Artist: Audiocall (feat. Arc Morten)
Title: Retailers!
Genre: Dark Electro / Industrial / Synth Pop
Release Date: 31st October 2025
Label: Scanner / Dark Dimensions
Single Review
Let no one say again that Facebook is good for nothing. Who would have thought that a simple comment on a post could lead to such a fruitful collaboration? With ‘Retailers!’, AUDIOCALL are ushering in the next chapter of their still-young band history. Although mastermind Axel Tasler is something of a veteran in the Electro-EBM scene, with his project AUDIOCALL the STERIL guitarist has been exploring new territory since 2023. His self-released debut album ‘Know Your Murderer’ quickly earned him a record deal with Scanner (Dark Dimensions), where in February 2024 the single EP ‘Love can repeat itself’ appeared, followed shortly after by a reissue of the debut.
AUDIOCALL stand for dark, electronic soundscapes between Industrial, Rock, Dark Electro and Wave. With driving beats, dark atmospheric synth layers, modern powerful guitar riffs and basslines, and melodic, clear vocals, Axel Tasler has created his own dark style. The perfect conditions to attract an exceptional musician like Arc Morten (MORPHOSE, CYTO) - or, as I like to call him, “the voice” - as a fan, a feeling that is clearly mutual.
In August, the two artists worked closely together to produce two songs and released the single EP ‘Retailers!’ on 31st October. Furthermore, they “shot two videos in a guerrilla-style afternoon session”, as Morten put it. The first result of this action (‘Retailers!’) has been available on YouTube since Halloween. On Friday (14th November 2025), the video for ‘Sparks’, the second track from the EP, will follow.
With ‘Retailers!’, AUDIOCALL announce their second album ‘A Different World’, which will see the light of day on 5th December. So, make a big mental note or simply pre-order the album (for instance, from Poponaut) - just sayin’.
The sound of manipulation... With speech samples from politics and current events, the opening seconds of ‘Retailers!’ sketch a dystopian scenario and comment on fear as a tool of power. What legal consequences do politicians actually face when they knowingly lie, stoke fear, or manipulate people? Whether their statements are meant to promote stronger security policies, serve economic interests, or pursue other aims, ‘Retailers!’ leaves open to interpretation. Each listener must decide for themselves.
A stoic beat drives the song and listener forward, while cool synth layers and sparse instrumentation make room for Morten’s haunting vocals – just the pounding rhythm and that voice that gets under your skin. “You’re retailing famine, death and fears” – the lines hit like blows. “Retailers” sell wars like consumer goods, distort the truth, and divide societies. Suffering becomes merchandise.
“You fall from grace with God in tears” - economic decisions become morally and religiously justified - morality collapses under greed. “You don’t like it?” The sound thickens, the sonic texture expands, the drums grow more insistent, the vocals more intense, accusatory - “Here it comes, you sons and daughters / There will be blood on your darkest days” - and culminates in the refrain that Morten and Axel hurl at the listener - raw and uncompromisingly: “Retailers! They sell us war as new.”
The production remains uncompromisingly precise - every element fits, mastered to perfection by Timo Hohnholz. “For the freedom of speech / For the cross we nailed...” - like a religious mantra, the final lines burn themselves into memory, exposing religious rhetoric as moral justification for violence and oppression. A bitter echo of values that were meant to protect, but have been twisted in the political game.
Personally, I like ‘Sparks’ even more. The mood is less dystopian. Aggression and anger give way to personal despair. The focus shifts from the collective to the interpersonal catastrophe. The beat is physically tangible, it moves the body. Bass and drums create a constant inner tension. Above all hovers Morten’s voice - close, present, vulnerable and intense. In the verses almost like an inner monologue - urgent, yet controlled.
“When you raised your shield and slowly left the field” describes alienation and withdrawal, while the chorus searches for connection that already seems lost. Here, the arrangement opens up: wide synth layers, shimmering textures and guitars that expand the space, with a magnificent hook that lodges in your ear. It opens your heart, even though the lyrics convey little hope - a last spark unable to rekindle the fire. “Though it’s almost done / And nothing that may come / You’ve got a fucking overdose - from me.”
The STERIL remix by Axel’s bandmate EvvilKing shifts the song into rhythmically more complex territory - edgier, with a stronger focus on electronic structure.
In collaboration with Arc Morten, ‘Retailers!’ unfolds a remarkable dynamic: two songs, two voices, two musical visions that unite and amplify each other. AUDIOCALL deliver an uncompromising, intelligent preview of their upcoming album - energetic, dark, intense and emotional. It not only whets the appetite for more but also sends anticipation for December soaring. ‘A Different World’ will definitely find its way into my Christmas stocking. Will it be in yours too?
Tracklist
01. Retailers! (Single Version)
02. Sparks
03. Retailers! (Album Version)
04. Sparks (STERIL Remix by EvvilKing)
Line-up
Arc Morten - Guest Vocals
Axel Tasler - Music, Vocals, Production
Thorsten Lücht - Live-Bass
Michael Rathje - Live-Guitar
Website
https://www.facebook.com/Audiocall.Music
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
