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Few copies in stock with minor wear on sleeves, pictures can be sent upon request.
Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.
In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars).
The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where [Thurston] Moore, [Kim] Gordon and [Lee] Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world.”
Tracklisting:
1. C.B.
2. Green Love
3. Brother James
4. Kill Yr. Idols
5. “Mad” Groove
6. I Love Her (All The Time)
7. Expressway To Yr. Skull
8. Spahn Ranch Dance
9. “Blood On Brighton Beach”
10. Burning Spear
11. Death Valley ’69
12. Speed JAMC
13. Ghost Bitch
14. World Looks Red
15. The Word (E.V.O.L)
16. Brother Jam-Z
17. Killed And Kicked Off -
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Few copies in stock with minor wear on sleeves, pictures can be sent upon request.
Jlin’s detailed and meticulous exploration of rhythm’s inner and outer reaches has made her one of the most distinctive and recognisable voices within both the electronic and classical music worlds. Her compositions are consistently appealing and have an accessibility to them, yet often defy expectations. She exists within her own locus solus - no matter the collaborator, no matter where sounds ultimately lead her.
Whatever the situation – from composing the Pulitzer Prize shortlisted ‘Perspective’ for Third Coast Percussion, to ‘Godmother’ her AI-powered collaboration with Holly Herndon, Jlin always expresses her outlook to the fullest.
Her new album ‘Akoma’ sets a new benchmark in her personal road map, not only since the album features guest appearances from Björk, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet but for her continued sonic persistence and resistance.
Jlin does what Jlin does and it’s beloved across genres, across scenes and across generations. ‘Akoma’ is a new entry point into her sound and a new approach for both those who have been following diligently and those who are just now entering her world.
So how did she get here? Here’s a rundown for those looking for the facts.
She was both a math nerd and a steel factory worker. She got inspired by Footwork and started making tracks with mentorship assistance from RP Boo and DJ Rashad, but her music was far from typical for footwork from the get-go. In 2011, she released her first track ‘Erotic Heat’ on the Planet Mu anthology ‘Bangs & Works Vol.2.’
Fashion designer Rick Owens heard it and invited her to soundtrack his Paris Fashion Week show. Already before an EP or an album Jlin was in new cutting-edge territory. And it hasn’t stopped since. Everyday Jlin wakes up early and clocks into her home studio working hard on new music. Her discipline and craft-like approach means that those who would try to copy her sound simply can’t get to the level she is at.
Since ‘Erotic Heat’ she has released two bold albums, 2015’s ‘Dark Energy’ and 2017’s ‘Black Origami.’ She has also released her soundtrack to Company Wayne McGregor’s dance piece ‘Autobiography’ (2018) and most recently (2023) the mini-album ‘Perspective.’
She’s remixed µ-Ziq, Factory Floor, Ben Frost, Max Richter, Björk, Martin Gore and others. She’s collaborated with Holly Herndon and the late SOPHIE. She’s worked with visual artists Kevin Beasley and Nick Cave. She composed a string quartet for Kronos Quartet and performed with them live in a tribute to Philip Glass. She also recently completed a tribute to Sun Ra with Kronos. ‘Perspective’, her very well received percussion work for Third Coast Percussion has further opened doors for her in classical music. She’s even thinking of one day writing an opera. She had a residency at MassMoca Museum earlier this year (2023).
She’s performed live at Pitchfork Festival, Unsound Festival and too many others to mention.
She’s also worked with Indian dancers, Company Wayne McGregor and renowned choreographer/MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham.
There’s more but you get the picture - she’s working in contexts and in ways that few of her peers are able to. ‘Akoma’ is the next step - all these paths have led to this.
We encourage you to tune in.
Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Borealis (ft. Björk)
2. Speed Of Darkness
Side B
4. Summon
5. Iris
6. Open Canvas
Side C
7. Challenge (To Be Continued II)
8. Eye Am
9. Auset
Side D
10. Sodalite (ft. Kronos Quartet)
11. Grannie's Cherry Pie
12. The Precision Of Infinity (ft. Philip Glass) -
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After two critically acclaimed albums (2020’s ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’ and 2022’s ‘The Rest Is Distraction’), and numerous mini-album, EP and single releases, London-based trio Girls In Synthesis return in May ’24 with their new statement; their third album ‘Sublimation’.
If you thought you knew GIS, think again… they have moved on and created a dark and intense, yet melodic, collection of songs; their take on an angular pop record. Opening song ‘Lights Out’ is split into two distinct sections; the opening a Barrett-esque vocal and guitar lament to sleep deprived anxiety which morphs, via a ‘Faust Tapes’ influenced freeform noise section, into a stomping, high intensity closing blitz.
