Review: Cocteau Twins' musical mastermind Robin Guthrie has produced some terrific solo records over the course of his career, frequently delivering material that joins the dots between ambient, ethereal soundscapes, shoegaze and the more immersive end of the soundtrack spectrum. 'Astoria' is the latest volume in the Scottish multi-instrumentalist and producer's ongoing EP series (its predecessor, 'Mountain', dropped in September). It's another typically gorgeous and enveloping affair in which effects-laden guitar motifs, gaseous ambient chords, gentle rhythms, ghostly aural textures and slowly shifting melodies combine to create instrumental sound worlds of rare beauty (if not sonic clarity - Guthrie's use of reverb and delay is liberal, which adds to its atmospheric nature but adds extra layers of attractively wide-eyed haziness).
Review: Robin Guthrie's Atlas is a four-track EP showcasing new instrumentals that gently reintroduce listeners to his distinctive world. Known for shaping genres with his production and signature guitar sounds, Guthrie famously co-founded and produced for Cocteau Twins. With over four decades of musical influence, he's produced, remixed, and collaborated across various projects, from instrumental albums to movie soundtracks and Atlas serves as a tantalising preview of what's to follow later this year, namely more of Guthrie's evocative sounds that will no doubt continue his legacy of pushing boundaries.
Review: The 1986 sonic pentad by Diamanda Galas, Saint Of The Pit, is the second of two records forming the devised, pestilent occult rite - in her terms, the "plague mass" - known as the Masque Of The Red Death. In clairvoyant dialogue with the first part (The Divine Punishment), both records, in symbiosis, are said to possess an innate correctitude, with saintly playback "possible at maximum volume only." When we oblige by Galas' command, we find ourselves thickly immersed in the kind of sonic esoterics that only the most adept of oneiromancers might be able to swallow and integrate into their mantic: waspish whispers, dulotic dirges, heathen hums. Galas' episcope is a dissenting, idolatrous projection in sound and vision, with 'Artemis' and 'Deliver Me' spanning red-robed, sectarian vocal operatics, not to mention their backing, low-noted, open piano chord strikes. The *eschaton* of the record is, of course, is its quintessential fifth star-point: 'Cris D'aveugle (Blind Man's Cry)', on which Galas, the occult visionary, profanes the lyrical votive candle wax with blasphemous talk of nailed eyes and desecrated caskets.
Review: Elliot Galvin is a leading figure in UK jazz with four solo albums that have topped year-end lists in respected media outlets. He is also a member of the Mercury-nominated Dinosaur and has collaborated with key jazz cats such as Shabaka Hutchings, Emma-Jean Thackray and Norma Winstone. Known for his improvisational prowess, his latest solo album taps into that skill once more and is an entirely improvised record that takes in quiet beauty like the opener, more theatric drama on 'Still Under Storms' and world jazz sounds on 'High & Wide'.
Review: Lee Gamble is an artist who excels in delivering post-modern music with a strong sense of sentiment and history. Just look at his breakthrough Diversions 1994-1996, in which the ambient threads in first wave jungle were blown out into grandiose chasms of sound. On this latest album, he's taking a similar approach to source material, but this time the focus is on pop earworms in which all kinds of emotive, catchy sonics get dissolved and reformed into vast, unpredictable shapes. Vitally, the emotional dimension is maintained no matter how unrecognisable the original samples are, as Gamble continues his fascinating path forwards and backwards through time.
Review: Gastr del Sol might have gone their separate ways some 25 years ago, but they have recently taken the time to dig back into their fine archives. As a result they now serve up an alternate view of their superb, boundary breaking and genre busting run between 1993 and 1998 with a title box set, We Have Dozens Of Titles, on Drag City. Returning like a reverberating bolt from the blue, this album reignites the essence of the group and immerses listeners back into the whirlwind of their transformative era. It comprises previously uncaptured studio recordings and meticulously preserved unreleased live performances that all offer a captivating glimpse into the band's journey.
Review: We Have Dozens of Titles by Gastr Del Sol is a treasure trove for fans, offering a glimpse into the experimental post-rock pioneers' journey from their Bastro roots to their groundbreaking work as Gastr Del Sol. This collection, curated from their 1993-1998 recordings, shows their evolution into sonic explorers, pushing the boundaries of post-rock with influences from musique concrete and free improv. The unearthed CBC recording from Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in 1997 is a highlight, featuring ethereal versions of familiar tracks like 'The Seasons Reverse' and 'Blues Subtitled No Sense of Wonder.''The live rendition of "Onion Orange' is a revelation, with Jim O'Rourke's kosmische synth waves intertwining seamlessly with David Grubbs' intricate guitar work. Additionally, the inclusion of rarities like 'The Harp Factory On Lake Street' and tracks from various compilations adds depth to the collection. Each track, whether a live performance or a studio recording, has been meticulously mastered or remastered by O'Rourke, enhancing the listening experience. We Have Dozens of Titles not only fills in gaps in Gastr Del Sol's discography but also exemplifies their innovative approach to music-making.
