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Rosalie Cunningham, the former vocalist with psychedelic rockers Ipso Facto and Purson has recently released her third solo album, To Shoot Another Day to much fanfare. Rosalie, has been ploughing a lone furrow since releasing her self-titled debut solo album in 2019 and this third instalment sees her taking her brand of psychedelic rock/pop to the next level."
Here’s a mini-CDR (officially the best format, I declare) from Inner Demons Records, a prolific US label who deal exclusively, I think, in 3” CDRs. The label releases a lot of harsh noise and HNW, and given that ARCANA OF PHYSICS : Panspermia is two tracks amounting to twenty minutes, I suspected eumourner would be static walls. But I was wrong. Eumourner is Francesco La Cava, Gherardo Zauber Pierantoni, and Michele Venturi, utilising percussion, voices, guitars, theremin, bass, field-recording, cut-ups, samples, and effects.
Buy Or Die is a three-CD boxset compilation looking at the output of Ralph Records- The Residents ‘s curated/ run label that existed between the early 70’s and late 80’s. The set focuses on the key/ productive ten-year period between 1972 and 1982- taking in sixty-three tracks over its three discs.
Here’s a two-disc sonic journey into dada anti-music, dense & surreal noise craft, wonky ‘n’ warped jam-making, and abstract/unbalancing soundart. It’s a release that both engages and frustrates in equal measures- as it plays with your logic, senses and at points even one's own sanity.
The Man From Majorca is a Swedish police procedural thriller directed in 1984 by Bo Widerberg. It is released by Radiance here on Blu-ray in a hi-def digital transfer with improved English subtitles. The film is Widerberg’s almost decade-long follow-up to his previous thriller The Man On The Roof (1976). During the intervening years, the director had mostly been occupied with various TV projects, the exception being the theatrical release Victoria (1979), a drama concerned with a cross-class relationship.
Dead, Dead Swans play a stark, raw and world-weary blend of American folk music- with a largely pared-back guitar, banjo, and male vocal setting. Even Still, We Were Together is seemingly the band's second album- taking in ten tracks, that chart downbeat/blue-collar life.
Love In The Jungle is the third in the series of Destination Love compilations from Germany's Bear Family Records. It’s a twenty-six-track affair- featuring songs from between the 1950s and 1960s- moving rock ‘n’ roll, sassy easy listening, jiving ‘n’ griding grooves, novelty pop fair, strip tease music, and related genres.
From 2024, Killcast is a low-key/low-budget serial killer horror film, which uses its budget well to create a gritty, grimly brooding, at points unease & brutal watch. It regards a troubled crime podcast reporting on a local killing spree, which gets more personal as her friends and accomplices start getting taken out. Here from SRS Cinema is a DVD release of the film.
From the early 40s, Sahara is a compelling, eventful at points, decidedly tense and gritty WWII desert set action drama. It regards a single American tank crew led up by Humphrey Bogart, who, along its way to find water and safety, picks up a selection of survivors- as the Germans are surrounding on all sides, and all hope seems lost. Here from the fine folks at Powerhouse is a new Blu-Ray release- featuring a beautiful -defined HD scan of the film, a new commentary track, and a selection of new/ archive extras.
Hamburg-based noise theorist and musician, David Wallraf, returns to Karl for his second release with the label, Crudeltá Necessaria. Focused on the abject cruelty showcased in the works of legendary Italian filmmaker and writer, Pier Paolo Pasolini. Wallraf uses multiple textures and processes to bring about his view and the resulting noise palette is a vibrant and exciting form of expression. Samples, field recordings, and thick distortion all come together to help Wallraf paint his vision which resonates well with those familiar with the works of Pasolini, but also speaks very strongly to those who have yet to be initiated.
Alarm is the first full-length release from LARMO- aka Poland’s Mirosław Matyasik, who has been active in his country scene since the early 2000’s dabbling in genres such as IDM, industrial, and electro-experimental fare. The album is a twelve-track affair which focuses on hard-hit, nastily brooding, at points noise-edged beat-based music.
Reception Radiation is a new four-track album from Swedish electronica project Jarl. As the release titles hint the theme here is radiation- each of the four beatless/synth tone wash-based tracks puts the intensity of radiation in sonic form, starting at 25 % and ending at 100%. Each of the tracks runs between eight and twenty-one minutes
The Grey Area is a split CD EP that’s heady with taut beats, brooding bass lines, and very ominous intentions. Both projects come from Silesia Poland, and both have bleak ‘n’ lightly noise-edged take on the electronica form.
