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Here’s a CD boxset bringing together the late 70s to early 80’s albums from first-wave British punk band U.K. Subs. It charts the band's sound shifting from its rough ‘n’ ready pub rock-tinged punk beginnings to slightly more refined/ tuneful fare. The five-CD set takes in the following albums- Another Kind Of Blues (1979), Brand New Age (1980), live album Crash Course (1980), Diminished Responsibility (1981), and Engaged Species (1982)- with each disc taking in a fair selection of bonus tracks.
High Noon Kahuna are a tight three-piece (guitar, bass, drums) and their second full-length, This Place is Haunted, certainly showcases their musical skills as they genre hop with reckless abandon. It is not entirely clear if aping the styles of 90s noise rock is a stated aim of the group, but there it is. Like so much that revisits earlier musical precedents – post-hardcore, AmRep debauchery, etc. – the production often gets in the way, rounding the edges and churning out something more akin to popular radio than indie rock. The vocals on the anthemic “Good Night God Bless” are a case in point, echoes and slick recording taking the place of an otherwise direct delivery. Maybe this is the only way to put their influences from and center?
The Moon , an epic space survival thriller from South Korea is released on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD/BD Steelbook as well as digital platforms in the UK and Ireland from 27 May 2024.
When Tim Baxter (Greg Hobbs) returned to the marital home after 22 years in the military, he brought with him a lot more than he, wife Elaine (Diane Ellis) and stepdaughter Mindy (Jade Callender) bargained for in this 2021 British flick The Devil Came Home- which is getting a digital release on Miracle Medis
Rafal Zapala is a Polish composer/improviser whose work blurs the lines between modern classical composition and avant-electronic sound. Futility offers up five pieces from him dating from between 2018 and 2021, and each mixes formal classical instrumentation with electronic elements.
Reflections In Repose is a recent two-CD/116-minute album from US ambient master/ pioneer Steve Roach. It features five long-form tracks- which sees him stripping down his sound using just a single instrument — the Oberheim OB-X8 — the modern equivalent of the iconic Oberheim OB-8, which he used 40 years ago to make his classic 1984 album Structures From Silence.
First released in April of 2022, and having several reissues since, Avraham is yet more proof of how talented, versatile, and creative Pittsburgh-based noise project Yotzeret Sheydim is. The project started off as a more straight-ahead wall noise venture- but has since gone onto genre mix ‘n’ blur with great skill/ flare- this nine-track release pulls together elements of noise, synth core/ punk, electro-industrial, etc.
Passed Out Behind The Puppy-Mask is an example of brutally galloping to intensely cluttering walled noise from this US project. The single thirty-five-minute track is themed around S&M, and one does feel like they are wrapped tightly & still in an all-over bondage suit when playing the track.
Well-known and well-respected artist, producer, mixer, general Jack of All Trades, Steven Wilson, has rekindled his experimental project, Bass Communion, after 12 long years. The Itself of Itself sees the audio whiz kid bringing forth dark and brooding ambient with noisy flourishes, a grim outlook, and great distance between Steven's current other projects. While this material varies greatly from his more well-known projects, it is definitely a large part of his inner being and the experimental nature is well suited to one with such a strong creative drive.
Since the sad passing of legendary folk singer/ songwriter Sandy Denny in 1978 the world has been in mourning for new material. There have been umpteen posthumous releases of alternative takes of classic Denny material as well as previously unreleased demo tracks and various other stuff. None of it seems to have truly satiated that lust for new material until perhaps now.
I, the Executioner arrived to me as a promo disc, so I can’t describe the accompanying booklet, nor the packaging which I guarantee you will be in line with Radiance’s high standards. I was perhaps late to Radiance, but they’ve been steadily releasing some real gems, smartly designed and padded with interesting extras. I’d never heard of this film before Radiance added it to their catalogue, but it’s a very worthy addition and one with historical and aesthetic value.
Asunder is a rattling ‘n’ rickety take on the walled noise from UK’s Death To Dynamics. The single thirty-two-minute ‘wall’ feels booth crudely aged and worn down in its attack- with the whole thing nicely set out into an entrancing-if-slightly wavering/ loose flow.
