Nettwerk US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Reissued over two decades since its original release, the second full-length from Liverpool's Ladytron still thrums with the same sharp-edged futurism that made it such a cult touchpoint. Tracks like 'Seventeen' and 'Evil' captured a tension between robotic detachment and raw emotional charge, anchored in the band's icy synth palette and minimal, deadpan vocals. While 'Blue Jeans' flirts with glammy melancholy, 'Turn It On' and 'Fire' dial up the menace, tapping into something more volatile. There's something surgical about the sequencing tooi'Cracked LCD', 'NuHorizons' and 'Cease2exist' stretch into more abstract terrain, before folding back into hook-laced electro-pop with the closing title track and 'The Reason'. With Daniel Hunt and Mickey Petralia co-producing, the album took shape in Los Angeles but never lost the European chill that defined their sound. It's a record that helped redraw the map for synth-pop in the early 2000sineither retro-futurist pastiche nor pure nostalgia, but something sleek, cinematic and entirely their own.

Review: Too Dark Park, the seminal 1990 album from influential industrial pioneers Skinny Puppy, receives a well-deserved reissue celebrating 35 years of its legendary release. This record stands as one of the band's most influential works, featuring tracks like 'Tormentor' and 'Spasmolytic that have left an indelible mark on the industrial music landscape. Praised by publications like Vice and Metal Hammer, which named it one of the "10 Best Industrial Albums," Too Dark Park is a menacing and massive exploration of themes like H.P. Lovecraft-style cosmic horror, addiction, mental disarray, and the disintegration of nature. Spin aptly described it as a "return to the bloodbath," capturing the album's cataclysmic and chaotic essence. Too Dark Park showcases the band's commitment to experimentation, incorporating elements of funk alongside forceful basslines, samples, electronics, distortion, and heavy guitars. This reissue brings Skinny Puppy's groundbreaking album back to vinyl for the first time in 30 years, offering both longtime fans and new listeners a chance to experience its raw power and innovation. Too Dark Park remains a legendary album in industrial music and continues to captivate audiences with its uncompromising intensity.