a レコード& CD

Review: All Seeing Dolls make the best case for cross-pollination we've had in a while. Their sound is psychedelic tinged, garage-y leaning rock with plenty of breathy bits and opportunities to look at the sky in hope or despair, invoking the shoegaze 'thing'. In other moments, they sound like they've been hiding away in the back room of a 1960s acid party, while there are also times when vocals soar to such harmonious heights you could be forgiven for using made up terms like 'choral indie'. The sum of all those parts is a genuinely powerful and unique record that moves and insists, ebbs and flows throughout a real odyssey of a listen. But the ingredients also warrant a mention. The legendary Dot Allison is here, hence the beauty and subtle power of the vocals. The Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe is also present and correct, as are a piano, ukulele, guitar and auto-harp.

Review: There has been plenty said about debutants L'Epee since their single "Dreams" turned heads back in spring. Combining the talents of Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), French artist Emmanuelle Seigner, and polished-to-a-sheen pop outfit The Liminanas, it's one of the most refreshing (and French) things you're likely to hear all year. That's more of a reference to the cinematic feeling that defines the album, owing much to the femme fatale vocal delivery, rather than the language each line is sung in. At once evoking the smoky cool of Serge Gainsbourg and the opiate moods of The Velvet Underground, "Diabolique" feels born in a time when psychedelic experimentation and chart topping music weren't mutually exclusive. At once sophisticated and hedonistic, it's a sexy, sensual and overwhelmingly seductive effort everyone should turn themselves on to.