Tracks such as ‘Deceit’, ‘We Are Here’ and ‘Picking Things Out Of The Air’ see the group at their most melodic to date, minimising some of the chaotic noise elements of their signature sound and bringing to the fore impassioned, soaring vocals and keys melodies.
Their trademark, driving drums and bass foundation is particularly evident on songs ‘I Judge Myself’ and ‘Corrupting Memories’, but is counterbalanced by intense, early goth influenced keyboard lines, bringing influences from late 1970s/early 1980s into focus with the contemporary GIS intensity. Slow-burning tracks ‘I Was Never There’ and ‘The Prefix’ build up tension and atmosphere with sparse arrangements and circular, spiralling outros, while closer ‘A Damning Lesson’ sees the band return to their intense, bludgeoning wall of sound only to send it into a blur of echoing drum machine, reminiscent of the early work of Cabaret Voltaire.
Lyrically, GIS prove themselves head and shoulders above their contemporaries, leaving the pastiche sloganeering and lecturing to those wishing to preach to the converted, and reach inside to bring forth poetic and challenging analysis of the anxiety and emotional turmoil of self-reflection and human relationships.
Booked in for extensive UK/EU touring throughout May and June, the band will be adapting their white-heat live show to bring subtlety and clarity to the new songs from ‘Sublimation’, losing none of their unique and intense performance in the process. Be ready…
Tracklisting:
1. Lights Out
2. Deceit
3. Semblance of Choice
4. We Are Here
5. Corrupting Memories
6. I Was Never There
7. Picking Things Out Of The Air
8. I Judge Myself
9. Subtle Differences
10. The Prefix
11. A Damning Lesson -
Heavee is a Queer Chicagoan DJ & producer with a long history in footwork. His 2022 'Audio Assault' EP on Hyperdub showcased synth-driven, melodic footwork, but ‘Unleash’ goes much further into audio world-building, with a fresh, spongy and citrus-y sound palette and rich, bright chord sequences.Visit product page →
It's minimal, airy, balancing light and dark, sometimes breezy and sometimes clinical. Heavee works simultaneously outside and inside the box, rebuilding footwork's framework and vibe to his own unique specification. Rhythmically, it's dance floor ready, using footwork's 160 template as a springboard for building new drum sounds to express these rhythms, and draws from R&B, rap, jazz and grime, with a sprinkling of bitter-sweet vintage Detroit techno.
‘Unleash’ takes footwork’s “eats all” approach to music and leads it in a fresh direction with a freedom of spirit. It's a strong addition to the footwork cannon and shows that experiments in dance music can be fun.
Tracklisting:
Side A
1. StarSeeker
2. Unlock
3. SearchN 4 ft Babii
4. Bang Bang
5. Can U Feel It
6. Bounce Dat ft PayPal & DanTOG
Side B
7. Unleash
8. See the Sun
9. Whiplash
10. Sumthin Different
11. Heart Fragments
12. Work Me
13. Make it Work
14. Smoke Break ft Homesiick & Takuya Nakamura -
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“But into my miserable brain, always concerned with looking for noon at two o’clock"
- Charles Baudelaire (1869)
The Foreign Department is the second album by Astrel K, the solo project helmed by Stockholm-based British ex-pat, Rhys Edwards. Those already familiar with Edwards’ work will likely know him for fronting the cultishly great Ulrika Spacek, and given he operates as the principal songwriter in both projects, much of the same hallmarks of his cathartic, elliptical songwriting are present in Astrel K. Nonetheless, The Foreign Department feels like a rubicon moment of sorts, and the album that Edwards has unconsciously been working towards his entire creative life.As a title, The Foreign Department offers an instructive guide for the listener, framing a life-in-transition/artist-in-exile document that maps two impromptu moves in twelve months for its songwriter: the first from London in pursuit of a relationship, the second between homes in Stockholm as that decade long relationship then suddenly dissolved.
Indeed, diffusion, dissolution and reconstitution feel like appropriate touchstones for its recurring themes. Written amidst the flux of two states, at once isolated from home and then any established emotional anchor, the resulting eleven tracks came to represent a precognitive search for shifting identity and with it forming an unwittingly biographical record. It's commendable and somewhat telling that during this shake up, Edwards somehow landed upon his most realised and original work.With a former life stripped away, there emerged an opportunity to reinvent a sense of self through art, now not just as a writer, but a composer also. Developing the confidence to arrange songs in ways he'd previously considered off-limits, while also taking cues from the opulent string and brass arrangements of records like Mercury Rev's Deserters' Songs and Death of A Ladies Man by Leonard Cohen, Edwards enlisted a range of performers to bring to life the mini-symphonies forming in his head. Perhaps it's inevitable that an album written while facing the consequences of being alone would eventually ossify around the process of bringing people together.
