The best new albums this week
The cherries on top of this week’s albums cake
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Enter Shikari – A Kiss For The Whole World (So Recordings)
If there’s one group whose longevity, consistency and creativity has surpassed any and all expectations from both followers and detractors, it’s the St. Albans electronicore collective Enter Shikari. Instilling mass hysteria within the burgeoning UK hardcore scene of the mid-noughties with their now much lauded debut full-length Take To The Skies, which took breakdowns brimming with post-hardcore riffage and interpolated the familiar chaos with frenetic elements of trance, electro and hardcore (the other one), they’ve since carved out an incomparable niche over the past two decades.
Whilst retaining their scene passes ever since, the four-piece of childhood friends have done their utmost to constantly push the parameters of their formula outside of any preconceived notions yet managing to appease listener appetite and anticipation. Take 2008’s stellar sophomore effort Common Dreads which saw sincere and earnest political messaging pushed to the forefront of their rallying cry, while expanding their sonic pallette to embrace acidic deep dubstep and more grime influences, complete with frontman Rou Reynolds’ effortless newfound rhyme schemes.
2012’s A Flash Flood Of Colour and The Mindsweep released in 2015, would both continue this trajectory, seamlessly weaving the worlds of both disparate music scenes into a uniquely complimentary style, heavily indebted to the sonics of UK counter-culture, while levelling scathing critiques at a Tory-led Britain.
By the time The Spark arrived in 2017, the band found themselves facing a dilemma as to where to chart their course next. Opting to stray further than ever before from their aggressive hardcore roots while the demise of Reynolds’ long term relationship redirected the lyrical content through a more personal, introspective lens, cuts like ‘Live Outside’ and ‘Undercover Agents’ were a far cry from the absurd electro-punk chaos of their breakout singles ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ or ‘Anything Can Happen In The Next Half Hour’.
These melodious tendencies and newfound restraint would be explored to riveting effect on their phenomenal 2020 LP Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible, which released just as the very first lockdown hit, leading to a project not offered the full extent of the band’s traditionally intense touring cycle. The material felt eerily prophetic, especially songs like ‘modern living…’ which boasted the accidentally haunting refrain “I’d like to welcome all my people here but listen, everything you love is about to disappear”.
The project signalled an artistic rediscovery of purpose, cementing their eschewing of hardcore machinations in order to fully embrace the second chapter in the Shikari legacy. Three years on, and following some major self-analysis regarding relevancy and poignancy, A Kiss For The Whole World serves as a celebration of everything this group has meant to fans and themselves, plumbing the depths of their back catalogue to offer a collection of tracks that are simultaneously indicative of their seasoned status, and modern melodic bent while dusting off much of the brazen electronics and unhinged energy which had taken a structural backseat in recent output.
From the opening title-track alone, it becomes evident that this material is destined and designed to be performed in a live setting, likely stemming from their previously hindered cycle. It’s a cathartic anthem bolstered by glistening synths before lead single ‘Pls Set Me On Fire’ strikes a dynamic balance between their current accessibility and the earlier electronicore that made them such a curious commodity to begin with, complete with euphoric trance stabs dancing around a minimal yet bombastic breakdown that serves as the primary rhythm.
‘It Hurts’ bounces with calculated poise while the verses feature a reliably eccentric delivery from Reynolds, who sways between earnest dismay and animated motivation while unpacking the communal struggles with self-worth and the manner in which we intrinsically link our own to personal failure. There’s also a glitched out breakdown at the back end teeming with piercing acid squelches, again nodding to the chaotic abandon of their heftier beginnings. Speaking of which, it shouldn’t be necessarily controversial to label A Kiss For The Whole World as the heaviest Shikari record in almost a decade.
Following the predominantly instrumental interlude ‘Feed Yøur Søul’ which toys with jungly breakbeat and drum & bass discordance, proceedings slowly march their way off a cliff once the lush string arrangements and orchestral crescendo of ‘Dead Wood’ fades away. ‘Jailbreak’ careens into full frantic post-hardcore band commandeering a rave territory while standout single ‘Bloodshot’ expands from a processed earworm vocal hook to a serene post-rock by way of The Prodigy elevation in the second half.
