Review: Southend's These New Puritans have a rare ability to create goosebump-inducing music. A big part of is is Jack Barnett's voice, which is truly up there with the likes of Thom Yorke and Hayden Thorpe's in terms of being able to tug at the heartstrings and create grandiose spellbinding atmospheres. Plus, the arrangements that accompany it are of elite level and taste. This new album is their fifth studio album since forming in 2006 and offers plenty in the way of diversity. 'A Season In Hell' is a wild mix of industrial, organ music, trip-hop and choir sounds. Elsewhere, 'Bells' is less intense and let's the atmosphere form gradually and luxuriously. If you want a record to properly blow your socks off, let it be this.
Review: Amongst fans of the late Coil member (and prolific electronic experimentalist) Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson, the Amulet album has long been spoken of in hushed tones. The second and final set he recorded as The Threshold Houseboys Choir, it was recorded in 2008 and only available at gigs (or via mail-order) in a "hand-made four mini-CDR package housed in a circular Thai amulet case". This, then, is the set's first "proper" release, with the material now stretched across two CDs. Reminiscent of some of Coil's more colourful and polished works of the early-to-mid 1990s, much of the material on Amulet blurs the boundaries between ambient, dub, trip-hop and downtempo psychedelia, sitting somewhere between vintage Orb albums and the more out-there escapades of Future Sound of London.
Review: London-based Australian vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Penelope Trappe has always made immersive, enveloping and deeply atmospheric that sidesteps convention. It was that uniquely haunting and emotive approach to ambient and electronica that earned her deals with Optimo Music and Houndstooth, amongst others. Now signed to One Little Independent, Trappes has pushed the boat out further on Requiem, a mournful and bittersweet musical meditation in which her distinctively sweet-but-drowsy vocals rise above manipulated cello textures, hushed field recordings, ambient textures and intriguing electronic sounds aplenty. It's bold, beautiful and at times breathtakingly brilliant, once again marking Trappes out as an artist with a genuinely unique musical vision.
Review: Past Inside The Present label head and ambient powerhouse zake and Tyresta follow up their recent and well-received The Worlds We Leave Behind with Jade, a companion album that expands on previous themes in three long-form tracks. It's a deep blending of pregnant drones and delicate details that is typically organic and analogue. 'Jade No. 1' layers analogue textures that make for a comforting, melancholic embrace, while 'Jade No. 2' features more fractured melodies and natural sounds that bring a sense of peace and calm. The third cut, 'Waiting For the Light,' is a lofty one with soft synths and orchestral gravitas that with the other two pieces make for a contemplative and reflective listen.
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