Perimeters Make Threat Feel Seductive on Set the Tripwire

The Portland trio compress darkwave, post-punk, and cold-wave tension into four tracks that feel lean, claustrophobic, and deliberately menacing

I came away from Perimeters’ Set the Tripwire hearing a band that understands how much force you can squeeze out of restraint. Four tracks, released October 3, 2025, with Colette on vocals, Chris on synths, Lan on bass, and Deaf Dance handling recording, mixing, and mastering. The EP from the Portland Trio lives up to that mythology.

“Tripwire” opens with a blunt no-forgiveness energy, while “Laced Doctrines” and “Negative Space” lean into the language of pressure, conditioning, static, and digital cults, which I read as the band turning paranoia into form. “Shadow Fleet” feels like the coldest point in that arc, a blackout. The EP is minimal and menacing, and the detail that keeps me returning is the motion underneath the chill. Driving basslines, cold-wave synths, and the detached vocal presence.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Perimeters on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist