Review: You might think that you could cop a copy of New Order's seminal hit 'Blue Monday' fairly easily and cheaply given its ubiquity over the years. But no, copies in good condition still fetch around 50 quid, so this remastered reissue is well worth a cop. The single's iconic bassline and twitchy synth modulations very much soundtrack a generation, if not an entire youth revolution, but still enliven any dance floor many years later. What's more, the de-humanised vocals will always provide real singalong joy. On the flip is a 'The Beach', which is drenched in echo and reverb and general sonic filth.
Review: 32 years on from the release of their debut album Speak and Spell, Basildon's finest drop their 14th full length. While there are echoes of their eyeliner-wearing, synth-bothering futurist past (see the glitchy "My Little Universe" and early New Order-ish "Broken", where Dave Gahan sings about 'dreaming of the future'), for the most part Delta Machine finds them in grinchy synth-rock mode, presumably shaking their fists at passing youngsters like a gang of grumpy old men. Thankfully, they're still capable of great things - "Soothe My Soul" has echoes of "Personal Jesus" - and there's enough to suggest there's some life in the old dogs yet.
Review: "Another Bjork album?!" cry the naysayers. But little do they know they've been duped into thinking the Icelandic legend's last full-length, Utopia, was a recent affair. Actually, it's already been a good five years since the singer's flowery flabbergaster, and collab with experimentalists Arca and Doon Kanda, came to be. Fossora, by contrast, is a much more mournful LP: it's a meditation on generations, and was in part inspired by the death of Bjork's mother. It also contains collaborations with her two children, Sindri and isadora. A homelier affair, revisiting Bjork's upbringing in Iceland, on which she hadn't reflected on record since she was 16.
Review: Depeche Mode's latest album Memento Mori is one that has been madly anticipated by fans. The record - which comes on wax and in a lovely embossed sleeve here - centres on the mood of grief after the passing of the band's founding member Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher, this is the first LP by a Depeche Mode made up of only two remaining members: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. The band's progression in their latest years have heard them move into darker, peakier, sadder and more industrial themes, as they make do with a future-present that wasn't promised to them in the 80s, while drawing on deathly topoi and nodding to Ingmar Bergman.
Last I Heard (...He Was Circling The Drain) (5:10)
Twist (7:02)
Dawn Chorus (5:35)
I Am A Very Rude Person (3:51)
Not The News (4:01)
The Axe (6:56)
Impossible Knots (4:22)
Runwayaway (5:56)
(Ladies & Gentlemen, Thank You For Coming) (5:05)
Review: It's taken a while, but finally Thom Yorke's impressive third solo album, "ANIMA", is available on wax (and in a fetching shade of orange, too). A future classic that continues the legacy he started with XL Recordings back in 2006 (with his solo debut The Eraser), ANIMA is well worth picking up, as Yorke and co-producer Nigel Godrich offer up evocative, off-kilter songs built around the twin attractions of the Radiohead man's distinctive vocals and skewed backing tracks rich in layered electronic noise, body-bending sub-bass, discordant synthesizer parts and intriguingly jaunty drum loops. Highlights are plentiful throughout, from the creepy, lo-fi ambient swirl of "Last I Heard (...He Was Circling the Drain)" and "Dawn Chorus" (a blissfully dewy-eyed early morning soundscape), to the low-slung, post-trip-hop hum of "I Am A Very Rude Person" and the fizzing, jazz-fired thrust of "Impossible Knots". Melancholic, yes. Deep and self-effacing, of course. Nihilistic, not really. Percussive futurist sub-pop is back.
Review: Hype Williams may now be relegated to an amusing/puzzling yet prolific chapter in the respective solo careers of its two founding members Inga Copeland and Dean Blunt, but the mystique and obliqueness that surrounded the project remains a weapon both continue to employ. Blunt's latest solo album Black Metal is perhaps his most high profile to date, seeing him pitch up on long running UK indie Rough Trade for a 13 track journey through his singular craft. If you touched on either of the albums Blunt released last year you should have an idea of what to expect, though of course there are still plenty of surprises within.
