Review: Many critics have been quick to praise Arca's latest album (her fourth in total), highlighting the startling vibrancy and accessibility Barcelona-based Venezuelan's latest work. Where she was once renowned for wilfully challenging experimental sounds, "Kick I" combines her long-standing lo-fi noisenik instincts in ear-catching leftfield pop vocals, fiendishly heavy beats variously influenced by dancehall, reggaeton and Kuduro, sparkling bursts of kaleidoscopic synthesizer sounds, and bass beefier than a herd of highland cattle after a few months on industrial strength steroids. As a result, it's an album that beautifully balances ear-catching attractiveness with serious dancefloor grunt and just the right amount of experimental noise.
Review: Norwegian duo Smerz are experts at duality and creating tension between two opposites, be that dark and light, warmth and cold or tension and release. There is a real air of menace to this record for XL that layers zombie vocals over busted synths and murky breaks. Some tracks are bight and dazzling, others are swaggering and ominous like 'Rain' with its big strings and air of Bjork sound design. Recorded over three years and drawing on the members' time in youth choirs, this is an expansive and accomplished record.
Review: Given his innate ability to craft intensely atmospheric and often fundamentally unsettling music, it seems apt that Thom Yorke has finally got around to producing a film soundtrack. It's fitting, too, that said soundtrack is for Luca Guadagnino's weirdo remake of 1977 Italian horror flick "Suspiria". Yorke nails the brief, delivering a string of chilling, otherworldly instrumentals that not only draw on his well-established love of dark ambient and gruesome electronica, but also foreboding neo-classical movements and sparse, wide-eyed arrangements. There are a smattering of superb vocal moments, too, with recent single "Suspirio" - described by one broadsheet reviewer as "the saddest waltz you'll ever here" - standing out.
Review: Given his innate ability to craft intensely atmospheric and often fundamentally unsettling music, it seems apt that Thom Yorke has finally got around to producing a film soundtrack. It's fitting, too, that said soundtrack is for Luca Guadagnino's weirdo remake of 1977 Italian horror flick "Suspiria". Yorke nails the brief, delivering a string of chilling, otherworldly instrumentals that not only draw on his well-established love of dark ambient and gruesome electronica, but also foreboding neo-classical movements and sparse, wide-eyed arrangements. There are a smattering of superb vocal moments, too, with recent single "Suspirio" - described by one broadsheet reviewer as "the saddest waltz you'll ever here" - standing out.
Review: As Radiohead tour the world and then regroup to record their new album, Thom Yorke releases his own record, 'The Eraser' on XL Recordings. A collection of nine new songs, the record was written and played by Thom and was produced by Nigel Godrich. Variously hailed as "The Best Band In The World" (Q Magazine), "Rock's Best Live Band" (Rolling Stone) and the band were placed at number 1 of Spin Magazine's 40 most influential artists, Radiohead has arguably become the most acclaimed and adventurous force in modern music. Over six studio albums the group have proved that it is possible to make massive creative leaps whilst continuing to grow in worldwide stature. Their records set new benchmarks for others to aim towards, whilst their live shows reach levels of intensity and exploration that few can match.
Review: When he originally released his second solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, in 2014, Thom Yorke only made it available as a download via BitTorrent. The paid-for package proved popular, with over a million listeners scrambling to download it in the first week of release. Here it finally gets a physical release (a limited Japanese pressing in 2015 not withstanding). The album is naturally typical of much of Yorke's solo work, blending his fragile and dinstinctive vocals with heart-aching piano motifs, crunchy electronics beats and all manner of weird and wonderful sonic textures. Early reviews stated that it was Yorke's most challenging work to date, but one that just gets better with every listen. That remains a perfect summary of an alluring and deliciously odd collection of tracks.
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