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Ubiquity is a three-CD set compiling together five albums released by American vibraphonist, composer, and band leader Roy Ayers in the mid-to-late 1970s. It sees him embracing a blend of grooving jazz-funk, soul, and R&B. With the albums featured moving between more inspired/creative, and more commercial-focused fare.
Requiem For A Vampire was the 5th film directed by French cult director Jean Rollin, and his 4th vampiric-influenced production. It’s a film that rather defines and clarifies his ideas and themes well- with moments of creepy gothic unease, fanged threat, and more leering/ at points nasty sleaze- as well as darts into the crime thriller genre. Here from Powerhouse Films- who have been reissuing the directors' work is a release of the film- coming as either a Blu-Ray or UHD disc. Taking in a new 4k print, a selection of new and archive extras, and an eighty-page booklet.
Incubus is a mid-60s blend of myth-fired fantasy, moody Bergman-like drama, and horror. It’s a decidedly arty film starring a pre-Star Trek Willam Shatner and features the Invented language of Esperanto. Here from Arrow Video- both UK and Stateside- is a new Blu-Ray or UHD release of the film- featuring three commentary tracks, and a selection of new/ archive footage.
American trumpeter Nate Wooley was born into the craft - playing in his dad’s big band from the tender age of 13 and soloing with the New York Philharmonic before hitting thirty. But far from being bound by tradition, he has dedicated his career to pushing the boundaries of instrumentation alongside the cream of the avant-garde. And that’s not all, he also likes to write, so it’s only natural that the two pursuits collide from time to time as we find on Henry House.
As Kit Harington continues his valiant effort to distance himself from the career-igniting role that was Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow, we currently find him pairing up with the wonderful and largely underappreciated Scoot McNairy in this dark, noirish and typically minimalist crime thriller, Blood For Dust.
Amidst all the church burnings and cultural panic, it was easy to overlook the inherently theatrical nature of black metal. Corpse paint, fighting, rivalries, and satanic concert displays were like a soap opera for metal heads (although some made this all too real and unfortunately crossed the line). Hidden behind this "evil" façade were clever new modes of expression and rampant experimentation.
In Search Of Something That Doesn't Exist brings together elements of Power Electronics and slightly surreal post-industrial/ noisemaking. It’s the second full-length release from this Helsinki project, and appears in the form of a CD on Germans Aussaat.
Zen is a four-track wall noise split- bringing together Poland’s Olion, and UK’s Night Porter. The first act offers up three short nine-to-ten-minute tracks, while the second presents us with a single twenty-eight-minute track.
Frigid severs up just under half an hour's worth of thick, churning, and bone-marrow-chilling walled noise. This is a digital self-release from Cincinnati’s Whore’s Breath.
It must be a good two -to- three years since I’d last heard of/ reviewed anything by this Everett, Washington based walled noise project. Chaotic VTuber is a forty-six-minute slab of dense searing ‘n’ rushing HNW, which totally and completely engulfs you in its raging mass.
The 100 Candles Game: The Last Possession is a new anthology horror film being released on UK digital platforms on 13th January courtesy of 101 films. The film is a sequel to the similarly themed The 100 Candles Game which was released by the same company in 2020.
Ben Glas is a Portland, Oregon based psychoacoustic composer with a catalogue of works on labels such as Room040. This 2nd volume of Music for Listeners is the sequel to a cassette on Linear Obsessional Recordings
Doremi Fasol Latido was the third album UK Space rockers Hawkwind. First released in the year 1972 - it found the band making their sound both rawer and heavier, with tripped out touches & a densely swirling production. Here from Atomhenge, one of the sub-labels of Cherry Red is a new double CD reissue of the album- taking in the original album remastering, a new stereo mix, and bonus tracks.
Found Emulsion is a 2022 documentary film directed by Glenn Andreiev (Vampire’s Embrace, Night and Lost Emulsion). Much like the earlier Lost Emulsion (2016), which looked at the lost films of the silent era, Found Emulsion takes a deep dive into the world of outsider and cult cinema, eschewing genre favourites in favour of forgotten cult classics, bizarre oddities and the interesting and unique individuals who are passionately working to ensure that these films have a future.
Vixen! was the fourteenth film from American writer/ director Russ Meyer. The 1968 film was the first film that truly clarified his distinctive mix of large breast-focused softcore, drama, and playful satire, with light touches of action ‘n’ thrills. Here from Severin film is a long deserved/ first ever Blu- Ray and UHD release of the film- it’s available as either a dual disc UHD & Blu Ray release, or a stand-alone Blu Ray- I’m reviewing the second of these.
2020 Texas Gladiators is a gun-toting slice of 1980 post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thriller directed by the king of Euro Shlock Joe D'Amato. The Italian production features some reward moments of pace ‘n’ thrills, heroic and bad guy camp, and a neatly bounding-to- moody synth score. Here from Severin Films is a triple disc release of the film- taking in a UHD, Blu-Ray, and a CD of the film's score.
Oddity is a blend of horror and thriller-that is constantly omnipresent with an air of disquiet and unease. The Irish/ US production features truly authentic/ bone chilling moments of jarring fear and troubling horror- standing as one of the more original/ distinctive genre films in recent memory, using genre tropes in both an interesting & creative manner. Here from Acorn Media International is an new Blu Ray release.
Knife Under The Throat is a mid-80’s French Giallo regarding a group of exotic models getting harassed and stalked in a city setting. It’s a fairly fleshy/ sleazy affair, with a rewarding enough who-done-it mystery at its centre, though the kills/ gore side of things is somewhat underwhelming. Here from 88 Films is a recent Blu-ray release of this lesser-known giallo.
Three Cold Winters offers up a modern minimalist take on the noise drone form. Offer up three lengthy tracks that focuses on dense and temple-pressing drone works.
Appearing at the tail end of the last year, Indifferent To Your Plight is a new six track release from Berlin based wall/textured noise Sebastian Tomb. As we’ve come to expect from this project, we get a creative/ fairly original take on the genre- which adds in elements of brooding synth tone and disorientating -to-moody sound craft.
Youngster is a truly punishing ten-minute journey into lose, roughshod, crude, at points shifting walled noise. Going from the releases title, and severed hanging limps on ropes cover artwork we find out the subject here is decidedly troubling- child cannibalism.
Une Pause presents the listener with two twenty five minute dives into muffled, murky and crude walled noise from this Bordeaux based project. With each ‘wall’ been as brutally constricting as each other
Constructed and recorded quietly, using only headphones, a laptop, and Audiomulch software, Zane Trow's 2004 ambient electronic work, For Those Who Hear Actual Voices, gets its 20th anniversary edition through Room40. Interestingly recorded in a similarly clandestine fashion to its childhood inspiration, Voices is a versatile set of tracks that weave frequencies, textures, and motion to create shimmering soundscapes that interact with the environment in which they're being played. Based around the idea sounds exist as "frequencies that danced around a space just shy of full perception," this album can be enjoyed in all manners, with each listen differing from the last as time and space has shifted just enough that the frequencies present themselves in new, exciting manners.
The Silent Hour is a new crime thriller directed by Brad Anderson, and has recently been released on streaming platforms