Review: Sometimes it's just too difficult to contain our excitement; we're quaking in our boots at news of Khruangbin's next release, with the Texan three-piece this time lending their alt-indie-funk mastery to vocal frontage by Leon Bridges. The humorously titled lead single 'B-side' is emblematic of their stated aim here - to redefine "how people perceive Texas music i that beautiful marriage of country and r'n'b i and really paying homage to that." The sonic result? Bubbling bass and wahhy riffs, over a ghostly and misty relaxers' beat. Its hook digs into our thighs deeper than a Sheriff's steel spurs, and fittingly, it's music video is themed after a 19th Century western town.
Review: Released almost 40 years ago, No Presents For Christmas was the ultimate anti-Christmas song from metal provocateur extraordinaires King Diamond. Originally landing in time for Chrimbo 1985, this latest 12" reissue immortalises the bizarre piece of metallic eccentricity for new generations to come, and even boasts 'Charon'; a deep cut from the band's seminal debut album Fatal Portrait, on the b-side. Elaborating on the new gaudy cover and reasoning behind the repress, the King himself has decreed: "Livia worked on the glass mansion on the cover - it's a mansion she designed that I just loved and said we must use this for something! The cover came out exactly how we wanted it to, and it looks like something you would find in the Christmas albums aisle alongside Frank Sinatra. It has the Christmas feeling, but with something dark and sinister when you examine it more closely. I look like a ghost - the ghost of trying to destroy Christmas!"
Review: The first King Diamond song to ever be released, 'No Presents for Christmas' was originally released in 1985, and now Metal Blade Records is heard reissuing this 2-track classic on vinyl. In the words of the King himself, who offered an up-to-date comment on the classic festive heavy metal subversion, not to mention its stonkingly eerie new album cover: "it looks like something you would find in the Christmas albums aisle alongside Frank Sinatra. It has the Christmas feeling, but with something dark and sinister when you examine it more closely. I look like a ghost - the ghost of trying to destroy Christmas!" Coming thick and fast with the just-as-hard headbanger 'Charon'; whichever Christmas ghosts you choose to conjure this year-end, no amount of wishful thinking can ever truly deny the omnipresence of the Ghost of Christmas Stinginess. Truly, with King Diamond, we are duly reminded that there is always a dark side to our cheer.
(Further Reflections) In The Room Of Percussion (3:18)
Dear Nellie Goodrich (2:45)
Holidaymaker (2:29)
A Lesson, Perhaps (2:41)
The Sky Children (7:58)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Record very slightly warped***
Kaleidoscope's Tangerine Dream stands as a quintessential English psychedelic album, often ranked among the most important and influential works in the genre alongside iconic releases like Sgt. Pepper's, Forever Changes, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. Despite its rarity and collectability, with mint copies fetching hefty prices, the album has surprisingly lacked a proper reissue and remastering treatment for over five decades. However, after three years of determined effort, negotiations with major label executives and stroke of luck, the album is finally receiving its long-awaited official reissue. Thanks to painstaking detective work and fortunate encounters with Universal archivists, the original master tapes, previously languishing in the vaults, have been unearthed. Moreover, Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 fame has meticulously remastered the album from these original tapes in his Lisbon studio, ensuring that it is presented to listeners as intended. This reissue will undoubtedly be a must-have for fans and collectors alike, offering the best audio quality version of the band's early psychedelic masterpiece.
(Further Reflections) In The Room Of Percussion (3:18)
Dear Nellie Goodrich (2:45)
Holidaymaker (2:29)
A Lesson, Perhaps (2:41)
The Sky Children (7:58)
Review: Kaleidoscope's Tangerine Dream stands as a quintessential English psychedelic album, often ranked among the most important and influential works in the genre alongside iconic releases like Sgt. Pepper's, Forever Changes, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. Despite its rarity and collectability, with mint copies fetching hefty prices, the album has surprisingly lacked a proper reissue and remastering treatment for over five decades. However, after three years of determined effort, negotiations with major label executives and stroke of luck, the album is finally receiving its long-awaited official reissue. Thanks to painstaking detective work and fortunate encounters with Universal archivists, the original master tapes, previously languishing in the vaults, have been unearthed. Moreover, Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 fame has meticulously remastered the album from these original tapes in his Lisbon studio, ensuring that it is presented to listeners as intended. This reissue will undoubtedly be a must-have for fans and collectors alike, offering the best audio quality version of the band's early psychedelic masterpiece.
Review: No prizes for guessing the kind of sonic avenues we're invited to explore here. Less obvious is the fact Kandodo is actually Simon Price, a name many psych lovers will recognise from British heavyweights The Heads - a group that have spent the last few decades bending minds to their will, or at least sound, and opening up third ears with far reaching cosmic tones. Here you can expect similar wormholes to open, but dark matter reigns supreme. Introverted to the point of collapsing in on itself, Theendisinpsyche feels sludgy, deep, heavy and all the things that make us look down and then inside ourselves. With the B-side taken up by 22-minute long epic, 'Swim Into The Sun', you should hopefully know just how intense and inescapable things get - which should only ever be taken as a strong recommendation from us.
Review: This analogue-driven masterpiece sets a high bar for exciting music in 2025. The ten-track album, crafted by the Gothenburg duo (featuring members of Fontan and Ultra Satan), blends intricate soundscapes with emotional resonance, offering a listening experience that is both reflective, thought-provoking yet at times, challenging. Vind explores the intersection of rhythm and emotion, creating an atmosphere that feels timeless and innovative. The first single, 'Montilla', embodies the album's ethos. With its downtempo pace and broken beat structure, the track feels like a sonic odyssey. Psychedelic elements and exceptional guitar work add layers of complexity, while leftfield textures make it stand out. The result is a piece that's unique, grounded but also otherworldly. 'Medvind Part 1' is a great example at the ability of the band to create an outstanding blend of various styles of music such as Latin, ambient and folk music along with many others. Vind is a rewarding journey for all who cherish inventive music.
Review: This marks the first re-press since the 2019 release of Lux Prima, which is the critically acclaimed album by Yeah Yeah Yeahs' lead vocalist Karen O and renowned producer Danger Mouse. Hailed as a "dreamy and poignant collaboration" back then, the album featured the single 'Woman' which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance and a Spike Jonze-directed performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The reissue includes original artwork and a 16-page booklet highlighting their interactive exhibition, An Encounter with Lux Prima, which featured a 360-degree soundscape mixed at Skywalker Ranch.
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