14 days

Review: Emotional Response welcome Detroit's Fuxa to the label with a mini-album that takes their trademark pyschedelic guitar and synth instrumental rock and showcases the more spiritual and ethereal creativity running within. Specially curated from Fuxa's two recent digital only albums - "Dirty D" and "Frequencies for Physical, Mental and Spiritual Healing" - this special 8 track selection sees each album represented on one side of vinyl. Highlighting band leader Randall Neimann's talent, a mastery of the studio that creates a wall of (mellow) sound that envelops and encases in equal measure. While very much Randall's band, the colloborative nature of the project sees numurous artists appear, with members from Mazzy Star, Add N To (X), Dean & Britta, Spiritualized and founding member Ryan Anderson all providing willing support to seek his primal sound. Noteworthy too is his first appearance as lead vocalist. It is the uplifting to hear his voice on the celebratory Shout Out Loud, the paean of Dream (Don't Give Up) and finally the blissedout-surf-psychedelia of Amen. Dirty Frequencies is a welcome departure for the label, a pyschedelic turn in the mold of the Nick Nicely (ERS005) release, but all the better for it because these sounds and ideas deserve to be heard. An inner trip yes, but really a celebration of the deeper part of the soul - a way to connect.

Review: Veronica Vasicka's Minimal Wave label turn their attention to European wave sounds once more with Earlier / Later, a retrospective look at the music of Belgian group Polyphonic Size. Headed by the bespectacled Roger-Marc Vande Voorde, the Brussels based outfit emerged in 1979 and built up quite a discography, releasing three albums and numerous 7? and 12?s over a 11 year period. One of mainland Europe's more enigmatic purveyors of primitive synth pop, Polyphonic Size were partial to singing vocals in numerous languages, forever changing line-ups and had the majority of their lyrics penned by Dominique Buxin, a band member who never appeared during performances or featured on any of their record sleeves. However, it's the band's working relationship with Stranglers bassist JJ Burnel that commands the most intrigue, and this collection offers a contrast between the early days of Polyphonic Size and how their sound evolved after the more rock based production input of Burnel.

Review: Minimal Wave's 15th release is an LP by Stereo called Somewhere In The Night. The LP brings together the French band's best material recorded between 1982-1985, including the cult songs Somewhere In The Night and No More. The release is also available on CD, both formats are limited edition. The LP comes with a printed insert of photos and the CD comes with a mini poster. They both include full versions of each song, as well as an unreleased track from 1985 : Lover On The Run.