Experimental/Electronic preorders

Review: Formed in the early 80s and later based in Weston-super-Mare, Coil remain one of the UK’s most enigmatic experimental outfits—combining ambient electronics, industrial rhythm and spoken-word surrealism into something ritualistic and deeply unclassifiable. This 2xLP reissue revives their final studio work, first issued in incomplete CD-R form in 2004 before being completed by Peter Christopherson and Danny Hyde in 2006 following the death of Jhonn Balance. Compared to the sprawling mysticism of their earlier catalogue, these tracks are leaner, sharper—shaped by the influence of live performance and Christopherson’s then-new fascination with digital production. ‘The Gimp (Sometimes)’ creeps through looped distortion and narcotic drone, while ‘Teenage Lightning (10th Birthday Version)’ refracts a prior track into a marimba-laced polyrhythmic pulse. The two-part ‘Sex With Sun Ra’ threads jazz reverence through throbbing synthesis, balancing paranoia and humour. ‘All the Pretty Little Horses’ is perhaps their most unexpected cover—a whispered lament that closes the circle on Coil’s fragile, feral grace. This isn’t an archival exercise, but a document of Coil’s transformation—where live-band muscle, software trickery and deep emotional currents pull their sound somewhere new. The result is bleak, bold, and eerily accessible by Coil standards.

Review: This clear vinyl edition offers a vivid new window into Coil’s final evolutionary phase—based in Weston-super-Mare during the early 2000s, their output here feels tighter and more tactile than ever. What began as a limited CD-R release during the 2004 “Even an Evil Fatigue” live series was ultimately completed in 2006 by Peter Christopherson and Danny Hyde after Jhonn Balance’s death, turning what was once described as an “album-in-progress” into a posthumous masterwork. Unlike Coil’s early abstract work, this material pulses with live-band energy and digital precision. ‘Sex With Sun Ra (Part One - Saturnalia)’ slinks through throbbing synths and sci-fi mysticism, while its sequel, ‘Part Two - Sigillaricia’, filters York’s pipes through glitching software landscapes. Thighpaulsandra’s signature synthesis courses through ‘The Wraiths And Strays Of Paris’, now reborn from live tapes, while ‘Teenage Lightning (10th Birthday Version)’ spins its ritualistic rhythm into something surprisingly euphoric. The clear pressing suits this material—transparent, crackling with ghosts, and shimmering with light. It’s Coil at their most direct and perhaps most emotionally affecting: a group confronting mortality and rebirth through sound, retooling their vision with software, breath, and loss.