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Transmission is a 2023 film focusing on a lost/ cursed movie & a missing horror director. It’s structured/ presented in a rather creative manner- as if someone is channel hopping late one night- blending true crime mockumentary, news reports, several films with the film, parody adverts, etc. Here from Jinga Films is a bare-bones region-free DVD of the film.
Up! was the twenty-second feature-length film from large-breast-obsessed Auteur Russ Meyer. The late 1970s movie stands as one of the director's more scatterbrained, wacky, at times playful stream of consciousness-bound creations. The small lumber town based feature blends elements of soft-core sex comedy, murder mystery, and nazi parody/ send up- with lots of out in nature bonking and playful perverse narration/ Greek chorus from a nude Kitten Natividad- all topped with moments of violence and splatter. Here from Severin, as part of their series of reissues of the Meyers work, is a new release of the film, taking in a wonderfully new bold ‘n’ bright print, a new commentary track, and an archive interview.
Jack The Ripper is a late 1950s cinematic adaptation of the infamous Whitechapel Murders of 1888. The black and white film sits somewhere between whodunit, period drama, and hammy mystery, with some nice eerie to tense street-bound shots, and light touches of nudity and violence, with a bloody colour climax. Here from Severin is a double UHD/Blu-ray- taking in European and US versions of the film, both with a new 4k scan, a commentary track, and a few extras.
A Day At The Beach is an early 70s film regarding a manipulative, devious, at times charming alcoholic, taking a young girl, who is either his niece or daughter, to a rain-washed and seen better days Danish seaside town. The film mixes glum drama, character study, and addiction melodrama, with moments of dark humour, fearful tautness, and grim quirkiness. Here from Powerhouse-both in the UK and stateside- is a Blu-ray reissue of this little-known/ seen film, which features a screenplay penned by none other than Roman Polanski, who also produced the film. And it also features a brief cameo from Peter Sellers.
In an epic, genre crossing event, two of extreme metal's all time legends bring their experimental solo work to Cold Spring. Iggor Cavalera and Shane Embury (best known for Sepultura and Napalm death, respectively) unleash side-long pieces for this release, mixing brooding, dark ambient, industrial, noise, and all manners of uncomfortable sound in between. While no strangers to experimental music (Iggor's Petbrick and Shane's Dark Sky Burial, for example), the two use their own names for this release, giving their work a more personal feel.
Here’s a recent four-track mini-album/ EP from Sebastian Tomb- the Berlin-based project, which takes a more moody-to-creative take on walled/ textured noise form. Each track mixes experimental ambient elements with minimalistic/low-key wall craft.
Trinity of Wisdom is a new two-track album from this highly prolific/long-running Californian walled noise project. Both tracks roll in at the thirty-minute mark, and both are exercises in ball-busting/dense/ unforgiving HNW.
Deaf Center are the duo of Norwegians Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland, existing since the early 2000's. This new album, Reverie, is the first release in six years. The two-track release a live album, performed at the anniversary show for their label, Sonic Pieces- with each track hitting around the seventeen mintue mark.
Here’s two tracks of electronic noise from RDKPL, on Inner Demons Records; I’m reviewing this via a download code for Bandcamp, so there’s no packaging to consider, but I like the simple, diy, ‘bedroom’ packaging that I’ve seen on other Inner Demons releases. Both tracks are ten minutes in length, and both play with similar sounds.
Originally released in 1996, Hopelessness and Shame was the debut album from this Philadelphia instrumental trio. They have been classified as ‘doom jazz’, though I’d say you’d have to add taut rock/ metal to that description. Here from SRA Records- as either a CD or vinyl(either red or yellow varieties)- is a recent(ish) reissue of the album, which was recorded by Steve Albini, with a new remastering.
“As an artist, I am informed by my unique perspective as partially colour-blind and dyslexic. In my work, I explore notions of perception, context, and diversity through the construction of immersive spaces that seek to heighten the audience’s awareness of their own direct experience.” Based in LA, multidisciplinary artist and composer Yann Novak has created a unique platform from which he explores both sound and light directing awareness to our own world of individual experiences. With a diverse body of work that ranges from installations and sound diffusions to ‘architectural interventions’ and the written word, Novak has seemingly performed almost everywhere including the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane, the sadly-no-more Iklectik in London and his home state of California where he was recently awarded the honour of Cultural Trailblazer for 2021-22 by LA’s Department of Cultural Affairs. In amongst all this, Novak has been equally prolific with his musical output - in fact it’s something that has been a central part of his work for the last twenty years. And his new deep-listening album Continuity is the latest in a series of recordings that sees the American artist use sound to probe the nature of reality.
Tourist Trap is a late 70’s American horror film that blends slasher and supernatural genre tropes. The rundown waxwork setting manages to balance a decidedly darkly quirky tone, with moments of eerier unease, telekinetic murder, and jarring terror. Here from the folks at 101 Films is a new Blu-ray release, taking in a fair selection of both new and old extras. With a card slip sleeve and a thirty-two-page perfectly bound booklet.
Palindromes was the 5th feature from Todd Solondz, America's auteur of uncomfortable and taboo-breaking drama/cringe-inducing dark comedy. The early 2000s picture focuses on Aviva, a middle-class thirteen-year-old girl who is obsessed with having a baby. The film is presented in a decidedly off-kilter fairy tale manner, with the lead character shifting between eight different actors over the picture's length, all adding to the awkwardness and fist-biting edginess of the whole thing. Here from Radiance Films is a new release of the film, coming as either a dual UHD/Blu-ray format release or a stand-alone Blu-ray; I’m reviewing the latter of these. Both versions take in a 4k restoration, a few new interviews, a new video essay, and a forty-page inlay booklet.
