Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Seefeel's second studio album, their first for the feted Warp imprint, saw them expand on some of the ideas in their 1993 debut, continuing to embrace the lush soundscapes that typify shoegaze and rooting things in deep sub bass, while bringing fascinating new blueprints to the table.

Which isn't too surprising, given Succour landed in 1995, by which point the UK's rave scene had managed to find a way into almost every aspect of youth and pop culture. Far from a dance music album, nevertheless the record has clear acid house influences, from soaring vocal cries through to intoxicatingly loose types of syncopated rhythm crafted from heavily detailed percussive sections, with tracks like 'Vex' taking us all the way to IDM. Exquisite explorations so far ahead of their time they still sound new almost 30 years later.

Review: The re-appraisal of early Seefeel has been long overdue. We're not entirely sure why this hasn't happened before, but to put things into context this is the first time Ch-Vox has been available on vinyl since it debuted in 1996, sidling up alongside the band's other outings dating back to 1994, all of which came about through involvement with Sheffield and global electronic music institution, Warp Records.

Ch-Vox actually landed on Rephlex, the imprint founded by Warp regular Richard D James, AKA Aphex Twin, and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Taking us further into the chill-out rooms, Sunday morning comedowns and midweek meditative moods of UK rave, in many ways Ch-Vox is more complex in concept than its predecessor, Succour, helping establish an early framework for what we now know as drone.

Review: One of three Seefeel re-releases arriving together - shining light on the band's mid-90s 'Warp years' - St/Fr/Sp is the only one of these that has really never existed in the past. Comprising two EPs, Starethrough and Fracture/Tied, the outing also brings in a very rare Autechre remix of 'Spangle', making for a package that's got collector's item written all over it.

Musically, this is around the moment when Seefeel began to fully embrace the abstract and electronic, having just signed to Warp, and while the shoegaze of their past remains audible there are so many influences here plucked from beyond that spectrum. Embracing ambient, drone, rave chill-out, dub, acid, and psychedelia, this edition reflects two ends of that world - the blissful and largely astral first EP, and beat-driven and highly rhythmic second.

Review: Seefeel's new album Everything Squared marks their first release since 2011, on which the "first ever shoegaze-electronica band" flex a positively retroactive take on the sound they sired. From the opening 'Sky Hooks' - a track which weaves an oxbow shape through small bankside groves of nymphlike-vocals in the peaks, and determined plods through ambient dub subterrains in the troughs - to the penultimate 'Hooked Paw', a similarly dubby but comparatively gnosis - a sophistic dream-blear for vocals and detuned atmoss at 140bpm, recalling the surreal ambient fort-das of HTRK or Clouds - this is not a record to be listened to lightly, despite its comeback status.

Review: Endlessness is a deep dive into the cycle of existence. The 45-minute album delicately spans ten tracks guided by a continuous arpeggio that plays throughout, crafting an expansive, mesmerising celebration of life cycles and rebirth. Following Sinephro's critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Space 1.8, Endlessness further elevates her transcendent, multi-dimensional compositional practice, beautifully morphing jazz, orchestral, and electronic music. Through a decalogue of "continuums", a fittingly continual, through-compositional wonderwork is designed and laid to recording, channelling a dignified, spacefaring mood of nobility, as though it were of divine extraterrestrial providence.

Review: Caribbean-Belgian composer, producer, and musician Nala Sinephro us now based in London and for her debut album she gets incredibly personal. The long player marks a first release on the mighty Warp label and it is more than worthy of that accolade across a series of stunning ambient and jazz pieces. They are all interconnected and speak of an artist in deep thought and a state of inward reflection. The moods are devastatingly impactful whether melancholic or more hopeful with wistful sax sounds and gentle drums adding up to captivating worlds of sound.

Review: This special anniversary edition of Squarepusher's debut album Feed Me Weird Things is released almost exactly 25 years to the day after the original. Back then it came on Aphex Twin's now defunct Rephlex label and has not been available on streaming platforms ever since. All remastered from the original DATs and with a new, original booklet filled with note and ephemera it is an essential cop for fans old and new. The record broken out of the tight genre restrictions of the time to pair complex rhythms with disarming melodies.

Review: Squarepusher's Ultravisitor, now celebrating its 20th anniversary with a triple vinyl reissue, is a dense, sprawling work that showcases Tom Jenkinson's mastery of electronic experimentation. Released in 2004, this nearly 80-minute album fuses drum-n-bass, jazz, and live instrumentation, while exploring everything from melodic electro-pop to chaotic improvisation. It offers a comprehensive glimpse into Squarepusher's world, touching on every facet of his sound, making it feel like the culmination of his career up to that point. Tracks like the title piece and 'Iambic 9 Poetry' demonstrate his ability to blend complex rhythms with melodic layers, while '50 Cycles' veers into noise-laden abstraction, hinting at genre reinvention. Jenkinson's virtuosic bass work shines on songs like 'I Fulcrum', and even his guitar compositions, such as 'Andrei', show his versatility. Despite its many strengths, Ultravisitor can feel bloated, with some improvisations overstaying their welcome. Yet, its sheer ambition and range are undeniable, offering an album both challenging and captivating, and the highlights reaffirm why Squarepusher remains a key figure in electronic music.

