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The Bride Wore Black is a steadily unfurling revenge thriller from the late ’60s. The French film nicely balances detailed storytelling, some neat twists, and interesting/ creative shot use. Here From Radiance Films is a new Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in a bold new scan of the picture, as well as a selection of new & archive extras.
French electronic music composer, musician, and teacher, Antoine Hubineau, hits Arbitrary Records with his latest 7" release, Dissolvè / Scillions. Utilizing modular synth recordings, this two song ep takes the source material, reworks it, and processes these new samples in the computer, and rearranges them as brand new tracks. Describing constant motion ("Dissolvè") and fractal pathways ("Scillions"), this audio experiment gives the listener an intriguing look at an alternative method of modular synth composition.
Dormiveglia is the first new album in five or so years from Arktau Eos - the Finish two-piece who create sinisterly ritual ambient music, which at its best sends unease & chills bone deep. The album is six track affair, which focuses on subdued-yet-brooding-to-forbiddingly hovering soundscapes- utilizing both acoustic, electronic, and organic/ low-key field recording elements.
Spirit Possession are a US black metal band which plays a hybrid style that fuses a Bathory-esque classic black metal with flashy trills and melodic shredding that borrows tricks from groups like Iron Maiden and Megadeth. They came into the scene in 2020 with a self-titled debut on Profound Lore Records, and have now returned this year in 2023 with the follow-up, Of The Sign....
Destination Jail: 31 Prison Songs From Behind The Bars is another compilation from those swell folks at German’s Bear Family Records. As its title suggests, the theme here is being in the slammer, and everything surrounding this subject. The sound on offer moves from Rock ‘n’ Roll, Bluegrass, Country, and connected genres dating from between the ’50s & ’60s. And while it’s not as genre-spanning/ quirky as some of the label's output- it’s another well put together, and (relatively) varied collection.
H P Lovecraft has gained a level of mainstream recognition recently following the success of the HBO ‘Lovecraft Country’ TV series which incorporates his mythos and features his name in the title. Before this Lovecraft was never a household name and the highest profile cinema adaptations to date have been those directed by Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna such as the tongue-in (gory) cheek ‘Re-Animator’ series (1985 – 2003).
Alexander Minto Hughes had a few careers in his lifetime. He was a pro-wrestler (named the Masked Executioner), a bouncer, and a debt collector- but he’s most known under his reggae persona Judge Dread. During the 1970’s he sold several million records, with his sales second only to Bob Marley in the UK. His sound blended elements of ska & rocksteady genres of reggae, with cheeky lyrics that were alive with sexual innuendo- meaning a fair number of his singles were banned by the BBC. Here we have a four-CD boxset bringing together all of his four albums from the 70s- as well as twenty-seven bonus/ rare tracks.
Tokyo-based Ken Ikeda is at the forefront of minimalist, improvised electronics, having caught the attention of directors, established collaborators, and those that have been seduced by his left-field compositions.
Creeping Horror is a two Blu-Ray Set, taking in four Universal horror films from the 1930s and 1940s. The films move from an unhinged & deadly zoologist-focused affair, onto a creepy swamp mansion murder mystery. Through to Scooby Doo like chiller, and a blend of noir & proto-slasher. Each film gets a classy new scan- with new excellent commentary tracks for each, as well as image gallery/ trailers too.
Here is a sumptuous release from the dependable Geräuschmanufaktur label, arriving in a strikingly decorated flat cardboard box with an obi strip; opening the box reveals a gold tape, and a glossy, colour-printed 24-page booklet of ‘re-imaged erotomechanical collages’ by Yoshihiro Kikuchi - the images that inspired the album - with a separate art print and lyric insert. The booklet is a colourful, in all senses, set of works, blending abstract and darker images - a reasonable metaphor for the release it accompanies. Land Of Xenoartificial Ejaculation - which I have to presume references Xenophobic Ejaculation - has four tracks, titled ‘Manipulation 1,’ ‘Manipulation 2,’ and so on, and presents a skewed atmospheric take on Power Electronics.
Triple Trouble is the first/fully completed feature film form from The Residents- the infamous Avant pop/ experimental music collective, who this year are celebrating their 50th anniversary. The film is a heady blend of lop-sided drama, glum psychedelia, bizarre noir-touched mystery, and low-key/off-kilter comedy. With the whole thing, all tied up in typical cryptic and bizarre Resident’s wrappings, include a new & re-tooled soundtrack from the collective. Here from Eternal Flame- is a Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in deleted scenes & a few other things.
Thirty-three years later here’s the follow-up to the campy fantasy/ light horror romp that was Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. The new film is deeply soaked in its bright, breezy, and sleazy 1980s vibes. And while we once again get a mix of raunchy comedy, fantasy, and horror. The comedy and camp are to the fore. So as a result, we have a good, if not perfect follow-up, which I’m sure will be enjoyed by those who dug the first film. Here from Full Moon Features is a region-free Blu-Ray of the film.
