Loma Vista Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The Valley Of Vision is the latest project by Manchester Orchestra and one that proves they are focused on making music that has a lasting impact. It comes backed with a virtual reality film that immerses you further into their music and deals in broody ambient, indie and cinematic atmospheres. This is a brave project but one this band has pulled off with real aplomb as they put aside their tried and tested instruments and guitar-driven signature sounds to cook up music that goes way beyond what came before and is laden in textural synth craft.

Review: 'No Rules Sandy' is the latest indie pop calculation by Sylvan Esso, the duo consisting of Amelia Randali Meath and Nick Sanborn. With echoes of indie future garage production, mixed in with ostensibly fun, party-pop vocals and a lo-fi sensibility, fans are correct to make comparisons to the likes of Stereolab, Jamie xx or Bloc Party. The twist is that it's a post-lockdown album; tracks like 'Didn't Care' and 'Echo Party' channel the essence of post-quarantine rebellion and disaffection, with club-ready structures nearly always glued together by analogue-sounding fuzzes.

Review: Sleater Kinney continue to show us why they rank among America's finest modern rock bands. Little Rope certainly does its best to occupy a space in your mind, long after the hooks, distorted harmonies and heartfelt, almost desperate vocals of 'Say It Like You Mean It' have faded - perhaps the catchiest and most memorable, certainly the most radio-friendly, mainstream-sounding track on this record. To say it's the standout moment would be misleading, though. The torment and sorrow on 'Hell', which flits between crumpled on the floor hopelessness and blind, loud, synth-guitar rage, is just one example of how much impact the whole thing has, while the demands of 'Dress Yourself' - "Get up, girl, and dress yourself in clothes you love for a world you hate," prove incredible depth. Then you discover singer-guitarist Carrie Brownstein's parents tragically died in a car crash in 2022, and realise just how much has gone into this.

Review: Trailed by her label Loma Vista as "a rebirth in process", Chelsea Wolfe's tenth studio album wears its weighty and deeply personal inspirations (cutting ties with friends and lovers and the extensive period of healing that follows) as a badge of honour. While these themes are most explicitly explored in the lyrics (and shine through her delicate, frequently weary vocal performances), there's a darkness and brooding intensity to some of the music on show that undoubtedly suits its subject matter. For proof, check the gnarled, raw and fuzzy Nine Inch Nails-meets-Tricky flex of 'Whispers In The Echo Chamber', the claustrophobic sound design and razor-sharp guitars of 'Everything Turns Blue', the Mezzanine-era Massive Attack growl of 'Tunnel Lights' and the breathlessly brilliant closing cut, 'Dusk'.

Review: Chelsea Wolfe's latest album, She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, is a rebirth in process. It's a powerfully cathartic statement about cutting ties, as well as an important reminder that healing is cyclical and circular, and not a simple linear process. From the opening emotes of 'Whispers In The Echo Chamber' - which give electro-gothic Blair-Witchy plods conveyed over lost media - to the closing black-metallic, trip-hop eventide of 'Dusk' - this is everything you could possibly want from a new Wolfe album.

Review: The last time we heard from Sophie Regina Allison was two years ago, when Color Theory arrived as a follow up to the well-received debut, Clean. Born into a very different world to the one we're living in today, pre-pandemic (the WHO had yet to describe Covid-19 in those terms), before the outbreak of all-out war on the border of NATO's defensive territory, when things were affordable, and while the idea of a national strike in Britain was unthinkable.

Of course, that halcyon moment was short-lived. Within weeks of the record landing we were tapped in the personal prisons of our own homes. The rest is history. So, emerging out the other end it's only fitting that the artist in question - AKA Soccer Mommy - returns to bookend things. Sometimes Forever is certainly a fitting reward for all that's happened. A distorted hybrid of garage rock and pop sensibilities, it's the ideal soundtrack to an era when subcultures have all-but-vanished, and the mainstream can be underground.