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Smote's latest album is here and is sounding superb. Drommon is a greatly involving trip through the realms of dark folk, ambient and experimental music with haunting melodies design each and every one of the intricate soundscapes. Smote once again craft an atmospheric experience that transports you to otherworldly landscapes that are rich tapestries of textures and evocative rhythms. They blend traditional instruments with modern production techniques as unique moods and emotions are explored. All in all this is compelling listen for fans of avant-garde and boundary-pushing music, whether experienced in solitude or shared with others in a larger arena.

Glow White/Black Dot Vinyl.The year 2020 sure wasn't the most ideal time to form a band, especially for a group of musicians who never played together before. But for New York rock quintet GIFT, this strangest of periods was the auspicious backdrop for a bold new sound - a dizzying blend of early shoegaze, classic `90s alternative rock and even modern pop.Indeed, that GIFT emerged somewhat fully formed on their 2022 debut album Momentary Presence was a testament to the creative possibilities laying deep within. Now, Illuminator, their Aug. 23 debut album for revered New York independent label Captured Tracks, is the long-awaited payoff of GIFT's ever-growing musical and human chemistry. And while nods are apparent to label forerunners such as Beach Fossils, DIIV and Wild Nothing, GIFT are shepherding those elements into wondrous new vessels for the present moment - sleek, often danceable and frequently mesmerizing.GIFT - vocalist/guitarist TJ Freda, multi-instrumentalists Jessica Gurewitz and Justin Hrabovsky, drummer Gabe Camarano and bassist Kallan Campbell - are firmly enmeshed in the New York scene as talent buyers, photographers, DJs, audio engineers, art directors and, in the case of Campbell, an owner of the beloved Brooklyn DIY venue Alphaville.GIFT introduced Illuminator with "Wish Me Away," their first new song in the 18 months since the debut. With its earworm guitar lines, propulsive rhythms, riveting vocals and mind-expanding aural flourishes, "Wish Me Away" is the perfect sonic springboard from Momentary Presence to where GIFT are going next. It's also a potent reminder that you can still preserve that twinkle in your eye even when you feel like everything's slipping away.On songs such as "Light Runner", "Going In Circles" and "Destination Illumination," Freda demonstrates a newfound confidence and versatility, embracing pop music as a vehicle. The relentless, often painful dance of love has never sounded as exhilarating as on "Going in Circles," while the strident tone poem "Water in...

Simple Reality cements the short lived legacy of Coventry DIY group Skeet.

Emerging from a scene of first-generation punks and 2 Tone kids, Skeet was instigated by Gary and Nigel Meffen in 1981, fusing tightrope instrumentals with a Roland CR-8000 under the glow of projected visuals. After a cassette of their debut performance found its way to Kay Booth who worked at Inferno Records, the unsuspecting frontwoman took the liberty of adding her own vocals. Instantly embraced as a permanent member, Booth’s shy delivery and open-diary expressions of social alienation and romantic rejection hovered over the brothers’ scratchy guitar and agitated bass.

Playing as few as 10 shows, their unnerving minimalism was recorded in a suburban home studio, borrowing a reel-to-reel from Toby Lyons (The Colourfield) and a mixer from Jerry Dammers (The Specials). Record labels gestured interest until one day they were no more - no arguments, no official split, just a silent parting of the ways and three people taking journeys in different directions. Unheard and unloved in the vaults for nearly four decades, 'Brief Call' finally resurfaced via the Coventry Music Museum compendium Alternative Sounds Volume 1, followed by a micro pressing of the full suite on Chris Long’s Almost Unknown imprint in 2023.

Simple Reality now offers a definitive snapshot of these must-hear neurotic post-punks. Mastered by Skeet fanatic Mikey Young, newly discovered instrumental multitracks are restored alongside a live recording of their final stand. Performed atop of a trailer in a pub beer garden, the release-worthy desk tape adds three new tracks and a more energised swing at ‘Left On the Shelf’s apathetic techno-pop.

