IAMX Vinyl & CDs

Review: Alt-rock, electro and new wave fusionist IAMX - real name Chris Corner) - has spent the last 16 years building his reputation via stylish, synthesizer-laden works. It's something of a surprise then to find that "Echo Echo", his latest album, dispatches with electronics almost entirely. Instead, it sees him serve up radically reworked, re-recorded acoustic versions of tracks from his bulging catalogue built around softly-spun folk guitars, simmering strings and sparse orchestration. For those used to his very particular leftfield electro-pop sound, it takes a little getting used to, but it's well worth persevering: in some instances, his songs sound even better (and certainly more fragile and emotive) when they're delivered in this most traditional manner.

Review: Former Sneaker Pimps member Christopher Corner has been turning out albums under the IAMX alias since the early noughties, variously joining the dots between doomy rock, skewed synth-pop and experimental electronica. Here he returns to action with I Am Alive In A New Light, an eight-track full length that sees Corner's distinctively impassioned, EMO-esque vocals rise above backing tracks that variously touch on post-dubstep moodiness, classic new wave angst, burnt trip-hop smokiness and 21st century indie-pop. While there are some surprisingly upbeat moments - not just lyrically, but also in the soaring orchestration that smothers the title track - for the most part it's as clandestine and atmospheric as his previous works.