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Classic Albums Vol 3: The 13th Moon Years is a five-CD boxset bringing together all of the studio albums from Alien Sex Fiend from between the years 1996 and the present day, as well disc taking in two EP’s, and bonus album tracks. Since the early 1980’s the UK two-piece has gleefully dodged genre labels & brackets. Their often darkly tongue-in (rotten)cheek sound blends elements of Goth, psychobilly, punk, electro-fired shock rock, and various brands of electronica.
Ambient music is not hard to come by, our ears are persistently inundated with new releases that tap into the ethereal, the otherworldly and the transcendent. It marks a dramatic shift from the early days when we had to make do with a handful of Obscure label recordings and the odd Basinski record to being in a place where it can be a wearying challenge to find the ambient record to suit our cosmic needs. But, for now, look no further, as New Dawns, the latest release from longstanding Israeli multi-disciplinary artist and musician Ran Slavin, is one that should absolutely be sitting at the top of the pile.
Vital (Vitâru) is an early 2000 Japanese drama regarding death & grief with a decidedly ghoulish, at points downright unsettling centrally premise. It regards a man who is in a car crash- he loses his memory, as well as his girlfriend in the accident. During his recovery he finds a grate full of medical books and decides to train as a doctor- he goes to medical school and ends up dissecting his girlfriend- who gave her body up to medical science. The film blends downbeat emotional drama, moments of grim dissection, off-kilter/ violent romance, and hopefully fantasy- so a decidedly tonal unbalancing, but certainly thought-provoking film. Here from Third Widow Films is a recent Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in an archive commentary track, and a few other archive extras.
Spiral- not to be confused with the 2021 Saw spin-off of the same name. Is an early 2000s jazz music-scored indie film, which attempts to mix awkward romance drama with dark thriller elements. It’s compelling enough if at points decidedly slow film- which features a wonderful awkward lead, and a few neat enough twists in its tail. Here from Ronin Flix is a Blu-Ray Special edition of the film- taking a new making-of and commentary track.
The Invisible is a free-jazz record that shifts between the expressive & moody, to manic and dense, through to the abstract and angular. This three-length track album brings together Belgian guitarist Dirk Serries, Portuguese sax player Rodrigo Amado, and English drummer Andrew Lisle.
Mowa Tworzenia ( Speech of Creation) is a ten-track album that blends industrial texturing- be it drone-based, or more active fare with field recordings. The tone moves from eerier and uneasy, to more churning and semi-rhythmic, to more abstract and detailed.
Seventh in the series of self-released albums by Bankert, ol07 continues his unique brand of electronic experimentation based on improvisation and samples. The result is an interesting blend of sounds, styles, and textures that challenges classification, all while showing its colors and inspirations to many varied genres. Highlighting the intersection between hip-hop, dance, industrial, and others, the construction here leans in its own direction, often using these sounds and samples as the main driving force, laid above a very minimal background
Soul Provider a new three-track release from the Polish Wall Noise project Olion. Each ‘wall’ rolls in at around the ten-minute mark- they move between full ‘n’ roasting, to more stark & bleak washed out.
Survive ( Survivre ) is a new French science fiction thriller available on digital platforms from 30th September.
Päfgens is an ambient shoegaze/post-rock duo with music based on loops, with several mostly self-released recordings over the past 10 years. Aspect of What is their new album, released this year in 2024 on Mappa, with eight tracks totalling forty four minutes
The Crippled Masters is a cult classic Hong Kong martial arts movie from 1979, directed by Chi Lo (Magic Swords, Deadly Hands of Kung Fu and Black Magic). The film stars Sung-Chuan Chen aka Frank Shum and Chao-Ming Kang aka Jackie Conn ( both actors starred together in Raiders of the Shaolin Temple, Two Crippled Heroes and Fighting Life), both men have physical disabilities. Chen was born with one severely disabled arm due to thalidomide syndrome and Kang has withered legs which he lost the use of during childbirth, both actors managed to adapt well and as we can see in this movie, became very talented martial artists. Other actors worthy of a mention are Chung-Kuei Chang (Wu Tang Vs Ninja, Drunken Tai Chi and Master of the Flying Guillotine), Mu-Chuan Chen (Iron Monkey II, Bloody Monkey Master and Hero of Death ) and Chang Ma (The Witch with the Flying Head, Raiders of the Shaolin Temple and Fearless Hyena II ).
