Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Memorial Waterslides marks the debut of Memorials, a collaboration between Verity Susman and Matthew Simms, formerly of Electrelane and Wire. This album is a surreal exploration of pop music, blending timeless songwriting with avant-garde sensibilities. Drawing from a wide range of influences from Broadcast and Portishead to Yo La Tengo, Memorials crafts a panoramic soundscape that feels both familiar and refreshingly new. The album's tracks are rich with imagery, evoking visions of a lost future and dreamlike past, each contributing to a swirling, cinematic atmosphere. Produced entirely by Susman and Simms, the record's sound was shaped by their reel-to-reel tape experiments, initially developed for their live performances. This playful and experimental approach results in a engaging mix of psychedelic rock, folk, and analog electronics. Following their successful 2023 soundtracks and a European tour with Stereolab, this a bold and imaginative journey into the unexpected, balancing the esoteric with the melodic.

Review: Jane Weaver's sixth solo full-length 'Modern Kosmology' is an evolution in her catalogue, with a strong departure from previously folktronica work. Here, Weaver has eschewed the folk in favour of psychedelic and futuristic kraut-rock, injected with crackling analogue synthesis. Entirely self-produced, there's a tiered feeling to the album's production; the layered and structured instrumentation is mixed with clarity to form a single dense sonic foundation, the headroom above which is cut through with Weaver's pirouetting vocal melodies and delay-laden harmonies. Right from the outset, it's an ear-catching and addictive album which will greatly reward with repeat listens.