‘Goldfish’ might be the singular most old school Shikari track the group have crafted in years, dusting off venomous groove and pummeling breakdowns while Reynolds rediscovers his T-Rex style inhales and inhumane shrieks, while serving as the record’s most politically charged cut ending with the severely pissed off declaration that “When people feel powerless they will rarely resist”.
Continuing the more internal troubles of Reynolds’ lyricism yet with a slightly broader focus casting light on everything from social media dependency to the dissemination of misinformation and digital division, the multi-instrumentalist songsmith appears simultaneously weary and hopeful, as if his disillusionment with the modern world is delicately offset by those tuned in and refusing to stand idly by as the powers that be dictate our future.
The second album to be produced in house by Reynolds himself, A Kiss For The Whole World delivers tenfold on its promise to celebrate all previous pages of the Shikari bible whilst also feeling like a progressive step forward. Retrospectively commending the diverging styles of their endless genre hybridization, rewarding longstanding listeners with displays of their classic electronicore bedlam yet retaining much of the nuanced melody and endearing swagger that’s been fine tuned across a myriad of projects, at seven full-lengths in, this is a work from a group singularly focused on their purpose and artistry, with an utter disregard for comparison or pigeonholing. It’s delightful to have you back, gents.
ZB
Ozmotic | Fennesz – S e n z a t e m p o (Touch)
Not everyone will realise it, but Torino is one of Italy’s best-kept secrets and most fascinating cities. Even less will know that, for a brief period after the country we see today unified, its grand boulevards and statement palazzos made up the nation’s very first capital. A forgotten chapter that gave way to periods as an industrial powerhouse, economic centre of the Piedmont region, and then urban decay followed by population decline, with scars still very much visible in many areas. Not least those on the outskirts, where derelict spaces still offer a glimpse of what was, and everything that came before that.
A resident of the town, Ozmotic met with Christian Fennesz down the road (well, about two hours or so by train) in Milan ahead of setting to work on their latest collaborative project, S e n z a t e m p o. There, they apparently mused on philosophical ideas like evolution of musical language and the uneasy relationship deep dive artists such as them have with a world that wants to go faster, now, and stop for nobody. Nevertheless, the final album is every bit a product of the Torino studio in which it was recorded, in one long session which — by the sounds of it — must have got pretty intense.
Dark, futuristic ambient would be one way to describe what’s here. And that’s precisely the point. A city that lays claim to a highly experimental grass roots electronic scene (see: industrial noise maker Bienoise, albeit he’s technically based in the rural surrounds), these sonics invoke images of quiet desolation, post-human worlds, places filled with the ghosts of machines. Strange soundscapes that are at once unnerving and beautiful, the real question is whether the images it conjures are actually of tomorrow, or simply memories of yesterday.
MH
Burnt Friedman – Hexenschuss (Nonplace Germany)
Something about krautrock and its offshoots lends well to prolificness, which is why Burnt Friedman is now presenting his tenth solo album. By proxy, the German producer and composer is a revered name in the world of techno, not only thanks to his prior work with Can’s Jaki Liebezeit, but also generally due to his mastery over retaining danceability while also indulging in metric modulation and weird polyrhythms. Generally, if you’re an eclectic techno DJ who likes to show off you’re eclectic – and you know your crowd likes a cool time signature here and there – you’ll be reaching for a Burnt Friedman record sooner or later.
The word ‘Hexenschuss’ translates from German to mean “witch’s stab”, often used to refer colloquially to lower back pain. We don’t know if Friedman is a sufferer, but we do know the corresponding new LP Hexenschuss is as witchy as they come. Self-described as an LP of “asymptomatic African polyrhythmic electronica”, the tracks are extended versions of songs that Friedman had previously released on various EPs and compilations. Allegedly, the artist felt the tracks deserved a new sequence and context, which is a recalibration that worked well in this case.
From the opener ‘Spray-Men Chorus’ to the closer ‘A Cidade Dormitorio’, we move through paralyzing lasershots, snappy chiptune drums for tape, and refractive bell sounds, all arranged in deviant rhythmic fashions. While this is technically a retrospective compilation, there is a solid sense of sonic unity to this album, thanks to most of the tracks coming from projects released largely in 2021 and 2022: the bulk of it is lent from Friedman’s collaborative EP with Joao Pais Filipe, ‘Mechanics Of Waving’, from which the fidgety breathalized dreamer ‘Poco Negro’ and the sidechained dub intensifier both come. Overall, this is an exciting new comp for those hoping for a unified LP of Friedman’s latest and best work.