Floating grimly in the space between dark ambient and death industrial, Greece's Conjecture utilizes dark tones and atmospheres to tackle the subject of "anticipatory nostalgia" on his latest, Nostalgia Futura. Aurally exploring the psychology behind the interesting phenomenon of feeling nostalgic for a future event(s), Conjecture combines lower, grounding, oscillating synths with wistful and almost cinematic highs to build the tension between earthy reality and high-flying, nostalgic emotions. Nostalgia Futura, like the human mind in which this battle of opposites rages, takes both factions into account, weighs them equally, adds in the spaces between, and gives the listener enough sonic information to take this psychological journey in many directions, with a number of those paths pointed inward for self-analysis.
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead is a 2003 thriller from acclaimed British director Mike Hodges (Flash Gordon, Get Carter and Black Rainbow) starring a host of top-class British acting talent in the form of Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer and Gosford Park), Malcolm McDowell (Clockwork Orange, Caligula and Cat People), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, Vikings and Velvet Goldmine), Charlotte Rampling (Zardoz, The Night Porter and Angel Heart), and Ken Stott (Shallow Grave, Messiah and The Hobbit movies).
Return To Paradise is a moral dilemma drama regarding three friends, some drugs, and a prison term-it’s a film that’s edged with light touches of romance & thriller tropes. This late 1990s film features a couple of great performances, some moody landscape cinematography, and more than a little food for thought. Here from Imprint is a recent Blu- Ray release of the film- taking in a 4k scan of the picture, and a selection of new/ archive interviews.
Honcho is a new dense drone-meets-wall noise project from US noise-making couple Richard Ramirez and Sean E. Ramirez-Matzus. It takes its name/ theme from Honcho magazine- a gay skin mag, which wanted to have the same impact as Playboy with its homosexual readership. The publication ran between the 1970s and early 2000s.
Slow Poem For Stiebler is a nearing fifty-minute piece for violin, reed organ, and subtle voice elements. It’s an example of wavering and deeply forlorn drone work-come-low-key modern classical composition, which as its title suggests it’s a tribute to the work of German composer Ernstalbrecht Stiebler.
For Sundays When It Rains is a twelve-track collaboration between American ambient legend Robert Rich, and Italian guitarist/ composer Luca Formentini. As its title suggests this is a decidedly mellow, soothing and at points melancholic-tinged collection of songs.
It was simply a matter of time before the worm turned and all of the insular, self-soothing, pandemic-inspired clap trap was left with its sonic pacifiers, waiting. Tim Hecker's No Highs is nearly a polemic forged against the grain of feel-good ambience and its pretty, flowery massage therapist soundtracks. Hecker is too wise to browbeat the way I'm doing right now, but the stakes are clear – No Highs – a perfectly contemporary version of turning away from artificial plenitudes and trumped-up totalities. Hecker has crafted a long journey, but it is not an arduous one, which means that for those who cannot hear the Canadian's code, it might sound like business as usual, but it's not.
House Of Seven Belles is a recent three-inch CDR release from UK’s drone maker -come-eerier mood setter Culver. It offers up three slices of orchestral sample-based ambience- all themed around Andy Milligan’s unmade period drama House Of Seven Belles.
Walking the Edge (filmed in 1982/ released in 1985) is part of a group of violent thrillers made in the 1980s- the cycle started with the likes of The Exterminator (1980). And while sharing similar concerns and approaches to 1970s theatrical grindhouse movies, these films usually enjoyed brief cinema runs before making the rest of their money on the emerging VCR / home video rental market.
La Noche De La Ira aka Blood Hunt is a 1986 Spanish crime thriller from director, Javier Elorietta (Pacto de Brujas, Rojo Intenso and Wild Boys) starring Patxi Andión (Puzzle, Asesinato en el Comité Central and Eloy de La Iglesia’s La estanquera de Vallecas), the directors sister, Beatriz Elorietta (La Colmena, La Mujer del Juez and Juana la Loca... de vez en cuando), Yolanda Ventura (In the Name of Love, Muchachitas and Cómplices al Rescate) and Aldo Sambrell (Fistful of Dollars, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More). The movie fuses the Spanish exploitation genre (Quinqui) with the American-style rural revenge flick to create a unique and effective shocker.
Opla is an experimental duo with releases dating back to 2019. Their new cassette album, GTI, is a deeply psychedelic freeform art rock release with its roots in the original boom of creative inspiration in the 70s for krautrock and jam bands, flavoured with nods to newer technologies and styles. It's a concise thirty-three-minute recording, with six pieces three- eight minutes in length.
In recent years the terms post-horror and elevated horror have been banded around as if they are something new. But in reality, the blending of subtle horror tropes within languid pace & arty drama has been going on for decades. Take this late 80’s German/ Hungarian film, it really is a textbook example of what is now sold as post-horror, as it’s a lullingly paced gothic drama edged with subtle horror touches & tones. And for my money, it’s a lot more successful in both its chilling tone & generally intriguing, than some of the over-hyped modern takes on the genre. Here from Second Run- one the prime reissues of world & art house film- is a new region free Blu Ray release of the film. Featuring a new director-approved scan of the picture, a selection of new interviews, and a few other new/ archive extras.