You Won't Get What You Want for the Boogie generation

As disco as it is disconcerting, Model/Actriz has seemingly come out of nowhere to drop a collection of ten tracks designed to make your body move as much as it makes your skin crawl. 37 all-too-quick minutes of thunder and rain, of anger and fear and doubt and of sheer raucous energy it's almost impossible not to spin again once it's over.

Donkey Show quickly sets the tone with a swinging rhythm, crunchy guitars and screaming synths. ... read more

Out Together feels like a collection of dreams. The ambient washes of flights taken over oceans and forests, the complex synth arpeggios that dance like scattered memories in the morning.

The album opens on Wavelength, a short piece that sets a simple the mood for the next 40 minutes. Little dripping noises, welcome bell tolls and footsteps and a signal rises as incoherent chatter closes out the track. While nothing is truly nightmarish, there are certainly a couple of moments that edge ... read more

Launched into the minor stardom of the music nerd community’s favourite non-Western artist for a year by their 2021 release To See the Next Part of the Dream, Parannoul had a lot to live up to. Such a limelight comes with a lot of sudden expectations, especially when the artist isn’t actually that well known in their own country.

The hybrid Shoegaze-Emo that Parannoul used worked incredibly well together as the waves of emotion within the lyrics were matched with the lush and noisy ... read more

If Bowie's vocals on 'Tis a Pity were stronger, more yelling, it could be one of his best

Edit: I was very kind wasn't I... 65>40

It's pretty evident that their golden age isn't returning any time soon, but it's been a while since I've this much fun with a Muse record

In fact, the last album from them that, both for and despite its flaws, I could just put on and enjoy was a decade ago with The 2nd Law. Since then we've had 2 incredibly disappointing projects from them in the form of Drones and Simulation Theory.

For me, the run of Origin of ... read more

Black Midi take their Cardiac influences to the logical extremes in an album as wonderfully messy as its cover art

Like a broken kaleidoscope, ideas are rammed together into a glorious collage of blazing flames and blooming flowers. The album is chaos incarnate one moment and serene plateaus the next, deftly weaving these visions together through the group's excellent technical skills, but also their genuine ear for melody and for pacing within songwriting.

It also helps that many of the ... read more

Another album from Soft-Hop pioneer Drake, brought to us roughly 9 months after the visual attack that was his last project and titled with everyone's reaction to it.

Drake has rarely captured my attention over the years, his takes on more melodic Pop Rap come across as lacklustre. Instead of capturing the fun of Pop or being melodically interesting enough to carry a tune, his voice lazily drifts over gentle beats that carry as much personality he does. I get that he plays up a downtrodden ... read more

Everything Everything return with their most Pop friendly project so far

The band have always been fans of trying to do the "opposite" of whatever their last record was about. From the in-your-face hooks of Get to Heaven to the slow-burning storytelling on A Fever Dream, whose soft electronics were turned into wild guitars on RE-ANIMATOR. So coming off of their most "Indie-Rock" album with RE-ANIMATOR a Synth Pop and Dance Pop influenced album just makes sense.

From the ... read more

This is not your typical Mid-Air Thief album

The latest release and pseudonym for the currently anonymous South Korean artist features even greater experimental and electronic explorations. Starting out in 2012 as Hyoo, they changed their name to Public Morality to release a self-titled debut in 2015 a peculiar but warm mixture of Avant-Folk and Psychedelic Pop. They changed their name to Mid-Air Thief to avoid confusion with a popular Rap song released in 2016, a move that is far more gentle ... read more

It's kind of impressive how much this sounds like it could be a lost Microphones track.