JIJ
Portrayal Of Guilt – Devil Music (Run For Cover)
Texan blackened screamo trio Portrayal Of Guilt have slowly become one of the most essential acts in extreme metal and hardcore over the past half decade. Since foregoing the punkier roots of their origins found on the 2018 debut full-length Let Pain Be Your Guide, the double release in 2021 of We Are Always Alone and CHRISTFUCKER displayed a genuinely intimidating level of horrific despair, diving into everything from suicide, depression and self-harm before totally embracing horror tropes to their full effect with material centred around torture, demonic possession, astral projections to the abyss and rituals of the occult.
Sonically speaking, their compositions would also veer towards a more trudging black metal via grindcore intensity, which leads to their latest EP/mini-LP Devil Music simultaneously delivering on natural progression and total artistic rebirth.
Made up of five reliably anguished cuts of sludgy frosted riffage and cavernous walls of noise, the b-side features the same track sequence yet musically reimagined with orchestral chamber-folk instrumentation. Brass, double bass and accordion rework the desolate pieces into haunting avant-analog territory, sounding as if a black metal group served as an entourage in Game Of Thrones.
Only frontman Matt King’s soul-piercing rasp remains the same, leading the pieces on a cold march into battle or hell. The band even released a disturbing companion short film featuring a knight lost in the forest and plagued by visions of naked succubi clutching a large horned goat.
At this point, the mission statement of Portrayal Of Guilt seems abundantly clear: to push hardcore and metal to the deepest depths of unsettling atmosphere and desolation, while both rewarding and challenging listener expectation at every turn. Showcasing a majorly elevated level of nuance, vision and pure horror, Devil Music couldn’t be more of an apt title for a project from a group who’ve seamlessly bridged the gap between harrowing heavy music and nightmare sonics. Abandon all hope ye who enter here.
ZB
Wesley Joseph – Glow (Secretly Canadian)
To say Wesley Joseph has hype around him would be the kind of understatement that borders on outright lie. Having blown up in 2021 with his debut, ‘Ultramarine’, he’s been a darling of self-professed tastemakers ever since, and finally unveiled his follow up early 2023. A record that now arrives on actual record, no less than three months later. Yet it still sounds as fresh as the first time you heard it.
That he’s made so much noise is unsurprising, bagging a support slot on Loyle Carner’s sold out UK tour in the process. Often opting to quaver in sweet and soft, not to mention vocoder’d tones, while in some ways it’s easy to label what’s on this long-awaited second coming in simple terms like ‘exquisitely rendered R&B with hip hop tones’, such statements feel reductive when the experience is so visceral and colourful.
Deft transitions between rap and song, earmworm hooks, evocative character building, narratives gripping enough to hit the screen, and an emotional honesty that proves he’s not afraid to be vulnerable, despite those fictional storytelling abilities. It’s epic, engrossing stuff wrapped in an outer-layer that’s accessible enough to grab a place on the household names list.
MH
Sutcliffe No More – Normal (Klanggalerie Austria)
Peter Sutcliffe, also known as the Yorkshire Ripper, is widely known as one of England’s most notorious serial killers. But few musos know he’s also an implied inspiration for Sutcliffe No More (fka. Sutcliffe Jugend), an equally notorious power electronics project from some of the keyest players in the genre. SNM (get it?) are Kevin Tomkins and Paul Taylor, better known as founding members of dubious morbid-intrigue groups such as Whitehouse and SPK.
Fans of bands like Whitehouse and their ilk don’t necessarily just hang out on the surface web or attend average cushy bar gigs. It’s for that reason we can be sure that the release of Sutcliffe No More’s latest album Normal will excite a very particular kind of Juno Daily reader. Normal follows up 2021’s Consenting Adult. For those not yet initiated into SNM’s oeuvre, here’s how we can best preface the album: imagine the music of Sleaford Mods but with a great deal more swear words in it, plus most beats are eschewed by buzzsawing, glitching noise.