Review: FKA Twigs' latest LP 'Caprisongs', widely known as her poptimist opus (contrasting to her earlier experiments) now gets a luminous vinyl pressing via Young. It does well to justify her reinvention after breaking up with a disgraced actor whose name we shan't name: the album is a colossal collaborative affair, and even come with a carnivalesque duet with pop king The Weeknd ('Tears In The Club'). The melodic abandon that follows is just as apt.
Review: It only seems like yesterday when Nick Cave delivered his wonderfully captivating joint piece with fellow-Australian Bad Seed Warren Ellis. In fact it was early March, and since then we've all likely been through the kinds of highs and lows this record reflects so accurately. There's a lot of space to Carnage, but it's also an album of intensity, in a refined and sophisticated way.
Packed with incredibly cinematic, theatrical and dramatic moments, at its loudest 'White Elephant' is bordering on a genuinely euphoric religious experience, one rousing and hugely emotional crescendo of chorus and big stage notes after another. At its quietest, 'Shattered Ground' sounds like one man alone with a piano and eternal sadness. Meanwhile, the title track is classic troubadour business. In summary, a grand, mesmerising and personal voyage.
Review: RECOMMENDED
Dean Blunt is nothing short of an enigma. Whether you're reading one of his interviews of few words, listening to the records that seem to both celebrate the avant-garde and obsess over it, or watching him descend into strange, otherworldly cacophonies on stage, usually shrouded in smoke, he's never really been an easy guy to pin down. And that's exactly what he's always been going for.
It's something of a surprise, then, to learn that Black Metal 2, the long-awaited, seven years in the making sequel to his critically acclaimed Black Metal, is actually pretty straight forward. In a Dean Blunt kind of way. Opening on the compressed strings and near-spoken word of 'Vigil', the record takes us into the deep dark depths of strange, hook-fuelled guitar poetry, and we never want to find our way back.
Hjalmar Larusson & Jonbjorn Gislason - "Jomsvikingarimur - Yta Eigi Feldi Ror." (1:15)
Julianna Barwick - "Forever" (5:30)
Koreless - "Last Remnants" (4:22)
Odesza - "How Did I Get Here" (instrumental) (2:00)
Anois - "A Noise" (4:10)
Samaris - "Gooa Tungl" (4:08)
Olafur Arnalds - "RGB" (4:36)
Rival Consoles - "Pre" (5:14)
Jai Paul - "Jasmine" (demo) (4:11)
Four Tet - "Lion" (Jamie Xx remix) (6:52)
James Blake - "Our Love Comes Back" (3:39)
Spooky Black - "Pull" (4:13)
Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld - "And Still They Move" (2:55)
Olafur Arnalds - "Say My Name" (feat Arnor Dan) (5:38)
Kiasmos - "Orgoned" (5:57)
Olafur Arnalds - "Kinesthesia" (1:44)
Hjaltalin - "Ethereal" (6:32)
David Tennant - "Undone" (3:51)
Review: Icelandic classical, experimental and soundtrack composer Olafur Arnalds steps away from the loops and Broadchurch OSTs to conjure yet another sublime LNT saga. Carefully balancing between contemporary odysseys ("Jomsvikingarimur"), dense futuristic electronic weaves ("Last Remnants"), fuzzy 22nd century pop ("A Noise") sludgy cosmic funk ("Jasmine") and introspective soul ("Our Love Comes Back"), Olafur blows wave after woozy wave of soft sonic conjurations in a way that's broad, detailed and cleverly considered. Good night.
Review: There's an awful lot going on here, and as such plenty to talk about. Alternative Funk: Volume 1 is both a compilation and reissue, with the original outing landing on cassette in the early-1980s on VP231, a label set up by Pacific 231, AKA Pierre Jolivet. The albums were the brainchild of Axel Kyrou and Francis Man, founders of the legendary Vox Populi!, and their aim was to showcase far out sounds, at least som of which were their own.
What we have in the modern iteration is a snapshot of that expansive and often hallucinatory aural odyssey, with seminal and lesser known artists resting side-by-side on the track list. Stylistically broad, running the gamut from dub percussion to cold wave and industrial, it's yet more evidence of just how fertile a decade the 80s were.
