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4326 is a forty-five-minute slab of walled noise from this Wisconsin-based project. It brings together bassy brood, circling hiss, and uneasy scrap for a moody and deeply oppressive noise ride.
Here’s a self-titled debut album from this new Italian wall noise project, which focuses on creating bass grinding and static searing HNW. The digital album consists of four fifteen-minute tracks, with a total runtime of one hour.
Foul Synapse is intensely rapid, galloping, and baying slab of walled noise from this Illinois project. It’s a single track at around the thirty-one-minute mark, and boy, is it an unrelenting ride, with some nice shifts really upping the intensity of the whole thing.
We Bury the Dead is a 2024 survival horror movie from writer/ director Zak Hilditch (1922, These Final Hours and Rattlesnake), starring Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Murder on the Orient Express and Young Woman of the Sea), Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin, Last Cab to Darwin and Pawno), Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Gods of Egypt and Oculus) and Matt Whelan (Workmates, Narcos and The Tavern).
Underneath the Earth is the debut album from Chimehours, a hauntological project from Beck Goldsmith and John Dix. Those with a penchant for Folk Horror and all its trappings are probably going to find a lot to enjoy here. The band mix dark folk vibes with a love of 70s British Occult and horror cinema to create something that is tender and beautiful but underpinned with a sinister edge that references other dark folk masters like Comus, Darkher or even the early days of The Unthanks when they were still called Rachael Unthank and the Winterset. It’s an exquisitely beautiful record that would not sound out of place as the soundtrack to one of McKenzie Crook’s beautifully magical TV series. For example, this would sound great as the soundtrack to the Crook’s recent foray into the Occult, Small Prophets.
Dead Kids ( Strange Behaviour) is an early 80’s slasher/ mad doctor horror hybrid. The small-town-set film blends subtly quirky characters, some tense stalking, and deranged ‘n’ gory kills. Here from Powerhouse- as either a UHD or Blu Ray release- is a new release of the film, taking in a new 4k scan, two versions of the film, and a good selection of new and old extras.
The Survivor regards an airline pilot played by Robert Powell( The Italian Job, The 39 Steps) who is the only person left alive after a plane crash, where several hundred people die. The early 80’s Australian production is a rewarding & engaging blend of thriller, investigation drama, and supernatural horror. Here from Powerhouse, as either a UHD or Blu-ray, is a new release of the film. Taking in a 4k scan, three different versions of the film, and a large selection of extras, which are a mix of archive and new fare.
Past Life (2025) is a psychological thriller from director Simeon Halligan, the head of Grimmfest and the filmmaker behind White Settlers and The Blood Lands. Written by Halligan alongside Ray Bogdanovich and Dean Lines, the film stars Aneurin Barnard (Peaky Blinders, Dunkirk) as traumatised war journalist Jason Frey, Jeremy Piven (Entourage, Mr Selfridge) as celebrity hypnotist Timothy Bevan, and Pixie Lott (Christmas Karma, Fred: The Movie) as Jason's pregnant wife, Claira.
Hardly a moment goes by on Venus er i håret that does not bloom like a lush electronic flower. This is the established parlance of pop that the Norwegian Espen Reinertsen is known for. Over five tracks, we are ensconced in a world populated by drawn-out vocal deliveries and carefully textured drums, horns, and synths, the latter of which sit squarely in the field of early gaming aesthetics.
Driftworks and Audiobulb Records have released the second entry in their joint SITE series examining the connection between a location and sound, through the lens of different artists and musicians. London-based OD (Alex O'Donovan) has selected the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard as his inspiration for Svalr, showcasing the region's geographical and meteorological characteristics through field recordings, sound manipulation, and additional synthesis. The resulting five tracks create a lush atmosphere that transports the listener to this fantastic, remote wonder and allows OD's journey to be experienced by all.
Luther The Geek is a late 80’s mix of slasher and low-key dark humour, with a rewarding mix of tense stalk 'n' slash atmosphere, red spurting gore, and creepy derangement. The film's title character is a great/ unsettling killer, with his metal dentures, balding/wild-eyed redneck look, and penchant for ripping into the necks of both humans and chickens alike. Here from Troma is a Blu-ray release of the film, which has a fair selection of extras, though I believe these are all ported over from previous releases of the picture.
