New releases last eight weeks: Indie/Alternative

Review: Sometimes reunions can be awkward. A load of people who lost touch trying to ignore the nagging 'whys' and 'what ifs' of their now-fractured shared histories, while attempting to 'catch up' on what's been going on since they fell out of regular contact ages ago. Thankfully, Warpaint's return to the release schedule after a two year hiatus, and their return to Rough Trade, the label they started out on, only feels right. Common Blue is a two-sided single that also serves as a reminder of why we fell for the band in the first place, 20 years ago (if that doesn't make you feel old, more references are available). The title track is best described as an earthy-groover, melodies effortlessly flowing over hushed vocals, arrangement wrapped around a strolling rhythm. In comparison, 'Underneath' takes the tempo down, beautiful sung harmonies and gentile guitar chords creating the sonic equivalent to a summer afternoon by the lake.

Review: Contemporary indie icon St. Vincent's (Anne Erin Clark's) seventh full-length record All Born Screaming follows up 2021's The Nowhere Inn, and contrasts to that record with its intense introspective plunging of the personal depths, to find what Clark deemed her own sonic vocabulary. Arriving at a distinction she dubbed 'post-plague pop', All Born Screaming centres on a crooked and menacing sound with a reckless spirit, with lead cuts like 'Broken Man' giving raw Knife-like instrumentation and masc monarchic ironies on the lyrics, as if to suggest a significant patriarchal downfall to come. That line is said to be representative of the album's mood as a whole; "that lustre and swagger that you feel right before things go terribly wrong!"

Review: This massive anthology box set compiles all five volumes of the Stereolab Switched On series: 94 non-album tracks and sought after deep cuts by the group. Beginning with the original Switched On compilation LP from 1992, the series that ensued - though entirely comprised of deep cuts - still makes for a comprehensive jaunt through the Anglo-French auteurs' oeuvre, which never once lets up on quality. Every track here could've appeared on a full-length, so it's a testament to the band's work ethic that they simply had this much material to follow up with. Warp's comprehensive new 8xCD includes experimental highlights such as the original weirdo-chanson 'Plastic Mile', an Autechre remix of 'Refractions In The Plastic Pulse' and the stripped back 'XXXOOO', among many other gemstones.