The House Of Haunted Horror is a swinging 60’s blend of creepy house horror, proto-slasher, and murder mystery. It blends camp and colourful vibes/ clothes, with moments of eerie unease and bright red gore. Here from 88 films- as part of their Tigon collection series is a new Blu-Ray release of the film- featuring an HD scan, two commentary tracks and a few other extras.
Stray Dog is a pacy, engaging, and wonderfully shot example of where Japanese noir meets police thriller. The 1940s film is set in sweltering heat heat-bound Tokyo- following the plight of a rookie cop who tries to track down his stolen service gun. Taking him on a real adventure, from going uncover trailing the city streets, into a baseball stadium, through dances collapsed chorus line dressing rooms, into mist morning countryside. Here from the BFI is a new Blu-Ray release of the film- taking in a new crisp ‘n’ clean 4k scan, a new commentary track, and a few other extras.
Memory Scale (aka Arnaud Castagné from Bordeaux, FR) has crafted a pretty unique take on the ambient genre in his Chapter Five, a new album composed of twelve tracks that are really, for lack of a better term, songs. This is part of what makes this work unique, for the structure and internal momentum present within each composition certainly moves, in a developmental way, toward a horizon, wherever that is. To be fair, any music does by virtue of its durational character, but the movement I mean here is formal, built into the internal tensions within each song.
Harawata Man aka Intestines Man is a 2019 horror comedy from director Yu Nakamoto (Dead Cop, Phone of the Dead and Sensei! Kuchisake-onna Desu!) starring Yûko Gotô (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, and Code Geass), Marie Kai (the Kamen Rider series of movies) and Tsugumi Sakuragi (Ultraman Blazar, Momentary Lily and Hoshi no Samidare).
A big part of the appeal/ enjoyment of the glam/ hair metal form comes from its more campy and cheesier tendencies. One band who has these elements in spades is Tigertailz- who are not from the epicentre of genre LA, but Cardiff Wales. For A Few Dollarz More! The Archives Vol 1 is a three-CD boxset focusing on bands’ output from between the years 1984 and 1991, featuring two albums, six EPs, and demo tracks.
Nearly a decade ago now, I found myself laying on the floor of London’s esteemed Jazz Café instructed to do so by Australian ambient connoisseur, Lawrence English as he launched into a transcendent musical voyage that placed us floor-dwellers in a truly meditative state. Such is the essence of English’s music that during his twenty or so years in the world of ambient he has established himself as one of the true originals. He’s also incredibly hardworking - consistently producing music either solo or collaboratively and already chalking up his first release of 2025 with Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds.
From 2023, He Never Left is a film that blends various thriller and horror sub-genres to interesting, sometimes effective, sometimes less-so-effective results. It brings together stuck-in-one location tenseness, bloody serial killer action, urbane legend unease, and mismatched cop drama/ comedy. Here from Epic Pictures is a recent Blu-Ray release taking in a commentary track, a lenghty making of, and a few other extras.
Here’s a noise split themed around the genre-defining found footage film The Blair Witch Project. The six tracks bring together elements of forking-yet-moody harsh noise, churning walled noise, more noise-focused ambience, and of course more than a few seared-up 'n' bucked film samples.
Dark Days Coming is an eleven-track-walled noise compilation focusing on the election of Donald Trump as the 47th US President. The tracks featured here have runtimes between five and ten minutes, with a focus( largely) on the thicker and more roasting side wall craft, fitting the theme/ anger of the collection well.
Five long years since his last Long Trax release, Will Long (also known as Celer) returns with four fun, upbeat pieces of light dance with Long Trax 4. Long not only because of the composer but also the track length, these four songs are spread over four 12" sides, presenting quite a layout for the grooves contained within. The eponymous project is quite a departure from the ambient works of Celer, but Will Long has been producing engaging house and dance music for nearly a decade so he's well represented in both styles of electronic music.
Miasm is one of the many projects from respected and long-running US noisemaker Richard Ramirez. As its title suggests this is the fourth release from this project, which started in 2017. It comes as either cassette or digital download- featuring two side-long tracks that blend walled noise, harsh noise, and moodier fare that sits between post-industrial and uneasy ambience.