2-en-1» para los sencillos Spitting Images y Turn Blue fusiona ambas canciones al estilo lynchiano, reforzando la idea de dos obras que son reflejo una de la otra. Ambos álbumes serán editados en formato físico por Compulsion Records, el sello de Health.

El álbum abre con el autodescriptivo A List Of All Persons I Will Harm, un viaje de resentimiento iniciado por arcos sintetizadores evocadores que pronto estalla en una cacofonía destructiva de industrial/punk, matizada por pasajes melódicos. Entertainment Law, una clásica canción de Street Sects, si es que eso existe, teje ritmos sincopados y voces acechantes donde la desesperación y la agresión se funden.

El sencillo Spitting Images demuestra la evolución compositiva del dúo, equilibrando contención y violencia desatada, mientras Ejection Button pervierte sonidos psicodélicos con samples y elementos acústicos, preludiando A Dying Wage y su viaje de melodías melancólicas y estribillos conmovedores.

Aquí, Street Sects explora atmósferas cyberpunk y sonidos de club, ya insinuados en temas como X-Amount o Passenger Of Death, ofreciendo una visión más melódica y estructurada. Timing Belt ejemplifica este giro con bajos potentes, ritmos regulares y hasta elementos de house. Coming Of Age es una pieza agresiva de electro-industrial/EBM, interrumpida por pasajes sutiles que anticipan nuevos embates.

Turn Blue juega con bajos palpitantes, guiños al electro-pop y toques de synthwave, mientras Rock Salt suena a new wave mutante con sintetizadores disonantes y estribillos contundentes, como si Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fuera reinterpretado para la pista de baile. New Braunfels evoca el electro de los 90, infectado por los ritmos fracturados del dúo, y The Squeeze es su acercamiento más «normal» al eurodance. El álbum cierra con The Big Heat, donde asoman funk, trip-hop y ataques punk camuflados en estructuras melódicas.

Con este doble lanzamiento, Street Sects honra sus raíces punk e industrial primigenio, mientras experimenta con sonidos club y synthwave. Si Dry Drunk es el equivalente sonoro de mezclar a William Burroughs, Cormac McCarthy, J.G. Ballard y Raymond Chandler, Full Color Eclipse es la banda sonora de una noche de autodestrucción hedonista en un club de moda, con una sonrisa estupefacta y anestesiada.

Fecha de lanzamiento: 15 de agosto, 2025.
Texto: Davide Pappalardo.