As is often the case with these lot, the tracks hint at very distinctive themes: perverse celebrity voyeurism, conspiracies, paranoid tinfoil hat basements… mostly circuit-bent noise tracks segue into a couple of cyberspatial beatscapes (‘Aesthetic Pathetic’, ‘Jacobs Ladder’), but we’re largely neck-deep in glitchy and horrifying audio-hell. The steady plod of dub is alluded to on ‘No Control’, but for the most part this album is murderously hard to pin down or event to pass too much judgment on – as Taylor predicts, “the race to the moral high ground is nothing more than a race to the bottom”.
JIJ
Judiciary – Flesh + Blood (Closed Casket Activities)
Lubbock, Texas hardcore outfit Judiciary have been an unstoppable force within the scene since the release of their The Axis of Equality EP in 2016, shortly followed by a split with Mortality Rate in 2017, and finally, their 2019 debut full-length Surface Noise, courtesy of essential noise purveyors Closed Casket Activities.
Citing seminal metal acts and projects as vital influences, including the likes of Slayer’s God Hates Us All, Chimaira’s The Impossibility of Reason and “a ton of Machine Head,” their mission statement has always appeared to find the most vicious Venn Diagram intersection between their bruising hardcore formula and more metallic machinations.
Working with producer (and member of vital genre contributors Sumerlands and Cold World) Arthur Rizk to craft their cathartic, venomous sophomore effort Flesh + Blood since the summer of 2021, the triumphant passion that’s been distilled across these ten cuts has only been amplified by the mixing and mastering of Fit For An Autopsy’s Grammy nominated Will Putney, known for his visceral work on some of the heaviest modern hardcore acts in the game such as Knocked Loose and Vein.FM.
From the anthemic one-two punch of ‘Flesh’ and ‘Blood’, it’s evident the band have poured over every nuance and facet of their dynamics in order to conjure a rallying cry of sonics both oppressive in its slamming heft and serene in its more melodious metalcore tendencies, echoing the likes of Counterparts or early As I Lay Dying.
While the furious abandon of ‘Engulfed’ and the caustic dissonance of ‘Paradigm Piercer’ equate ominous atmosphere to familiar forms, the true curveball comes in the album’s final moments with closer ‘Eschatos Hemera’ (Greek for ‘Last Days’) offering an unsettling, feral apocalyptic ode elevated by the soaring yet sparse use of emotive clean vocals.
Simultaneously heavier yet more melodic than its predecessor, Flesh + Blood eschews much of the crossover thrash of Judiciary’s earlier material in order to fully embrace their metal leanings whilst inadvertently redefining themselves as a new successor to modern metalcore.
ZB
Terry – Call Me Terry (Upset The Rhythm)
Sound advice is not to shit where you eat, so you’d assume it’s also unwise to form a band from two couples — double the chance of things going from bad to worse if bliss descends into, well, not bliss. Terry never got the memo, though, but as of 2023, seven years and four albums after the Aussie four-piece formed, it really doesn’t seem to have done them any harm.
Of course, there has been a lengthy hiatus since we last encountered them on 2017’s excellent I’m Terry. Fear not, though, there was no break up (kids, studies, relocations and side projects took up their time), and the intimacy that shone so brightly on previous outings is just as pronounced here. Call Me Terry feels like friends and lovers jamming, mutual understanding emanating from the speakers as we’re taken on another charming tour of naive lo-fi rock songs with subtle shades of DIY pop, avant-garde guitar something, and post-punk. Vocals delivered in unison, instruments in perfect harmony, shared ideals and values very much front, centre, and ready to take yet more potshots at their homeland’s checkered cultural past and present, despite those themes it still sounds like fun happening.
MH
Kommand – Death Age (20 Buck Spin)
20 Buck Spin are one of the most vital labels in extreme metal today, with a seemingly endless slew of releases year in year out, offering a dynamic range of audible violence. That’s where Kommand come in.
Not to be confused with the Washington blackened thrash outfit who spell their name with an umlaut, the Los Angeles based five piece deal in a primitive form of trudging death metal, less focused on technicality or grandiosity and centred around the restoration of the genre’s definitive highlights i.e. heaving riffs, malodorous vocals and grim topical bedlam.