For all its troubled origins, The Foreign Department is a remarkably warm sounding collection. Edwards' lyrics are typically knotty and neurotic, dancing around the poetry of quarter-life anxiety, but the music itself is often joyous and even uplifting, the combination expressing that neat duality of melancholic euphoria.
Lead single, 'Darkness At Noon', likely captures this all best. Named for the French idiom "midi a quatorze heures", the maddening idea of attempting the impossible for the sake of some greater possibly pointless cause, it directly grapples with the opposing notions of wanting and not wanting, of being here and being there at the same time. The conflicting and impossible self. It’s something Edwards addresses in the song at perhaps his most open, opining, “I know I want to be seen, but I hate most of what comes out of me”. And yet here is, putting it all out in the open and on the line, the dialectics of his enlightenment up on show.
Edwards sings variously of crises, "torrid pieces of art", of "houses on fire" and not "having the guts for it", yet these troubling sentiments are framed by seemingly incongruous swelling strings, chirping horns or motorik percussion, creating that sense of pushing forward or floating above, of wrapping your troubles in dreams, a salve for the moments when you get a bit too much for yourself.
Tracklisting:
1. Heavy Is the Head
2. Darkness At Noon
3. By Depol
4. Brighter Spells
5. Firma
6. Birds In Vacant Lots
7. The Foreign Department
8. C Ya!
9. A Rudderless Ship
10. Daffodil
11. R U A Literal Child? -
Jlin’s detailed and meticulous exploration of rhythm’s inner and outer reaches has made her one of the most distinctive and recognisable voices within both the electronic and classical music worlds. Her compositions are consistently appealing and have an accessibility to them, yet often defy expectations. She exists within her own locus solus - no matter the collaborator, no matter where sounds ultimately lead her.Visit product page →
Whatever the situation – from composing the Pulitzer Prize shortlisted ‘Perspective’ for Third Coast Percussion, to ‘Godmother’ her AI-powered collaboration with Holly Herndon, Jlin always expresses her outlook to the fullest.
Her new album ‘Akoma’ sets a new benchmark in her personal road map, not only since the album features guest appearances from Björk, Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet but for her continued sonic persistence and resistance.
Jlin does what Jlin does and it’s beloved across genres, across scenes and across generations. ‘Akoma’ is a new entry point into her sound and a new approach for both those who have been following diligently and those who are just now entering her world.
So how did she get here? Here’s a rundown for those looking for the facts.
She was both a math nerd and a steel factory worker. She got inspired by Footwork and started making tracks with mentorship assistance from RP Boo and DJ Rashad, but her music was far from typical for footwork from the get-go. In 2011, she released her first track ‘Erotic Heat’ on the Planet Mu anthology ‘Bangs & Works Vol.2.’
Fashion designer Rick Owens heard it and invited her to soundtrack his Paris Fashion Week show. Already before an EP or an album Jlin was in new cutting-edge territory. And it hasn’t stopped since. Everyday Jlin wakes up early and clocks into her home studio working hard on new music. Her discipline and craft-like approach means that those who would try to copy her sound simply can’t get to the level she is at.
Since ‘Erotic Heat’ she has released two bold albums, 2015’s ‘Dark Energy’ and 2017’s ‘Black Origami.’ She has also released her soundtrack to Company Wayne McGregor’s dance piece ‘Autobiography’ (2018) and most recently (2023) the mini-album ‘Perspective.’
She’s remixed µ-Ziq, Factory Floor, Ben Frost, Max Richter, Björk, Martin Gore and others. She’s collaborated with Holly Herndon and the late SOPHIE. She’s worked with visual artists Kevin Beasley and Nick Cave. She composed a string quartet for Kronos Quartet and performed with them live in a tribute to Philip Glass. She also recently completed a tribute to Sun Ra with Kronos. ‘Perspective’, her very well received percussion work for Third Coast Percussion has further opened doors for her in classical music. She’s even thinking of one day writing an opera. She had a residency at MassMoca Museum earlier this year (2023).
She’s performed live at Pitchfork Festival, Unsound Festival and too many others to mention. She’s also worked with Indian dancers, Company Wayne McGregor and renowned choreographer/MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham. There’s more but you get the picture - she’s working in contexts and in ways that few of her peers are able to. ‘Akoma’ is the next step - all these paths have led to this. We encourage you to tune in.
Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Borealis (ft. Björk)
2. Speed Of Darkness
Side B
4. Summon
5. Iris
6. Open Canvas
Side C
7. Challenge (To Be Continued II)
8. Eye Am
9. Auset
Side D
10. Sodalite (ft. Kronos Quartet)
11. Grannie's Cherry Pie
12. The Precision Of Infinity (ft. Philip Glass) -
Recalibrating her singular journey in the British musical landscape with her most open-hearted, direct and intimate collection of material yet. Love In Constant Spectacle evokes spectacular imagery and distills the artists’ vision in its purest form, elevating her inimitable sound and poetic vision to new heights.Visit product page →
Recapturing the melancholy of her early work whilst propelling it forward, she sketches scenes as we watch new colours, shapes and languages emerge and fill the frame. Love In Constant Spectacle sees her take measured steps towards a vivid, dreamlike record, that offers resolve in the face of life’s inevitability.
The foundations of Weaver’s sound are still evident – lush motorik drums, pulsating bass, custom modded synths and exotic fuzz pedals - but the stream is awash with scrabble piece poetry and Letraset lullabies leading to lush escapism, the free abandon that you’d associate with free jazz and the avant-garde.
But, as determined and visionary as Weaver might be, Love In Constant Spectacle wasn’t executed without assistance. Here we find a long mooted unison with Jane’s first ever producer, John Parish (PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding), who has shared Weaver’s process in the surrounds of Rockfield Studios and Geoff Barrow’s Invada studio.
Love In Constant Spectacle is otherworldly, it is both intimate yet distant, a surrealist interpretation of the foundations that make us human – the stories and landscapes it paints are habitats of their own. A voyage into undisclosed pastures, it’s a heartfelt manifesto from an artist that continues to boundlessly evolve with each chapter in her career.
Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Perfect Storm
2. Emotional Components
3. Love in Constant Spectacle -
4. Motif
5. The Axis and The Seed
Side B
6. Is Metal
7. Happiness in Proximity
8. Romantic Worlds
9. Univers
10. Family of the Sun -
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EYE – the new band from Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard (MWWB) singer-songwriter/musician Jessica Ball – has announced the arrival of their eagerly awaited debut album, 'Dark Light’.
Triggered in part by the existential dread looming outside as well as the sudden ill health of her dear friend, MWWB guitarist Paul “Dave” Davies, then fighting for life after a Covid-related stroke. Ball took the opportunity to compose songs that were all her own – nuanced, lyrical, and hypnotically distinctive.
Having earned a fervent fan following with MWWB, Eye are a different proposition, though no less compelling. Traversing a diverse spectrum of dark folk, dreampop, IDM and psychedelic doom, to create sometimes heavy and foreboding drones, alongside spare but still richly textured sonics.
‘Dark Light’ is an intensely atmospheric fusion of emotionally charged songcraft and inspired sonic energy. The clue is in the album's paradoxical title. Chilling and even bleak melodies with arrangements daringly and deliberately stripped down and minimal. Revealing a kinship with sonic bed-fellows Mazzy Star, Chelsea Wolfe or even Portishead.
So, whilst not strictly speaking ‘Doom’ or ‘Metal’ fans of Jessica’s previous work with MWWB will not be disappointed. Along with producer Chris Fielding (MWWB, Conan) EYE have produced something otherworldly, which is at times heavy and epic, yet still deeply intimate and dark.
A striking debut.
Tracklisting:
1. Window
2. Dark Light
3. The Other Sees
4. In Your Night
5. In The Sun Eternally
6. Respair
7. Out Of Sight
8. Stillness
9. See Yourself
10. Rescue You -
Release Date: 10/05/2024Visit product page →
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s debut live double album, Fu Manchu is releasing the first ever repress of Go For It…Live!, which has been out of print since the original pressing.
The 22 song release was recorded on the band’s 2002 California Crossing World Tour, which marked the debut of drummer Scott Reeder. Fu Manchu is renowned for their live performances and this set doesn’t disappoint, with incendiary renditions of fan favorites such as: “Hell On Wheels,” “Mongoose,” “King Of The Road,” “Evil Eye” and their always requested cover of “Godzilla.”
As AllMusic.com said, “Go for It...Live! is an absolute must for those enamored by Fu Manchu's buzzy sound, and a great introduction for those curious about a band woefully ignored by radio stations and video channels.”
This limited edition vinyl run of 2000 units has one LP pressed on Neon Yellow and the other on Neon Orange vinyl and is packaged in a gatefold sleeve with brand new artwork including never before seen photos of the band and flyers from the associated tour along with printed dust sleeves with additional new images.
This new pressing has been specifically remastered for vinyl by Carl Saff for optimum fidelity.
The limited edition 1000 unit CD run also features the updated art and a digital specific remaster.
