“In The End It Is You Trying To Hide”
“Riding the cold wave of success after a self released tape and her debut LP, one woman weapon Cosey Mueller returns with release number three. Straight down to business, Softcore sees Berlin’s favorite femme fatale evolve the vintage synthpunk sounds of her previous cassette and vinyl releases to reveal lusciously textured soundscapes for a mature, confident long player that is polished yet playful. Ribbed and studded with sassy statements and cheeky guitars riding the cynical synth lines, Softcore thrusts back and forth in time between the experimental DIY spirit of 81/82 to the industrial dance heyday of 86-89. An instant classic as fresh as the cool night air.” (Daryl Sulfate - Diät, Das Nest)
Welcome to another edition of the Neon Taste newsletter! It’s just a quick one today so I won’t take up much of your time. Winter has landed in Calgary and it has had a substantial effect on “business”. They say do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. This is a lie. I love this but it is a constant slog and it seems all I ever do is work/worry. Enough about me, we got hot new shit to let you know about so I’ll get to it.
The sultry and throbbing sounds of a new Cosey Mueller album is just the thing to heat you up on a Winter day. We’ve got a grip of the new release, ‘Softcore’ passing over the Atlantic as I type like a horny Santa Clause cumming early. Last year, we were given the gift of ‘Irrational Habits’ which knocked me out entirely and was one of the best albums of 2023. Softcore will be taking a place on my list this year as well. When there are albums this good it just becomes a point of duty to ensure that I tell you about it and spread the good word.
Cosey Mueller is vital music. Period.
Imagine having the fucking audacity to smash the names Cosey Fanni Tutti and Cookie Mueller into one moniker and also have the talent and tunes to have it make perfect sense. That’s exactly what happens here from the member of Glaas on their solo project. I can gush all over about how much I love these records but it’ll just make a mess so I’ll let you in on the secret: If you’re looking for the most sultry, erotic and smart project around you could do far worse than lying prone in front of the speakers while letting these synths and beats lash over you. After a slightly low-key opening track the album finds it’s first hit slapping you across the face with ‘I Am Soft’ lustfully confessing vulnerability and submission. This Kas Product-esq killer is sure-fire floor filler and worth repeated listens. As the drum machine pushes you along ‘Trotzstadt’ is an upbeat turn at expressing exhaustion and futility with the modern state of the world (and maybe Germany especially). This cyclical nature of following the path to inevitable failure. The synth lines are particularly special here as guitar takes up the main instrumentation and the synths provide both texture and melodic accompaniment. It’s likely my favourite track off the album for this reason and should be played at Hockey games and fetish parties alike. We all know there’s no justice in this world and though Cosey Mueller is easily destined to fill dance floors at clubs for however long she wants to do so, she’ll likely never get big enough to share a backstage with Bono where she can really get access to changing the world for the better. Yes - i’m referring too her killing U2. For me. For us. For the world.
While we can all dream of Cosey shoving The Edge off stage at the Grammies where he’ll be impaled on a well-placed clarinet you can provide soundtrack to these fantasies and more by picking up some records. On the off-chance that you missed out on the debut album, we’ve been able to restock a small handful for you so you can check those out in the webstore as well. These will both ship out early next week. At the risk of sounding domineering (though that might be appropriate here) you do need these records in your life so don’t be a square. Lick the dungeon floor and scoop a copy of these total killers. And if, after all this you still need some convincing, there are ample YouTube videos online that are definitely worth your time.
We’ve ordered a tonne of Deathbed Tapes releases which will be showing up Monday or Tuesday. Titles include Bastard Noise, God Is War, Richard Ramirez and more. You can check this all out by searching Deathbed in the store search. It’s always been a point to expand the shop into different areas of interest and Noise/Experimental has been a bit of a void for accessibility - especially in Western Canada. Hopefully we can make something work and you can find some of these releases available. We’ve a tonne more releases that are inbound so please bookmark the store page and help support the store and the label. More news coming next week!