French electro-post-punk duo Dear Deer has released a new single and video titled “Les deux piliers” via Icy Cold Records. The track is the first preview from their upcoming EP, expected in autumn 2025.

“Les deux piliers” continues the band’s growing embrace of the French language in their lyrics, following earlier experiments on “Collect and Reject” (2022) and a previous cover of “Ruh” for the She Past Away tribute compilation. The band describes the track as “a lot more poppy.”

The single is available on all major platforms including YouTube, Bandcamp, Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.

About Dear Deer

Dear Deer is a French electro-post-punk duo formed by Claudine and Frederic. The band debuted with “Oh My…” in 2016, released by Manic Depression Records.

This was followed by their 2022 album “Collect and Reject“, which leaned into a more electronic sound.

Over the years, Dear Deer has appeared on several compilations and splits, including one with Embers via Wool-E Discs. The duo’s sound blends coldwave, minimal electronics, and indie rock influences. Dear Deer is signed to Icy Cold Records.

Dear Deer tour dates 2025

• 06/02 – Lille, FR – Aéronef (w/ Geneva Jacuzzi)
• 18/04 – Dunkerque, FR – 4 Écluses (w/ Kap Bambino)
• 21/06 – Lille, FR – Guinguette St So (w/ Oberst Panizza)
• 28/06 – Izegem, BE – Pekkerfeesten
• 07/06 – TBA
• 08/06 – TBA
• 26/07 – Wysoka Strzyzowska, PL – Robmyswoje Fest
• 27/09 – Bern, CH – ISC
• 18/10 – Aachen, DE – Le Suk
• 22/10 – Prerov, CZ – Psychedelic Umami
• 24/10 – Deggendorf, DE – Café Holler
• 28/10 – Zagreb, HR – Močvara
• 29/10 – Budapest, HU – Szimpla Kert
• 30/10 – Wien, AT – Das Lot

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Dark-Wave.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This is the fourth full length album by the French duo Dear Deer. Claudine Sourdeval and Federico Iovino invited a few guest musicians to perform on a few tracks.

Content: The album features 2 parts, “Collect” and “Reject” each part featuring 5 songs. The first part sounds more into Dark-Wave and Post-Punk while the second part is achieved with extra electronics on top. Male and female vocals are alternating but also produced as a duo.

+ + + : The second part of the album has an irresistible feeling. Not that Dear Deer is reinventing any kind of music but the songs have a refreshing Dark-Wave/Indie touch. It sounds diversified -which is also a noticeable element in the vocal production. I also enjoyed one of the tracks of the debut part for the cool trumpet playing.

– – – : I can’t say that the debut songs are hesitant but just a teaser to what’s coming next.

Conclusion: Dear Deer sounds like it’s in constant progress and even if their sound has a strong 80s appeal they progressively reached a more personal production.

Best songs: “Plaster”, “Watch Me I’m A Marauder”, “JJR”, “Deux”, “Backward Groove”.

Rate: 8.

Artist: www.facebook.com/deardeerfr

Label: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Cold-Wave.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This album is a split release between two bands; Dear Deer from France and Embers from Belgium. They each released four songs for this work. 

Content: Dear Deer moves on composing their Post-Punk inspired music. The opening touch has a little Funky touch on top, but globally speaking the songs smell like good-old 80s Post-Punk and Cold-Wave productions. Deep bass lines and guitar playing to empower the choruses while the vocals are mixing male- and female vocals. You’ll also notice some electronic arrangements on top.

Embers is a duo I didn’t know and which have already released a few EP’s some years ago now. The main characteristic emerges from the vocals, which have been sung in a kind of local Dutch dialect. Sound-wise the songs are mixing bombastic atmospheres together Post-Punk, but still a kind of Flamenco-guitar on “Bic”.