The downcast acoustics that continue to play through the heavily distorted sections, I especially enjoyed the ukulele in the left ear. As well as vocals that manage to stay just out of reach in the mix, hiding underneath whatever layer is front and centre. I'm definitely a fan of the long outro that is both beautiful & hollow and how it kind of teases whatever's coming next, whether that is something ... read more

Silent Places reads like an appreciation of the wordless moments in our lives. Brief minutes or even just seconds that feel far more powerful when absent of voice or thought

This album is filled with dreamy electronics, whether they be pads, synth lines, fluttering arpeggios or skittering drum patterns. It slides, almost seamlessly, between pure atmosphere & ambience and far more energetic Techno and Drum & Bass inspired tracks, capturing both the meditative relaxation and intense joy ... read more

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's 20th album is a spiralling, sprawling compilation of nonsense that is only really comparable to The Beatles self-titled 10th album

Omnium Gatherum might look like Latin, but is more like a bastardised English phrase for a miscellaneous collection of things. And, as that might suggest, this record is the most varied in sound and style the group have done so far. While the band are known for being incredibly diverse and creative in their choice of musical ... read more

Ryde Noir debuts with a simple but decent tape

At just 26 minutes long it finds its niche and sticks with it, deciding to focus on saying what it needs to and then leaving. A wise choice and one that I appreciate as Trap is rarely my go-to Hip Hop choice. More specifically than that, In Shadows leans into Drain Gang style Emo and Cloud Rap, which gives the album much more of an atmospheric and melodic slant than other Trap projects.

Elixir is an easy standout. It's discussion of emotional ... read more

Gel.'s second record, Band Aid Butterfly is an unusual one.

It's been known for a while now that Gel. is another moniker that Implicit Doom makes music under, initially ID kept this under wraps to gauge reactions on a completely new

It almost feels like a synthesis between the Gel.'s self-titled debut and ID's Black album (also technically self-titled). The unbridled minimal synth craze of the former blended through the simple but effective structures of the latter is, at least on paper, a ... read more

Destroyer continues their odd habit of making great albums at the beginning of the decade

Silly observations aside, this really is one of the band's best albums. Warm and atmospheric, it builds wonderful layers of instrumentation into swirling, hypnotic hazes, but with enough emphasis on the bass and drums the listener is never truly lost in the mix.

LABYRINTHITIS continues Destroyer's exploration of synths within the band's music. This started with Kaputt in 2011, though they were mostly ... read more

Sea Power. Similar name, similar sound

Formerly known as British Sea Power, the band decided to change their name in an attempt to separate themselves from the growing nationalism in the UK. While an understandable decision, I would have found it a lot more interesting for a band with their home in their name to brazenly let their country's leader know what they think.

While the name change is disappointing, Everything Was Forever itself can actually be a rather angry project. In particular, ... read more

Alt-J have managed to commit their greatest sin yet: Being boring

Despite the harshness of my opening statement, I've actually been a long-time fan of the band. Their infectious melodies and odd tangents they'd haphazardly throw throughout their music was far more of a draw than a drawback. The kind of band that followed the Pop-friendly Verse-Chorus-Bridge song structure, but made themselves a name through experimenting with those individual verses, chorus and bridges.

The group effectively ... read more

I think I’ve found a new favourite Arcade Fire record

I’m not sure how, but I somehow missed the hype going into Black Country, New Road’s debut album, For the First Time. A dark yet enigmatic project that showcased the septet’s abilities to make melancholic and hypnotic music that carried powerful and sympathetic messages, half-sung by vocalist Isaac Wood.

I made sure that I wouldn’t miss any of the excitement going into their next record.

Gladly I ... read more

Well, I am once again late to the party, but if it's one as fun as this, maybe I can call myself fashionable

Alkaline Pink's second volume of their Mini Mix series has a lot more in common with their relatively recent 13347 74p3 (V01 1) EP than the previous Mini Mix. While that EP took some influence from House sub-genres and from Hexd, this mixtape fully embraces them, leaning heavily into the bit-crushed sound, with fast tempos and interesting, game-like sound effects.

PINK tape is a 7 ... read more

A full on Ambient album from Burial isn't quite as surprising as you might expect

Those that have followed his career since the release of his last full length project, Untrue in 2007, or maybe just purchased the compilation Tunes 2011-2019, would probably be aware of the slow shift that has been overtaking Burial's music. Over the course of more than a decade, revealed through piecemeal singles and EPs, Ambient has been moving from an influence, on Street Halo in 2011 or Kindred in 2012, to a ... read more