Imagine taking the best elements of all my favorite sounds—the clanking percussion of body music, the forbidden vocals of darkwave, the lush orchestration of Kite—then mix them into one glorious brew. That’s the sound of ARMOURS, a Swedish trio staking a claim as one of the best new acts of the year.
On Friday, ARMOURS released their debut EP, Body. It’s available to stream on all music platforms today.
Body commanded my attention on the very first listen with its intricate production, physical intensity, and sleek melodic instincts. After hearing it, I immediately emailed the band with the only appropriate response: “Holy shit, this EP is fantastic. It’s like EBM energy meets lush modern synthpop, which is my weakness.”
The EP is grounded in thumping beats and mechanical precision. Its cover art depicts a muscular male form. Economical lyrics tremble with sparse phrasing and repetitive hooks. But the music reaches beyond surface-level body music. They tell me the songs are about “moving on, sitting vigil by a parent, power relations locally and globally, and escaping the world for a while.”
The title track bristles with the intensity of sharp hi-hats and clenched rhythms. “Confront” leans into a lusher, dreamier sound that recalls modern synthpop icons like Kite, with smooth, dark vocals that convey the melodic shadow of Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold. “Push” thrives on intricate production, big echoing keys that boom from the mix, and, of all things, a relentless cowbell.
The influences on Body are clear, but ARMOURS never sound like simple copycats. They’re not afraid to experiment, pulling bits and pieces of various soundscapes into a single, unique mix. On the final track, a cover of Swedish indie band Blithe’s “Allegiance,” a staccato synth line wriggles with the energetic fervor of The Knife. Even the darkwave vocals that might define their sound get upended with electrified menace on “Power.”
Who is ARMOURS?
ARMOURS is a new project with deep roots. The trio formed in Stockholm in late 2025, but designer Håkan Ängquist and coder Thomas Isberg first met 30 years ago when they played together in several bands. Last fall, they began working on the five tracks that became Body. Another longtime friend, the artist Bengt Rahm, was originally tasked to mix live visuals at gigs but soon became involved in the music as well.
The trio draws inspiration from the ’80s underground: EBM, post-punk, and synthpop. They cite a wide range of influences, including EBM innovators Nitzer Ebb and DAF, synthpop legends Bronski Beat and Pet Shop Boys, and modern acts like Kite and Kontravoid. In other words, everything you can expect to find at Synthpop Fanatic.
ARMOURS have released music videos for “Push” and “Confront.” The “Push” video came together when the band realized one of the song’s lines echoed a familiar phrase:
“After recording this song, we discovered that we had used a line that is a key moment in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (“Two truths are told,” Act 1, Scene 3). Just a coincidence. But it made us go down a Macbeth rabbit hole and stumble over Orson Welles’ film adaptation of the play from 1948. Now part of the public domain (we think 😱) we decided to use it as footage together with some magnificent glitch-work from Bengt.”
That mix of literary accident, old film footage, and glitchy visual distortion feels right for ARMOURS. They’re pulling from the past but not trapped by it.
You can find Body on Bandcamp and Spotify. Follow ARMOURS on Facebook and Instagram to help them build an audience.
