Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Originally conceived in 2019 during a tour with industrial hardcore purveyors Uniform, Japanese psychedelic noise-rock juggernauts Boris would invite their co-conspirators on stage to reimagine the trio's classic "Akuma no Uta" as part of their encore, with the resulting chemistry inspiring both acts to begin crafting a fully collaborative album. Many years of exchanging ideas from one home studio base to another has finally bore fruit in the form of the hideous yet glorious Bright New Disease. Combining almost every nuance of each group's genre-less machinations, the project swells and extends in every sonic direction from harsh walls of screeching noise to retrofitted Japanese D-beat hardcore, with time in between for aquatic, shoegazing serenity and mechanized industrial venom.

Review: Celebrating its 30th anniversary this Record Store Day, 'Original Soundtracks 1' is a bold, imaginative collaboration between British ambient pioneer Brian Eno and Irish band U2 under the moniker Passengers. Blurring the line between ambient experimentation and cinematic storytelling, the album features 15 tracks that were all conceived as soundtracks for fictional films. Highlights include the haunting 'Miss Sarajevo' with Luciano Pavarotti and contributions from Howie B and Holi and this remastered anniversary edition comes on recycled black vinyl. An adventurous 1995 release that stands up now as an atmospheric, genre-blurring work and a rare and inspired detour in U2's discography.

Review: Univers Zero's new album follows the lineage of its ten-years-older predecessor Phosphorescent Dreams, originally released only on CD in Japan in 2014, and reissued as an LP on the Sub Rosa label in 2019. Lueur is the fruit of two years' work and reflection, the foundations of which were laid by Daniel Denis (keyboards, drums, percussion...), then enriched by the contributions of Nicolas Dechene (guitars), Kurt Bude (clarinet / bass clarinet) and Nicolas Denis (bass, percussion, vocals), all three present on this new project. With this reduced line-up, Lueur offers a dense journey, rooted in the balance between power and calm, raging and serene sound. A balance struck between complex arrangements and more contemplative moments, this album continues the avant-rock tradition of Univers Zero, and features both long and short pieces, vacillating between electronic, tribal and haunting hallmarks.

Review: Unsane's self-titled debut album was made instantly famous for its inclusion of a horrifically gory image on its front cover. It's a time-honoured method of achieving quick success, if the blueprint provided by Norwieigan church-burners Mayhem was anything to go by. Let's not let that distract us, though, because this isn't black metal. Rather than bathing in atmosphere, Unsane embraces noise, distorted vocals, classic rock progressions, doomy riffs, and fill-heavy rhythm tracks. Officially reissued in 2022 but flying off our shelves now, be sure to catch this utmost-quality remaster while you still can.

Review: Founded in Tumwater and Olympia, the latter, amazingly, is the Washington state capital, Unwound enjoyed 14 years of unfettered creativity between 1988 and 2002, and yet you'd probably struggle to find many outside the US, even in rock clubs, that would cite them in a list of favourites. Thankfully, A Single History presents the case for reappraisal this group deserve. Not that they ever wanted to court attention and reverence. Often categorised as post-hardcore, Unwound make the kind of angular, gritty, dissonant rock that celebrates unusual guitar tones, walls of sound, and garage-y rhythms. There are elements here that betray just how much they helped paint the scene into which grunge emerged, there's plenty owed to punk in the truest sense, while the pared back minimalism contrasting louder moments speaks to post punk and art rock. Analysis aside, it's all just so good.