Today Only: Leftfield sale vinyl

Review: Alex Israel's new 'Uncertainty Manipulated' release on Somnambulant Drift features generative music he has crafted by "building elements of arbitrary length that work together melodically but do not correspond in time. As the individual components replay, they overlap coincidentally, resulting in music that makes itself." The result is four tracks of sublime and escapist ambient with no beginning and no end but plenty of heart-aching piano chords, harp strums, hazy drones, mindful synth smears and meditative moods that offer comfort but also encourage inward reflections. It's a perfect coming together of man, machine and absorbing minimalism.

Review: The Midnight's latest Heroes is a stark display of the musical evolution of the New York duo. A band that started as a synth heavy proposition, extensive touring across the globe (including a headline at London's Brixton Academy) and the desire not to repeat themselves in creative terms has led to the bigger vision and wider appeal of what their label calls "fully-realised, arena-worthy songs".
Heroes is the final part in a trilogy of albums that started with 2018's Kids, followed in 2020 by Monsters. "For me, Kids is self-knowledge, Monsters is self-love, and then Heroes is empathy," said singer Tyler Lyle. "I got into depth psychology and this idea of aetiology, the way a human forms. The world doesn't get better but we do. We grow into ourselves. We grow into our voice."
Still, Heroes remains definitely more a case of evolution than revolution - there's still more than a hint of the gorgeous synth sounds in evidence, but with a lyrical maturity and smartness that gives even its most pop moments an unexpected twist.

Review: Vocalist and poet Roger Robinson has connected with Jabu producer Amos for this new single which finds them explore new grounds. After their fuzzy lovers rock outing last time out, here they head off into space with more cosmic and zoned out sounds full of intimate and slo mo grooves. 'Summer' goes first and is a blissed out cut with ambient pads and lonely piano keys encouraging you to get lost in deep thought. 'Feel Bad Smile' is even more of a cosy late night cuddle, with spoken word mutterings and lingering notes breaking your heart each and every time.