Primarily focused on the horrors of war, these six cuts paint vile illustrations of cities bombarded and the visceral dismay caused by such violent chaos with ‘Chimera Soldiers’ and ‘Global Death’ both feeling like terrifying fables of all too real truths, elevated immensely by the group’s tight knit compositions intertwining 80’s indebted groove, echoing the likes of early Morbid Angel.
Clocking in at a tight 26 minutes, Death Age is another remarkably brief affair similar to their 2020 debut Terrorscape, and makes a curious case for the despair of the subject matter being delivered with such abrasive brevity. Disinterested in avant-garde frills, this is death metal at its most direct, retro and unsettling, and cements Kommand as a major player in the realms of underground extremity, while also being yet another hideous entry in the ever expanding 20 Buck Spin canon.
ZB
Lagoss – Imaginary Island Music Vol 2: Ascension (Discrepant)
Having previously built up an ecosystem of intrigue with a mixtape of oddball instrumentation, electronics and field recordings, Lagoss return to Discrepant with a more focused album pressing down hard on the sci-fi concept button. The Tenerife-based trio started imagining what would happen if, at the other end of the 21st Century, mankind were to build a space elevator from the top of Tenerife’s El Teide volcano up to an imaginary space station, and this is the story rendered in musical form.
The narrative includes the tension between the island’s two contrasting civilisations and the proposed development plans, and as such the sound once again gleefully juxtaposes fluid, organismic synthesis and sound design with hand-wrought playing. It’s not exactly Fourth World, eschewing that tag’s tendency for smoky dreamscapes in favour of something more vivid and volatile.
The hand of dub is never far from the mix, and there’s plenty of psychedelic jam sessions appearing in the tapestry of the tale. Overall, it’s a playful and joyous patchwork which responds with elan to the input material, leaving some fantastic passages of musical adventure in its wake. Just take a ride through ‘Los Aquachachos’, which details the deep-sea diving faction of the island’s inhabitants, and you’ll discover worlds within worlds all strapped to some wonderfully jerry rigged drums.
OW
Frenzied, possessed, downtrodden, inspiring, and compelling. Truth be told, you’re unlikely to see a more commanding and engaging artist than Angus Andrew in full flow on stage. A performance powerhouse now largely working under the Liars moniker as a soloist, Sisterworld – reissued for 2023 on recycled vinyl — transports us back to a time when the name was synonymous with a full live band. A group that mastered the art of channeling anxiety, anger, and enchantment into every note of every track, they remain one of the 21st Century’s true cult rock & roll treasures, even if they flew low for the duration of their time together.
Originally released in 2010, the group’s fifth album, Sisterworld,set a benchmark in terms of the experimental rock end of the back catalogue, simultaneously being among their more accessible guitar outings and yet mind-bendingly out there, well beyond Pluto, securing a place in the pantheons of leftfield alt-punk. At times uncompromisingly noisy (‘Scissor’, ‘Scarecrows On A Killer Slant’), in other moments euphoric and driving post-punk (‘Proud Evolution’ remains an outright anthem to this day), twisted and dishevelled (‘Drop Dead’), or just plain rowdy (‘The Overachievers’), the record is raw, spellbinding, enigmatic, and utterly unmissable. Again.
MH
Grave Pleasures – Plagueboys (Century Media)
Finnish death-rock tinted post-punk savants Grave Pleasures make their much anticipated return with Plagueboys. The fourth full-length from the group (third since changing their name from Beastmilk) comes four long years since the acclaimed Motherblood, and continues their gloomy horror imbued sultry séances with impeccable ease.
While signed to predominantly metal and hardcore focused label Century Media, and working previously with the likes of producer Kurt Ballou (guitarist for Converge), the band have found themselves embraced by a myriad of artists and individuals in the heavier scenes, likely due to their retro-fitted aesthetic and influences, straying much closer to the darker underground of post-punk than most acts.
Cuts like the psychedelic near rockabilly freak out of ‘High On Annihilation’ or the grooving doom trudge of ‘Heart Like A Slaughterhouse’ showcase a refinement of craft, with extra attention paid to the minute differences in sonics, making for a work both more menacing yet accessible than any of their previous output.