Review: Enjoy The Silence, Depeche Mode's standout single from Violator, marked a significant moment in the band's career, becoming their most successful UK single since 'Master & Servant' in 1984. 'Enjoy The Silence' captured both critical and public acclaim, peaking at number six in the UK charts and achieving top spots in Denmark and Spain, as well as reaching number eight in the US. The 12" version is beloved by fans with the myriad of great remixes the song provided. This new yellow vinyl version helps meet the demand of an always desirable dance record. The single's success earned Depeche Mode their first Brit Award for Best Single of 1990. This newfound positivity extended to the subsequent reception of Violator, solidifying 'Enjoy The Silence' as an iconic track in Depeche Mode's discography. The song continues to be celebrated for its brooding, tender qualities, and its ability to resonate with audiences globally as well as the iconic video.
Review: The Moon and the Melodies, a collaboration between Cocteau Twins and ambient pioneer Harold Budd, stands as a unique gem in both artists' discographies. Originally released in 1986, this ethereal album is now being reissued on vinyl, remastered from the original tapes by Robin Guthrie. Unlike anything else the Cocteau Twins ever produced, this record blends their dreamlike soundscapes with Budd's serene, improvisational piano work. The result is an atmospheric journey, at once intimate and expansive. Tracks like 'Sea, Swallow Me' shine with Elizabeth Fraser's otherworldly vocals, intertwined with Guthrie's shimmering guitar and Raymonde's grounding bass, creating a sound that feels both familiar and entirely unique. Instrumentals like 'Memory Gongs' and 'The Ghost Has No Home' highlight Budd's delicate piano, enhanced by the band's signature ambient textures. The album is a study in contrasts, vocal tracks sit alongside instrumentals, each contributing to a cohesive yet diverse listening experience. For fans, this reissue is a chance to revisit a pivotal moment in the evolution of dream pop and ambient music. The album's enduring appeal is evident in its continued influence in social media. The Moon and the Melodies remains a shining light that can happen when artists from different realms come together to create something truly timeless.
Review: A collaborative new single by sampletronic master Kieran Hebden (aka. Four Tet) and guitarist and composer William Tyler, two acclaimed musicians and both longstanding friends. Part of a recent spewing-forth of Hebden-adjacent material to hit the shelves after the artist's oft-reported-upon "agent of chaos" phase, these two tracks, pressed to a furtive 12", provide a neat counterpoint to that assessment. Rather than a pair of riddim bangers, the record flaunts Hebden's signature electronic textures and Tyler's guitar into a hypnotic, nominally dark soundwhirl, reminiscent of the earliest days of Text, but with a unique edge - a sonic corner never quite scoured before by either artist.
Review: It's 1990 and Depeche Mode couldn't really be riding much higher in the global music stakes. Having just released Violator, the band had finally debuted an album inside the Billboard Top 10 for the first time in their almost-decade-long history, and pretty much anyone who came into contact with the record was very quickly captivated by its sound. While definitely not a curveball, it marked an expansion of the group's existing style. Some have described it as synth-pop, others alternative rock. In many ways, it's a dance floor album, one that embraces goth and coldwave at its very core. Captured during their tour at that time, Set In Stone features landmark singles from the LP - 'Personal Jesus', of course, and 'World In My Eyes' - it also proves beyond any doubt that a Depeche Mode show is about more than simply playing the hits.
Review: Alan Vega & Marty Rev's career as Suicide spanned an incredible four decades. During those years, they rarely if ever got much credit for their work but as is often the way, once time passed they started to get deserving plaudits and an ever growing status amongst fans and critics. Now said to be one of the most inspirational outfits of the 70s, they influenced everyone from Depeche Mode to Soft Cell. This brand new, remastered collection takes in tunes from all across the band's career and has plenty of big, raw, energetic and eclectic sounds with track from their first album in 1977 and most recent in 2002.
