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Review: The debut album for Ultramagnetic MC's Critical Beatdown has continued to get more press over the years as one of the best underground 80s hip-hop albums. The group was most known for launching the career of Kool Keith but also featured the talented Ced Gee, TR Love and Moe Love who completed the early foursome lineup. This newly expanded version released by Music On Vinyl keeps the entire album in tact on the first record while smartly and thankfully, gathers a few of their most heralded other tracks of their earnest beginnings in the form of extended versions. All and all, you have the most complete packages of their early music dedicated to wax. This new expanded version is printed in a limited number of copies and comes on 180g 2x12 green vinyl. As an added bonus, there is a booklet that overviews and contains a lot of great information about this landmark release.

Review: Originally released in 1999, Chamber Music served as the sophomore offering from Los Angeles nu-metal pioneers Coal Chamber, yet marked a notable departure from the groove-oriented sound of their self-titled debut following several comparisons to their peers in Korn. While still delivering a hefty sonic assault, the material introduced a slew of melodic, electronic, gothic and industrial elements, thanks in no small part, to the enlisting of session keyboardists such as both Amir Derakh and Jay Gordon of Orgy as well as DJ Lethal of Limp Bizkit, while Skinny Puppy's Dave Ogilvie provided valuable production assistance. Most known for the Ozzy Osbourne featuring cover of Peter Gabriel's 'Shock The Monkey', which would become the band's biggest hit to date, the project sits in a delicate sweet spot between nu-metal time capsule and a sonic striving to push beyond the confines of the increasingly claustrophobic genre, bolstered further by frontman Dez Fafara's later departure to focus on DevilDriver.

Review: Released as part of his Special Sound Series, Japanese composer and pianist Shigeo Sekito's fourth volume exemplifies once more his ability to craft intricate compositions that are characterised by dynamic rhythms and captivating melodies as much as they are informed by funk and electronica. Through his unique vision for experimental soundscapes, the jazz innovator keeps you enthralled as he traverses several different moods and grooves, all of which demonstrate why he remains a distinctive and influential figure in the realm of eclectic and boundary-defying music. Another spellbinding album from this master of the unknown.

Review: 2006 was a very different time in rock 'n' roll. We'd cast off the Britpop and nu metal of the previous century's finale and millennium turn, and things had moved onto sounds that were far more sentimental, sometimes self-pitying and always hyper-emotional. This was true both of the rise of emo and hardcore resurgence, and the more chart (and advert)-friendly stuff coming from the likes of Keane and Coldplay. Over in the US, The Fray were looking to secure membership to that Closer-soundtrack worthy club and on their debut LP made a strong case for it. How To Save A Life features a number of powerful tracks, from the titular lead single to the piano-vocal showstopper, 'Hundred'. Moving enough to become the best selling digital album of all time, at the time (only trumped by Eminem's Recovery in 2010), here it is in physical form.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged & record has light surface marks/scratches, otherwise in excellent working condition***


Willie Junei Lee was a guitarist active mainly throughout the 1970s. He toured with Curtis Mayfield and Albert King, so we're sure you'll agree that this constitutes enough social proof for his inclusion in Blue Note's latest reissue campaign. 'Let's Ride' is Lee's first ever single: channeling the spiritual rock influences of the likes of Santana and Jimi Hendrix, this is a guitar masterpiece for the ages.

Review: We are always swooning over the great work done by the Hawaiian label Izipho Soul and as it approaches release number 100 they have pulled off some more magic here. The New Lost Generation is a rather legendary group from Chicago that rebranded with the arrival of the new millennium by adding 'new' to their name. Their sounds remained just as good though with this track, 'Thinkin' Bout Cha.' Taken from their self-titled album back in 2001. After that tender and aching blue-eyed opener, the flip offers 'You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine' which has a male lead and soft focus melodies.

Review: Mumford & Sons drop a surprise single release alongside Pharrell Williams, 'Good People', delivering on a long-awaited promise to hop in the studio together after years of knowing each other. Finally falling back on their immediate instincts, 'Good People' hears the band and the solo wunderkind sing of tiredness and revelation, making adept use of a dry, driving, sportsmanlike instrumental palette (think hand claps, stomps, gospel harmonies). Though cryptic in theme, the mood on this one-off is one of triumph and impending miracle works to come.

Notes: Inside this brand new issue:

The Haxan Cloak: From his bedroom in Wakefield to the City of Angels, the UK born producer, composer and musician talks darkness, light and scoring the unspeakable. By Joseph Stannard

DJ Znobia: The Angolan kuduro innovator relates the invention and evolution of the influential dance style. By April Clare Welsh

Linda Smith: The return of the Baltimore songwriter who amassed a wealth of lo-fi pop in the 1980s and 90s. By Claire Biddles

Ariel Kalma: The electronic music veteran maintains his cosmic trajectory well into his seventies. By Daniel Spicer

Invisible Jukebox Kahil El'Zabar: Will the US bandleader know What It Is! when faced with The Wire's mystery record selection? Tested by Howard Mandel

Unlimited Editions: Thanatosis Produktion

Unofficial Channels: The Blindboy Podcast

The Inner Sleeve: Teresa Winter on Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha

Global Ear: Santiago Underground resistance in the Chilean capital. By Juan San Cristobal Lizama

Billy Bultheel: Queer cyberaesthetics from the Belgian composer. By Edward Henderson

Lumpeks: Franco-Polish folk jazz fun. By Gabriel Bristow

Yasuhiro Morinaga: Concrete traditionalism from the Japanese sound recordist. By Clive Bell