Tracklisting:
LP 1
1. Hell On Wheels
2. Laserbl’ast!
3. Asphalt Risin’
4. Mongoose
5. Downtown In Dogtown
6. Boogie Van
7. Tilt
8. Ojo Rojo
9. Strato-Streak
10. King Of The Road
11. Anodizer
LP 2
1. Evil Eye
2. Hang On
3. Wurkin’
4. California Crossing
5. Over The Edge
6. Regal Begal
7. Godzilla
8. Superbird
9. Weird Beard
10. Squash That Fly
11. Saturn III -
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British four-piece rock band Collateral are set to release their highly anticipated sophomore album Should’ve Known Better on May 24, 2024. The album is distributed worldwide by Cargo. The album will be released on CD, red vinyl, picture disc, limited edition cassette, and digital. Friday February 9th will see the release of the lead single “Glass Sky.”.
The new single “Glass Sky” and the forthcoming album Should’ve Known Better is produced by Dan Weller (Those Damn Crows, Enter Shikari, Monster Truck, Kris Barras, Holding Absence, Bury Tomorrow).
"I love massive riffs, massive hooks and feel-good guitar music,” says Weller. “When Collateral sent me their demos, I jumped at chance to produce their new record. I’m proud of what we managed to create. It’s Collateral mk2 - ambitious, daring and refined. I can’t wait for people to hear it."
Since the band released their debut album (Top 5 UK Rock Album Chart) at the start of 2020 Collateral have spent no time standing still. Covid came only weeks after the debut album was released and forced the band to cancel their highly successful tour with Phil X (Bon Jovi) halfway through. This made the band hungry to keep the momentum. With innovative ways to produce top quality live streams, the band became special guests supporting the likes of Skid Row, H.E.A.T and Reckless Love.
The exciting and flamboyant Kent-based rock and roll band are comprised of Angelo Tristan (lead vocals, guitar), Louis Malagodi (guitar), Jack Bentley-Smith (bass) and Ben Atkinson (drums).
On October 21, 2022, Collateral independently released a re-mixed and re-mastered version of their debut album “Re-Wired” which featured Jeff Scott Soto, Phil X, Kee Marcello, Rudy Sarzo, Danny Vaughn, and Joel Hoekstra. The re-release saw the band in the Official UK Rock Charts at #12.
After the gruelling back-to-back tours with Skid Row, H.E.A.T and Reckless Love, the band ignited a spark and strengthened their already loyal fanbase leading them to win the opening slot at 2023s Stonedead Festival, leading the band to perform their biggest show.
Collateral’s hotly tipped sophomore album looks like it will take them to the next level. A lot of people don’t know what to expect from the new album, as the band have been tight-lipped about the new songs. Collateral have created a state-of-the-art rock album that will immerse listeners in their rock music universe, enabling fans to feel the blood, sweat and glory that went into the recording of every song.
“We felt that our debut album was lacking the production,” reflects Collateral’s frontman, Angelo Tristan. “For the sophomore album, I wanted to make sure that this time we left no room for error and so got one of the hottest producers in the music industry, Dan Weller, to help lift these songs into a new dimension. With Dan’s pioneering studio expertise, this album has massive production quality that enables you to get lost in each character-filled track. Dan really brought out the emotions we were trying to portray and has achieved it with his own unique style.”
“We wanted this album to express where we were in our own lives since the release of our first. So much has happened since then, I mean the world shut down for what felt like a lifetime! And it was obvious that people were going to need some sort of optimism. I hope ‘Glass Sky’ is one of those songs that gives people the belief to find themselves again.”
“Whereas, the feel-good ‘Just One Of Those Days’ is trying to find the good side of a bad day. Me being me, couldn’t help but to write a big power ballad, ‘The Long Road’, that I wrote from a very hard and deep place, in hope that it could maybe bring some peace and comfort to people who need it. I think there’s all aspects of life running though this album and what it means to us will remain in our hearts forever.”
“Should’ve Known Better” is an album that goes beyond specific music genres,” says Angelo. “It’s almost like a soundtrack to a beating heart. It’s an album that will remain timeless in years to come.”
Tracklisting:
1. Glass Sky
2. Original Criminal
3. One Of Those Days
4. Teenage Dreams
5. Elysium
6. On The Long Road
7. No Place For Love
8. Game Changer
9. Final Stand -
‘And Also The Trees’ compelling new album, ‘Mother-of-Pearl Moon’, was born from a series of extraordinary electric guitar improvisations created by guitarist Justin Jones in the pre- and postdawn hours during a month of solitude in 2020.Visit product page →
Each piece then developed in its own way - the guitar, often left in its raw, unaltered form, is accompanied by the voice of his brother Simon, bringing imagery and narrative, Colin Ozanne’s clarinet and piano adding poise, colour and harmony, Paul Hill’s percussion creating depth… on occasion an autoharp, a Moog… all leading the listener from the depths of the English countryside far out in all directions of the compass.
