New releases last two weeks: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Royksopp revisit the club-driven heart of their sound with True Electric, a new 19-tracker of reimagined material, largely drawn from audio captured from the Norwegians' 2023 tour of the same name. Newly upscaled studio editions of past flashes of brilliance resound over fan favourites 'Do It Again' with Robyn and 'Running To The Sea' with Susanne Sundfor, alongside selections from the equally bewitching Profound Mysteries trilogy. If that weren't enough for you, we've also a formerly unreleased tune for true heads, 'The R'.

Review: 11 years after it first appeared in stores, sometime Kill Laura amd Misty Dixon member Jane Weaver's sixth solo album Silver Globe has been given the reissue treatment. This is undoubtedly a good thing, as it remains one of Weaver's most magical and consistent full length excursions - an inspired blend of neo-psych-folk, Elizabeth Fraser style vocals, kosmiche-influenced "motorik" grooves and cosmic effects. Lightly conceptual, it's packed with highlights, not least the driving and spaced-out 'Argent', the twisted cosmic pop meets jangly indie-pop of 'The Electric Mountain', the dubbed-out and densely layered 'Arrows', the glassy-eyed lo-fi dream pop of 'Mission Desire' and the effects-laden pastoral dreaminess of 'Your Time In This Life is Just Temporary'.

Review: The influential German band Xmal Deutschland are overhead rafters in the great mead hall of goth. Their propulsive successes throughout the 1980s meant the genre likely couldn't've done without them. A large band come music collective, made up of at least eight members at any given time, Xmal's formation in Hamburg and would presell audiences on a stalwart performance rep, thanks to an early tour and gig residency in support of dream pop preeminents Cocteau Twins. Rallied to fame by their goth classics 'Incubus Succubus' and 'Qual', this 2xCD review conjoins two of the earliest and most pivotal albums on which both of said singles were housed - Fetisch and Tocsin - along with tracks from other key releases, such as Incubus Succubus II. Helping blacken an otherwise dreamy time, these LPs highlight the gloomier soils of a superficially bright 1980s soundfield, which otherwise roseated by shoegaze. Photography by Kevin Cummins, Paul Slattery, Sheila Rock and more all capture the spirit.