Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Lea Porcelain, the new wave retroverts from Frankfurt am Main could very well be the next big thing that you've never heard of. The original version of "Loose Life" itself is quite difficult to locate on the interwebs but we're sure it's hard to compete with local legend Roman Flugel's slow burning remix on offer here. Darmstadt's finest Benedikt Frey is onboard too, giving "Similar Familiar" a makeover that's as unique as pretty much all his other work: part techno, part cosmic or even industrial. It's brooding, wall of sound guitars and vocals drowned in reverb battle it out against pounding 909 snare attacks and screeching synth leads. Awesome!

Review: While in 2024 we're supposed to understand, acknowledge, hear and appropriately respond to the trials and tribulations playing out in minds across the world, in many ways driven by global events and the status quo system we have rather foolishly settled on, for the time being, Lebanon Hangover's hiatus-ending two-tracker - their first studio work since 2020 - opens with a clear message. "Life is full of wonder, it's better than going under." Perhaps not the most sensitive way of telling us to appreciate our lot, the track itself, which nods to Head On The Door-era Cure, is all melancholic chords and a feeling of dizzying, perhaps even manic despair alongside the comfort that comes with recognising the universal human condition. It's a joyful but slightly sinister lead. Flip it to find 'KYIV', an acoustic-ambient-Cocteau Twins-esque tribute to the sorrow and pain of Ukraine, and, by association, other war torn regions of the world.

Review: Definitely one for the collectors, Lime was Canadian duo (then husband and wife) Denis and Denyse LePage, and 'Angel Eyes' was originally the second single from their third studio album, 1983's Lime III. Almost 40 years later, the track has returned as a short form release, offering the original synth pop anthem, and a clubbier dub mix.

For many, though, not least Unidisc Canada, the label carrying this re-release, the major selling point is a remix - and something of a remodelling - courtesy of Turbo Recordings boss and dance music icon Tiga. Forsaking the rather smiley and bouncy original work, in favour of something grittier and altogether more dystopian, it's a masterclass of rough, gnarly broken electro, reworking and chopping vocals into disorientating loops, before finally introducing a kind of warehouse synth pop sound.