New releases last four weeks: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Oblique Records offers a four-track vinyl-only selection of stripped, club-ready house cuts shaped by UKG inflections and percussive detail. Velvet Velour's 'Make It Hot' leads with a swung rhythm, vocal stabs, and a warm bassline that keeps the energy tight without crowding the mix. Eli Atala's 'Fat Albert' runs deeper, with clipped low-end and a sharper rhythmic frame. The Velvet Velour remix of the same track adds glide and bounce, pushing the groove forward while softening some of the original's edges. On the B-side, MTTY's 'Wally' closes the set with swung drums and sparse atmospherics - minimal in structure but tuned for pace. Each track is functional without sounding generic, keeping arrangement changes minimal and geared for blend. A direct, neatly cut pack of tools with just enough variation to stretch across a warm-up or mid-set.

Review: Talk about things that make you go "oooh." The moment we heard that Daniel Avery, Working Men's Club and Ghost Culture were working together on a "new musical project" we had a lot riding on the results being particularly potent. Quite what they might sound like was anyone's guess mind, and there was an underlying worry that we might be left with another supergroup disappointment - where the parts are strong but don't necessarily understand how to gel. Demise of Love prove that doesn't have to be the case every time. It sounds like all of the above and yet none of them, it's ripe with emotion, fraught with punk ferocity and outwardly romantic in an electronic sense. Rave-y, weird, melancholic, angry, sleazy and infinitely re-playable, believe the hype.

Review: Depeche Mode's standout album Violator (1989) produced the landmark song 'Personal Jesus', and with its catchy bluesy riff and innovative but rare use of guitar by the otherwise great synthpop act, the song would upend and expand at the edges of an already well-varied sound. With lyrics inspired by 'Elvis And Me' by Priscilla Presley, exploring themes of devotion and stardom, while the record's controversial promotions saw the band take out personal ads, as well as advertise a phone number through which fans could hear the song. Now Matt Early (aka. Funky Wogan and Hardbag), DJ, producer and remixer extraordinaire of Far Horizon and Sub London fame, lays down an ingenious edit backed by the original number on the flip. Limited numbers on this furtive output, so keep your shopping cart fingers poised...

Review: Thanks to an early 2025 launched exhibition at the Tate Modern, which looks back at the life and work of late, great performance art legend and Minty co-founder Leigh Bowery, Minty have put out this collectible 7" featuring previously unreleased songs. The title of the first track 'This Is Like A Dream' conveys what Bowery would have felt to have held this exhibition and making his dream come true from beyond the grave is a beautiful touch. And the song is a reminder that for all Minty's bizarre performances and sensational avant garde costumes they still backed it up with great music and would have cut through the noise on their songwriting alone. Both tracks feature Bowery, recorded as they were in 1993 and 1994 respectively. True gems finally unearthed.A