WIRE, the post-punk luminaries’ seventeenth studio album has been released, and goes to show that they are still one of the strongest forces in post punk after all this time. Recently hailed by the Quietus as “one of the most consistent British bands of all time” they have been constantly producing sublime material in a familiar manner, yet never really going over old ground and reliving past successes. Mind Hive is a perfect example of…

  Hexennacht, the latest offering from New York’s Hanzel Und Gretyl is the true sound of damnation. Choirs straight from Carl Orff’s worst nightmare, stabbing strings and heavy guitars fill the album with a rich yet uneasy sound: this music cuts straight to your soul then subverts it. Echos (intentional or not) of Deathstars, KMFDM, Laibach, Lord Of The Lost and even Rammstein bounce around the album without overwhelming it: Hanzel Und Gretyl have their…

  UK/LA industrial rockers DROWND have kept us all wanting more ever since emerging this past spring with their EPs Sick Like You and Stay Away, the latter of which includes remixes by their Armalyte Records peers, The Joy Thieves and Seething Akira. Frontman/bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Joe Crudgington has taken everything we love about industrial rock and packed it to exploding point in this delightfully heavy debut album. It starts out innocently enough with “Lost”…

  My ears first heard IAMWARFACE several years back now whilst listening to Chris Watt’s ‘In the Moog’ NCCR radio show. Chris is a big supporter to many artists and hosts a regular show every Wednesday night. One week it is a retro show, the following week it’s a show supporting new artists. On this particular occasion when I heard IAMWARFACE I thought I was listening to the retro show, because the song ‘Say My…

  There’s a Little Englander myth about not being able to find a poolside sun-lounger on holiday because the Germans have bagged them all previously, by placing their towels on top. You may have heard it. It’s not a conspiracy though. No. Things are a little delicate in Europe just now.  And Die Krupps, a band going since 1980, is very much aware of this, indeed, always have been, and never so much as now with the new album,…

  I keep discovering new music and it’s funny that my discovery of this group this week coincides with ‘Cult With No Name’ getting airplay on Chris Watt’s ‘In the Moog’ radio show and that he recently had them in the studio. They have such a wonderful, warm sound. The album ‘Mediaburn’ has just come out at the right time. Who wouldn’t want to listen to this fireside favourite when winter closes in? I briefly…

  After his outstanding 2018 album The Outsider In The Mirrors, Soft Riot has surprised us with another brilliant release. When Push Comes To Shove is the seventh studio album by the Glasgow based Canadian artist JJD, who goes by the stage name of Soft Riot. Jack continues the tradition of writing synth-pop danceable songs that aren’t necessarily as poppy as one would imagine. There’s more to his vision of synth-pop; it comes with a…

  Ever since seeing Thorsten Quaeschning’s solo performance in Berlin, January 2019 it was amazing to see what the man could do separately from Tangerine Dream or Picture Palace Music. Paul Frick was there too, performing a solo & also joining Thorsten & Hoshiko for a jam. Thorsten literally blew us away that night. I’m still waiting patiently to see if this music was recorded, saved safely and it will have a possible release in…

  I first heard Eirene singing with Oogan at a gig at the Hope & Anchor earlier this year. I heard a demo, stream or sound bite of ‘Moonshine’ and instantly wanted to purchase. It is the first track of four-track EP titled ‘Jhana’. Eirene’s voice is unmistakably crystal. It wafts, sails, floats and whispers and ‘Moonshine’ is a fine example. I adore a singer who can use their voice like an instrument. No wonder…

  I know Colin is an avid fan of Tangerine Dream and that his previous work has been inspired by the flavours and textures of early works of this pioneering group. Sitting beside Colin, whilst watching Ian Boddy and David Wright, I understand that what happens to a person who connects with that type of music, is eventually so captivated and inspired that something infectious takes place. Some years back, I met Brendan Pollard, before…