Back catalogue:

Review: Here, celebrating its 40th anniversary, Level 42's World Machine returns with a special reissue of the 1985 album that launched them to global fame. Departing from their jam-based roots, the band embraced a more structured songwriting process and also set to work producing the album themselves with engineer Julian Mendelsohn. The result was a polished, pop-funk breakthrough led by the hit single 'Something About You' which of course became a Top 10 hit worldwide, including in the U.S. Follow-up singles like the emotive 'Leaving Me Now' and the infectious "'World Machine' cemented the album's success and helped mark a major turning point in the band's career and 80s pop history.

Review: A new compilation which looks to celebrate the unheralded period of hugely successful Isle of Wight pop/funk band Level 42, named that after their cult funk days in the early 80s and their chart-topping victories in the middle and end of the decade. Music on Vinyl helps celebrate their 90s years with this compilation that spans the albums Guaranteed (1991) and Forever Now (1994). Originally released in 2007, this limited edition 2xLP set, pressed on vibrant 180-gram yellow vinyl, highlights the band's unique blend of funk, pop and jazz influences, with a mix of infectious grooves and introspective lyrics. The first side opens with the title track, 'Past Lives', a slick funk-driven number that sets the tone for the compilation, followed by the energetic 'Guaranteed' and the introspective 'Overtime'. Tracks like 'My Father's Shoes' explore deeper emotional landscapes, while 'Forever Now' explores the band's ability to craft smooth, soulful anthems. Side three is a ideal, featuring the infectious 'Model Friend' and the jazzy 'Romance'. Meanwhile, 'One in a Million' is a perfect example of the band's ability to blend pop hooks with sophisticated arrangements. Side four closes the compilation on a high note with 'If You Were Mine', a catchy, uplifting finale. The four-page booklet provides context for this fruitful period in Level 42's career, and the limited yellow vinyl adds an extra layer of collectible charm.

Review: Next up on AD93 is the debut collab between singer-songwriter Marlene Ribeiro (of drone-psychedelic band GNOD) and electronic producer Shackleton, together masquerading as Light Space Modulator. A ghost-tropical ramble through what can only be described as a deterritorial comedown forest, The Rising Wave amounts to a floral, melty eight-tracker, easing up on concept in favour of a loop-breaking, mangrovey musical mood. The improv psycho-echoes of GNOD are heard in full force here - with lead shocker 'These Things' provides an especially depth-swelling burier bass down below - but Shackleton's long-honed dubstep abstractions serve to focus the mix, keeping things as beatmatchable as they need be open-ended.

Review: Annea Lockwood is a pioneering New Zealand-born experimental composer who returns to Black Truffle with her third release for the label. Although she is now the handsome age of 85, Lockwood continues to explore new sound sources and collaborate with a range of performers and 'On Fractured Ground' features recordings made with Pedro Rebelo and Georgios Varoutsos while using Belfast's "peace lines" as resonant instruments that deeply evoke the dark history of the Troubles. 'Skin Resonance' is a collaboration with Vanessa Tomlinson that explores the bass drum's sonic properties while infusing them with elemental textures. Both pieces showcase Lockwood's reflective, meditative approach and make for another significant entry into her creative story.

Review: For over 20 years, Clay Emerson and Ian Pullman aka Loess have quietly built a reputation for crafting intricate, deeply atmospheric electronica and Battens, their fifth album on Califonrian label n5MD, sees them refining their signature aestheticistill grayscale and shadowy, but now imbued with a subtle warmth. The Opener 'Strake' features layered static hums and a slow, hypnotic beat that cycles like waves against a submerged structure. 'Halyard' introduces brittle textures and crisp rhythms, evoking wind-swept landscapes. 'Crowhurst' builds tension with submerged chords and fractured percussion. The haunting 'Koepcke' carries a sense of disorientation and search for stability, while 'Endoctamb' recalls Chain Reaction's most introspective moments, yet with a looser, more organic quality. Closing with 'Rime', Battens embraces silence, with glacial melodies fading into the ether. Throughout, the duo masterfully manipulates sound and space, allowing moments of stillness to breathe between pulsing rhythms and submerged harmonies. There's an undeniable human element in how these tracks moveilike the slow, inevitable shift of nature itself. More than just an exercise in sound design, Battens is a transportive experience, cold yet comforting, stark yet alive recording.

Review: Icelandic experiment Low Roar heard Ryan Karazija, Leifur Bjornsson and Logi Gudmundsson indulge a transoceanic collaboration, extending many a riotous yet sensual sludgeoff between indie pop and post-rock until Karazija's death in 2022. Since this sad event, subsequent records have heard the band reuse loose elements recorded by Karazija in a posthumous fashion, and House In The Woods is a brilliant new example. Pressed to vinyl quickly after an initial digital release, the album blends typical Icelandic ambient-string work with sensuous background vocals and harmonium layers, and deals in a range of subjects from decrepitude to endless love, marked by a sense of sublimity throughout.

Notes: Lettuce with the Colorado Symphony is a genre-defying, electrifying performance that captures the powerhouse fusion of funk, jazz, and orchestral grandeur. Recorded live with the Colorado Symphony in 2018, this album features Lettuce's signature groove-driven sound paired with the rich, sweeping power of a full orchestra. It's a unique and breathtaking experience that showcases the band's improvisational brilliance alongside orchestral precision.

Available on digital, vinyl, CD and Blu-ray, this release is a must-have for fans of both Lettuce and orchestral music, offering a fresh, exciting take on the live performance experience. Get ready to groove to the rhythm of symphonic funk like never before!

Region code: A