Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Known for their cover versions - having re-read Sly Stone, Plastic Bertrand, Les Chats Sauvages, and many more over the years - Telex managed to tread a fine line between comedy and innovation. Focusing heavily on a lo-fi synthesised sound, the Belgian alt-poppers would use plenty of humour in their work, but never allowed this to outshine or overshadow the musicality of it all. Released in 1980, Neurovision is a case in point. According to the band, this was their tongue-in-cheek entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, for which they were chosen as representatives for their home country in the same year. Deliberately banal lyrics, mostly referring to the competition itself, married to the glittering wonder of a proto-electronic soundtrack, mark it as a work of bold daring and a little genius. Sadly, it failed to secure them last place in the tournament, as they hoped, forcing them to settle for 17 out of 19.

Review: In some ways it's remarkable that Telex managed to achieve the level of global success they did. This isn't slight on the band or indeed their sound, but to simultaneously make groundbreaking noises and garner widespread mass appeal has never been that easy, save for a number of high profile names we often now consider doyens of the music world. Looney Tunes, the group's fifth album, arrived in 1988 and by this point they had already been inducted into the synth pop hall of fame. Output and activity slowing considerably as the decade progressed, just like their sixth and final outing How Do You Dance?, released in 2006, here was proof that their vitality and ability to make ground breaking things had not waned, while their understanding of hooks and immediate impact had only grown more polished and absolute.

.

Review: Formed in 1978, Marc Moullin, Dan Lacksman, and Michael Moers broke the mould with Telex - one of the most influential Belgian synth-pop groups of all time. Calling on disco, punk, and the sound of formative era experimental electronic music that was beginning to take hold in Western Europe, they would simultaneously produce some of the most important tracks of the genre until their first disbandment in 2006, and bless us with hilarious pithiness in the shape of tunes like 'Euro-Vision', a bleep-driven 'critique' of the song contest. How Do You Dance? was the group's final studio album, rounding out a six-strong, decade-spanning LP back catalogue, and despite arriving almost three decades after their debut, Looking for Saint Tropez, turned heads for its originality, this beauty still proved they were more than capable of delivering innovative goods. One for fans of Metronomy, Todd Terje and more.

Review: Mute presents These Immortal Souls' first full-length album, Get Lost (Don't Lie!), remastered on vinyl and CD. Reissued in conjunction with the 1992 follow-up I'm Never Gonna Die Again, both albums are hearing a thorough looking-back-on in celebration of a full 35 years of their original releases, and the celebration of the life of founding member Roland S Howard. Remastered from the original tapes at the legendary Birdland Studio by Lindsay Gravina and original These Immortal Souls members Harry Howard and Genevieve McGuckin, the 30-minute, seven-track LP is a terse, noise-racked statement and is more cacophonous and disorderly than its dreamier, drawling follow-up.

Review: These Immortal Souls was an Australian Indie rock band who released two albums and a handful of singles in the period from 1987 to 1998, signing to Mute records in a period when the label was mostly working with electronic bands of some sort. These Immortal Souls were more of a retro rock group that would probably be grouped more with bands like The Mighty Lemon Drops, The Jesus & The Chain or Nick Cave, and Extra gathers some of their best work for a compilation that turns out to be a fine tribute to the band who were clearly ahead of their time.

Review: Throbbing Gristle's second studio album is an essential work that conjures some of the most harsh and nauseating music you can imagine (not a surprise given "Hamburger Lady" is a piece about a patient burned from the waist up and forever contained in a hospital). It was pioneering in texture and technique, and mixes both live and studio recordings into one of the band's most stylistically varied works. Creeping and haunting, confrontational and challenging from front to back, the spoken word samples from children and mutated voices will probably haunt your dreams forever, so listen with caution.

Review: Formed in 1975, the British industrial group Throbbing Gristle - Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Chris Carter, and Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson - had pushed sonic and cultural boundaries over the edge, with their transgressive performances, experimental electronics, and confrontational aesthetics. After disbanding in 1981, TG's reunion in the early 2000s was met with both excitement and skepticism; rather than nostalgia, they continued evolving, creating new works like Part Two: The Endless Not (2007), which managed to scupper expectations beyond the mere expectation that they scupper expectations. This Berlin performance, on the cusp of a new year, captures their raw, improvised power, in the space of five tracks which would be released on the 2007 record. Haunting, mechanical, and utterly uncompromising.

Review: Breton artist Yann Tiersen's new album is divided into two distinct parts, each with its own identity. Rathlin from a Distance features eight introspective piano pieces named after locations Tiersen visited during his 2023 sailing tour, such as the Fastnet Lighthouse and the Faroe Islands. The music evokes introspection and tranquillity throughout and creates a meditative atmosphere that makes a lasting and cathartic impact. In contrast, The Liquid Hour is an expansive blend of electronic and psychedelic rhythms born from Tiersen's reflections on political and social change during his time at sea. The section's haunting melodies and Emilie Quinquis' vocals make a great counter to part one.