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Blanca is an eight-track album focused on windswept and moodily elemental works for the Viola. It takes its name from a small town in rural southeastern Spain, where Berlin-born violist Julia Eckhardt took up residency during the winter of 2022 for a month, spending her days walking the majestic but intimidating hill-lands that surround the town.
The Curve Of The Blade is a recent three-track release from Worship. The decidedly mysterious wall noise/ drone project, which themes all of its work on praising the female form, in a non-smutty/ sleazy manner.
From the early 70s, The Perfume Of The Woman In Black blends are they-or-are-they not-mad thriller, stylish/elegant Giallo, and psychological horror. It features a well-placed/believable lead Mimsy Farmer, who plays an overworked industrial scientist, who may/may not be losing her marbles. Here from Powerhouse, either as a UHD or Blu-ray, is a new release of the film. Taking in a wonderful, lush and bold 4k print, a commentary track from genre experts, and a great selection of new extras.
Finnish filmmaker Joey Palmroos follows up his debut western, The Outlaws (starring Oscar-nominated actor Eric Roberts), with last year's Delivery Run. This Minnesota-set thriller had me hopeful, but ultimately left me cold!
Taking inspiration from a very famous line from a Longfellow poem (The Theologian's Tale), Bewider's Ships That Pass in the Night is the fourth release from the project of film composer Piernicola Di Muro.
Trashy serves up two fifteen-minute slices of terminally battering & bleak-walled noise, with a sleazy theme. If you’ve investigated the wall noise genre beyond known names like Vomir, The Rita, or Richard Ramirez. You’ll probably be aware of this California project, as it most certainly is one of the most prolific projects in the scene.
Here we have two slices of taut lowercase wall craft from this new UK project. Each track comes in at dead on the ten-minute mark, and each is an example of busy to (seemingly) paring back noise craft.
“We do not come in peace. We do not wish to insult intoxicated fanatics, people from Østfold, northerners, writers of children's books, lawyers, those in the service industry, or teachers.” Now that sounds like a mission statement. And it sort of is, these words forming the basis of a union between two unique Norwegian collectives - Oslo’s DNA?AND? & Stavanger’s Lampeknusekontoret – each a coalition of professional musicians and young people with disabilities. They’re no strangers to working together and so last year the two groups joined forces once again to create Hot Hot Hot a maelstrom of sound and noise with pertinent nods to post-punk, ambient and the avant-garde.
Norwegian solo project Rot Shrine is somewhere between dungeon synth and bedroom black metal. They are releasing their first recordings this year in 2025, and their full-length on Polypus Records is called Death to the King of Salem,
Here’s the second in a series of volumes which I hope never end: a six-CD boxset of remastered early Richard Ramirez cassettes. Hopefully, I don’t need to introduce Ramirez, but for the uninitiated, his vast discography is an essential foundation stone for harsh noise walls and indeed harsh noise. The releases in this set sometimes play with the boundaries between those two genres, and beyond that are simply great examples of 1990’s harsh noise.
Hand to Earth is a collection of musicians who are assembled around an intersectional approach to questions of indigeneity language, and place: concepts that are bandied about in many disciplines, though rarely with the same acumen and insights in the field of music. Strange, given that to layer completely disparate elements on top of one another, whether they be sound sources or traditions, is very much within the purview of composition. What's more, the developments in electronic music provide fertile ground for this examination, evidenced by the songs on Ŋurru Wäŋa, which showcase a mixture of live and post-production recorded material.
Three Times Infinite is an eighty-eight-minute dive into droning & juddering wall craft, with a subtle industrial undercurrents. Poland’s Sado Rituals is often known for its more layered, and at times detailed/ creative takes on all things ‘wall’- but this recent(ish) digital release is much simpler and straightforward walling.
Unflinching is a short, extreme, nasty, head-battering slice of walled noise from this South Carolina project. It’s truly an unrelenting attack, and as it’s a YouTube release, it features simple but effective brutal imagery.