The music is often filmic, reminiscent of various film genres from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. This is most apparent in ‘This path through the meadow’, a song that explores the intertwining of human nature and nature in its animal and botanic form, and in its video where the band appear to be performing to an imaginary screening.
Elsewhere, the album title track transports the listener across the oceans to the Far East...and to its exotic gardens, still waters and the ‘Mother-of-pearl moon’.
And Also The Trees (AATT) formed during the original post-punk era in rural Worcestershire, an environment that has provided a constant inspiration to a group whose music has often explored the dark underbelly as well as the beauty of the British countryside.
They are renowned for their captivating live performances, a unique style of mandolin-like electric guitar, evocative lyrics and dark jazz rhythms - not to mention a creative independence fiercely preserved for over four decades.
Founded by singer Simon Jones and his guitarist brother Justin, AATT have maintained a continuous presence on the post-punk, alternative rock and Gothic scenes worldwide. They have released fifteen studio albums.
Tracklisting:
1. Intro
2. The Whaler
3. Town Square
4. Mother-of-Pearl Moon
5. This Path Through The Meadow
6. Valdrada
7. No Mountains, No Horizon
8. Visions of a Stray
9. Field After Field
10. Ypsilon
11. Away From Me -
The band SANG FROID was born in Nantes in winter 2019. It is made up of two current members of REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER and one member of THE VEIL. Passionate about New Wave, Cold Wave and Goth Rock music, the three artists wanted to create a band in homage to this scene. The result was their first 3-track self-produced EP, released on January 8, 2021, to rave reviews from the specialist press.Visit product page →
Since then, the group has performed numerous times, notably alongside bands such as Perturbator, Front 242, Covenant and Frustration.
In early 2023, the band decided to enter the studio to record their first album with Benoit Roux (producer of Alcest albums). Sang Froid delivers 8 very Goth Rock-oriented tracks.
Walking alone at night, heart too heavy, in a city too big, with cold architecture, that's the feeling you get when listening to SANG FROID tracks. Highly inspired by bands such as Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, Sister Of Mercy and Depeche Mode, the band's music navigates a cold, grey universe that is sometimes pierced by the brilliance of feelings and the rage to live.
FFO: Depeche Mode, Drab Majesty, Sisters Of Mercy
Tracklisting:
1. Proudly Ruining Yourself
2. Eternal Light
3. Lymphatic
4. House Of Resignation
5. Grace & Doom
6. The Eleventh Dawn
7. Nightline
8. Inquisitive Nature -
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Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts is an American rock band from Nashville founded and fronted by former Biters leader Tuk Smith, originally from Atlanta, now living in Nashville. The band released their debut single "What Kinda Love" on January 10, 2020 and were also added as an opening act for The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe on the same day.
Then came the onset of Covid 19. “When the pandemic hit, it was like hitting the reset button on my music career” recalls Tuk, “everything got taken away…album campaign, stadium tour, record deal. The world was in lockdown, and the only way to escape was to throw myself into writing. My thoughts began exploring the past, and the inspiration for the songs just came in tidal waves.”
The new collection is a rock ‘n roll silver lining that came out of the solitude and reflection of the pandemic. Ballad Of A Misspent Youth is the new single (and subsequent album of the same name) released summer of 2022 on Tuk’s new record label MRG, through Virgin Music.
Tuk explains, “I decided to make a rock and roll record for me and what I like because there was no label, there was no committee involved…just me and my stories. I wanted to create a setting and an authentic feeling about everything. I reunited with long-time friend Dan Dixon and recorded these songs in his garage studio, and there is a purity to the work that came from all the circumstances of that time.”
Growing up as an outsider in rural Georgia, Tuk found solace in hardcore punk acts like Black Flag and The Exploited. From there, Smith branched out into exploring seventies New York bands like The Dead Boys and New York Dolls, which lead him across the sea where he embraced first-wave British acts like The Buzzcocks and the Clash. Smith wasn’t just a casual fan of these acts, he was obsessed with them and traced their lineage with fervent dedication. “I was always into the Clash growing up and Mick Jones’ favorite band was Mott The Hoople, so through the years I ended up developing a love of the first wave of British glam, power pop and things like that,” he explains.
Soon Smith was forming his own acts, touring relentlessly and building a following with his high-energy live shows, including his tour of duty as lead singer for the Biters, who he fronted for nearly a decade. He offers “Then after being on the road for years, I had a reckoning about where I was at and the future ahead. …I realized the only way to achieve something meaningful was to be a good songwriter…that clicked. I went on a musical diet where I stripped the obscure stuff away, and I really started focusing on the greats. When I started clicking that it was just about the songs, things changed. I had already put my 10,000 hours in the van to play in the dive clubs, but then I put my 10,000 hours into figuring out how to write. I also started working with other songwriters. I humbled myself… it was an education, like going to school.”