+ + + : The album reveals two interesting bands; Dear Deer confirms its strong potential composing well-crafted Post-Punk. It sounds pretty retro-like and yet it sounds refreshing. The last song “Life In Rewind” is the apotheosis to this work. The main strength of Embers definitely appears to be their original concept of singing in dialect, which creates a somewhat exotic touch. It’s fun, which is also noticeable in the composition and especially at “Bic” featuring a kind of Flamenco guitar playing. 

– – – : The last song of Embers is poorly inspired and a rather disappointing final. I personally would have preferred to discover each band releasing a separate album instead of a split-album.

Conclusion: Great Post-Punk from France and funny Flemish music from Belgium.

Best songs: Dear Deer: “Life In Rewind”, “Jjr” + Embers: “Bic”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: www.facebook.com/embersburn / www.facebook.com/deardeerfr

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

The biggest distributor for the industrial electro scene, Audioglobe, has announced its Top 10 in best selling industrial music labels. The numbers were already out there for the labels to look at it, but here they are also for the regular fans. Note that with 2018, Audioglobe also enters it’s 25th year of existance as the distributor set up shop on 6 December 1993. We will of course have a big extended interview and more with Sebastian Koch regarding this great achievement in a very tough market.

But now the numbers many of you have been waiting for!

The Top 3

First the Top 3. The number 1 label in sales is Trisol which has bands such as Clan of Xymox, Rome, Project Pitchfork, Sopor Aeternus, Nachtmahr, Rotersand, Asp, Mantus etc. under contract. The second label in the list is the Belgian based Alfa Matrix which nurtures the talent of Front 242, Underviewer, Daniel B Prothèse, Metroland, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Leatherstrip, Psy’Aviah, Kant Kino and so many other acts. Note that this label also has a very strong e-shop presence (direct sales are not included in this Top 10 list). The 3rd label is Out Of Line with Blutengel, Combichrist, Hocico, Solar Fake, Heimataerde, Unzucht, Solitary Experiments. Also this label has an own e-shop.

The rest of the Top 10

The 4th label is Fabrika/Dead Scarlet (She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…) followed by ArtOfFact (Legend, Frontline Assembly, Haujobb, Psyche, Noise Unit, Dead When I found her, Pankow…) and Metropolis (Birthday Massacre, Aesthetic Perfection, God Module, Lords of Acid, Skinny Puppy, Delerium…). The 7th place is occupied by Rustblade (Morricone, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, Leaether Strip, Lydia Lunch, Legendary Pink Dots, Merzbow…). Also Dependent is still in the Top 10, namely on spot 8 with their label roster (Covenant, Mesh, Pride & Fall, Beborn Beton, Seabound, Encephalon, Frontline Assembly, Clicks..). Place 9 and 10 finally are for Manic Depression (Winter Severity Index, Ash Code, Schonwald, Box and the Twins, Sjoblom, Dear Deer…) and Undo (Marsheaux, Girl One and the Grease Guns, Mesh, Fotonovela, OMD, Nikonn, Mikro, Vienna, Liebe…).

And on spot 11 and 12…

2 labels didn’t make the Top 10, namely Hall Of Sermon (Lacrimosa, Snakeskin, Black Moon Secret, Eyes Shut Tight) and Infacted (NamNamBulu, Grendel, Torul, Reaper, Frozen Plasma, Ruined Conflict, Orange Sector, Syntec…). Both labels ended on place 11 and 12.

Here’s the complete list again. The bands next to the label are listed in order of sales results/total turnover per band in 2017 via Audioglobe.

