New releases last eight weeks: Indie/Alternative

Review: This is not our first time falling for Jenny Hval. We might have been a little late to the party than some, initially encountering the angelic-voiced Norwegian singer-songwriter with her 2019 effort on Sacred Bones, The Practice of Love, but lost time has been made up for since. Landing again on 4AD, the label that hosted her preceding effort, 2022's Classic Objects, this latest is similar and yet different to what has come before. Tracks like 'Lay Down', which opens things here, present the Scandinavian voice at its sweetest, set against a backdrop of birdsong, fine-tuned for melody. Other moments take us into a dreamy otherworld, blissful harmonies and siren calls, ambient refrains invoking the great adventure that awaits us after this one. Or maybe that's just because the track in question is entitled 'I Want The End To Sound Like This'. Either way, so do we.

Review: This expanded edition of Pale Saints' third and final album Slow Buildings is a real doozy for fans of the English alt-rock and shoegaze outfit. The original is a long-out-of-print classic that has been sympathetically remastered here after originally arriving back in 1994. The album captures their transition into more open, melodic territory while retaining the dense guitar textures and experimental spirit of their earlier work. Meriel Barham's vocals shine as caller as always, particularly on standout single 'Fine Friend,' which was adapted from Persian Rugs' 1981 track. This two-disc reissue includes the Fine Friend EP and a curated trove of unreleased demos and tracks that make it an essential addition for completists.

Review: Experience the shimmering, manic pop thrills from Washington D.C. indie rock greats Unrest at their creative peak. Originally released in 1993 on 4AD, this 30th anniversary remaster is a celebration of their final studio album and sounds edgy to this day. 'Angel I'll Walk You Home' has a Nico vibe and excels in placing beautiful melodies alongside twangy clean guitar to craft a thought-provoking sound world that envelops you. Things get scuzzier on 'Cath Carroll' as the distortion pedal gets dialed up and the rhythm section go for a frenetic light post-punk. It's clear that they went out with a bang with this curtain closer of an album. How they were left to split when firing off indie pop gold at this level is a total mystery. At least we're seeing sustained appreciation.

Review: Xmal Deutschland commemorate their influential 4AD years (1983-1984) with a brand new release, literally presenting us with Gift. The collection celebrates the band's profound impact on British audiences in the early 80s, marked by a unique and half-devised lyrical language, as well as a magnetic feminine mystique commandeered by the women in the group. Their breakthrough support slot with Cocteau Twins accompanied the first two albums to come out via 4AD, which grabbed audiences by the collective ear with a painter's stroke of hard-graded darkwave and goth. Gift brims with a penumbral presence, while the titular "gift" is intended as pharmakon, both a present and a poison; Xmal's music is appropriately contradictory and complex, skating thin ices of beauty and elusivity. This limited-edition 3xLP boxset includes Abbey Road remasters of their albums Fetisch and Tocsin, along with tracks from related releases like Incubus Succubus II and Qual, packaged with striking artwork and a photo booklet. The magic of Xmal Deutschland lingers like radiation and has an indelible half-life.

Review: The influential German band Xmal Deutschland are overhead rafters in the great mead hall of goth. Their propulsive successes throughout the 1980s meant the genre likely couldn't've done without them. A large band come music collective, made up of at least eight members at any given time, Xmal's formation in Hamburg and would presell audiences on a stalwart performance rep, thanks to an early tour and gig residency in support of dream pop preeminents Cocteau Twins. Rallied to fame by their goth classics 'Incubus Succubus' and 'Qual', this 2xCD review conjoins two of the earliest and most pivotal albums on which both of said singles were housed - Fetisch and Tocsin - along with tracks from other key releases, such as Incubus Succubus II. Helping blacken an otherwise dreamy time, these LPs highlight the gloomier soils of a superficially bright 1980s soundfield, which otherwise roseated by shoegaze. Photography by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery, Sheila Rock and more all capture the spirit.