Downwards Vinyl & CDs

Review: Most people know The Wolfgang Press as one of the longest serving names on the hallowed roster of celebrated UK label 4AD. Here, though, the project founded by Michael Allen and Mark Cox all the way back in 1983 find themselves on Regis and Female's celebrated techno and alternative label, Downwards, marking a change of family for the band's first new studio album in almost three decades. A 2nd Shape fits the imprint wonderfully well. Dubbed-out basslines, slo-mo drum machines, buzzing synth refrains, and disrupted, or at least unclean FX and melody making this a beautifully twisted post punk-post rock triumph that's as dark as it is beguiling, as moody as it is freeing, and as contemplative as it is immediate and confident.