4AD Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Four years on from the release of sixth studio album As Long As You Are, American synth-pop/alt-rock fusionists Future Islands return with full-length number seven. People Who Aren't There Any More sees them reunite with regular collaborator Steve Wright and mixer Chris Coady, whose production on 2014's Singles - the band's most polished and arguably greatest album - was widely praised. Lyrically focused on being lovestruck and feeling lovelorn - wearily but forcefully delivered by frontman Samuel T Herring - the songs are strong and memorable. Musically, the sound worlds created - think stylish synths, immersive electronic textures, low-slung basslines and indie-rock guitars - match the disillusioned and emotionally fragile words, giving the set a coherent theme and sonic vision..

Review: Two years on from the release of their debut mini-album, Scar, Lush headed into the studio to record their first full-length proper, the critically acclaimed Spooky. One of the all-time great shoegaze-meets-dream-pop sets, it was notable not only for the immersive nature of the sound and the meditative effect of its hazy, layered guitars and vocals, but also the fact that it was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Cocteau Twins. This reissue, which forms part of a series inaugurated by the band and remastering engineer Kevin Vanberger, offers a neat reminder of the album's timeless qualities, alongside a freshly cleaned and spruced-up sound that allows every single sonic element to shine.

Review: Lush's reissue series continues via a painstakingly remastered and sonically spruced-up edition of the band's second studio album, 1994's 'Split'. A very different album to its loose, immersive and shoegaze-fuelled predecessor, it saw the band join forces with producer Mike Hedges (celebrated for his work with The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees) and opt for a more - in their words - "direct" sound. Of course, it was still Lush, so the layered guitars and vocals remained, albeit amongst a lightly expanded sound palette, more hooky riffs and an early Britpop vibe that delivered a subtle evolution from the band's more wide-eyed, sonically loved-up roots.