Review: Swedish pop legends ABBA seem to be as talked about these days as ever, largely down to the fact that the holographic stage show proved such a huge success with all those who continue to pack it out in the capital. They were very much at the peak of their powers back in 1981 when The Visitors, their eighth studio album, arrived. It actually saw the group move away from their super light and airy and catchy pop of previous works and enter more mature and complex musical worlds. The fact that Benny and Frida had recently split up coloured some of the tunes such as 'When All Is Said And Done' and even topical Cold War themes were explored.
Review: Modular synthesizer fetishist Luke Abbott apparently got the inspiration for this sophomore set during time spent as the "musician in residence" at the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire back in 2012. Named after a piece of woodland close by, it sees Abbott using live analogue electronics to try and create a "natural life cycle" over the album's nine tracks. Interestingly, it differs from his impressive debut album in a number of ways; while Holkham Drones touched on krautrock, drone and intense ambience, Wysing Forest doffs a cap to spiritual jazz, Terry Riley and ambient explorer Pete Namlook. It's a beguiling set, all told, and one that constantly veers between crunchy bursts of intense IDM and becalmed, breathtaking ambience.
Review: This is a deluxe reissue of a real pop classic from back in 1997. ABC is a group that traces its origins back to Vice Versa, a Sheffield band formed in 1977 by Stephen Singleton and Mark White. They released the Music 4 EP after founding Neutron Records and Martin Fry, creator of the fanzine Modern Drugs, interviewed Vice Versa before later joining as synth player. By 1980, the band transformed into ABC, with Fry assuming lead vocals. The lineup included Fry, Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17, and Keith Lowndes. Though their debut album received acclaim from critics, it didn't achieve widespread commercial success. Despite this, ABC's fusion of pop and electronic elements laid the groundwork for their future iconic sound.
Review: To the delight of the 80s synth-pop faithful holding on to the decade prior, Martin Fry revived ABC in 1997 after a five-year hiatus. It's noticeable that Fry wasn't interested in repeating old tricks though, as he took the band in a new direction alongside Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory without losing that keen sense of songwriting magic that made ABC so popular the first time around. Loaded with emotionally charged reflections on life, the universe and everything, this is a welcome pressing on blue and white marble vinyl which is limited to 1000 copies.
Review: Raw post-punk trio Abdomen trade in the heavier end of the genre unafraid to douse distortion and fuzz onto everything and create music so exciting it would be hard not to want to throw yourself into a circle put for, 'Damage Tool' is a breathtaking way to get things started and 'Numbers' makes Fontaines DC sound like Boyzone. They are capable of slowing down - 'Dazed' has been slowed into a hypnotic Spacemen 3-esque psych/shoegaze jam. The band are relative newcomers and not widely known... yet. But this is going to be one of those albums you'll be kicking yourself for not having a first pressing of. Abdomen is only going to get bigger and it will give the Tapetown studio in Aarhus, Denmark - where they recorded this - more bragging rights for being among the coolest alternative music spaces in Europe.
Review: Sama' Abdulhadi is a DJ who very proudly represents her Palestinian roots and is the first artist from her homeland to break out onto the international stage. She has a passion for sound design and has famously been arrested and jailed for eight days for desecrating a religious site when she played a set, with permission, at Nabi Musa. Her entry into the legendary fabric series is a doozy with emotive techno and cavernous deep house from the likes of Michael Klein, Carbon & Peter Groskreutz and Acid Arab as well as her own cut 'Well Fee' (feat Walaa Sbait).
Luniz - "I Got 5 On It" (feat Michael Marshall - Tethered mix From US)
Review: Composer Michael Abels and Oscarr winner Jordan Peele have hooked up plenty of times on the big screen before, and this is another hugely successful partnership. Us was released in March 2019 and is an original nightmare that is set in present-day Santa Cruz on the Northern California coast. Lupita Nyong'o and Black Panther's Winston Duke star and the score features many highlights such as a 30-person choir, ten of them kids, on 'Anthem', while plenty of Eastern European instruments, violins and percussion were also employed. 1995 hip-hop anthem 'I Got 5 On It' by Luniz is also included and never fails to stand out.
