STACIAN

Songs for Cadets

stacian.bandcamp.com

The really out-there pop music has never been limited to the coasts. Just as Detroit gave us eerily robotic early techno and Minneapolis spawned Prince—once Top 40’s chief experimentalist—Milwaukee has produced Stacian, aka Dania Luck. Keen on sci-fi imagery and primitive synth programming, this one-woman band fills her full-length debut with hypnotic minor-key riffs and harsh mechanized beats. Way down in the mix, she howls out cryptic messages to fellow space travelers, cloaking her words in far too much reverb for mere earthlings to process. It’s a challenging listen, but Luck isn’t courting casual listeners. As per the press release, she’s fighting for “control of the cosmic dance floor.” Cadets wanted—serious applicants only.