Haggwors

Committed listen from start to finish leaving me in a stupor until the sobbing and tape hiss stopped. This album punches hard. I honestly can't think of another medium that could convey its artistic expression & meaning with such force. Religion. I get it. If only it's fruits were to stay at this intimate level offering redemption and hope at the personal. Deeply unsettling yet strangely hopeful.

This had me floating above the cyclical confusion of my life. The high production (usually I prefer something a bit rougher) with so much going on in terms of lyrical themes and sheer musicality gave me a rich world to lose myself in. There is a full range of emotions available here. Although there are moments of despair and lonely sadness the overall atmosphere is (thankfully) one of hope. This landed really well with me and will make my AOTY list. An album needed for these shifting & ... read more

A third top album for me this week. Following the dense & abrasive The Armed and nightmarish pied piper Model/Actriz, Slowdive have given me somewhat of a soothing balm. I have just finished listening start to finish without distraction, such is the interesting soundscape they have created. Not so much a wall of sound as a mixed garden hedge with berries and convoluted shapes to explore. The deeper you listen the more you hear. The overriding emotional response I got was a gentle sadness of ... read more

Astonishing debut that is the very definition of a visceral listening experience. Driving rhythms underpin industrial noises and general intensity. I felt texture and sense of dread building throughout. This album revels in the mystery and spaces of breath and echo and night & day. At times the horror of a prescient nightmare, at other times falling asleep beneath waves (divers). The album ebbs and flows with moments that genuinely took my breath away (Pure Mode). There is something of a ... read more