While Evolve (2024) showcased genuine flashes of brilliance, reaching moments of Max Cooper or Jon Hopkins-level sophistication in its heaviest and most emotive IDM passages, Unreality ultimately falls short of that promise. There’s an over-reliance on familiar samples and production motifs that make the record feel creatively safe, as though Halina Rice is revisiting well-worn textures rather than expanding them. The result is a pleasant but unadventurous listen.

Across its runtime, few ... read more

The album title is apt: groovy, laidback and nasty, but unfortunately, the “nasty” part is what lingers, and not in a good way. While there’s a clear intention to combine the synthpop and Chicago house sounds of the era, the execution leaves much to be desired. The output feels insipid, dull, and heartless, stripped of any genuine emotion or inspiration. Rather than a vibrant fusion, this album comes across as an opportunistic experiment, seemingly created to capitalise on the ... read more

Recommended to me as a touchstone of early electro-industrial, 99% certainly lives up to its reputation as a pioneering record. While it can sound abrasive and disjointed on first listen, its influence is unmistakable. The Chemical Brothers, and to a lesser extent The Prodigy, clearly drew from the sounds Jack Dangers was constructing here years earlier. The pounding drum breaks, jagged samples, and aggressive vocal snippets create a hostile atmosphere charged with rhythmic intensity. ... read more

So much of a record’s power depends on the time and place you first truly connect with it. For me, it was while on holiday, staying in a converted 18th-century chapel. As the opening track The Voice of Enigma began, faint light slipped through cracks in the centuries-old door at the foot of my bed. The album’s spiritual and religious overtones, its blend of ambient electronica, Balearic moods, and Gregorian chants, might strike some as a little contrived, even kitsch. But for me, ... read more

A quintessential document of Manchester’s acid house heyday. It is hypnotic, raw, and unmistakably of its time. The album’s propulsive beats and immersive textures conjure the warehouse spirit that made early ’90s Manchester dance music so infectious. The dated production adds to its charm. It’s a worthwhile listen for anyone exploring the roots of UK electronic music and an authentic slice of the Madchester scene. Worth revisiting.

R Is for Rocket revisits familiar territory but feels like more than nostalgia. The record draws on the grit and distortion of nineties grunge while weaving in the emotional clarity of early emo. It taps into the raw and heartfelt energy of these genres rather than its later heaviness. A revival that remembers why the sound mattered in the first place.

Knowing this album was born from a live set at Japan's Labyrinth festival in 2011 really helps contextualise the project. The mountain setting of Naeba Greenland in Niigata seeps into every moment. Hypnotic music flows from the initial sound of running water at its opening through to something far more melodic and propulsive as it progresses.

Equal parts ambient and techno, the builds are incremental and careful, like watching mist slowly roll across a landscape.

What makes this seminal ... read more

Few records scratch an itch that seems otherwise insatiable. Tri Repetae is one of them. It’s the kind of album that, even after more than 25 years, still feels like it’s doing something to you. Something exact, unsettling, and deeply satisfying. Cold, mechanical, and alien on the surface, but layered with emotion, texture, and intent. This is the kind of record that makes people say, “I prefer their earlier work” and actually mean it. That hipster trope is rarely more ... read more

Quadeca's latest effort is an undeniably impressive showcase of technical prowess. The production is fantastic, with beautiful layering and a euphoric opener that immediately sets the tone for what's intended to be orchestral and profound. What's unequivocal is the talent on display and the level of focus and effort that has gone into this production. Certainly in terms of genre fluidity and technical ability, the record is exceptional.

The record is really at its best when it ... read more

Picks up where Rachika Nayar's 2022 record Heaven Come Crashing left off, with melodic and euphoric builds, intricate layering and trance-esque soundscapes. Creates a bittersweet and profound atmosphere that so few manage to capture - that kind of emotive progressive electronic that makes you really feel something. It definitely takes the spirit of these emotive records, especially Julianna Barwick, who appears on multiple tracks. The difference between this and Nayar's solo work is ... read more

Ego Death delivers maximalist, immersive experimental sounds with cinematic intensity. The record weaves and undulates, with dynamic shifts happening within tracks rather than between them: an approach that showcases the real-time chemistry between Resina's organic cello work and Aho Ssan's synthetic digital deconstructions.

The production builds genuine foreboding through elongated drones and bass work that recalls Emptyset's dystopian territory, while pipe organ passages in ... read more

Absolutely relentless, skull-shaking deconstructed club that finds that elusive balance between pure chaos and accessibility. Tracks like "Sekli" and closer "Fracture" hit dystopian peaks of intensity, while others offer serious angularity in a more pared-back way that helps the whole thing cohere. Think SVBKVLT label territory or a more experimental Tzusing.

It's debilitating electronic music that feels otherworldly, striking and disturbing in equal measure. The ... read more

Pleasant shoegaze/slacker rock that hits every familiar touchstone without much ambition beyond execution. Heavy walls of fuzz coat everything in that constant warm, fuzzy vibe, with all tracks bleeding into each other in predictable fashion.

It's not poorly done - there's genuine energy here, and the production has the requisite busy, layered feel. But with minimal highs or lows, it becomes pleasant background music that never demands attention. Sure, it's a new take on ... read more

Quintessential Stereolab with a fresh lift. More polished production than their usual raw charm, but it serves the songs well. Tracks like Melodie Is a Wound and Electrified Teenybop! let melodic layers interact fluidly, building a buoyant and at times euphoric momentum.

A few subdued moments like Le coeur et la force break the groove slightly, providing breathing room that occasionally feels jarring against the album's otherwise forward momentum. Still, this is Stereolab at their most ... read more

There's lots of excellent, emotive songwriting to be found here, with scatterings of brilliantly grandiose instrumentation. While there's plenty to admire, too few of the tracks have enough intricacy to really stick, even when wrapping around the unmistakably distinct ANOHNI vocals.

Promising debut EP, genre-hopping through jungle, r&b and garage. The running order is nuanced with peaks and troughs in intensity that keep you hooked. Some of the more subdued tracks, such as the interlude, provide interesting glimpses into the personality behind this release, which I hope to see more of in the future.

Fuzzy shoegaze / indie with a glaring 90s pastiche. Certainly not bad, but I wouldn't say there's anything particularly unique about this. More of a regurgitation than a reimagining, but worth a listen.

This struggles to stand out in the highly saturated singer-songwriter landscape of present. That said, there are some nice tracks in here, especially those with a jazz orientation.

Leaning heavily into the Jessie Ware-esque disco-pop style that seems to be making a resurgence, Prestige is a buoyant albeit fairly pedestrian release, with limited replay value as a whole. 'True Love' and LP closer 'Give Me Your Love' are the most memorable cuts, with the latter exploring a new and potentially more interesting dancefloor oriented direction.

What’s most impressive about Melt Yourself Down is their ability to create diverse, ambitious and genre-defying releases, while establishing a familiar – and genuinely unique – sound. With ‘100% Yes’, this approach is elevated further, demonstrating a level of songwriting far more mature and refined.

The record’s instrumentals are as loud as the lyrical messages, with themes covering the Grenfell tower fire, drug addition and British colonialism. A highlight ... read more