Cool DIY electronic music, for fans of Molchat Doma and Filmmaker. Our take: Sounds of Serfdom isn’t a demo, but a cassette full-length from this American band. The visual and auditory aesthetics might be familiar if you’ve jammed bands like Molchat Doma or Filmmaker who have put out records on the German label Detriti. There’s even a vinyl version of Sounds of Serfdom available on Detriti, giving this the ultimate stamp of approval for contemporary, YouTube-oriented post-punk. Musically, the Serfs are of a piece with the two bands I mentioned, but grittier and punkier sounding. Their way of combining danceable drum machine rhythms with broad, memorable melodic lines reminds me of New Order, though this is scrappier and much lower-budget than anything that band ever did. Sounds of Serfdom also works great as a full-length, floating between catchy melodies and more rhythmic bleep bloops in a way that keeps your ears excited.
