Back catalogue: Modern Classical

Review: A true enigma, an artist that represents all that was fascinating and romantic and alluring and intriguing about 20th Century sounds, Brian Eno was always going to need a feature length documentary, when the time was right. Premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Eno, Gary Hustwit's ode to the man, myth and legend, wowed critics and blew audiences away. Not least because it uses a computer programme which selects footage and edits the movie so a different version is shown at every screening. Innovation befitting Eno, removing the visuals and focusing on the sounds readjusts our vision to bring Eno into greater focus. The breadth of what's on this soundtrack is remarkable, from upfront indie on 'Stiff' and the weird folk-pop of 'Spinning Away', a John Cale collaboration, the ghostly post-rave of 'Cmon' with Fred Again, spectacular pianos of 'Motion In The Field', ethereal ambient vocals on 'There Were Bells', the angular punk dominating 'Third Uncle' - we could go on, and on, and on.

Review: Now here's a rarity for you. Not even many of the most committed megafans know that Brian Eno, Holger Czukay and J.Peter Schwalm, accompanied by Raoul Walton and Jern Atai, performed a secret live music show, outside the esteemed Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, situated in the city of Bonn, in August 1998. Forming a part of the opening party of Eno's Future Light-Lounge Proposal multimedia installation, this furtively-recorded album hears an exclusive slice of incidental "high-altitude food music", of course made during Brian Eno's airborne ambient era. Now reissued via Gronland, this five-piece cut of sophisti-ambi-krauttronica makes for a welcome surprise.

Review: Hauntologic '80s nostalgia-propagandizers Ghost Box return once again with a new one from Eric Zann, 'Ouroborindra'. Ghostly vocals mesh with a wide range of acoustic and electronic instrumentation here to produce an inspired album that draws on early 20th century cosmic horror fiction, resulting in some dastardly thematic combination of Lovecraft, BBC Christmas Horror stories, and Scarfolk. Radio-static noise and cavernous intakes of breath on tracks like 'Threshold' and 'Dols' blend with long ambient progressions and string sequences, recalling mock-'80s film influences such as the latest haunter 'Enys Men'. As ever with Ghost Box, a patented corecore sound is captured.

Review: Exit North is a four-piece made up of Ulf Jansson, Charles Storm, Steve Jansen and Thomas Feiner, exploring classically-charged post-rock and taut songwriting wrapped around brooding soundscapes. After their debut back in 2018 the band are finally back for a follow-up. Recorded in Gothenburg and featuring an expansive cast of contributors, Anyway Still is a rich, engrossing listening experience full of poise and patience to match the grandiose musicality. In their considered approach, the pauses and rests are as vital as the notes played, all led by Feiner's cracked, compelling singing.