Random Acts Of Senseless Violence (Dai Fujikura remix - bonus track) (6:37)
Review: Since the glorious synth pop years of Japan, David Sylvian has journeyed into many other realms as a musician. The experimental nature of his formative band set the tone for a career of genuine intrigue, demonstrated wonderfully on this compelling album from 2009, reissued as a double vinyl release to foil some astronomical second hand prices. Manafon centres around pieces of free improvisation, experimental rock and chamber music, with Sylvian's eloquent voice guiding your ear through all manner of fascinating soundscapes and story scenes. With contributors including Christian Fennesz, Evan Parker, Keith Rowe and Toshimaru Nakamura, this is a widely hailed piece of leftfield art that ranks as one of the brightest jewels in Sylvian's glittering career.
When People Are Occupied Resistance Is Justified (10:21)
It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (5:04)
Emotionally Clear (4:04)
Hope Is The Last Thing To Die (4:50)
You Will Know Me By The Smell Of Onions (4:38)
Necessary Genius (3:42)
Yeah X 3 (4:47)
I Laugh Myself To Sleep (4:13)
Too Muchroom (3:47)
Agitprop 13 (6:50)
Stop Apologising (5:37)
Tyranny Of The Talentless (5:46)
Love In The Upside Down (4:39)
Blind On A Galloping Horse (5:32)
Review: David Holmes' first solo album since 2008's The Holy Pictures, Blind On A Galloping Horse now comes to Heavenly Recordings. A politically-charged LP full of sonic interrogations of political disaster and turmoil, Holmes here joins the cast of artists using their art to provide solace to music fans suffering at the hands of the Uncertainocene. With updated versions of the previously released singles 'Hope Is The Last Thing To Die' and 'It's Over If We Run Out Of Love', as well as a recording of an unreleased song by Holmes' late friend Andrew Weatherall, we're reminded of conflict, migration and othering, as all manner of voices combine to form a diverse but unified whole against a backdrop of leftfield post-punk - be they the spoken word accounts from Afghan and Ukrainian refugees now welcomed as residents in Belfast, or the French and Irish observers of the UK's turmoil of recent years.
Death Cab For Cutie - "Meet Me On The Equinox" (3:42)
Band Of Skulls - "Friends" (3:09)
Thom Yorke - "Hearing Damage" (5:06)
Lykke Li - "Possibility" (4:56)
The Killers - "A White Demon Love Song" (3:28)
Anya Marina - "Satellite Heart" (3:32)
Muse - "I Belong To You" (New Moon remix) (3:10)
Bon Iver & St Vincent - "Rosyln" (4:47)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Done All Wrong" (2:49)
Hurricane Bells - "Monsters" (3:16)
Sea Wolf - "The Violet Hour" (3:32)
Ok Go - "Shooting The Moon" (3:18)
Grizzly Bear (With Victoria Legrand) - "Slow Life" (4:21)
Editors - "No Sound But The Wind" (3:47)
Alexandre Desplat - "New Moon (The Meadow)" (4:08)
Review: Reissued for the first time via Atlantic Records comes the official soundtrack to Twilight: New Moon, the second instalment in the Twilight film franchise, which is in turn based on the novel of the same name. With the OST component of the score again handled by Alexandre Desplat, and its curated remainder selected by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, New Moon is a compelling fusion of classical filmic orchestral music and brooding emo indie rock: the perfect combo to nail the affective headspace of both Edward and Jacob campers.
Review: A Certain Ratio's core trio of drummer Donald Johnson, bassist/vocalist Jez Kerr, and multi-instrumentalist Martin Moscrop make ACR Loco a perfectly fluid and funk album. In fact, on this, their first album in more than ten years, the Manchester post-punk outfit are as funky as they have ever been. Their tried and tested sound gets nicely updated with modern beat driven sounds and plenty of redefines to today's political strife in the lyrics. There are plenty of smooth and cool synth led grooves like 'Get A Grip' and messages of unity on 'Family' that we can all relate to.