From the early 1970s, Her and She and Him is a softcore French drama regarding a naïve ‘n’ guitar-strumming Swedish art student moving to Paris, to find lust, manipulation, and possible love. The film was released after relaxation in censorship, and showed a fair bit of lovemaking flesh, though it’s not just an all-out smut feast, as there is still a decent story, engaging dramatics, passable-if-soapy acting, and a fair bit of entertaining cheesy campness. Here from 88 Films, as part of their French Collection, is a Blu-ray release of the film. Taking in an HD scan of the picture, and a few extras.
Shadowzone is a sci-fi horror film set in an underground lab, where a shape-shifting monster is stalking the corridors. The early 1990s Full Moon Production blends stumbling in the misty darkness unease, effective if briefly appearing particular effects, and one or two decent jump scares/reveals. It feels like an attempt to blend of The Thing, From Beyond, and an X-Files episode. Here from 88 Films is a new Blu-ray release of the film, taking in a new HD scan of the film, and a commentary track.
From Second Sight Films, here is either a Blu-ray/ UHD box set bringing together the three films from Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher series. Each is an athletic/ often edgy example of the crime genre- utilising authentic settings, real drugs, and actual criminals in their making. Each film is given a new 4k restoration, with new commentary tracks/ other extras for each film.
From last year, A Game In The Woods is a backwoods thriller/ horror, with twists of often awkward humour. Think a low-budget/crude( oil) blend of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Most Dangerous Game, and Hostel- it'll give you an idea of what we have here. From Jinga Films, here’s a bare-bones DVD release of the picture.
In 1972, Hamburg-based progressive rock band Frumpy split after two years and three albums together. The group splintered with singer Inga Rumpf, keyboard player Jean- Jacques Kravetz and bassist Karl-Heinz Schott forming Atlantis, alongside guitarist Frank Diez and drummer Curt Cress. The band released their debut self-titled album on Vertigo Records in 1972, which was followed by 1973's It’s Getting Better, 1974's Ooh, Baby and their last album, 1975's Get on Board.
Death Carries A Cane is a zippy-paced and entertaining early 70s giallo/ proto slasher, regarding a female photographer who sees a murder from a distance. The film features well-set-up/tension-building murders, a fair bit of female flesh, corny dialogue, and camp aplenty. Here from Powerhouse is a recent release of the film, coming as either a UHD or Blu-ray release. It takes in a new bright ‘n’ buoyant 4k scan, two versions of the film, a commentary track from genre experts, and a good selection of new featurettes/ interviews.
Solo project of death metal bedouin Garry Brents, Sallow Moth has consistently grown and challenged the status quo with its avant-garde tech death laced with sci-fi lore, themes, and sounds. Nearly ten years into the game, its third full-length, Mossbane Lantern, hit this year through I, Voidhanger, and this release is getting Sallow Moth out to more potential fans than ever. With the advent of cheaper home recording gear and rigs, one-man death metal projects have been on the rise, but for the most part, they usually sound like one man making it work. Sallow Moth, though, is different and feels like a wonderfully cacophonous orchestra is playing all their parts instead of just one metal thrashing madman
Hardboiled is a Blu-ray set bringing together three 1970s crime/ action films, helmed by Orléans, Loiret-born Alain Corneau. Each blends classic noir tropes, gritty ’70s edge, and French sensibilities- with often creative/distinctive twists on the crime film form. Each film in the set receives an HD scan, as well as a selection of new/ archive extras. With the set finished off, an eighty-page booklet- taking in four new pieces of writing, and archive interviews.
Diving Board is the sixth album from this British two-piece. It's a nine-track affair that finds them focusing on the more dementedly theatrical/ intensely spoken-word side of their post-PE/ extreme & experimental electronica sound.
Here’s a self-titled debut that serves up two slices of improv, which slip 'n' slide between electro-minimalism & acoustic fumbles ‘n’ darts with the occasional melodic flourisher and orchestrated shift. It’s a decidedly unpredictable, often taut and seared ride, which travels through various sonic states.
New Religion is a darkly moody, at times artfully sleek drama with elements of mystery and low-key horror. The early 2020s Japanese film manages to balance lost child dramatics with subtle Lynch like dark surrealism and moments of eerier disquiet. Here from Third Window films is a Blu-ray release of the film, with a commentary track, director interview & a few other things, including a related short.