This sixth boxset in Powerhouse’s Columbia Noir series focuses on The Whistler series of films. In total, there were eight films made across the 1940s, with all but one of them featuring actor Richard Dix- who played different characters- who may be good/ may be bad/ somewhere in-between. All of the films in the series are full of great noir atmospherics, twist ‘n’ turning plots, and some great character actors. This set takes in all eight films- with new crisp and clean prints of each, a great selection of worthy extras, and a one-hundred-and-twenty-page book.
Collected Works is a five-CD set compiling together all the studio albums from Earthstar-a Utica, New York formed band from the 70s who were the only American band to participate in Germany's Kosmische Musik/electronic at its height. Their sound moved from pastoral & hazed synth/ tape loops/piano-based ambient, onto electro-based Kraut rock, though to blends of new age/ ambient/ Kosmische.
En Suspension is the very welcome return of the French female wall noise project Exquise Esquisse aka Charlotte Thevenin-Nikolić (Naughty, The Girl With The Stanley Knife, and long-term involvement with the French wall noise scene). The release comes as either a C40 or digital download, which features two twenty-minute low-end focused ‘walls’ that are all about tension & moodiness.
United We Stand is a new three-track wall noise release from Leeds UK’s Meanwood Beck. Each track runs dead on the seven-minute mark, and each nicely blends thick ‘n’ murky noise craft with rewarding details/ touches.
A Dog Called... Vengeance is a late 1970s Spanish film that brings together several genres in a creative & largely successful manner. It’s a blend of an escape-from-prison action film, a man vs dog thriller, and a taut political drama. Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray reissue of the film- taking in a new scan of the film, and a few worthy extras.
The Threat is a gritty, at points disorienting and brutal Japanese neo-noir from the late 1960’s. It blends home invasion and kidnap elements- with a backdrop of a rapidly modernising and expanding Japan. Here from Arrow Video- both in the UK and Stateside- is a new Blu-ray release of the picture, taking in a new crisp & clear HD scan of the film, a commentary track and a video appreciation.
Stalwarts of the Columbian metal scene, Witchtrap, blast into the spooky season with their sixth full-length, Hungry as the Beast. Thrashing and skanking since 1992, this trio have been infusing metal and its scene with energy and headbanging fun, here solely for the love of metal, recording, and performing. Four years since their last album, Evil Strikes Again, Witchtrap show that they haven't lost a step in their pursuit and remain as hungry as ever.
From the early 1960’s Jessica is a Sicilian village mountain set film that blends light drama, gently saucy-to-slapstick humour, and romance. It regards a ‘pretty’ blond American midwife moving to the village- to turn more than a few heads and bring up some trouble. Filmed in Technicolor it’s a feast for the eyes- as it’s largely set in the spring/ summer, so everything is in bloom. Here from Imprint Films is the first ever Blu-Ray release of the picture featuring a lush & bright new scan, commentary track, and interview with the lead actress.
Taut and tense, yet equally atmospheric and mysterious The Hitcher is one of the great psychological-action thrillers of the 1980’s. Its premise is simply but effectively presented to great heart-pounding & intensely moody effect, a young man picks up a hitchhiker on a lonely-falling-asleep trip across the states- he turns out to be a seemingly unstoppable killer. Here from Second Sight Films is a deluxe limited edition of the film- taking in dual UHD & Blu Ray, loads of extras, and a two hundred-page book.
Kingcrow is an atmospheric alternative rock/metal group from Italy with both classic and modern influences, pairing a bluesy faux-70's fuzz guitar tone with lush synth pads, electronic percussion loops and moody vocals inspired by Scandinavian art rock bands like Anathema and Katatonia, with heavy chorus effects.
This CD, presented in a black and white digipack with collaged imagery and lyrics (in both Japanese and English), collects up two recent releases from Corrupted, the legendary Japanese doom band. Having lost their original vocalist, Hevi, the band have perhaps wandered a little, and thats evidenced here, with Felicific Algorithm and Mushikeras. The former release was originally a 12” on Cold Spring, notably devoid of anything sounding conventionally like a doom band, and the latter was originally released on Corrupted’s Bandcamp as a digital-only release.
From Robinsongs, Cherry Red’s funk/ soul/ R&B reissuing label, here is a two-CD/ four album reissue from New York’s Cameo. The albums featured date from between 1981 and 1984, and show the band polishing & defining their trademark sleek-yet-playful funk ‘n’ soul sound.
Outermost Melodies is a double CD set bringing together percussion-based works from Swiss modern classic/ modern composition composer Jürg Frey. It’s a sonically varied and at points eventful collection moving between the abstract and earthy, the delicate & textured, the dragging & chiming, and beyond.