Before We Drown (Chris Avantgarde extended remix) (5:43)
Before We Drown (AC Wet remix) (3:59)
People Are Good (Indira Paganotto Psy remix) (9:29)
People Are Good (AC Fool remix) (6:45)
Review: The fifth edition of Depeche Mode's Memento Mori white label remixes series hears four new remixes added to the post-hoc vinyl selection, offered to the world after the release of the synthpop pioneers' most recent eponymous album. Beginning with the demure atmospherics of Chris Avantgarde's 'Before We Drown', then into two propulsive, audio-brut experimental downtempo versions by AC, but not before a brilliant pystrance B1 by Indira Paganotto, which makes for a squarely sagacious sendoff.
Review: Echo & The Bunnymen's first ever best-of compilation, first released in 1985, gets a reissue. Accruing all the hits, we begin with the seminal 'Rescue' before careening through 'Never Stop', 'The Killing Moon' and 'Seven Seas', recalling the new wave band's emotive drawl and gushing instrumentals, coinciding with the time in which their contemporaneous album, 'Songs To Learn and Sing', was released.
Review: Maintaining his trajectory into the upper echelons of alt-pop with carte blanche to do as he pleases, James Blake returns with his sixth studio album Playing Robots Into Heaven. From his brief dalliance with the post-dubstep underground into his sombre strain of electronic indie songwriting, Blake has confounded expectations at every turn and the drop of lead single 'Big Hammer' should maintain that trend. There's no big vocal turn from his delicate voice, but rather a twitchy, sub-loaded beat somewhere on the outer edges of trap with some diced up MC samples, pointing to an exciting foray into unpredictable waters from a truly gifted major league maverick.
African Head Charge - "No, Don't Follow Fashion" (5:44)
Keith Hudson - "Nuh Skin Up" (7:13)
Smokin Cheeba - "When I Was A Youth" (5:54)
The Wad - "15 Inches" (9:00)
Idjut Boys & Laj - "Foolin' (Beatin On Dave)" (7:00)
JBB Et Soprann - "Tibi Lap" (5:54)
Review: Unusually, Optimo's JD Twitch and Jonny Wilkes have taken the unusual step of not announcing the tracklist for their two-part 25th anniversary compilation ahead of release. Ordering, then, requires a leap of faith, but given the sheer breadth, diversity and quality of the music they've been playing over the last quarter of a decade, there's no doubt we're in safe hands. It's not a 'best of Optimo anthems' collection, or merely a bunch of peak-time favourites; instead, we're promised a mixture of unusual warm-up favourites and confirmed dancefloor workouts in a wide range of style that have long been favourites of the two Glasgow-based DJs - many of which will, inevitably, be slept-on, forgotten or under-appreciated gems.
Review: Here's hoping you've got your super-weird hat on. As the title of this latest Soul Jazz compilation suggests, the tracks on here are anything but by numbers and cross so many genre lines it often becomes impossible to differentiate between the rock and electronic bits, simultaneously teaching us all something about the connectivity of everything, and how real creativity has never been siloed by style.
Of course the likes of 'Guten Abend, Leute' by Deutsche Wertarbeit are firmly in the synth end of things, a building track that uses phaser noises and accordions to create something that could definitely work on today's dancefloors. And next on the list, 'Wolf City' by Amon Duul II, is a strange rock brew of post punk and jazz. But elsewhere work such as 'Pink Sails' by Klauss Weiss, 'Ballet Statique' from Conrad Schnitzler and the heartbreakingly beautiful pianos of Roedelius' 'Halmharfe' make differences harder to identify.
Review: Whilst Mogwai's scores for Zidane and Les Revenants were diverting enough pieces of work, it's some testimony to the frontier-striding attitude and emotional heft of 'Atomic' - which marks a soundtrack to the movie made by Mark Cousins and shown on BBC4 last year, dealing with the atomic age - that is stands amongst their very best work, Expanding the band's palette to include Kraftwerk-esque electronica and emotive orchestration alongside their trademark six-string melancholy. these powerful and resonant pieces pack a mighty punch, summoning awe and fear in equal, elegiac and singularly appropriate measure.