Dissonant, aggressive, and passionate, Noise Trail Immersion's latest, Tutta La Morte In Un Solo Punto, has the Italian death dealers pushing out a sonic assault that challenges the listener with its complexities and subtleties, as well as its full-on assault. The product of ten years of hard work and determination, their newest pits dissonance vs melodies, deepening each track with its enigmatic arrangements and structures. Thick and well-layered, Tutta adds a heavy sense of unease, and its shifting tones and patterns keep the listener on edge throughout its runtime.
Atomic Rooster was the sixth full-length album from this( then) three-piece Rock band. First released in the year 1980, the album saw the band stepping away from its previous blues/funk rock meets blue-eyed soul sound, for a rawer hard rock/ proto metal/ slightly punked sound. Here from Cherry Red’s Esoteric Records is a double disc CD reissue of the album, taking in the original album, eleven bonus/ unreleased tracks, and a whole ten-track live set.
From Vallejo, California, Con Funk Shun where a seven-piece band that created a tight and groove-focused mix of funk, R&B, and soul. Organized was the band's fourth album, originally released in 1978 on UK label Pickwick. Here, from Robin Song- one of the Cherry Red family of labels- is a CD reissue of the album.
Heatwave is the latest in the Righteous label's long-running Lux & Ivy compilation series, which sees respected music journalist Dave Henderson crate-digging for obscure 45s from the ’50s & ’60s. This twenty-three CD collection focuses on Exotica/ Nexotica- bringing together known/influential artists such as Martin Denny, Les Baxter, and Arthur Lyman, with lesser-known names.
The Good, The Bad, The Weird is a 2008 South Korean action/adventure/comedy/western from writer/ director Kim Jee-Woon (A Tale of Two Sisters, I Saw The Devil and A Bittersweet Life). The film stars Song Kang-ho (Snowpiercer, Parasite and The Host), Lee Byung-hun (I Saw The Devil, A Bittersweet Life and Squid Game), Jung Woo-Sung (Steel Rain, The Warrior and A Moment to Remember), Yun Je-mun (Okja, The Host and Mother) and Ryu Seung-Su (The Chaser, Wonderful Days and Finding Mr Destiny).
From the early 80s, Murder Rock was the 44th film from Italian director Lucio Fulci, who is most known for his gore-bound, at times surreal horror films of the late 70s/ early 80s. The film is a giallo set in & around a NYC dance studio- taking in the then highly popular dance-focused genre, and blending it with Italy’s often elaborate murder laced mystery form. It’s fair to say the film is not the best/ most consistent of the director's work, but there are moments of greatness present, and when the atmosphere/ tension kicks in, it’s most effective. Here from 88 Films is a new Blu-ray/ UHD release of the film. It features a new 4k scan, a new commentary track, a great selection of new interviews, and a forty-page inlay booklet.
From the early 60s, The Black Torment is a moody/well-made blend of period mystery and low-key gothic horror. It focuses on a lord returning to his family's mansion with his new wife, finding it's seemingly haunted by the spectre of his first wife and his own doppelganger. The film is a mix of are-they-going-crazy-or-not thriller tropes and ghost-fed gothic vibes. Sure, it takes a little while to warm up, but once it does, you are well & truly hooked & effectively creeped out. Here, from 88 Films, either as a Blu-ray or DVD, is a recent release of this lesser-seen British film from producer Tony Tenser (Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan's Claw). It features a new HD scan, two commentary tracks, and a few other things.
As part of Powerhouse's series of reissues of Jean Rollin's filmography, here’s one of the French director's lesser-known/lesser-seen pictures, Girls Without Shame. This early 70s film was released under the pseudonym Michel Gentil- it was the director's first foray into softcore, which he blended with elements of low-key crime thriller, roughie, and comedy, and a slightly off-kilter fairy tale air. So it’s certainly a curio from Rollin, who up until its release was largely known for his arty & surreal Vampire films. The release comes as either a UHD or Blu-ray, and takes in three versions of the film- all with a new 4k scan, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
The Age Of Alexander is the second album from Xiphos- a three-piece project that creates an atmospheric and epic mix of martial industrial and neo-classical music. The album is a ten-track affair- coming as either a CD or digital release- I’m reviewing the former of these.
Advanced communication is arguably humanity's greatest trait, and one that remains as important now as when the first utterances left our ancestors' lips. However, over time, the increases in technology have only exacerbated the inherent flaws in our systems, and no matter how hard we try to close these holes, miscommunication will always persist. Our sensory organs are wonderful and a marvel of evolution, but sometimes the firmware has trouble processing for any number of reasons. Timothy Fairless looks into the subtleties of communication, miscommunication, technology, and how it all works together with Keep Talking to Me. Taken from his sound installation mirroring the communicative process, this album utilizes conversations, electronics, and varied effects to put his thesis forth: altering the context of the communication will force the listener to question their interpretation. What they end up receiving is up to them, whether on purpose or subconsciously. Is it the brain truly interpreting the signals or, like Paul Simon sang, "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest"?
This is another two-track release from this Calgary, Alberta wall noise project. Each of the fifteen-minute track mixes crude-yet-detailed texturing with sombre to atmospheric elements, which vaguely hint at harmony.