Tuk elaborates, “I wanted to kind of branch out musically and do different things, and I figured to go solo would be better. My manager actually suggested I call my new band “The Restless Hearts” and that's what he would call me all the time. It was the title of a Biters song that people loved and I’d seen a few restless hearts tattoos at our shows along the way… and so Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts was born. I was in a period where I changed everything including the way I lived my daily life. I experimented with different ways to tap into positive/creative energy…it was an evolving overall process (and still is).”
Tuk summarizes, “Things used to be about debauchery, and now they’re more about dedication. I mean, I was always driven, but I was sometimes focusing on the wrong things. Now I focus on the music and the craftsmanship of writing and producing and performing.“
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Limited edition coke bottle green vinyl comes with download code and poster. Black vinyl comes with a download code. CD is a digipak CD.Visit product page →
The sixth album from Still Corners is “Dream Talk”. Beautifully arranged, elegant and wistful, Dream Talks is a set of ten carefully crafted classic songs. From the autumnal opener "Today is the Day" to the hot summer night finale of "Turquoise Moon", Still Corners have created a sound that is focused, stylish and seductive.
Tessa Murray says, "The genesis for a lot of these songs came from dreams. Every night I would write down the dreams I could remember. While recording I would pull out my book of dreams and sing over various looped phrases Greg had been working on, the repetitive nature of the looping and singing almost felt like going into a trance. A lot of the songs came from that process, it was fun and what I thought were sort of ramblings ended up surprising us with their various meanings and imagery."
Tracklisting:
1. Today is the Day
2. The Dream
3. Faded Love
4. What is Real
5. Lose More Slowly
6. Secret World
7. Let's Make Up
8. Crystal Blue
9. The Ship
10. Turquoise Moon -
Sal, Bea and Raquel aka Shooting Daggers, are fast becoming a fiery beacon at the beating heart of the burgeoning UK hardcore scene.Visit product page →
Their first EP 'Athames' hinted that there was something special here, and left folks gagging for more.
Their debut album will not disappoint. Titled ‘Love and Rage’ it’s a huge leap forward from their EP, in fact we believe Daggers have recorded something of a corker in terms of modern hardcore in fact ... a potential minor classic debut maybe.
Whatever way you spin it, there is no doubt that ’Love and Rage' is an album of jaw dropping depth and melody as well as blinding energy, feminist fury and angst.
There are kick ass buzzsaw punk bangers of course, blistering shards of pent up fury, like ‘Dare’ and ‘Not My Rival’ ‘Wipeout’ and ‘Bad Seeds’.
Daggers ‘as you might expect, but here, more catchy, more direct, more focussed than before. However, things start to get even more interesting with songs like ‘Smug’ and ‘Tunnel Vision’ a big hint that this is no ordinary punk rock record.
A grungy intro bangs into stuttering riffs and chorus with harmonies that will lock itself into your head.
Then the band drops ‘A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser’ and you go well what is this? A sort of 90’s shoegaze grunge infused soaring ballad, that is as breathtakingly bold as it is unexpected and a real standout.
As is the album’s title track ‘Love And Rage’ with its Dinosaur Jr meets Lush vibe. It all fits perfectly. The final track ‘Caves/Outro’ is just vocals and piano … it can only be described as ‘lovely’. Wow. The influences never overwhelm, it’s always unmistakably ‘Shooting Daggers’ pushing that hardcore envelope big time.
With ‘Love and Rage’ Shooting Daggers could quite possibly become your favourite band.
Tracklisting:
1. Dare
2. Not My Rival
3. Smug
4. Wipe Out
5. A Guilty Conscience Needs An Accuser
6. Tunnel Vision
7. Bad Seeds
8. Love & Rage
9. Caves/Outro -
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Hailing from New York, GUHTS (pronounced ‘guts’) are a bold new voice within a maelstrom of genres and sub-genres.
They declare themselves to be an ‘avant-garde post-metal project, delivering larger than life sounds through, deeply emotional music’.
And they deliver that statement in full effect in the form of their debut album ‘Regeneration’.Pointers can be made of course. By their own admission, GUHTS' musical style is influenced not only by iconic metal bands like Gojira, Cult of Luna, YOB and Deftones, but more unconventional acts like Bjork, Subrosa, Isis, Julie Christmas, and even PJ Harvey. It’s undoubtedly heavy, with a strong feminist streak, it’s cathartic and weighty, a formidable debut for such a new band.
‘Regeneration’ is set to cement their status as one of the coolest and most interesting bands on the scene.A powerful and intense series of songs, topped off by some seriously mighty, expressive vocal performances.