RIYL: Fire Engines, 23 Skidoo, A Certain Ratio, Young Marble Giants, pel mel

Presenting 3+5, the long-awaited eighth album from Tokyo-based noise-rockers Melt-Banana on their own A-Zap label!

The album showcases the duo’s visionary musical approach and extraordinary abilities as performers: Yasuko Onuki’s giddy, hyperactive vocalizing and Ichiro Agata’s glitchy, cyberpunk guitar, delivered at dizzying speed, bathed in aggressive electronic sounds. Their aesthetic approach is exultantly experimental, fusing diverse genres imbued with chaotic energy. As on their previous works, the music on 3+5 is unpredictable, always filled with surprises and excitement.

3+5 synthesizes elements of a variety of extreme musics, hyper-pop, classic punk, vintage metal, and noise. It partakes of Japanese culture overall, especially the subcultures of gaming, anime and underground music.

Melt-Banana seek to offer possibilities to musicians who won’t start a band if they can’t find a drummer, young women afraid to express themselves in their own unfiltered and unique voices, bedroom musicians and egg punks seeking to blend electronic noise with live instrumentation. 3+5 provides a fresh experience and perhaps inspiration for all.

While Melt-Banana hasn’t explicitly explained the meaning behind the album’s title, 3+5, prime numbers symbolize mathematical integrity and independence, which could represent the band’s uniqueness and freedom. Why “3+5” and not “1 + 7”? One is left to ponder.

The latest full-length from Kishi Bashi, Kantos is a work of exquisite duality: aparty album about the possible end of humanity as we know it, at turns deeplyunsettling and sublimely joyful. In a sonic departure from the symphonic folkof his critically lauded 2019 LP Omoiyari_a career-defining body of work bornfrom his intensive meditation on the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americansduring World War II_the Seattle-born singer/songwriter/producer's fifthstudio album encompasses everything from Brazilian jazz and '70s funk toorchestral rock and city pop (a Japanese genre that peaked in the mid-'80s).Informed by an equally kaleidoscopic mix of inspirations_the cult-classic sci-finovel series Hyperion Cantos, the writings of 18th century enlightenmentphilosopher Immanuel Kant, a revelatory trip to ancient ruins on the island ofCrete_Kantos ultimately serves as an unbridled exaltation of the human spiritand all its wild complexities.During the earliest stages of creating songs for the album, Ishibashi's mainintent was to return to his highly eclectic musical roots, in part by tapping intohis jazz background and by delving into the dance-rock-leaning sensibilities hepreviously embraced as co-founder of Brooklyn-bred indie band Jupiter One.But not too long into the songwriting process, he stumbled upon anAI-equipped website capable of composing catchy song hooks based on aprompt_a turn of events that quickly catalyzed the existential inquiry at theheart of Kantos.Although his ruminations on AI, transhumanism, and humanity's troubled fateindelibly guided the making of Kantos, Ishibashi nonetheless views the albumas "less of a warning about this kind of hubris but more a celebration of thevery characteristics that make us human: desire, passion, empathy, and love.""If there's anything I want people to come away with when they hear thisrecord, it's a feeling of excitement about the possibilities of human-createdart," he says. "Even as we're learning more about al...

There are ghosts all across AVANTI, the debut album fromMalice K. At points it's howling and unhinged, a grungy layeratop a lush foundation of melodic capital-s Songwriting, but inother moments it dissolves into a gentle, wistful haunting.Malice K's songs are blunt, uncomplicated and unflinching as heprobes the interiority of memories, of mistakes - saturated withan innate intensity that sucks you into his gnarled and visceralworld, so barbed it could draw blood.Malice K is helmed by visual artist and songwriter AlexKonschuh, New York-based but born and raised in Olympia,Washington. Following a stint living in Los Angeles, where hebecame a member of the artist collective Death Proof Inc., a tripto New York resulted in him simply never leaving the city. Aperiod of chaos ensued, Malice K exhausted and unmoored andultimately, unwell.The record is unpredictable across its 11 songs. The album openswith a jarring scream on "Halloween," Malice K's breathlessvocals buried beneath a grungy, roving Nineties riff. The trackemanates a manic energy, enveloping. It's a fitting entrypointfor the record, and for the vividness of Malice K. The snarling andobsessive "You're My Girl" has a swaggering paranoia: "I got sohigh I thought my hand touching my hand was your hand." ButAVANTI exists in quieter moments too; "Radio," with itsfluttering morose cello, moves at an almost glacial pacecomparatively. The aching wistfulness of "The Old House" is analbum stand-out, anchored in an acoustic guitar, an uneasylullaby that never quite settles into itself: "I think to myself I gotthe things that I wanted, but I can't help think there'ssomething else that I forgot to do."A recent press interview called Malice K a shapeshifter, but he'snot amorphous in that way. He's decisive and intense, moreconcerned with carving his own path, and building his ownworld. Every part of Malice K is distinctly himself: from hissweaty high-octane shows to the high-flash high-contrastphotos;...

