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: Chelsea Wolfe's latest album, She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She, is a haunting and emotionally charged masterpiece. Known for her shadowy blend of Gothic industrial, doom, and folk, Wolfe delves deeper into electronic soundscapes with this release, while maintaining her trademark dark, atmospheric style. The album explores themes of severing toxic ties and the cyclical nature of grief and healing. With ten tracks that seamlessly blend industrial textures, eerie vocals and ambient layers, it's an immersive journey from start to finish. Tracks include the opener 'Whispers in the Echo Chamber', where Wolfe's hushed vocals and industrial beats create a brooding atmosphere, and 'Everything Turns Blue', a track full of lyrical power and electronic drive. The closer 'Dusk' is a breathtaking finale with a casual yet explosive climax. While the middle sectionifeaturing 'The Liminal', 'Eyes Like Nightshade' and 'Salt'islows the album slightly, their deep atmosphere still shines. Other highlights like 'House of Self-Undoing' and 'Unseen World' elevate the record to new heights with their driving rhythms and haunting melodies. Overall, this is a powerful, deeply personal album that fans of darkwave, industrial, and ambient metal will adore.
Review: Bristol trio Waldo's Gift unleash their debut album, a blistering and maximalist guitar record brimmign with improvisational prowess, their music a thrilling blend of prog-metal, math-rock and the more intense ends of electronic music. Tracks like 'Candifloss' and 'Malcolm's Law' showcase the band's technical skills and their ability to create complex and captivating soundscapes, while 'The Galli' and 'This One is Improvised' offer a glimpse into their free-flowing, improvisational approach. Recorded live with no overdubs, the album captures the band at their most raw and unfiltered, pushing the boundaries of their instruments and their own musical limits.
Review: Dirt Bike Vacation from Worried Songs Records takes us into the world of Charles 'Poppy Bob' Walker, an amateur guitarist whose mid-80s recordings capture the humdrum of life in Yuma, Arizona. Recorded on a single-track Marantz, the tracks showcase Walker's experimental leanings, with tape delay on 'Granite Bluffs' and 'Goodbye YMCA', and rough overdubs on 'Continuation to Moon Doctor'. Discovered by musician-archivist Cameron Knowler in a dusty Yuma library, these tapes reveal the quiet moments of Walker's daily lifeidriving to work, unwinding at home, or walking the streets. Knowler, who met Walker years earlier without realising it, carefully arranged the tracks to reflect a day in Yuma, blending the mundane with an otherworldly touch. This release is a rare glimpse into both Walker's world and Knowler's own connection to the music.
Review: According to the blurb we have for Doomed Utility, Alex Wang is a firm believer that if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around, it still makes a massive noise. "Sound existed before there were human ears to hear it," we're told. Not to mention the fact we have now surrounded ourselves with machines and digital tools that immerse us in tones we don't necessarily derive pleasure from. Industrial, frenetic, electronic, post-club, deconstructed and, in moments, straddling that genius-lunatic border. Doomed Utility makes no apologies for its most intense moments, and panders not to our inherent desire to understand and make sense. These are beats, basslines, distorted walls of tormented chaos and abstract moments don't lend themselves to meaning making. Welcome to the future. It's confusing.
Review: Sydney-based friends MP Hopkins and Mary MacDougall bring a haunting edge to folk music here. 'Weeds' is like lo-fi horror film music with tape-recorded radio static giving a foreboding atmosphere. 'Clay Graffiti' sounds like a post-apocalyptic ghost story with the spoken word conjuring images of landscapes tormented by wind and life dissolved. The group clearly have a knack for sequencing and the finer details of what makes a great album. After the intense end-of-the-world feel of the track that closes side A, Side B opens with 'Yellow Rose', which feels like spring; lyrically, in the bright piano, guitar and through the vocal timbre. It gives a sense of renewal that wouldn't have the same impact if it wasn't for the harsh winter feel of the track before it. But don't mistake this for anything twee - experimental folk is taking over the underground cultural zeitgeist and Warm Currency are an important part of that. This is the band's third release on the Horn of Plenty label and it's a solid follow-up to Returns (2022) and Live at the Petersham Bowling Club (2023).
Review: Drone music has a unique quality that really pulls you in. Whether it's the haunting vocals of Pandit Pran Nath or the heavy tones of Sunn O))), it shifts your focus to a deep flow. Water Damage's debut LP Repeater perfectly embodies this. With their motto "Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation," this Austin septet offers thick layers of sound that are mesmerising, mixing two drummers and two bass players for a powerful effect that keeps evolving. This album invites you to settle in and lose yourself in its depths, so relax and enjoy the ride.
Dangling Blanket From A Balcony (White Phosphorous) (13:28)
(Goodnight) White Phosphorous (8:09)
Review: We Are Winter's Blue And Radiant Children features Mat Ball (Big Brave), Efrim Manuel Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion), and Jonathan Downs and Patch One (both Ada). Their new album, No More Apocalypse delivers six haunting lullabies infused with heavy distortion and electronic rhythms. Ball and Menuck initiated the project during the harsh Montreal winters, seeking warmth and solace in their music. Later, they brought in Downs and Patch to enrich their vision. The album explores the theme of observing despair from a place of safety. Menuck's lyrics, freed from traditional meter, offer vivid, photorealistic imagery. On the opener 'Rats and Roses,' he describes a city struck by an unnamed disaster, drawing on local details like neighbors poisoning birds while dealing with rats. The track builds to a powerful crescendo with blown-out synths and guitars. 'Dangling Blanket From A Balcony (White Phosphorous)' recalls Michael Jackson's infamous balcony incident and comments on white phosphorous, a wartime technology causing severe burns. The final track, '(Goodnight) White Phosphorous,' is a lullaby reflecting on the horror of white phosphorous falling outside one's window. No More Apocalypse Father is a profound blend of illumination and despair. The album captures the conflicting emotions of witnessing horror from a place of comfort, evoking a sense of ambivalence that is far from passive. It's a powerful, immersive experience that resonates deeply.
Review: The 70s were a superb time for Krautrock and Walter Wegmuller's Tarot from 1973 is one of the classics. Now for the first time, it has been remastered from the original tapes and comes in a no doubt highly sought after deluxe box set. Bern born Wegmuller was the son of Roman travelers and himself spent much time roaming around Europe and India making jewelry as well as painting. Helping him to record this album when he settled back in Bern were legends of the scene like Klaus Schulze, Ash Ra Tempel members Manuel Gottsching and Hartmut Enke, and other musicians known as The Cosmic Jokers.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.