OK, everyone involved in this project, please look away after this sentence: this is not really my kind of thing. Looking away? Good. This is not great. When I first looked at the album, which arrives on a CD in a somewhat thin cardboard wallet, I thought perhaps the title was a knowing nod and I would be listening to abstract electronics of some description. When I examined the line-up and saw a mixture of traditional folk instruments and ‘drum machine, synth, sampler’ I did raise an eyebrow, but within 90 seconds of pressing play my fears had been well surpassed, and teeth were gritted.

Priest is a powerful and, at times, highly moving British drama regarding a young Roman Catholic fighting with his faith and the hypocrisy of the church. The mid-'90s film was controversial upon release, due to touching on subjects such as child abuse and homosexuality.  Thirty-some years on, the film remains undated( aside from some of the soundtrack cues), retaining both its emotional effect and power regarding hypocrisy uncovered. Here from BFI is a new Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a new HD scan, and a selection of new and archive extras.

Composer, Alone is a three-CD set bringing together solo piano pieces by Swiss modern classical composer Jürg Frey. The largely stark/ sparsely toned works move between pattern-based, haunting tolling/ drifting, and more darting/ abstract. All twelve pieces featured here are played with great clarity, focus and depth by Dutch pianist Reinier van Houdt.

The Willow Bends And So Do I is an hour-long piece from Stockholm-based Magnus Granberg, whose output sits somewhere between modern chamber music & gentle improvisation. This 2024 work is played by Skogen- a nine-piece collective, which features the composer him self on prepared piano.   And as a long-term fan of Mr Granberg's output, I’m happy to report this is another wholly captivating piece which seesaws between haunting, angularly intriguing, and subtle yet rewardingly noisy- with generally enchantingly creative use of textural detail throughout.

Here, from Deaf Crocodile, is a double-disc Blu-ray set bringing together two 1970s sci-fi films from behind the Iron Curtain, produced by East German state-run studio DEFA. Each film features a new HD scan and a commentary track  

Australian composer Peter Knight's latest work was inspired by the sea, sand, and wind of SE Australia, where the beaches and rivers of his childhood rekindled his passion for the area's intriguing beauty while on vacation with his family. For a Moment the Sky Knew My Name speaks to the transience of the wind, how it can shape and affect the landscape, always moving forward, but still echoing the past, much like the body will have its memories slowly blown away and forgotten. Much like the belief in Panta rhei, the beaches and rivers of Peter's youth may have familiar aspects, but they've all changed. But so has Peter. Memories are just that, immutable and in the past, and each new step in an old footprint is a brand new experience. 

Here’s a 2025 feature-length attempt at telling the story of 1970s  towering 6-foot-9 Californian serial killer Edmund Kemper, aka the Co-ed Killer, whose crimes involved decapitation, dismemberment, and necrophilia. The film is somewhat a hit & miss affair- on the positive side, the cast largely works and there are effective moments of shock/ unease. On the less positive side, it has a mixed tonal quality, some cheap period detail, and some decidedly uneven/ ropy editing. Here from Epic Pictures is a Blu-ray release of the film, with a commentary track and a few other extras.

From the late 1970s, Absolution is a  British Catholic boys' school set blend of drama & thriller, which nicely builds up both the feeling of suspense and rewarding plot twists. The film features a great/well-picked cast- bringing together Richard Burton as a pious/ at times cruel priest/teacher & Billy Connolly as a motorbike-bound free spirit/ vagabond- who sets up camp in a nearby forest. As well as some great performances from younger cast members, too. Here from 88 Films, as either a Blu-ray or DVD, is a new release of the film, taking in two versions of the film, two commentary tracks and a few interviews.

Jake Helgren steps away from his usual holiday rom-coms like Dashing in December and gives us the gift of The Naughty List of Mr Scrooge, a 2024 Christmas horror/slasher ensemble. Starring Skye Coyne, Colin Koth, Kim Whalen, Liz Fenning, Adam Bucci, Ali Zahiri, and Coél Mahal, the film follows a group of former college friends reuniting fifteen years after a tragedy during their production of A Christmas Carol, only to find themselves stalked by a killer dressed as a deranged Ebenezer Scrooge.

Circle The Sun is the first album of new material from this British band in four decades. It finds the four-piece band once again firing up their brew of strutting rock, upfront Hammond organ jamming, and gothic-themed prog. 

Leftovers 1970-1988 is a two-CD compilation bringing together rare outtakes, alternative versions, & unreleased tracks from those avant-popsters The Residents. Over the two discs, we get a total of thirty-one tracks, and for a long-term fan of the eyeballed & top-hatted one, it is a truly fascinating/revelatory release.

Disco Love Dub is a two-CD compilation bringing together 12” dub remixers, from 1978 to 1984- all created by respected reggae producer Joe Gibbs  & his band The Professionals.  The thirty-six track collection moves between more pared-back bass ‘n’ beats mixes, onto more dancefloor-focused fare, through to the more quirky/ wonky workouts.

Cyclic Law mainstay Ajna has returned with a lush and elegant follow up, New Revelations of Being, a sprawling seventy minutes, which is a listening experience much like exploring some subterranean city in a dream. For those unfamiliar, Ajna's primary language is rushes of air implying impossible vastness, and melodically imbued reverberant contrails (which is often called 'dark ambient'). This is something of an understated symphony, with three-dimensional modern sound design; a very wide stereo field