There are ghosts all across AVANTI, the debut album fromMalice K. At points it's howling and unhinged, a grungy layeratop a lush foundation of melodic capital-s Songwriting, but inother moments it dissolves into a gentle, wistful haunting.Malice K's songs are blunt, uncomplicated and unflinching as heprobes the interiority of memories, of mistakes - saturated withan innate intensity that sucks you into his gnarled and visceralworld, so barbed it could draw blood.Malice K is helmed by visual artist and songwriter AlexKonschuh, New York-based but born and raised in Olympia,Washington. Following a stint living in Los Angeles, where hebecame a member of the artist collective Death Proof Inc., a tripto New York resulted in him simply never leaving the city. Aperiod of chaos ensued, Malice K exhausted and unmoored andultimately, unwell.The record is unpredictable across its 11 songs. The album openswith a jarring scream on "Halloween," Malice K's breathlessvocals buried beneath a grungy, roving Nineties riff. The trackemanates a manic energy, enveloping. It's a fitting entrypointfor the record, and for the vividness of Malice K. The snarling andobsessive "You're My Girl" has a swaggering paranoia: "I got sohigh I thought my hand touching my hand was your hand." ButAVANTI exists in quieter moments too; "Radio," with itsfluttering morose cello, moves at an almost glacial pacecomparatively. The aching wistfulness of "The Old House" is analbum stand-out, anchored in an acoustic guitar, an uneasylullaby that never quite settles into itself: "I think to myself I gotthe things that I wanted, but I can't help think there'ssomething else that I forgot to do."A recent press interview called Malice K a shapeshifter, but he'snot amorphous in that way. He's decisive and intense, moreconcerned with carving his own path, and building his ownworld. Every part of Malice K is distinctly himself: from hissweaty high-octane shows to the high-flash high-contrastphotos;...

"Cassyette is the future face of alternative” – Kerrang!

“Cassyette is not an artist anyone can hope to pin down and box up: she’s shown she can do it all” – NME

“A modern rock staple in the making” – GAY TIMES

“Unashamedly illicit and unapologetically raw, Cassyette is here to relight rock” – TMRW

Cassyette has had an incredible start to 2024 with the release of lead singles ‘Why Am I Like this?’ and ‘Ipecac’, and a huge support slot on Bring Me The Horizon’s UK arena tour. Ahead of her own UK and European headline tour, Cassyette has shared the raw and powerful new single ‘When She Told Me’. Pairing painfully beautiful lyrics with her signature screams and a heavy instrumental, the haunting track recalls the heartbreaking moment Cassyette learnt of her father’s passing and the grief that consumed her afterwards.

