Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Laibach has announced the release of Opus Dei Revisited, a newly reworked version of their seminal 1987 album. This project features two distinct versions of the original work. The first disc showcases a complete reimagining of the tracks, developed during the band's ongoing Opus Dei Revisited tour. The second disc includes fresh remixes by Rico Conning, who produced the original album, allowing him to reinterpret the source material while preserving key elements. Opus Dei was Laibach's first release with Mute Records, propelling them into international recognition and spotlighting their unique sound. The album includes Leben heiBt Leben, a German-language adaptation of Opus' Live is Life, which will again be featured on this release. Formed in 1980 in the industrial town of Trbovlje, Slovenia, Laibach's provocative performances and imagery have earned them a reputation as one of Eastern Europe's most influential collectives. Opus Dei Revisited promises to challenge perceptions and expectations, echoing the band's relentless pursuit of artistic innovation.

Review: Mute Records presents a newly reissued and remastered edition of Laibach's classic 1987 album, Opus Dei. This time coming to a black vinyl and CD box set, the album is renowned for its bringing Laibach to a wide audience; without the album's early successes, this pioneering industrial, neo-classical rock outfit might've never broken from their native Slovenia. With their unique interpretations of Opus' 'Live is Life' and Queen's 'One Vision' and produced by Rico Conning, the album still bears the torch of one of Mute's most eclectic yet captivating albums.

Review: The respected DIY hero Xin Lie's reputation has spread far from his native Bangdung in the Indonesian province of West Java - and this eight track debut album will no doubt add to his international repute even further. Electronica is one of the hardest genres in which to forge an original, distinctive path but Lie does it here effortlessly, from the juddering bass-driven half speed groover 'Parat' and the frenetic, polymetric rhythmic riddle that is 'Ngalengkah', to the tribal percussiveness meets mangled robotics of 'Papait Nu Amis', it never settles into accepted ways of doing things, constantly challenging you to keep up. "Perhaps it's best imagined as the soundtrack to a multi-sensory art installation," Lie suggests, "or a performance staged not in a gallery but in an unassuming house down your street." Fine. Or just a really compelling record, you could equally argue.

Review: Lundin Oil's latest effort is nothing if not powerful and, at times, intimidating. It's also rooted in an important message. People, by nature, have a habit of deducing things about each other. Or thinking they've deduced, when in reality they've assumed and presumed. Underneath the industrial mechanisms at the centre of these soundscapes, then, there's something vulnerable and human. It's challenging stuff, but also reassuring to be back in this particular experimental fold, with Exploit Divisions the first Lundin Oil album we've had since 2016. While fitting precisely into the back catalogue, you also can't help feel that this is up there with the broadest sonic palette painted by the artist yet. Spanning razor sharp, jagged rhythms and wider, more patient ambient refrains.