New releases last two weeks: Coldwave/Synth

Review: We've all been party to solo material by seminal UK shoegaze sorts Ride's guitarist Andy Bell, but what about their bassist? Not so much. Well, that's about to change. Enter the brooding debut solo album from Ride's low-end maestro Steve Queralt. A largely instrumental affair, there's elements of shoegaze and darkly textured soundscapes. Plus there's guest appearances from more 90s legends: Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing) and Verity Susman (Electrlane, MEMORIALS) grace the album. Anderson sings on the pummeling lead single 'Lonely Town', which was launched with an aptly monochrome meditative montage of a music video. Given the power of this debut, we suspect this nine-song collection is the first of many solo albums to come, from a musician who has nothing to prove, but plenty to express.