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Review: Canadian noise-rock trio Metz deliver their fifth full-length LP for their home label Sub Pop. Expressing an exponential graph of maturity, that has grown over their decade or so of recording and releasing, Metz' sound on Up On Gravity Hill veers more towards an almost black-metallic atmosphere, to counterpoise their originally stark, rageful sound. Conceptually, the album's change in sound matches its thematic content, with the band having found more peace in contrast, and the life-promising realisation that one can only experience its most joyful moments on the sole condition that one has also suffered its worst vagaries - there is no paradise without the fall. On the likes of '99' and 'Entwined', we're met with a driving, repetitious howl set against a sludgy axe-y backdrop, as vocalist Alex Edkins performatively laments and celebrates the ways of the world at the same time.

Review: Jascha Heifetz's profound connection with the tumultuous ocean mirrors the intensity and subtleties of his renowned violin sound. He shows that on this nice heavyweight 180-gram album which, meticulously crafted, revisits Heifetz's career milestones with crisp attacks, imaginative phrasings, and mellifluous sustains. The repertoire juxtaposes iconic pieces from different eras and showcases Heifetz's discerning taste in all its glory. From Vitali's Baroque masterpiece to Faure's Romantic opus and Castelnuovo-Tedesco's modern tone poem, each piece complements the other seamlessly. Cut by Bernie Grundman and preserved without digital intervention, this LP encapsulates Heifetz's timeless artistry in a lovely package by Impex Records.

Notes: Maggot Brain Issue 16: Spring 2024

This is a really packed, special issue of Maggot Brain, with the feature cover story a comprehensive interview by celebrated writer Sasha Frere-Jones with essayist, Lucy Sante (who's written for every issue of MB since the start), on the occasion of her awesome memoir about transitioning, I Heard Her Call My Name.

Phill Niblock: A tribute to the genius musician, filmmaker, label head, and generous promoter of ecstatic sound, by Steve Silverstein.

Tresa Leigh: An in-depth feature on the star of Efficient Space's beloved Ghost Riders compilation! Really a beautiful, untold story.

Dredd Foole: As his legacy is revealed through Corbett vs Dempsey's archival series, Foole talks to Six Organs of Admittance's Ben Chasny about the role of his band the Din in the Boston underground. Plus sidebars from Christina Carter, Kris Price, and Phil Milstein.

Loopsel: Mike McGonigal on some of the most elusive, beautiful contemporary music, straight out of Gothenburg.

Jeff Noon: An illuminating interview with the British speculative writer on his newest work as well as the 30th anniversary of the stunning Vurt.

Sleater-Kinney: 30 vital years of uncompromising music, by none other than Audrey Golden!

Hudson of Feature Inc.: A celebration of the most innovative gallerist of our lifetime on the occasion of the Soberscove Press book about his work and life.

Shabazz Palaces: The creator of vital, spiritual hip-hop beautifully interviewed by Detroit-based musician and writer Zachary Weedon.

Birtha: Nate Carson's in-depth feature on the pioneering, all-women boogie-choogle act.

Shonto Begay: One of Maggot Brai's favourite contemporary writers, JD O'Brien, in deep discussion with the great Native American painter-with particular emphasis on how his works engage with and are influenced by music. This piece alone is so well-written and illustrated it's worth buying the issue for.

Some columns: The debut of archivist Andy Zax's fabulous 'Extinctophonics' column! Cassette reviews, plus copious book and record reviews as well! Ana Gavrilovska on Detroit-based jazz duo Balance! Nate Carson on the Earth documentary, in the debut of the music documentary column! The latest Icons column finds Michelle Dove exploring the work of Chicago's beloved Douglas McCombs! 13 Questions for contemporary folk great Lael Neale by Mike McGonigal! And more Lucy Sante!

Review: Though he was already famous, Either/Or is the album that made Elliott Smith great. Now Kill Rock Stars proudly present their newly reissued, expanded edition of the sensitive songster's crowning glory, this time including five live multi-track recordings from the Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA in 1997, as well as three previously unreleased studio recordings, not to mention one B-side gem. The album was highly praised at the time due to several of its songs' lucky inclusion by Gus Van Sant in the classic drama movie Good Will Hunting, though the album's appeal goes much deeper than that, with Smith's melancholic, sombre voice soaring low above well-glued, unplugged pop mixes, though, typically for Smith, it still touches on existential, philosophical and neurotic themes throughout.