Estelita (with Astrid Williamson & Daniel Johns) (3:56)
In Exile (6:05)
The Sea Whisperer (4:20)
Become (with Patrick Cassidy) (2:31)
Seven Seas (with Astrid Williamson & Daniel Johns) (4:56)
Abwoon (with Patrick Cassidy) (3:52)
Serenity (3:24)
Wandering Star (2:28)
Whispers (3:35)
Of Love Undone (with Marcello De Francisci) (3:40)
Review: Australian vocalist and modern classical composer Lisa Gerrard presents Come Tenderness, a compilation inspired by the healing essence of water. Personally curated by Golden Globe winner Lisa herself, this album packs in ten of her most powerful tracks, all newly mastered, alongside the fresh track 'Whispers.' Each piece takes on renewed depth within this cohesive collection and the record is enriched by striking artwork from Nigel Grierson. Known for her collaborations, Come Tenderness features work with Daniel Johns, Astrid Williamson and Patrick Cassidy, all elevated by Lisa's ethereal vocals from a career that spans from her beginnings with Dead Can Dance to recent scores for Dune.
Review: Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell have reimagined their much loved 2021 collaboration Burn in an all new live arena. One Night in Porto was recorded whilst on tour in Portugal towards the end of 2022 and found the pair doing a fine job of recreating the Burn album in a live setting. Rather than try to simply serve it up in recognisable form, they instead used its melodic themes and sonic textures as a starting point to head off into new worlds. After four days of rehearsals they took it on the road and as this recording on the third of the four dates shows, it was a great success.
Review: Two years ago, long-term musical collaborators Jules Maxwell and Lisa Gerrard, who first worked together during the latter's time with 4AD signed musical mavericks Dead Can Dance, joined forces with James Chapman to create Burn, a critically acclaimed exploration of "euphoric and inventive" sounds that blurred the boundaries between neo-classical, world music and ambient electronica. One Night in Porto captures the pair's performance - ably assisted by Chapman and a small pool of supplementary musicians - of the album's widescreen tracks at Casa Da Musica in Porto last November. With Gerrard utilising her voice to the full - one minute, soaring and operatic, the next singing more sweetly and soulfully in an entirely different language - and Maxwell playing a grand piano and synthesisers, it's a stunningly atmospheric, uplifting and entertaining affair.
Derived From The Trout Mask In A Tentative Manner (4:41)
The Dissolution Of Time (8:55)
Abdication (5:02)
The Alphabet Of Steps (6:21)
Les Cycles Extatiques (6:51)
The Geometry Of Rhythmics (5:19)
At The Margin Of Moments (6:36)
Through The Deserts Of Postmodernity (9:32)
Stereometry Of Moving Bodies (6:25)
Suspecting Metaphysical Symbols (7:24)
Review: Another exceptional double album deep dive from Umor Rex mainstays Andreas Gerth and Carl Oesterhelt, respectively one-half of Driftmachine, and the artist who debuted with the landmark 11 Pieces for Synthesizer album. As ever, trying to summon adjectives to correctly describe what's here isn't easy, but let's give it a go anyway. Mysterious, dark, haunting, but also ultimately very beautiful - albeit often in a slightly chilling way - it's highly rhythmic patient stuff. A fitting title, it's hard not to picture tribalism, gatherings, premeditated practices and timeless traditions when becoming absorbed by the hypnotic contents here. It's transportive stuff, both in terms of time and place, era and style, a sense of loops and cycles being the real omnipresent thread here. Earthen ambient, strange factory floor downtempo, cinematic synths and more. The kind of record that's only possible when two people haul themselves up in a remote village with an abundance of instruments and see what happens.
Review: Dark Entries returns with Remote Dreaming, the ambient masterpiece by The Ghostwriters aka Philadelphia duo Buchla master Charles Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cain, with proceeds benefitting SOSA (Safe from Online Sex Abuse). Formed in 1971 as Anomali, the duo adopted their Ghostwriters moniker and blended improvisation with structured composition. Following their debut Objects in Mirrors Are Closer Than They Appear, they crafted Remote Dreaming over nine months across various studios. Cain played electric and acoustic pianos, the Juno 106, and the Mirage sampler, while Cohen used his Buchla 200 Series. This double LP has been freshly remastered and includes five additional tracks, four of which are previously unreleased.