John Abercrombie & Jack DeJohnette - "Unshielded Desire" (9:39)
Dave Holland - "Jamala" (2:42)
Jack DeJohnette - "Sorcery I" (7:54)
Review: Gateway by John Abercrombie is a captivating journey through the realms of modern jazz fusion, featuring Abercrombie's masterful guitar work alongside Dave Holland's silky-smooth bass and Jack DeJohnette's dynamic drumming. Seamlessly blends traditional and progressive jazz elements, Abercrombie's compositions showcase intricate band interplay, with tracks like 'May Dance' and 'Jamala' highlighting the trio's ability to shape melodies around each other's instrumentation. Holland's bass provides a solid foundation, grounding Abercrombie's exploratory guitar solos, while DeJohnette's drumming adds texture and depth to the ensemble. Abercrombie's experimental approach to guitar sounds, as seen in 'Sorcery 1,' adds a unique dimension to the album, enhancing its dissonant yet accessible nature. Overall, Gateway offers a rewarding listening experience for jazz and music lovers.
Review: Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Abberation are the latest in a new breed of abyssal depth dwellers plumbing the cavernous realms of extreme metal to provide the type of sonic horror more in line with Lovecraftian cosmic terror than, say, slasher movies. Following on from their punishing 2021 self-titled EP, the band's debut album Refracture weaves hyper-dense, virtuoso technicality with avant-garde compositional approaches, in order to audibly concoct the musical equivalent to falling endlessly through the void. Featuring members of Void Rot, Suffering Hour and Nothingness, their fluid cohesion marks a triumph for the modern scene of USDM, and implores listeners to surrender rather than mosh and allow the insidious sonic meanderings to enlighten and horrify in equally transcendent measure.
Review: UK artist David Duncan recorded only one EP as Ability II and it recently got reissued and soon snapped up. Now, much to the delight of fans of the man behind the classic tune 'Pressure Dub' he is back. This album features an exclusive collection of tunes he made back in his heyday in the 90s, none of which were released at the time, and none of which you will have ever heard before anywhere. They feature his signature sound designs across seven cuts that sound as futuristic now as they ever could as they combine jacked-up house, techno and tech into scintillating and dub-weighted sounds for the club.
Review: Jazz Room reissue the infamous first mini-album by Abacothozi. Formed in 1973 by bassist Berthwel Maphumulo, Mac Mathunjwa on organ, Innocent Mathunjwa on drums, Joe Zikhali on guitar, Thema Maboneng was released in 1975, before being almost immediately forgotten. However, a recent rediscovery by diggers and curators Kon & Amir, for their lauded Off The Track Volume Two: Queens compilation, sparked a renewed interest; the South African four-piece shared equal responsibility in writing and arranging these six instrumentals, which are tight and full, and come replete with Hammonds, well-surrounded guitar, and cross-sticking snare hits.
Review: An about-face is a complete and utter change in direction; it's this sonic capriciousness that the producer, whose namesake is drawn from the word, finds solace in, and wishes to welcome. Following a period of exploring theta wave and hemi-sync techniques - don't ask us, we're still not sure - the artist also known as Le Sculpteur d'Esprit (the Mind Sculptor) is said to have touched down in this dimension with the ambition to transport listeners through at least four portals of altered consciousness; each of these are intended as thought-worlds in which interactive sculptures, evoked through sound alone, are revealed in the listeners' collective mind. From opener 'Le Tournesol (The Sunflower)' to closer 'L'il De L'elephant ('The Elephant Eye'), these are thoroughly well-sound-designed sonic lemni-scapes, bringing complex sets of progressive builds and electro-spirituals to an awestruck form; immaculately experimental, the record would sound well at home on an Invisible Inc. or Cascine tape.