Notes: CoverUp designed two ergonomic support models for the OP-1: Studio and Live versions.

The Studio support has a higher incline and is elevated. This is ideal for seated use, improving screen visibility, and the height allows it to be positioned even behind other desktop equipment.

The Live version of this support has a slight incline and is intended for use in a live or standing situation.

Both supports have rubber feet to prevent slipping and are adorned with two well-known characters that appear on the OP-1.

***Please note: The OP-1 is not included, it is shown in the photos for demonstration purposes only. ***

Review: The Soul Surfers & Shawn Lee have linked their creative energies once more with a new pair of singles for the cultured Spasibo Records. Both tracks on this limited gold vinyl were recorded in 2018. One was captured at Moscow's Magnetone studio during Lee's visit for the premiere of a movie documenting his prior recording with The Soul Surfers, and the other was recorded remotely with The Soul Surfers at their Nizhniy Novgorod headquarters and Lee at his London studio, The Shop. The collaboration is a fruitful one with two sublime and timeless funk cuts featuring some bittersweet replaying of classic melodies.

Review: German funk act The Poets Of Rhythm have more than left their mark on a scene that wasn't so popular back in their heyday. They have got plenty of great albums to explore and several superb singles, of which this is one. 'Practice What You Preach' is a track from their debut album released on Soulciety in 1993. Despite a hiatus from albums until their return with a Ninja Tune LP in 2001, the band remained active in the 7"s circuit. Surprisingly, a part two to the same track exists, serving as an instrumental version of the original 1993 release. On the B-side, a fresh funk track, previously released under the alias Mighty Continentals, features Bo Baral delivering a rare solo guitar performance alongside ambiguous lyrical content.

Review: The Great Revivers is a funk and library band with a focus on organ laced grooves that hails from Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was formed around a decade or so ago from members of bands Wake&Bake! and The Reggaenauts and has put out a steady stream of very danceable 7"s since then. 'Adventures Begin' is their latest and it comes on the Spasibo label with lashing of loquacious saxophone and some nice loose, live drumming. Flip it over for something more laid back and starry eyed - 'Estrellas' has a soothing late night feel and brims with musicality.

Review: Sunset's reissue series of Harry J releases continues with this gem from the late, great Freddie McKay's 1986 collaboration with The Jah Apostles, one of the last productions to feature the singer - who seamlessly navigated from the early ska days right up to the digital era - before his untimely death in November of the same year. McKay's soulful vocals ride effortlessly over the Apostles' mesmerising rhythms here, meaning that it is impossible not to be transported listeners to the golden shores of Jamaica at sundown. As is so often with the case with reggae, there's a dubbed out version on the flip - we wouldn't have it any other way.

Review: Laurent Bardainne and Tigre d'Eau Douce's third album, EDEN BEACH CLUB, transports listeners to a sun-drenched paradise and was conceived as an imaginary soundtrack to a day by the sea. Following the triumph of Bardainne's Hymne au soleil album, they set their sights higher and here have crafted a sonic oasis that defies boundaries. Returning to their winning formula, the album seamlessly blends groove, soul, jazz, and electronic elements as each track invites you to lose yourself in a breezy and beachy dance as you celebrate an eternal sunset tinged with electric energy. The album is brimming with sophisticated and laid back melodies and gently persuasive grooves.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Isle Of Jura propel their Instrumental Dubs series further forward with a second release. Capturing the etheric essence of the 'version' and ready-making it for the present day, the nominal series welcomes contributions and reissues from new and old producers alike. This time around, we're met with a slow, George Kerr-produced cut from 1984, 'If You Want My Lovin', followed by a Brit-funk-esque instrumental from Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes, originally released on the Philly World label. The A-side closes with the 'Sweeter' instrumental mix of boogie bomb 'Loving Sweet Devotion' by Idiater Edwards; then comes the B-side with that indelible Mad Professor flavour, bucking the dub trend with a syncretic of dub, freestyle and disco; and finally, we end on a touch of next-gen psydub bubbling up from The Underwater World (of Jah Cousteau, that is).