Review: Michael Giacchino's score for 'Lost: Season 1' did plenty to add to the cult shows mystical appeal. Released originally in 2006 and now arriving via Craft across four sides of vinyl, the soundtrack weaves a rich tapestry of emotion, mystery and adventure with Giacchino's evocative compositions capturing the essence of the show's enigmatic island setting and enhancing the drama and suspense of each episode. The main theme, with its haunting strings and ethereal melodies, became synonymous with the series and contributed to its atmospheric allure. Giacchino's ability to create a musical landscape that mirrors the show's complexity makes this a standout soundtrack of its kind.
Review: Michael Giacchino, a decorated Academy Award-r winning composer, delivers a commanding yet tender score for J.A. Bayona's moving film The Society of the Snow. It recounts the harrowing true tale of the 1972 Uruguayan flight that crashed in the remote Andes, and the ensuing battle for survival. Amid despair, the film champions hope which is a sentiment echoed in Giacchino's emotionally charged score. Balancing poignancy with optimism, the music navigates a delicate path that amplifies the film's power. Bayona and Giacchino's collaboration yields a cinematic masterpiece that will surely resonate as one of the year's most compelling narratives.
Review: Gilroy Mere is one of many alter egos of Oliver Cherer, and when working under this moniker there's a predisposition for transport-themed things to happen. The last album, beautiful and beguiling The Green Line, had a rich, dark green vintage British train on the cover just in case the title wasn't enough. In the past, he's done things themed on bus routes. This time, the locomotive on the sleeve is red.
More so, Adlestrop is a reference to one of many UK railway stations axed in the brutal Beeching Act of the 1960s - a cull of small stations deemed unviable, cutting off many communities. The opener, a strange, almost medieval slice of birdsong, chant, and twinkling chimes, even reels off a list of others that were closed. From there, we go deeper into sounds and words that are as inspired by the idea of rural England and travel as they are the country's eccentricity, which is so commonly founding its leftfield electronic output.
Review: Glasbird is the project of British composer Harry Towell, owner of the ambient label Whitelabrecs. Beginning in 2018, he anonymously created A Sonic Expedition, an eight-album series inspired by remote locations like Greenland and Siberia. In 2024, Harry revealed his identity in an interview and then announced Fenscapes, an album inspired by the South Lincolnshire Fens near his village. These flat, marshy landscapes are rich in biodiversity and shaped his compositions. Harry explored local fen roads, observing wildlife and open vistas for inspiration and it all plays out in a bucolic, widescreen, immersive record of the highest quality.
Review: Danzig and Misfits mastermind Glenn Danzig stepped out solo for this superb cassette release that has had fans fawning. It's a suitably spectacular sequel to the first part of the Black Aria series that was originally released in 2006 and is seen as one of his most audacious ever works. It finds Danzig extends his band's already ambitious, classically-themed project with this time the infamous Lilith, the first wife of Adam, as the main theme. The cover is a super one that features an illustration by the well known Marvel comic artist Bill Sienkiewicz. All in all, a vital reissue of a metal classic.
Review: Glotman's new album is maybe this most introspective work. It's a deep dive into a world of tension and atmosphere, alive with cinematic soundscapes dreamt up deep within the heart and mind of the Berlin-based sonic experimenter Yair Elazar Glotman. The composer shows that he has great range here, from haunting worlds of slowly evolving drones to more visceral ambient churn that drags you into the midst of the tension. Tools used to create these sounds include double bass, vocals, guitar, modular synths and custom tape loops and it is a real triumph.
Review: Gnac is a project composer Mark Tranmer started in 1990 and The Echoes on Departure is his seventh album with this alias. He says he started this one soon after he finished his last one, Afternoon Frost, in 2021. It is a more electronic record than that one with some of his favourite chord progressions "and a few new ones." There is also the addition of a human voice on two tracks with Kathleen Stosch of Constant Follower on both Bittersweetness' and 'Until The Heart Stops.' Both are evocative centerpieces for this most lovely piano-led baroque waltz.