Aboutface: Small Hands & Feet In The Sand Show You The Great Illusion (feat Taro) (7:54)
Aboutface: Coutata Couyata Save Couyata (feat Taro) (13:01)
Aboutface: We Flee Whilst The Wild Smoking Horses Swim Among Us (12:19)
Aboutface: The Water That Glows Like Dancing Glass Cuts Crimson (feat Taro) (11:19)
Review: A master of sonic art, music, photography, sound for images, and conceptual performances, Ben Kelly's Aboutface project has found favour with some serious tastemakers, and if this is your first visit to his vivid, trance-inducing world, it shouldn't be that hard to understand why without going much further into the back catalogue. Not that we don't implore you to do just that.
Opening on 'Small Hands & Feet In the Sand Who You The Great Illusion', the penchant for long titles should already be clear. As such a deft ability to make tunes that are lush, peaceful and packed with meditate qualities. But anyone expecting this to be all tranquility should think again, 'We Flee Whilst the Wild Smoking Horses Swim Among Us' layers spirals of sound and refrains in such a way you feel the energy rippling from its arrangement, while 'The Water That Glows' is a joyous, leftfield downtempo-into-neo-dnb outing. Exceptional.
Review: It's fair to say Placelessness is the work of an Australian experimental supergroup. Oren Ambarchi has been a towering figure of hyper-minimalism since the mid-80s, most notably creating tense and elongated stretches of recordings and performance using guitar tone. Robbie Avenaim is an accomplished experimental drummer, and Chris Abrahams heads up The Necks. That's a very condensed biography for three incredibly accomplished musicians who finally make good on years of live collaborations and criss-crossed pathways to deliver a stunning album which brings their respective qualities into sharp relief, somehow fuller than their solo efforts without losing the vital subtlety and patience which has guided them to greatness.
Review: Gracie Abrams returns with the deluxe edition of her sophomore album The Secret of Us (Deluxe), released via Interscope Records, now available on a special "moonlight" 2xLP vinyl. This release is her most expansive work yet, both sonically and narratively. Adding fan favourites like 'That's So True' and 'I Love You, I'm Sorry (Live From Vevo)' to the 20-track project, Abrams showcases her growth as a songwriter and vocalist. Collaborating again with Aaron Dessner and her best friend Audrey Hobert, the album captures the urgency and raw emotion of her live experiences over the past year.
Review: Gracie Abrams' new single 'Risk from her upcoming album The Secret Of Us displays her continued evolution as an artist. Known for her connections to Aaron Dessner and Taylor Swift, Abrams is now infusing her indie pop sound with touches of the rootsy style popularized by artists like Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan. Co-written with Audrey Hobert and produced by Dessner, 'Risk' features Abrams' signature trembling vocals and glassy soundscapes, paired with frank, conversational lyrics. The song captures the intensity of a crush that feels like a breakup. The accompanying video, directed by Hobert, is a standout, showing Abrams in a more playful light. Expect this album to do well in the pop charts and on radio with her mainstream direction.
Review: Gracie Abrams' The Secret of Us is a stunning sophomore album that showcases her growth as a songwriter and vocalist. Building on the success of her debut, Gracie delivers her most expansive work yet, both sonically and narratively. Teaming up with longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner and best friend Audrey Hobert, Gracie infuses each track with urgency and emotion, drawing from her live experiences over the past year. The result is a collection of songs that feels deeply personal and authentic, capturing the essence of shared moments and intimate conversations. From start to finish, The Secret of Us is a arresting listen that highlights Gracie's evolution as an artist and leaves you eagerly anticipating what she'll do next.
Review: Both of Joshua Abrams first two albums have been reissued this month, and this is the debut from 2010. At the time the artist said it was written with a view to countering "the commodification of time and the diminishing attention span that accompanies it by offering music with an irresistible groove, rooted in the sinuous rhythms of the human body and the full play of our senses." He sure pulled it off with elan across six tracks built around his own playing of the guimbri, a North African three-stringed bass lute. This is intoxicating, non linear avant-jazz that is utterly meditative.
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