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface mark on the record sleeve***


Announcing a reunion run of festival dates not five years on from their supposed farewell tour, what better time to revisit a truly under appreciated latter day gem from thrash metal titans Slayer? Originally released in 2006, Christ Illusion would serve as follow up to 2001's critically acclaimed God Hates Us All, while marking the band's first full-length with original drummer Dave Lombardo since 1990's Seasons In The Abyss. Somewhat shrugged off upon initial unveiling, in the near two decades since the project has amassed a legion of followers, mainly due to the work ultimately serving as one final effort from the original line up before guitarist Jeff Hanneman's untimely passing, followed by Lombardo's second departure.

Review: Japanese industrial noise duo The Grogerigegege are something of an urban legend within the underground music scene. Apparently meeting at a sex club where a shared appreciation for envelope pushing sex acts, punishing aural sonics and a bizarre avant-garde perspective on art would lock them together for ensuing decades of musical mayhem. Known for incorporating nudity, violence, broken glass and hoovers into their live set, the pair would even take a lengthy respite while one of the members simply disappeared for years on end before reconnecting with his counterpart. As If It Had Always Been Determined Since This Day Was Born transports listeners back to the pair's earliest forays into calculated extremity with blown out, overdriven remixes taken directly from the master tapes of their first 7" single released back in 1988. This includes the long sought after remaster of 'Mistress' originally used in the legendary Enoshima Beach Flexi Burning Live (which the pair opted to burn all original pressings of rather than make readily available). You do have to remember these are the same lads who sold dried out octopus tentacles in cassette cases during one tour as a limited release, and smashed up the master recording of another work and put the broken pieces in a metallic box that the listener shook to hear the album, hence the title You Are The Music Maker. If the utter lunacy of The Grogerigegege isn't detailed enough here, well this pressing comes complete with 5500 word essay-style liner notes penned by 55 year old Gero himself (Juntaro Yamanouchi).

Review: 'Practice What You Preach' is a standout track from the German funk band Poets Of Rhythm's debut record of the same name, first released on Soulciety in 1993. After a long hiatus on the albums front before a return to the limelight with a follow-up Ninja Tune LP in 2001, these guys nonetheless remained surely active on the 7"s circuit, which has sustained them since then. Little did we know or predict, however, that there existed a part two to the same track, which is essentially an instrumental version of the original 1993 track. On the B comes a fresh funker formerly released under the alias Mighty Continentals, with the band's Bo Baral laying down a rare solo guitar situation and singing about, well, god knows what.

Review: Miami duo Coral Morphologic has linked up with Nick Leon for a debut collaboration here, Projections of a Coral City, which lands on the cultured Barcelona-based label Balmat. It's a lush listen that very much soothes mind, body and soul with its widescreen ambient synth scopes, suspensory pads and painterly strikes of sound. The mood is carefree and dreamy, occasionally rueful and introspective and always realised in a beautiful fashion. Here's hoping this might be the first of many collabs if this is the sort of work these artists can cook up together.

Review: Originally part of the 2014 album I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy Without Me, 'Hit 'Em Like Ali' stands out as a vibrant and infectious track in Australian artist Chelsea Wilson's collection. Its energetic and riotous vibe has earned it a place as an unheralded modern deep funk classic. Spasibo Records now grants it a well-deserved single release on nice coloured vinyl. Co-produced by Jake Mason of Cookin' On 3 Burners, the heavyweight instrumental backing track, making its debut on the flip side, showcases Melbourne's top funk musicians. With blistering breakbeats, heavy horns, flanged guitars, and weighty bass, it's a track designed to captivate.

Review: Mathew Dexter invites us into his singular techno sound world with this fresh new EP which inaugurates the new Subplanet label. 'New World opens up with main room vibes and nice arpeggios that have a hint of Italo charm to them. 'Godspeed' then layers up more hypnotic synth sequences to build a sense of unresolved tension over darker and more edgy beats. 'Sunbeam' offers a more heady vibe with some mystic flute style leads up top and transcendental synths that warp and weft to great effect. 'Retrograde is a prickly, bouncy, textured closer with euro-centric synths and plenty of melodic colour.