Back catalogue: Industrial/Noise

Review: Ever-changing Slovenian collective Laibach seems to have mellowed with age, with the band's inherent desire to court controversy (see their 2015 performances in North Korea for a relatively recently example) currently curtailed. Love Is Still Alive, which marks their first new music since the release of last year's well-received album Wir Sind das Volk, is actually an "extension" of the music they wrote to soundtrack the 2019 film 'Iron Sky -The Coming Race'. It is, they say, a "trip through space music genres of recent decades" (albeit with bonus nods to country, pop and so on) that loosely tells the story of a spaceship full of post-apocalyptic survivors making their way across the solar system. It's a lot of fun, all told, with the band expertly showcasing the breadth of their musical knowledge as well as skip-fulls of imagination.

Review: Wearing 1980s synth pop influences on their sleeve, and sounding exactly like they belong on the mighty DFA, Brooklyn's Light Asylum were rightly praised at the time they put out their debut - and, to this date - only studio album, circa 2012. Critics noted that, at a time when dance-punk crossover was everywhere, driven by LCD Soundsystem and many of the acts frontman James Murphy signed to DFA, the New Yorkers manage to differentiate themselves from the pack in several ways.

Taking a hint of Depeche Mode (well, maybe a bit more), a pinch of Nine Inch Nails, and parts of Throbbing Gristle, Gary Numan, and other pioneers, Light Asylum managed to introduce some much-needed light and spatiality into the often claustrophobically dark and oppressive industrial synth world. In doing so, they offer a sound that's somehow both universally accessible and niche, which is never an easy line to tread.

Review: Duma's Lord Spikeheart and serial collaborator Elvin Brandhi come totters for some mind-boggling left-of-centre sounds here on Drunken Love. These are unhinged sounds that feed the noise of bands like Napalm Death into an industrial grinder and come out even more demented no the other side. Core to it is Brandhi's unique vocal treatments which make use of a singular sampler technique and have been present throughout her work. Even the Francis Bacon-esque cover art is brilliantly grotesque yet alluring. Though not for the faint of heart, the is a fascinating record.

Review: Leroy Se Meurt make a bold statement here with their new long player on the Mannequin label. It finds the Parisian pair keeping the foundational sounds of EBM, post-punk and electro at the core but also explores around the edges in fantastic fashion. The mood here is heavy and abrasive rock textures permeate the tracks next to electric synths and over worked samplers. The tracks feature lyrics sung in Turkish and French and are hard hitting affairs with floor facing, repetitive loop madness next to double-tempo cuts with chaotic guitars amongst much more.