Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Menacing EBM and dark synth billows from a Netherlands hinterland; our heralds speak of an esoteric encampment by the name of Espectro Oculto, said to be the remote incantators of an unstoppable curse in sound. Six shadowy emissaries have been sent to spread the pestilence; Trenton Chase, Martial Canterel, DJ Nephil, Exhausted Modern, Fragedis and Happy707. Clearly, the faction have recruited only the best, trusted and yet most nefarious of spies from as far-flung regions as Czechia and Argentina in the administering of such a sordid sonic plague. We're left most quivery at the centrifugal doom drones of Exhausted Modern's 'Fear Of Focus', across whose breakdown banshees are heard wailing and snarling, and Fragedis' 'Landing In Reality', a lo-fi techno freakout and sonochemical anomaly, channeling militant two-way radio samples and hellish FM synthesis.

Review: Ensemble Modern and experimental, Berlin-based music composer and sound artist Hainbach come together for Primer, an album sourced from their 2022 Checkpoint concert and reworked in the studio with bassist Paul Cannon. The record transforms their fine live performance into a rich, immersive home listening experience with Hainbach's signature use of nuclear research gear, tape loops and vintage electronics weaving haunting, ever-shifting textures throughout. As such the pieces pulse with a sonic spark that captures the spirit of experimentation and collaboration and is taps into plenty of avant-garde thinking in its approach to drone and ambient.

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


]Nathan Haines, the renowned New Zealand musician, unveils his 11th studio album, marking his first solo venture since 2014. Known for his talents of saxophone, flute, and composition across jazz, electronic and dance genres, Haines melds his signature jazz sound with vibrant electronic and disco influences on Notes. This labor of love began years ago in collaboration with the late UK producer Phil Asher, whose influence permeates the album despite his passing during its creation. Featuring guest vocalists like UK soul-diva Vanessa Freeman and emerging talents Ajuna Oakes, Ruby Cesan, La Coco, and EO, Notes showcases a diverse range of voices intertwined with Haines's own instrumental strength. With contributions from bassist Jkriv and electronic jazz innovator Mark de Clive-Lowe, alongside beats by Marc Mac and acoustic bass by his father Kevin, the album is full of spirit and musical evolution. Frank Booker's production on three tracks adds depth, while the acoustic rendition of Rare Silk's 'Storm,' featuring vocalist Rachel Clarke, stands out as a poignant artistic highlight.

Review: Russell Haswell brings Deep Time, marking his sixth release on Diagonal following a productive 2024, which included the 4x12" compilation 13, on top of a UK-wide tour. Deep Time spans a vast influential range, reflecting Haswell's diverse background in computer music, black metal, noise, techno, and improvisation. Deep Time explores all from geopolitical tension to the incomprehensible scale of time itself, drawing sublime inspiration from his solo trips to the Scottish Hebrides and the rock formations glimpsable there. Album highlight 'Unconformity' references James Hutton's geological discovery and its connection to the Earth's history, with typography for the album sleeve designed by MuirMcNeil.

Review: Following on from 2023's acclaimed debut full-length All Gas No Brakes, Bristolian noise-punks Heavy Lungs return with the definition of an antithetical sophomore LP with Caviar. Clocking in at under 30 minutes (significantly less than their initial outing) and recorded live in dingy church rehearsal spaces to capture the unhinged intensity of their live performances, this is the sound of a band vehemently disinterested with mainstream appeal, exposure or playing the game by any terms apart from their own. While vocalist Danny Nedelko would be the named subject of one of the biggest singles from fellow Bristol natives Idles' 2018 breakout second album Joy As An Act Of Resistance, where his peers have expanded their sound and embraced myriads of melody, Heavy Lungs are poignantly going the opposite route, full speed towards oblivion with only chaos and anarchy on their collective minds.

Review: Some 37 haiku poems are given an avant-garde, 64-minute musical backing with translations from poet Harry Gilonis, on this unique project by composer and multi-instrumentalist Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow) and vocalist Atsuko Kamura. We hear a vignetting lingual interplay, with lines in English by Hodgkinson sung in Japanese by Kamura, as a wide instrumental span covers percussions, violin, viola, harp, clarinets, guitars and electronics result. Recorded between Tokyo and London, the album offers a startlingly satisfying sonic renga (a Japanese poetic form encompassing a succession of haikus), lending the brevity of classic haiku an expansive, stretched-out prosthesis. From the 17th through to the 20th-century, this is a subduing but still irregular experience, as it formally demonstrates the laconic and aphoristic essence of the haiku.

Review: Trumpeter Chris Ryan Williams and cellist Lester St. Louis form HxH (H by H) are a boundary-pushing electroacoustic duo who work with acoustic instruments and electronics in real-time. Their debut album, released on KMRU's label OFNOT captures their expansive, sculptural sound, and it is one rooted in jazz, noise, classical and Black experimental traditions. Drawing comparisons to Sun Ra or Laurel Halo, their music is fluid, unpredictable and emotionally resonant. Tracks like 'Pyrex Vision' and 'BEACH' showcase a dynamic interplay between form and freedom and are influenced by visual artists like Torkwase Dyson. HxH's sonic world is both daring and intimate and is an ever-shifting architecture of sound.