Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Originally released as a double CD in 2002, Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) is a collection of four EPs Coil issued seasonally in 1998 via their Eskaton imprint. Featuring John Balance, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Drew McDowall, and William Breeze, it was recorded in their Chiswick, London home studio before they relocated to Weston-Super-Mare. This pivotal work has long been considered a high point in Coil's discography, though it was never reissued or pressed on vinyl at the time. Arranged around the equinoxes and solstices, Moon's Milk captures Coil's deep dive into improvisation, ritualistic sound design and mystical atmospheres and stands proud as a testament to their individuality.

Review: Coil arguably were in their best form as the new millennium dawned as well as being already deep into their career. Musick To Play In The Dark not only lived up to its name, it marked a transition both sonically and astrologically for the band as they declared a new era as a lunar rather than solar group. Mixing gently melodious ambient motifs and immersive aural textures with more experimental sounds, spoken and sung vocals and a variety of unobtrusive rhythms, the album remains one of the most vivid and enjoyable outings in their vast, action-packed catalogue. Whether it's spooky distorted sounds on 'Strange Birds', 'Red Queen''s strange droning late-night piano soul, or the yearning ambient pop on 'The Dreamer Is Still Asleep', this is a subtly bold record packed with exceptional ideas.

Review: First compiled as a double CD in 2002, Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) is a suite of four EPs that Coil released seasonally via their in-house Eskaton imprint across 1998. The line-up for these sessions were John Balance, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, Drew McDowall and William Breeze. Recorded primarily at their home studio in Chiswick, London on the eve of a permanent relocation to the small seaside town of Weston-Super- Mare, the collection has long loomed as a pivotal and pinnacle work in the group's discography, but has never been officially reissued, or re-pressed on vinyl. Time has only ripened its tapestry of regal strangeness. Arranged sequentially in tribute to the equinoxes and solstices, Moon's Milk captures Coil at a revelatory crossroads, leaning deeper into improvisation, spontaneity and sound design. 'Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull' initiates the proceedings on 'Spring Equinox', a two-part netherworld organ seance woven from vocal drones, cathedral keys, seasick strings, and opiated undertow. From there, 'Summer Solstice' skews lighter but no less incantational, with Balance embracing his voice- as-instrument across lucid dream torch songs ('Bee Stings'), purgatorial spoken word ('Glowworms/Waveforms'), sultry chamber pieces ('Summer Substructures'), and falsetto ravings ('A Warning From The Sun (For Fritz)'.