Rock / Indie Recommendations September 2012

Review: Following on from the teasing single "Her Fantasy", Matthew Dear's latest album fully reveals itself, and provides a natural progression from the promise laid out by that initial track. In many ways the album is a step on from the bizarre synth-pop of Black City, delving into the freaky sound design of Krautrock to provide new textures of a more organic nature in amidst the machines. Tactile bass guitars shear themselves against intricate layers of arpeggio and crisp lashings of guitar, getting ever closer to an authentic band sound which Dear has been slowly edging towards since he flipped his own script with Asa Breed back in 2007.

Review: For the uninitiated, South Coast act Toy surfaced from the dying embers of the massively hyped but never really justified Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, shorn of the slightly annoying front man and demonstrating an all new direction that veered through psychedelic and cosmiche sounds without losing sight of those catchy hooks. Ahead of Toy's much anticipated eponymous debut album, Heavenly elect to pluck "Dead & Gone" out as the appetite whetting lead single while making the not difficult but still very smart decision to enlist Mr Andrew Weatherall to remix the track. Weatherall's been doing remixes since before Toy were in diapers and he's still got that innate ability to stamp whatever stylistic mood he is in all over a track - in this case it's heavily dubbed death disco which inverts the guitar led drive of Toy's original production gloriously.

Review: Given his passion for the melodramatic, it's little surprise to find Antony Hegarty pairing up with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra for his latest full-length - a live recording of what was no doubt an unforgettable concert. Interspersed with Antony's musings to the audience on sexuality and feminism (amongst other things), Cut The World sees some of his best songs given a dramatic new lease of life. With his distinctive, haunting vocals (yes, it's impossible to review one of his releases without mentioning them) to the fore, the songs veer from achingly intimate to deliciously grandiose. If you're a fan, it should be an essential purchase.