The Church is a late 80’s Italian horror film that blends the atmospheric and gothic with the gorily creative and brutally deranged. The film shifts from the medieval times to the then present day- being largely set/ focused around a huge church built on the burial ground of the damned dead. Here from Severin is a classy three-disc set, taking in a UHD disc, a region A Blu-Ray, and a CD soundtrack. The release features a wonderful bold & well-defined print, hours of extras, a colour inlay booklet, and a glossy card slip.
From the early 1970s, The Case Of The Bloody Iris is a fairly cliched, though entertaining enough Giallo. It features the king & queen of the genre Edwige Fenech & George Hilton, a handful of murders carried out by gloved/ black masked killer, a splattering of female nudity, and a score by Bruno Nicolai- which shifts between the memorable bounding and eerier. Here from Celluloid Dreams is a double-disc UHD/Blu-Ray disc of the release of the film. Featuring a nicely bold & clean 4k scan, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
Tormented is a cheap, cheerful, and cheesy blend of thriller and horror genres- regarding an ageing playboy/ light jazz pianist who is due to get married, but is literally haunted/ being pestered by the spirit of one of his X’s. The films from the early ’60s, though feels way more from the 50’s- with its tone/set-up, and brief brushes of noir in its make-up.
Root Themselves In The Power Of Place features two examples of textural layered/at-points busy/ detailed walled noise from this Cincinnati, Ohio-based project. Both tracks slide in at around the half-an-hour mark, and both are rather distinctive/ creative in their make-up.
“In Yorkshire’s embrace; Creation through listening’s grace; Endless roots; No bounds.” The credo of Yorkshire Modular Society a.k.a Dominick Schofield and one that absolutely sums up his approach as an artist dedicated to electronic music in all its marvellous forms. For his latest output Fiery the Angels Fell, the Yorkshireman has settled on ambient soundscapes as his investigation of choice but it is all part of a long and winding musical journey that has seen his credentials fully tried and tested.
I guess it’s safe to say that Liz Harris (Grouper, Nivhek) has become her own mini-genre, inspiring musicians to wash out as much as humanly possible via electronic processing that puts every sound source – especially vocals – through a dreamy, ethereal filter. Ekin Fil’s Sleepwalkers sure feels like one of these genealogical descendants, though radically different from its predecessors, it is not. Should it be? I will leave that question where it is and point out instead that music as intimate and personal as Harris’ naturally casts a shadow over other, deeply affected projects.
Here’s a new forty-four-minute example of hope-numbing walled noise from Spain’s Damien De Coene. The digital self-release is both rapidly rolling & greyly stark in its attack, and is primed perfectly for bleak entrancement.
This is a c90 split bringing together two scuzzy, sleazy, and nasty examples of HNW from these two long-term sonic perverts.
'You Can't Run Forever' is a new thriller made available via both digital platforms and in DVD format on 27 May.
NZ's dissonant death metallers, Ulcerate, return with their seventh full-length, Cutting the Throat of God. Working their way up the ranks with ever-increasing technical ability, songwriting, and production, this trio has continued to impress metalheads the world over. Thick and rich, this sonic onslaught runs the gamut of sounds, speeds, thoughts, and emotions, all while delivering a powerful and complete death attack. Cutting the Throat of God is a tight and streamlined production with all the flourishes and artistry one has come to expect from Ulcerate but still keeps it fresh and new showing the band's continued growth.
Gareth Davis & Monika Bugajny's Becoming is a single forty four minute track that begins quite patiently. First becoming audible as a faint, filtered chordal drone after about a minute and a half, it swells slightly and ebbs away again.
Lola is a 2022 time-travelling sci-fi war movie and the feature-length debut of writer/ director Andrew Legge (The Chronoscope, The Unusual Inventions of Henry Cavendish and The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden). It stars Emma Appleton (The Witcher, The Last Letter from Your Lover and The End of the Fucking World), Stephanie Martini (Crooked House, Prime Suspect: Tennison and The Last Kingdom), and Rory Fleck Byrne (Vampire Academy, The Foreigner and Falling Into Place).