Review: Milan's Radko first appeared a few years back on Enfant Terrible with the Cherno PPP / Brutalista ?(7') and finally resurfaces with this full-length for sublabel Gooiland Elektro titled The Dirt On Caligula. Described as darker, harsher and more daring, the album takes you deeper into their industrial sound. Opener 'Hip Dork' is a contorted kind of techno derivative that lunges straight for the jugular, while the paranoid and dystopian atmosphere created on 'Manfria' sets the scene in dark ambient style before unleashing a barrage of electro beats. Over on the flip, the gloomy vocal cut 'Leper Colony' takes influences from darkwave, ending with the punishing and abrasive grind of 'Volga' which is pitch black.
Review: Grand Central Records founder and Manchester mainstay Mark Rae is back with New Town Ghosts, a powerful novel four years in the making that is set during the sweltering summer of 1976. This emotionally rich coming-of-age story is told through the eyes of ten-year-old boys navigating friendship, responsibility, and growing up and is paired with a nostalgic soundtrack of ten original songs performed in four-part harmony with strings, horns, choir and live instrumentation. The music evokes the warmth of a radio playing in a sun-drenched garden with themes of nature, wheels (ie via skateboards, wheelchairs and prams) and youthful rebellion echo throughout.
Review: Mute began reissuing some classic albums from Recoil last year and already they have vanished so this is another pressing of one of their best - from former Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder. 2000's Liquid is thought to be one of his best works as he delves into dark and involving electronic worlds with its hypnotic and deeply charged charm. Its moods - desire, fury, and violence - are paired with self-reflection that encourages you to go deep inside yourself while listening. There are haunting and ghoulish moments of intensity like 'Strange Hours' next to more soothing trip-hop cuts like 'Breath Control'.
The Biggest, Loudest, Hairiest Group Of All (3:52)
Femme Fatale (3:47)
All Tomorrow's Parties (3:08)
Janitor Of Lunacy (4:06)
Review: This broadcast was first aired on French TV having been recorded at the Bataclan club in Paris, on January 29, 1972. It got a first official release in 2004 having been bootlegged for many years before that from a recording taken from the sound board at the gig. Fans of The Velvet Underground will know that this was the first time the group members Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico had all been up on stage together.
Review: Indie-pop miserbalists REM are indeed rock legends and this live album from Santa Monica back in 1991 - a time when lead singer Michael Stipe still had hair, it is interesting to note - is the perfect example of why. It's an electric set that takes in many of the American band's most iconic tunes, from the wonderful dour 'Losing My Religion' which is perfect lo-fi and ramshackle here, the dark meditation that is 'Half A World Away' and even a cover in the form of 'Love Is All Around'. A great reminder of a great band.
Review: Leather jackets? Check. Sunglasses? Check. A bevvy of stomping anthems? Oh, that's a double check. From the ashes of previous project Home Alone, Italian Ramones worshippers Retarded debuted their retro brand of punk madness in 1998 before their self-titled debut would arrive the following year. Over two decades later, the album has only grown in underground popularity, with Rolling Stone magazine even branding the record as one of the best Italian punk albums of the 90s. Complete with an exclusive bonus track and a polished double-sided insert, there's never been a more ideal time to rediscover an underappreciated gem and add a questionably titled release to your punk wax shelflife.
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