Conjuring the likes of Bauhaus, Depeche Mode or Echo & The Bunnymen in a more literal sense complete with candles, robes and pentagrams, Plaguboys draws curious parallels between the classic post-punk formula and gothic fare whilst managing to avoid landing in coldwave territory. ‘Society Of Spectres’ highlights precisely why such an outlier outfit are paid this level of high regard by the harsher spheres, with its massive hook and fuzzed out riffs complimented by frontman Mat “Kvohst” McNerney’s 1950’s croon. If you’ve ever wondered what it would sound like if Elvis fronted The Cramps, then Grave Pleasures will shower you in endless buckets of sinister sleaze yet remain jovial whilst holding the nozzle.
ZB
Carlos Nino & Friends – Assortment For Susan’s (Leaving US)
Visionary neo-everything composer Carlos Nino presents ‘Assortment For Susan’s’, a huge cassette compilation of select songs from his back catalogue. The tape was allegedly first conceived after Nino first discovered that the cassette tape format wouldn’t fit much of his music that had been released in LP form beforehand (Nino is known for long new age pieces, many of which are too long for standard cassette tape side lengths, usually 20 minutes tops).
This is clearly a deeply personal compilation: it’s a tribute to Nino’s friend Justin Hansohn and his community company Anandamide, the headquarters for which is affectionately nicknamed Susan’s, in turn named after Hansohn’s pet dog. So ostensibly, this is a wholesome LP dedicated solely to the bond shared between Nino and Hansohn. But really, it’s a dedication to all the bonds Nino shares; practically with such fellow new age legends as Laraaji, Ariel Kalma, and Iasos, as well as contemporary production greats like Photay and Daedelus, not to mention hip-hop pushers like Ish and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.
Such collaborative breadth translates extremely well into the music, where despite the tracks having been pulled from different sources, all conspire to produce something spine-tingling, flickry, heartwarming, and numinous-experience-inducing. Prepare yourself for quasi-synthetic blissouts, organic grottos of ambijazz, and curveballs of the free and meterless variety…
JIJ
Mansur – Oscuras Flores (Denovali)
If you’re familiar with the curious world of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble and their attendant projects, then you might have some idea of where to start with absorbing Mansur. You might well be confused if you were to make the link between project founder Jason Kohnen and his notoriety in the breakcore world as Bong-ra, but Kohnen has many sides to his musicality. The first Mansur album manifested in 2020 on Denovali, and now we’re already onto the third, which gives some indication of the rate at which the project is moving. Kohnen is joined by Dmitry El-Demerdashi, who once lent his skills across exotic and ancient instruments to imposing Russian Bon collective Phurpa. Hungarian singer Martina Veronika Horváth rounds the group out with her ethereal, goth-tinged voice, and it’s no surprise to learn she’s been historically linked to folk metal band Niburta.
Kohnen and Horváth also indulge their love of doom on The Answer Lies In The Black Void, and doom pervades across many stretches of Oscuras Flores. But this is not a one-dimensional trip into darkness, and the beauty in the album lies in the ability of the trio to play off each other and tease three distinct energies. Between the voice, the instrumentation and the electronics, a symbiotic rhythm emerges in which one or another of the disciplines takes the lead at different times. ‘Portal’ is a winding piece largely guided by Horváth’s singing, embellished by looming low end, plaintive piano and a compelling compositional slant, but there’s space at the end for Kohnen to unleash a jagged run of electronica percussion without losing the haunting mood of the music.
‘Yaga’ and ‘Relics’ find El-Demerdashi in conversation with Kohnen, trading instrumental passages for the crunch and clang of industrial-edged sonics and celestial sparkles. One of the striking qualities in these tracks is the emotional duality, with Mansur leaving enough space for light and delicacy amidst the more oppressive overtones of the album. The proposed theme of Oscuras Flores is a return to healthier relationships with the natural world, and given the state of play its no surprise to feel the darkness dominating, but as these islets of tenderness remind us, there is always hope.
OW
This week’s reviewers: Jude Iago James, Oli Warwick, Zach Buggy, Martin Hewitt.