Review: Dark Entries takes it back to New York City in around 1982 for this previously unreleased record from Ike Yard. This cult crew was made up of Stuart Argabright, Michael Diekmann, Kenneth Compton, and Fred Szymanski and they worked in their own realm somewhere between proto-body music and No Wave peers in New York. They disbanded just a year after forming having dropped an EP on Les Disques du Crepuscule in 1981 and then a self-titled album for Factory in 1982. Using the Korg MS-20 and the Roland TR-808 they cook up plenty of hybrid electro-acoustic sounds and ramshackle rhythms that are underpinned by moody baselines and perfect to get bodies moving in the club. Whether you're a post-punk fan or lover of weird electronics, this is well worth checking out.
Review: David Michael Tibet's exploration of the arcane mysteries through Current 93 are an intriguing subculture all of their own, sat somewhere to the side of Coil and the other mystics of the post-industrial scene. In Menstrual Night was released in 1986 as two long form pieces that layer up voices into a mesmerising swirl. The cast of collaborators on the project include such luminaries as Steven Stapleton, Keiko Yoshida, Rose McDowall, Boyd Rice and the late John Balance. Now House Of Mythology have created a faithfully recreated picture disc vinyl edition, sure to be quickly gathered up by the faithful followers of this fascinating corner of electronic music.
Review: Depeche Mode's latest album Memento Mori is something of a post-COVID gestator, but that's had little to no effect on its rabid fan anticipation. Centring on the mood of grief after the passing of the band's founding member Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher, this is the first LP by a Depeche Mode made up of only two remaining members: Dave Gahan and Martin Gore. The band's progression in their latest years have heard them move into darker, peakier, sadder and more industrial themes, as they make do with a future-present that wasn't promised to them in the 80s, while drawing on deathly topoi and nodding to Ingmar Bergman.
Review: The Moon and the Melodies, a remarkable collaboration between Cocteau Twins and ambient pioneer Harold Budd, remains a standout achievement in both artists' repertoires. First released in 1986, this enchanting album is now receiving a well-deserved vinyl reissue, meticulously remastered by Robin Guthrie from the original tapes. This album is a stunning fusion of the Cocteau Twins' signature dreamlike atmospheres with Budd's elegant, improvisational piano, resulting in a listening experience that is both expansive and deeply personal. The blending of Elizabeth Fraser's ethereal vocals, seamlessly intertwined with Guthrie's luminous guitar work and Raymonde's resonant bass, creates a sound that is both distinct and evocative. The album effortlessly balances vocal tracks with instrumentals, each adding to its rich and diverse sonic palette. This reissue offers a chance to rediscover a defining moment in the evolution of dream pop and ambient music. The Moon and the Melodies continues to stun audiences. This CD edition is the perfect vehicle to an ethereal beauty of the highest order.
Review: Bridging the gap between guitar-driven rock and ambient techno - they would later become the first artist to bring guitars to Warp Records - Seefeel skillfully blended electronic loops with post-psychedelic basslines, mermaid-like vocals from Sarah Peacock and intelligent percussion. Their debut album for Too Pure in 1993 was both ahead of its time and timeless, offering a quiet revolution of repetition and downtempo somnolent soundscape, a record that remains beautifully undated. Tracks like 'Imperial'. 'Industrious' and 'Charlotte's Mouth' demonstrate Seefeel's knack for using guitars as electronic complements, layering hypnotic smears of feedback with Peacock's intimate whispers. The eight-minute opener, 'Climatic Phase No. 3', floats with barely-there percussion and a lazy, dreamy melody, while 'Filter Dub' delivers a sublime, drowsy bass line perfect for slipping into sleep. The album's structure leans into drone and quirky ambience, creating an experience more akin to a dream state than a traditional rock record. Quique feels proto-IDM, a precursor to the ambient-motorik noise-pop aesthetic that artists like Tim Hecker and Mouse on Mars would explore. Seefeel's early work remains a blueprint for electronic experimentation, demonstrating that the band's forward-thinking approach helped define a genre that continues to defy easy categorisation. Quique is not just a product of the 90s - it's a sonic vision that still feels fresh and boundary-pushing today.
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