Search results: AAA

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corners of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent working condition***


Originally planned for release last year to mark the 50th anniversary of the album's creation, Gil Scott-Heron's most renowned full-length returns in stunning, audiophile quality sound. This time round, the album has been stretched across two discs, both of which have been pressed at 45rpm for louder sound. Created by Scott-Heron and musical sparring partner Brian Jackson with the assistance of producer Bob Thiele, Pieces of a Man remains an incredible album, with a string of classic cuts - think 'Home is Where The Hatred Is', 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' and 'Save the Children' - being joined by such lesser-celebrated delights as the fizzing 'Lady Day and John Coltrane', the blissful 'I Think I'll Call It Morning' and 'A Sign of the Ages'.

Review: Tofistock roster member Myki delivers a hat-trick of heaters on their latest and greatest EP yet, 'Eamu'. Whipping up a rave-thunderstorm on the A-sider, 'EEE' is filled with juggling rhythms, crunchy stabs, and silkily sneaky basslines. The elegantly rude B-side, 'AAA', meanwhile, hears samples from the timeless 'UFO' by ESG, not to mention the artist's own masterful trademarks. This boutique toolpack is an essential firestarter and the first in Tofistock's new "sense-floor" dance series.

Review: The Only Music Matters label is slowly but surely building up a fine head of steam as it now offers up a sixth EP in just a couple of years. As always it is an unknown artist behind these stripped-back and direct-to-dancefloor beats and each one goes long for over eight minutes. That playtime is well warranted, too, as 'AAA001A' is the sort of groove you never want to end: dry drums and hits and paddy bass that are tightly woven together into a hypnotic sonic tapestry. 'BBB001B' is a little more gritty and twitchy to fire those sleep-deprived after-party synapses while 'BBB002B' shuts down with some underlapping tech-house funk and tripped-out designs.

Review: New York punks Love Child first burst onto the early 90s scene in the same aeonic breath as Pavement, Sebadoh and Beat Happening. But despite the ignition and hype, their debut seven-inch and subsequent releases have remained long out of print until now. Never Meant to Be: 1988-1993 pulls from these releases and some unreleased radio sessions, unearthing a trove of lost gems by the quadrangle of Will Baum, Alan Licht, Rebecca Odes and Brendad O'Malley. The former obscurity is undeserved and the reissue deserved, as the climaxes on this record - from the garbly top-reg guitar solo on 'Know Its Alright' to the tape-warblings of 'Sofa' (through and despite which we can still make out its humourous lyrics) - are full of forceful punk rapace.

Review: Anyone who has been out dancing recently might well have already heard some of the cuts off this seventh drop from the Only Music Matters crew because it has had early support by [a:rpia:r]. We don't know who is behind the beats but they sure do know their way around a studio: 'AAA001A' is super silky minimal with deft claps and hits scattered over a smooth tech house beat with swirling vocals up top. 'BBB001B' then layers up off-grid hits and tumbling synths, glitchy percussion and a loopy beat into something that is loose yet dynamic and last of all 'BBB002B' takes off on a crushing groove with warped and smeared vocal samples adding some late night trippiness.

Review: 12",180g, Vinyl Only. Limited copies and no repess!

Review: With his new album Eating Late, punky techno producer Michael J Blood pares back the raucousness for a minute, reflecting the more relaxed corners of his vast, vignette-based sonic tapestry. Blood is one of those artists who revels in indulging many branching, seemingly raw ideas; and again on the likes of 'Try To Keep', 'Breathe Properly' and/or 'Swamptrix', it's clear that he's not messed around nor dawdled in converting these ideas from the pure idea stuff into quick, bottled tracks. Just when you thought Blood couldn't get any more adventurous, you're served everything from bleepy ambient to wonky beatsmithing to lo-fi techno to whacked-out megahertz-trawls, all on a neat 13-track platter.