Cassyette has amassed a cult social following with over 134k Instagram followers, 550k monthly Spotify listeners, and over 1.2million followers on TikTok. Having achieved over 38 million streams on Spotify alone and ongoing editorial support from Spotify and Apple, Cassyette has received praise from the likes of Radio 1’s Jack Saunders and Clara Amfo (Hottest Record In The World), Kerrang!, NME, GAY TIMES, MTV and Amazon Music UK. Cassyette was also awarded ‘Best British Breakthrough’ artist at the 2022 Heavy Music Awards. 2023 highlights include gracing the cover of Kerrang!, becoming the first featured artist for TikTok’s Rock Hub and performing at Glastonbury

Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices' Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard's vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative comet that in just two years included the "classic line-up" trilogy of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars and countless singles that crammed endless hooks in their grooves. In the intervening space, Tonics And Twisted Chasers has taken on a mythic status. It's arguably Pollard's strangest, gnarliest, most enlightened record and also the fans first chance to see the stitches that bind his galaxy of songs. It's like peering at the caliber inside a watch, responsible for making the whole enterprise tick. This nineteen-song collaboration with guitarist Tobin Sprout could be interpreted as spontaneous sketches, late-night improvisations, ideas that blossomed later in the timeline ("Knock 'Em Flying" and "Key Losers"), but as with anything in Pollard's orbit, its intention is clear when heard as a cohesive whole. The Pollard tenet that "less is more" is on full display here. The songs rarely creep past ninety seconds and coalesce much like Pollard's collage-styled visual art. Arena anthems in miniature ("158 Years of Beautiful Sex") bash up against eerie piano laments ("Universal Nurse Finger") without any time to breathe, acoustic lullabies that sound like a Midwestern summer's twilight ("Look It's Baseball") segue into monochromatic post-rock ("Maxwell Jump"). The euphoric joy and obtuse melancholy in Pollard's voice is so palpable on the album's standout, "Dayton, Ohio - 19 Something & 5" (which has since become a live staple), that it's impossible to find a more autobiographical yarn in his catalog. The album's closest analog is 1993's Vampire On Titus, as it contains that album's prickly, dark and shimmering obfuscation that only reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Tonics And Twisted Chasers maintains the lore because the melodies are so strong. Using a primitive drum machine, Radio Shack effects, minimal instrumentation and the DIY spirit that guided them in the first place, Pollard and Sprout construct a masterpiece of pop that could only come from a basement in north Dayton, Ohio. Anyone in that hallowed era who happened upon it, kept it as a secret.

Hailing from the northern Thai city of Nakhon Sawan, the shoegaze/post-hardcore band "Telever" was formed in 2018. After releasing their debut EP "Have A Good Health," they garnered attention for their unique musical style, blending heavy, beautiful shoegaze sounds with powerful hardcore elements. They gained fans beyond the confines of their genre, earning spots as support acts for world-renowned bands like Fiddlehead and Turnover.

After approximately five years since their formation, their debut album "Inside the Game" has finally been released. It encapsulates the intensity and chill of Telever's music, where genres intersect.

The album kicks off with "Whole," featuring heavy guitar sounds reminiscent of DIIV's "Deceiver," perfectly blended with Tae's vocals, creating a flawless shoegaze experience. "Today" swiftly transitions into the post-hardcore scene, with emotional shouts and vocals amidst shoegaze guitar sounds, serving as an introduction to Telever's sound.

"Ghost," the third track, not only embraces traditional shoegaze approaches but also delivers heated guitar sounds reminiscent of emo. Even with heavy sounds, the title track "Inside the Game" successfully incorporates influences from 2000s emo and punk, giving it a pop sensibility.

In "Always," the eighth track, they showcase a dream-pop-infused shoegaze style from a slightly different angle. From Asia to the world, "Goodbye" closes the album with a continuous display of fresh shoegaze sounds. Telever is poised to garner global attention with this album.

The 2014 album by Oohyo, a new generation Korean SSW who also wrote lyrics for Newjeans "Ditto" and has received love calls from numerous artists, is being reissued on 180g LP! Oohyo is a new generation Korean SSW / synth-pop artist who has participated in Newjeans "Ditto" as a lyricist, and has received respect and love calls from BTS, f(x) members, Hyokoh, Red Velvet's Irene, and others. The limited analog release at a Korean record fair held in the summer of 2022 sold out immediately. This reissue is the second release of the label collaboration project between MUN HWA IN of Korea and Fastcut Records of Japan, following the LP release of Hey Hoy Kyung's "Memoirs". B5 "Friday" featuring Philtre is included as a bonus track, the first time it has been included on an analog release.