It’s slow-shifting chords, moving like sheets through sludge. High guitar lines above, ranging from piercing and shimmering to nasty. Drums pound but not without groove. There are strings, pianos and synths widening the palette. Atmospheric sludge, metalgaze, maybe, but there’s also that link to the New York Noise lineage from The Velvets and Sonic Youth, becoming a type of post-hardcore in the process, while gaining a connection to metal partly due to the sheer heaviness.
A raft of creative experimentation that pushes beyond the realm of post-metal. And then of course, the very first thing that hits you is Amber Gardner's unbelievable, hypnotising vocals - as scary as a banshee while also intimate and persuasive. Amber means it for sure and almost dominates the proceedings.
In short ‘Regeneration’ is a bold and startling debut, that will reward and enthral listeners the deeper they delve into its many layers.
Tracklisting Vinyl:
Side A
1. White Noise
2. Til Death
3. The Mirror
4. Handless Maiden
Side B
5. Eyes Open
6. Generate
7. The Wounded Healer
Tracklisting CD:
1. White Noise
2. Til Death
3. The Mirror
4. Handless Maiden
5. Eyes Open
6. Generate
7. The Wounded Healer
8. Burn My Body (CD Bonus Track) -
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The classic loops of the original FM3 Buddha Machine evoke instant nostalgia for a slower, more simple world.
Born before the iPhone era, this iconic device has weathered two decades of pop culture and fashion trends, yet remains defiantly, heroically unique.
Its enduring simplicity cloaks an extraordinary power: the ability to transcend time. It is both a sonic portal to a hands-on analogue past and a bridge to a digital ever-present.
This is not just a re-issue; it is a revival and refinement of a sonic manifesto that unfolds softly, gently and organically, resonating with the subtle rhythms of life.
The Buddha 1 2023 edition from FM3.
Available now in 5 colours: Red, Orange, Green, Blue and limited-edition Pink. Features upgraded sound quality and user experience.
Louder speaker and 2 new individual side buttons make device control more direct and intuitive. -
Public Service Broadcasting announce This New Noise, the newly remixed and remastered live recording of their acclaimed 2022 BBC Proms show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, released on 8 September 2023 via Test Card Recordings. A celebration of the power of radio written in recognition of the centenary of the BBC, This New Noise saw the band joining forces with the 88 piece BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jules Buckley.Visit product page →
A standout performance from 2022’s BBC Proms, it received 5*s in The Telegraph who called it “a resonant, timely and ultimately touching show”. Founder member J. Willgoose, Esq. remixed the concert from scratch, bringing out even more depth and texture from a multi-layered performance and showing it in a new light. This New Noise is the second time Public Service Broadcasting have been commissioned for the BBC Proms.
In 2019 the band performed an orchestral arrangement of their 2015 studio album The Race for Space with The Multi-Story Orchestra to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned mission to the Moon. In conjunction with the announcement, the band shares "Broadcasting House". Public Service Broadcasting have been “teaching the lessons of the past through the music of the future” for more than a decade now.
2013’s debut album Inform - Educate - Entertain used archival samples from the British Film Institute as audio-portals to the Battle Of Britain, the summit of Everest and beyond. Two years later, The Race For Space used similar methods to laud the superpowers’ rivalry and heroism in orbit and on the Moon. An indie DIY phenomenon the album has remarkably since achieved gold disc status having sold over 100,000 copies in the UK alone.
In 2017, joined by voices including Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield, Every Valley was a moving exploration of community and memory via the rise and fall of the British coal industry. Their most ambitious undertaking yet, Bright Magic brought the listener to Europe’s heart and de facto capital, the cultural and political metropolis that is the ‘Hauptstadt’ of the Federal Republic of Germany – Berlin.
Released in late 2021, and debuting at No 2 in the UK album chart, the band’s fourth album was described by Electronic Sound as “their most ambitious, leftfield and majestic work to date, their glorious creative peak, their magnum opus”, DIY said “it flourished at its most calm and erupted at its most fervent” and Clash said it “cemented PSB's reputation as a vital act right at the top of their game”.
The album also featured multiple BBC Radio 6 Music A-Listed singles, including “People, Let’s Dance” [ft. EERA] and “Blue Heaven” [ft. Andreya Casablanca].
Tracklisting:
1. Ripples in the Ether (Towards the Infinite)
2. This New Noise
3. An Unusual Man
4. A Cello Sings in Daventry [ft. Seth Lakeman]
5. Broadcasting House
6. The Microphone (The Fleet is Lit Up)
7. A Candle Which Will Not Be Put Out
8. What of the Future? (In Touch with the Infinite)
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