Back in stock: Post Rock/Experimental

Review: Alcest's latest album Les Chants de L'Aurore' is a transcendent journey amidst the chaos of modernity. Originating in the quaint French town of Bagnols-sur-Ceze, Alcest, led by the visionary Neige, defy the confines of heavy music by blending darkness with radiant light. Since their groundbreaking debut in 2007, they've captivated with a unique fusion of beauty and extreme metal, influencing a generation of "blackgaze" artists. Released amidst global turmoil in 2019, Les Chants de L'Aurore now arrives on vinyl and emerges as a beacon of hope. Recorded intimately yet expansively, it reinvigorates Alcest's signature sound for a new era. Amid existential reflections, Neige crafts euphoric melodies, counteracting darkness with love and positivity. Five years in the making, this album represents a profound evolution, resonating with both gentle charm and fierce conviction. In a world hungry for solace, Les Chants de L'Aurore offers a sanctuary of beauty.

Review: Ash Ra Tempel's fifth and - in most ways of judging it - final album was really also a swan song for the late, great Manuel Gottsching. Recoded at Studio Dierks, in the small, picturesque and windmill-happy German village of Stommeln by none other than Scorpions studio chief Dieter Dierks, there's a lot happening on Starring Rosi. And all of it really pretty damn good. It's funk, it's epic. It's moody, it's upbeat. It's steeped in an air of Krautrock and space rock, yet also wouldn't sound out of place providing the slap bass and guitar licks for a 1970s movie trailer. Simply put, it's Ash Ra Tempel, from the cosmic warmup and gradual build go 'Laughter Loving', through the folk-ish serenity of 'The Fairy Dance' and warbling, warped cacophonies on 'Schizo'.

Review: Drag City has reissued Dorothy Carter's 1976 debut album, Troubadour, a significant work in her folk music career. Known for her expertise on hammered dulcimer and psaltery, Carter's musiciinterweaving Appalachian, Celtic, Jewish, and her own compositionsiexudes a timeless, magical quality. This reissue not only revives her debut but also includes an insert with additional photos and notes by producer Eric Demby, recalling his childhood encounters with Carter's music. Troubadour captures Carter's eclecticism and her dedication to melding global musical traditions. The album opens with the medieval French instrumental 'Troubadour Song' and ventures through a variety of folk traditions, including an enigmatic rendition of the Scottish ballad 'The Twa Sisters' and a vibrant Psalm 100 in 'Make a Joyful Sound.' Carter's approach blends Eastern and Western influences most strikingly on 'Tree of Life,' hinting at the spiritual fusion she would explore further in her later work. With tracks like the Israeli folk song 'The King of Glory,' Michael Praetorius' 'The Morning Star,' and Appalachian standards 'The Cuckoo' and 'Shirt of Lace,' the album is a profound exploration of folk traditions. This reissue, presented in its original format with enriched visuals and historical context, offers a deep dive into Carter's visionary artistry, capturing the essence of her early, transformative work. Essential listening for fans of Michael O'Shea, Laraaji, and Jerusalem in My Heart.

Review: Fat Dog's debut album, WOOF., is a frenetic and electrifying trip through a kaleidoscope of genres, encapsulating electro-punk, rock'n'roll snarls, techno soundscapes, industrial-pop and rave euphoria. Frontman Joe Love and synth player Chris Hughes lead the charge, delivering a sonic assault that defies categorisation. The album's tracks, like 'King Of The Slugs' and 'Running,' pulsate with runaway rave intensity, showing the band's knack for combining dance-punk energy with klezmer-tinged interludes and broken-down grandeur. While WOOF. offers few moments of reprieve, its relentless fervor and wracked nerves keep listeners hooked from start to finish. With their rapid ascent and zany hybrid sound, Fat Dog emerges as a captivating force in London's art-rock scene, leaving audiences both fascinated and puzzled by their enigmatic charm.

Review: South London's potent indie auteur Heartworms unveils her highly anticipated debut album here on Speedy Wunderground. It has been produced by longtime collaborator Dan Carey and fuses the driving, motorik energy of Depeche Mode with PJ Harvey's sharp lyrical prowess, and is finished off with the offbeat rhythms of dance-punk favourites LCD Soundsystem. The result is a dark, intense sonic assault that is unmistakably Heartworms in the way it blends gothic post-punk with unashamed emotion and relentless momentum. It once again proves why Heartworms is one of the most exciting new voices in alternative music.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


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.

Review: SFJ, formerly Sunglasses For Jaws, introduces 'Drifting', a nine-tracker tracing one duo's evolution from humble beginnings in a friend's shed to a fully realised studio in East London. The London duo blend lounge, experimental and groovy 70s influences with a modern edge. The offbeat 'Computer Spiritus' brings a quaint curiosity about it, while 'Chasing' prefers a fader-happy vignette in funky, action-sequent frequencies. Only the latter half of the record provides any longer extension, 'Bad' being the baddest of them all.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


It's been a boom period for British post-punk, but with more than five years passing since the craze hit its peak, it's become easier to separate the wheat from the chaff and recognise those who are here to stay and those who had very little to sustain any interest. Squid are here to stay, having blossomed from their shouty beginning into one of the most compelling British bands of the past ten years, with genre-defying qualities and boundless creative spirit. This new album is about evil, nine stories whose protagonists reckon with cults, charisma and apathy. Real and imagined characters wading into the dark ocean between right and wrong. Recorded at Church Studios in Crouch End with Marta Salogni and Grace Banks and Dan Carey on additional production, it's a real gem with a real chance of being up for nomination at the next Mercury Prize ceremony.