Bella Union Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Returning with their first full-length in seven long arduous years, Texan post-rock pioneers Explosions In The Sky rediscover their purpose and poise on eighth full-length End. Following on from 2016's The Wilderness, which toyed with ambient segues and electronic moments of respite to compartmentalise the epic song-structures, this latest batch of material opts to eschew many of these meanderings in order to prioritise their bombastic, emotive, swelling spectacles with little in the way of sonic dressing. Mercurial, thoughtfully paced and potently cathartic, the work serves as a revitalised and transient embracing of classic post-rock motifs, crafted by some of the very hands that initially begat the forms.

Review: Although his solo work has not been as celebrated as those of some of his Radiohead bandmates - most notably Thom Yorke - Philip Selway has nevertheless delivered a handful of excellent albums since making his debut in 2010. A songwriter since his youth, Selway often offers up far more 'traditional' material than one might expect (his debut, for example, was heavily acoustic). Interestingly, he doesn't drum on 'Strange Dance', his first album since 2017; instead, he sings, produces (Valentina Magaletti takes the sticks instead), and conjures a distinctive, effects-laden sound that he has described in interviews as "a Carole King record if she asked Daphne Oram to produce it". In effect, that means glassy-eyed vocals, prominent drums, guitar, bass and strings aplenty. It's an alluring combination.