01 TRISOL (Clan of Xymox, Rome, Project Pitchfork, Sopor Aeternus, Nachtmahr, Rotersand, Asp, Mantus…)
02 ALFA MATRIX (Front 242, Underviewer, Daniel B Prothèse, Metroland, Alien Vampires, Ayria, Leatherstrip…)
03 OUT OF LINE (Blutengel, Combichrist, Hocico, Solar Fake, Heimataerde, Unzucht, Solitary Experiments …)
04 FABRIKA/DEAD SCARLET (She Past Away, Lebanon Hanover, Selofan, Kaelan Mikla, M!R!M, Doric…)
05 ARTOFFACT (Legend, Frontline Assembly, Haujobb, Psyche, Noise Unit, Dead When I found her, Pankow…)
06 METROPOLIS (Birthday Massacre, Aesthetic Perfection, God Module, Lords of Acid, Skinny Puppy, Delerium…)
07 RUSTBLADE (Morricone, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, Leaether Strip, Lydia Lunch, Legendary Pink Dots, Merzbow…)
08 DEPENDENT (Covenant, Mesh, Pride & Fall, Beborn Beton, Seabound, Encephalon, Frontline Assembly, Clicks..)
09 MANIC DEPRESSION (Winter Severity Index, Ash Code, Schonwald, Box and the Twins, Sjoblom, Dear Deer…)
10 UNDO (Marsheaux, Girl One and the Grease Guns, Mesh, Fotonovela, OMD, Nikonn, Mikro, Vienna, Liebe…)
11 HALL OF SERMON (Lacrimosa, Snakeskin, Black Moon Secret, Eyes Shut Tight)
12 INFACTED (NamNamBulu, Grendel, Torul, Reaper, Frozen Plasma, Ruined Conflict, Orange Sector, Syntec…)

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Post-punk, cold-wave, industrial.

Background/Info: Dear Deer is a duo consisting of Federico Lovino (Popoï Sdioh) and Sabatel (Cheshire Cat, Guerre Froide). “Oh My” is their official debut album, which was released on vinyl format by Manic Depression Records and on CD by Swiss Dark Nights. “Oh My” reveals 9 songs.

Content: It only takes a few seconds to get an idea about the sources of inspiration for this band. Dead Deer mixes elements of post-punk and cold-wave together with a somewhat industrial-like input. On one side you’ll notice vintage electronics and on the other side a more classical cold-wave/post-punk sound, which might remind you of The Sisters Of Mercy and Bauhaus.

There’s also is a nice twist between the male and female vocals. Federico Lovino’s timbre of voice sometimes reminds me of Gavin Friday, which injects an extra 80s touch to the work.

+ + + : “Oh My” clearly doesn’t reinvent any music genre, but I like the way this band has mixed different 80s elements together. It sounds pretty old-styled, but still refreshing and featuring multiple remarkable songs. This is a cool work, which seems to reveal it is still possible to compose exciting music based on old receipts. “Statement”, “Claudine In Berlin” and “Clinical/Physical” featuring Loto Ball are really alluring cuts, which will for sure convince you of this band’s potential.

– – – : The main strength of an album often also is its major point that you can discuss. So Dear Deer clearly doesn’t reinvent anything and would maybe give you the impression discovering one of these numerous forgotten and lost 80s formations.

Conclusion: Who cares if a band is simply emulating an old-fashioned music genre. Dear Deer kicks ass and has accomplished a great piece of music, which I hope will be only the beginning. You guys rocks!

Best songs: “Statement”, “Claudine In Berlin”, “Clinical/Physical feat. Loto Ball”, “Dear Deer”, “Arnolfini”.

Rate: (8).

Band: www.facebook.com/deardeerfr

Label: www.manicdepressionrecords.com / www.facebook.com/manicdepressionrecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Federico Iovino and Sabatel aka the industrial post-punk duo Dear Deer have finally landed their debut album “Oh My …” both on vinyl and CD – both formats can be ordered right here.

The duo appeared live for the very first time in Lille at the “Des Jeunes Gens Mödernes II” event in April 2015. The band afterwards kept touring quite a lot including in France, Belgium and Poland where they opened for acts such as The Kvb, Savage Republic and Guerre Froide.

The 9-track album – available here – also includes the track “Clinical/physical” featuring the Chicago based synth punk artist Loto Ball, which you can listen to below.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com