Avant! Italy Vinyl & CDs

Review: Following on from their standout debut album Benevolence in 2019, Skemer return with a second record for Italian label Avant! The duo of Kim Peers and Mathieu Vandekerckhove have tapped into a fertile strain of dark wave with a seductive gothic mood which should be essential listening for fans of The Cure et al. There's a pervading gloom to tracks like 'Easy To Embrace' but it's offset by the motorik thrust of the drums, and there's a generous dose of pop nous to ensure these shadowy songs land with a broad audience. If you're looking for a soundtrack to shortening days in the Northern Hemisphere, this album is a must-check.

Review: Andrea P. Latorre and Sergi Algez made an instant splash with their strain of punchy electroclash and minimal wave when they debuted with their self-titled album in 2018. EPs have followed, but finally the duo laid down their hotly anticipated follow-up in studios between Barcelona and Valencia between 2020 and 2021. As an instinctively exploratory group, they've not simply repeated the tricks from their first record, and the evolution can be felt in the fierce, pop-tinted club monster 'Denial' as much as the arch 90s stylings of 'Hectic', stepping out of bedroom introspection into a fabulous, unapologetic beast with huge crossover potential.