Review: GNOD, the ever-evolving psychedelic noise-rock collective, returns with Inner Fucking Peace, a transformative collaboration with Portuguese vocalist MC Sissi. Known for constantly reinventing their sound, GNOD delivers an album that pushes new boundaries. Comprised of eight tracks for voice and electronics, this release merges experimental textures with Sissi's stream-of-consciousness Portuguese lyrics. The album showcases a broad sonic palette, from the minimalist tuned percussion of 'Stop' to the ominous electronics and crashing industrial drums on 'Get Out', reminiscent of GNOD's touring partners Harrga. Tracks like 'Tea & Eggs' delve into reggaeton-infused minimal synth, while 'Flute Theme' centers around chopped and screwed woodwind arrangements. MC Sissi's contributions, often improvised, bring an emotional depth to the album. Her irate vocals, mournful crooning and playful autotune add a new dimension to GNOD's industrial beats and spaced-out synths. With tracks ranging from hypnotic hand drum workouts to the gloom-laden 'Cannela Crematoria', Inner Fucking Peace marks another bold, unpredictable chapter in GNOD's extensive discography, leaving fans eager for what's next.
Review: "So so beautiful" is apparently the phrase contemporary classical hero Ryuichi Sakamoto used to describe the work of Keith Kenniff, AKA Goldmund. The latter's latest, The Time It Takes, certainly fits that bill. A stunning, serene and quietly powerful collection of sonic stories that seem to tell tales of hope, heartbreak, love and loss without resorting to words.
Largely centred on Kenniff's deft piano skills, the keys act as focal points on which bigger and more ethereal arrangements hang. Tracks like 'Of No Other' and 'Day In Day Out' take the producer's minimalist spirit to heart, limiting the scale of background sounds to distant echoed refrains, while 'Memory Itself' and several others embrace the principles of drone ambient with arrangements that seem to develop without us ever noticing. A hushed epic, to say the least.
Review: The 1999 supernatural horror film The Haunting, gets a new life with its first-ever vinyl release of Jerry Goldsmith's unsettling score. This Deluxe Edition 2-LP set, featuring a Black/Gold/Gray swirl design, is adorned with fresh artwork by Sina Grace, adding a visually striking touch to the bone-chilling music. Goldsmith, a legendary composer with an extensive resume, was the ideal choice to create the film's soundscape. His music goes beyond typical horror tropes, weaving a tapestry of eerie, atmospheric tension that enhances the film's haunted narrative. Known for his work on iconic films like Alien, Chinatown, Star Trek and Poltergeist, Goldsmith brought his deep understanding of mood and emotion to The Haunting, crafting a score that feels both eerie and sophisticated. The score's haunting melodies and unsettling rhythms create a feeling of lurking danger, perfectly capturing the film's ghostly themes. Critics have praised the soundtrack for its ability to evoke fear and suspense without resorting to cliches. Having this soundtrack on vinyl, brings the soundtrack alive in an elevated way.
Review: To say there's a meditative quality to Golem Mecanique's third album would be like saying air is something we breathe. The nom de plume of French multi-instrumental Karen Jebane, the album title directly quotes the final comments made by Pier Paolo Pasolini in his last ever interview, given just days before his body was found on an Italian beach after being brutally murdered. "We are all in danger", he quipped. From what, or who, we are still trying to figure out, 50 years on. Siamo Tutti In Pericolo doesn't look to answer the great mystery of what happened to the great filmmaker and auteur. But it does look to feelings of tension, quiet unease, and opaque mystery for its incredibly atmospheric tomes. This is deep dive stuff, reliant on a combination of refrained notes, echoes, and sombre, spiritual voices inviting us to push through into some other state of consciousness. Whether that will shed any light on anything is, of course, the real question we need to answer.
Often They Came To Visit, Even Just To See How She Was (M1) (2:53)
In More Turbulent Times, She Managed To Take The Perfect Shot (M4) (2:13)
What's Really Important She Wanted To Know (M6) (part 1) (4:25)
What's Really Important She Wanted To Know (M6) (part 2) (3:49)
What's Up Is Not What's Real Most Of The Time (M5) (3:41)
When They Came Closer She Realised They Were Alien Creatures (M3) (3:48)
The Shine Of Gold Was Too Strong (M8) (3:27)
When She Curled Up They Started Dancing (M2) (2:48)
He Was Painting Her Face With Colours She Had Never Seen (M9) (1:11)
I Is One (M10) (4:06)
Review: This is the debut solo album by Italian-born, London-based composer, bassist and vocalist Ruth Goller. It was originally released in 2021 on Bex Burch's Vula Viel Records but quickly sold out with its detuned bass harmonics and dense vocal arrangements. Skylla introduced a sound both otherworldly and unplaceable and Goller's reputation soared as a result. That led to the critically acclaimed 2024 album Skyllumina on International Anthem while Skylla remains the genesis of her distinct style as it evokes the experimental energy of 1980s Downtown NYC or a Bjork-adjacent Icelandic project.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.