From the late 80’s, Stripped To Kill is a mix of erotic thriller and drama with touches of slasher/giallo. The film is largely set in & around a pole dancing club, where dancers are being killed off. It’s down to a blond/ big hair-sprayed cop to go undercover to see if she can solve whose behind the murders. It features a fair bit of topless nudity, a few murders/ gore, and a fair bit of 80’s camp. Here from 88 Films Slasher Classics series is a Blu-ray release of the film. It takes in a new HD print, four commentary tracks- two new, two archive, and a selection of other new/ old extras.
Horizons is a collaboration between two artists with whom I have no prior familiarity, Austin Williamson and Blanket Swimming, both from Kansas City, Missouri, with numerous releases on Bandcamp and many small experimental labels. This album consists of two longer pieces, 15-20 minutes each, alternated with a couple of shorter tracks, though the actual listening experience feels quite continuous.
Here’s an expansive history lesson in Polish animation, released by the ever-reliable Radiance; I’m reviewing promotional discs only, but the full package comes with a booklet of writings, and I guarantee there’ll be the immaculate presentation that Radiance always delivers. As the title suggests, the two discs collect up short animated Polish films, and the set covers a large time span and a large range of content. For those of you who take an interest in animation, this is all gold dust.
Eternal Life No End is a truly inspired sonic collusion between traditional Arabic instrumentation/ melody, and moody electronica. With traditional instrumentation and vocal chants moving alongside buzzing, juddering, and brooding electronics.
Afterlife Requiem is the second album from this post-classical dark drone project from Winnipeg, Manitoba. It’s a nine-track affair, which moves between lush yet mournful drifts. Murky-edged mournful simmers, and gloomily sweeping expanses darted by the odd bleak sample.
Insect Movements balances murky roll, with constantly punishing battering. The single-track wall noise release slides in at just under the half-hour mark and remains both full/ fixed throughout.
Yellow Noise Wall severs up a shot of rapidly rumbling ‘n’ tumbling walled- with a thick meaty bass centre, and an addictively churning flow.
Incremental Cemetery Decomposition shovels up two slabs of grimly battering and ghoulishly baying walled noise from this Indiana-based project. Each track hits dead on the twenty-minute mark, and each is as unrelenting/ bleakly horror-fed as the other.
From the early 1980’s, Excalibur is a cinematic retelling of the legend of King Arthur. It’s an epic, but always well-paced affair- blending atmospheric, at times bloody battles, sword and sorcery intrigue, and rousing-to-downbeat moodiness. Here from Arrow Video- both in the UK and stateside- is either a triple Blu-ray or UHD set. Taking in a new 4k scan, three commentary tracks- two new, and a blend of new and archive extras
Helter Skelter (Herutâ sukerutâ) is an early 2010 Japanese film that has decidedly Jing & Jang quality. It blends lush, grand, and multi-coloured visuals with cruelty, manipulation, and deprivation. The film focuses on a top fashion star/ actress, at the height of fame, and her steady decline/ unfurling. The film sits somewhere between pitch-black satire, drama, and psychological thriller, with touches of body horror, crime investigation, and glitzy arthouse. Here from 88 Films is a Blu-ray release of the film, taking in an HD scan, a new commentary track, and a few other extras.
Wicked Games is a Blu-ray box set bringing together three films helmed by Paris-born actor-turned-director Robert Hossein. The films date from between the late 50's and early 60's- moving from a prison drama/ escape thriller/noir. Onto mystery-centred noir, with a femme fatale focus, and ahead of its time, moody western. Each picture receives a 2k scan, a commentary track from highly respected genre commentator Tim Lucas, and a selection of other extras- be they new or old.
Franco Nero and Martin Balsam headline the curiously titled Confessions of a Police Captain, an Italian crime drama which earned acclaim on release in 1971. Now, 55 years on, a new 2K restoration from Radiance brings Damiano Damiani's compelling, thought-provoking thriller into high definition.
Italian trio Owls Over Oaks hit Argonauta with their virtually self-titled debut, O.O.O. Composed of members of the Turin metal scene (Enisum, Amethista, Nihili Locus, and Nerocapra), Owls seek to bring about an immersive, 'extreme drone doom' experience to the masses.