Review: Not too many artists can create a buzz quite like when word spreads of a new album more than Squarepusher. Dostrotime is the first album for Tom Jenkinson in nearly four years, one of his longest breaks between albums. Proceeding the album release, the video for the hardcore acid banger Wendorlan has been making the rounds on the internet. If this is any indication of the rest of the album, then expect some serious heat. Audio samples have been tightly secured to protect leaks online until the release date. This album will be spread over a 2x12 and nicely packaged in gatefold form and no doubt contain some great gallops through the genre spectrum like only Squarepusher can do.

Review: Given the uniqueness of his madcap and mind-altering trademark sound, the release of any new album from Tom Jenkinson AKA Squarepusher is big news. Given that his last new full-length landed four years ago, the arrival of Dostrotime has got an awful lot of experimentalists in a bit of a lather. Like many albums that have surfaced in the last couple of years, it was apparently inspired by the "novel, eerie, sublime silence of lockdown", with the title being a reference to "how time passed differently". Quite how this plays out within the music itself is open to interpretation; for the most part, what's on offer is prime Squarepusher - all distorted, full-throttle acid lines, mutilated experimental D&B beats, analogue electronics and rasping, strobe-lit nods to raves,

Review: The 20th-anniversary edition of Squarepusher's Ultravisitor showcases Tom Jenkinson's groundbreaking blend of live and studio recordings, remastered for new depths of sound. Spanning frenetic breakbeats, jazz-funk explorations and atmospheric fusion, this album captures the complexity and eclecticism of Jenkinson's work. Tracks like 'Iambic 9 Poetry' deliver sunlit jazz tones, while 'Tommib Help Buss' brings serene electronic bliss. Although Ultravisitor might feel overlong at nearly 80 minutes, its sprawling length doesn't diminish its innovation. The title track encapsulates Squarepusher's signature drum-n-electro-pop, while pieces like 'Circlewave' and 'I Fulcrum' balance virtuosity with thematic exploration. Jenkinson's improvisational drumming and bass solos, such as on 'I Fulcrum', demonstrate his command over both instruments and composition. Jenkinson's eccentricity shines through, making Ultravisitor an essential listen for both long-time fans and newcomers. This edition reaffirms Squarepusher's pioneering role in electronic music, blending technical brilliance with intriguing, if at times chaotic, compositions. It's a record that intrigues and impresses, pushing the boundaries of beat-driven electronic music.

Review: It's Squid, but maybe not as you knew them in short form. While musi-cally not a million miles from the earliest samples we had from the band, Bright Green Field is a different place that we find them in. An "imaginary cityscape", as the outfit have apparently put it, which is home to a multitude of things - people, events, movements, memories.

So whereas before things took a pretty intimate, even domesticated lyr-ical slant, here the scope is much greater. Track titles like 'G.S.K.' should be enough to prove the point (a not-so-subtle nod to Big Pharma giant GlaxmoSmithKline). Elsewhere themes range from aggressive propa-ganda of right wing politics to physical space itself. An outfit real-ising what can be done with the reach of their voice (or maybe just fi-nally releasing it), while remaining true to the punk, art rock, jazz fusion you were hoping for from this confident Bristolian debut.

Review: Squid return to Warp with O Monolith, amping up the indie festival favourites' new penchant for fast, hardcore jangle-jams peppered with electronic glitchings and odd subject matters. Bright Green Field laid the formula at our feet, but we're certain it'll be O Monolith that best represents Ollie Judge and co.'s newly impassioned, kooky sound. Still, the playful song structures and exclaimed vocals remain present. New highlights like 'Undergrowth' capture it best: raucous blary horn sections, frightening choruses, and a sound that evokes that of a hellish circus, all make this one a rather enigmatic, intelligent listen. We'd expect nothing less from Squid.

Review: There's no 'difficult second album' syndrome evidence on Squid's sophomore full-length. While it lacks the forthright, math rock and post-punk-inspired immediacy of the Brighton band's acclaimed full-length debut, the density, inventiveness and experimentation that marks out O Monolith more than makes up for it. For proof, check recent single 'Swing (In a Dream)', a wall of sound affair that builds through approaching waves of instrumentation (first picturesque 16-bit synths and acoustic guitars, then grooves, trumpet solos and finally grizzled guitars), the laidback post-punk-funk of low-slung treat 'Undergrowth', and the skittish, jazz-flecked, layered soundscape that is 'The Blades', where squally horn solos and dense alt-rock guitars catch the ear.

Review: 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.

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.

Review: Stereolab's superb Switched On series hits the fifth volume here with another essential collection of their rarest releases. Also included along the way are some unreleased tunes and despite this being the fifth volume it is still impeccably high in standard. Just check out Autechre's remix of 'Refractions in the Plastic Pulse' for evidence - it's as thrilling as they come while Stereolab's second collaboration with Nurse With Wound is another good one. It is 31 minutes of psychedelic kraut to really lose your mind to. Fans old and new are sure to lap up this one.