John Pope: Geordie improv bassist gets communal. By Abi Bliss

Epiphanies: Edward Ka-Spel makes hay with Faust

Print Run: Eric Dolphy by Guillaume Belhomme; Where We Come From: Rap, Home And Hope In Modern Britain by Aniefiok Ekpoudom; Transfigured New York: Interviews With Experimental Artists And Musicians, 1980-1990 by Brooke Wentz; Tokyo Jazz Joints by Philip Arneill with James Catchpole; Hans Reichel: Daxophonie edited by Klaus Untiet & Peter Klassen; Love, Sex & War: Terry Day Lyrics by Terry Day & Blanca Regina (Editor); Split Friction by Birgit Ulher; Trad, Gras Och Stenar: A Collective History by Hakan Agnsater, Mats Eriksson Duner, Jakob Sjoholm & Jonas Stal

On Screen: Daniel Weintraub Deep Listening: The Story Of Pauline Oliveros

On Location: Jazz Rumours, London, UK; Construction Festival, Dnipro, Ukraine; En Masse, Bristol, UK; Mariam Rezaei + Angharad Davies + Atzi Muramatsu + Semay Wu, London, UK; MAVI + Armand Hammer + Fly Anakin, Manchester, UK; Tashi Dorji & Alex Zhang Hungtai, New York, US; Le Guess Who?, Utrecht, Netherlands; Jazzfest Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Other Minds, San Francisco, US; Haunted Dancehall, Dublin, Ireland; Ska?u Mess, Riga, Latvia

On Site: Lutz Bacher AYE!, London, UK; Reynols 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Don Van Vliet, Standing On One Hand, London, UK

Soundcheck: Al Karpenter, Al Karpenter & CIA Debutante, Among The Rocks And Roots, Marc Baron & Mark Vernon, The Body & Dis Fig, Joseph Branciforte & Theo Bleckmann, Allison Burik, N Chambers, George Crumb, Dez Dare, Darkspace, Divine Horsemen, Samuel Goff/Camila Nebbia/Patrick Shiroishi, Kim Gordon, Madison Greenstone, Keiji Haino/Jim O'Rourke/ Oren Ambarchi, Mary Halvorson, Hieroglyphic Being, Mark Van Hoen, The Dave Howard Singularity, Anja Huwe, Mayssa Jallad, Jlin, Locust, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Kali Malone, Moor Mother, Dorothy Moskowitz, Naum Gabo, Ov Pain, Gruff Rhys, Laetitia Sadier, Sombat Simla, The Smile, John Surman, Valerio Tricoli, Univers Zero, Mark Vernon, Xmal Deutschland, Various Our Trip Is Short Vol 7

The Boomerang: Fred Anderson Quartet, Electric Sun, Emeralds, Bill Fay Group, Dredd Foole & The Din, FUSE, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Mark McGuire, Microstoria, Sam Morrison, Plastikman, Speedy J, Nisse Sandstr?m Group, Pauline Anna Strom, Techno Animal, Various Fantastic Voyage: New Sounds For The European Canon 1977-1981

Notes: A true legend of modular synthesis, Make Noise's Maths is arguably the definitive Eurorack function generator. Based on analogue computing circuits, Maths draws on Buchla-style techniques to offer countless ways of generating and processing modulation signals.

Supplier's Notes:
The MATHS music synthesizer module is an analogue computer designed for musical purposes. Amongst other things, it will allow you to:

Features

Generate a variety of linear, logarithmic, or exponential triggered or continuous functions

Integrate an incoming signal

With no signal applied, generate a variety of linear, logarithmic, or exponential functions

Add, subtract and OR up to 4 signals

Generate analogue signals from digital information (Gate / Clock)

Generate digital information (Gate / Clock) from analog signals

Delay digital (Gate / Clock) information

If the above list reads like science rather than music, here is the translation:

Voltage Controlled Envelope or LFO as slow as 25 minutes and as fast as 1khz

Apply Lag, Slew or Portamento to control voltages

Change the depth of modulation and modulate backwards!

Combine up to 4 control signals to create more complex modulations

Musical Events such as Ramping up or Down in Tempo, on command

Initiating Musical events upon sensing motion in the system

Musical note division and / or Flam

Perfect for modulating the DPO and just about anything else

Specifications
Width: 20hp
Max Depth
(incl. power cable): 32mm

Power:
60mA@ +12V
50mA @ -12V

Review: 8 Tableaux finds modern classical artist Flore Laurentienne "attempting to give musical form to a painting." It's a count that yields great results as the pantry sounds are smeared and smudged across the airwaves with great beauty. It results in a new age record of rich ambient that answers questions the artist poses such as "painting is a freeze-frame at a precise moment in the painter's creative flow so how do you combine these two art forms? Do you have to stop time? How do you stop time in music?" Listen to this album and you will go some way to finding out.

Review: Baton Rouge, Louisiana based doom-sludge auteurs Thou have become renowned for their uniquely punishing brand of psych-tinged, heaving, fuzzed-out metal, while their myriad collaborations with the likes of noise-sludge duo The Body has prevented the collective from ever resting on their laurels for long. While most recently working with Mizmor on 2022's Myopia EP, and the two preceding years spent on both the Emma Ruth Rundle full-length May Our Chambers Be Full and companion EP The Helm of Sorrow, it's now been almost six full years since the band released an LP of their sole design. 2018's Magus served as a monolithic, 75 minute statement of artistic despair whilst highlighting the catharsis found in the most crushing of sonics. Featured in the top metal releases of 2018 by Decibel, Noisey, BrooklynVegan and NPR, to name but a few, this limited tan vinyl 2xLP reissue is long overdue, and just might signal the coming signs of new Thou material out on the horizon. Whatever may come, revisit the gargantuan Magus in the meantime.