Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Xmal Deutschland commemorate their influential 4AD years (1983-1984) with a brand new release, literally presenting us with Gift. The collection celebrates the band's profound impact on British audiences in the early 80s, marked by a unique and half-devised lyrical language, as well as a magnetic feminine mystique commandeered by the women in the group. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins accompanied the first two albums to come out via 4AD, which grabbed audiences by the collective ear with a painter's stroke of hard-graded darkwave and goth. Gift brims with a penumbral presence, while the titular "gift" is intended as pharmakon, both a present and a poison; Xmal's music is appropriately contradictory and complex, skating thin ices of beauty and elusivity. This limited-edition 3xLP boxset includes Abbey Road remasters of their albums Fetisch and Tocsin, along with tracks from related releases like Incubus Succubus II and Qual, packaged with striking artwork and a photo booklet. The magic of Xmal Deutschland lingers like radiation and has an indelible half-life.

Review: X Mal Deutschland formed in Hamburg 1980 into the post punk era. Most well known for being signed to 4AD records but are slowly being discovered and enjoyed by more fans in recent years. One of the top indie labels in recent years, Sacred Bones is an ideal home to house this early compilation of their work. This package takes all three tracks from their first two singles Schwarze Welt and Incubus Succubus plus adds two other compilation only tracks in 'Allein' and 'Kalbermarsch'. The music is raw and powerful; blending a German punk sound while sprinkling in some avante-garde electronics and atmosphere. You can hear the evolution and growth in the band in just the two years this release covers. Growing from a raw band experimenting with sound and structure to a powerful goth rock band. This version is presented on beautiful purple vinyl. If you are big fan of Minimal Wave discoveries then you will be happy to add this great sounding vinyl to your collection. Thank you Sacred Bones!