Cherry Red have gratifyingly decided to reissue Popol Vuh’s first and fifth albums though their Esoteric imprint, respectively Affenstunde and Einsjäger und Siebenjäger. Divine providence was surely at work here, and so... I will here provide some little written devotion.
Monthly Archives: July 2026
15 posts
The stakes are raised to even more diabolical levels in this sequel to the gleefully violent and acutely socially aware 2019 horror hit, in which Samara Weaving’s plucky bride evaded the murderous attentions of her new in-laws. This time, she teams up with her sister (Kathryn Newton) against a whole illuminatum of super-rich families seeking to consolidate their power by any means necessary.
...they porously pull at the framework, cursively hint to the heritage but flex fresh perspectives; this is a living thing after all -- museums can wait.
On record there are over a hundred guitar tracks on each track -- live, where I see them at The Troxy, there are just two hooded men, standing in front of a veritable Stonehenge of amps, all labouring and straining under the force of the sound. Which is where the true music comes from.
The bright-eyed yearning that all the players show throughout is what makes the album so listenable. Once again, Keith and the players have concocted a collection that is easy on the ear but with hidden depths.
The 4AD label, and Pixies as part of their roster, were exemplars of this sort of thinking, with their single and EP releases unique works of art in their own right. The collection of the b-sides from their original six UK singles was originally released on CD in 2001, but here they have been remastered and augmented by live tracks ...
Deadites roam the screen in search of a vicious game of psychological torture and an easy buck (as far as the proprietors of this venerable intellectual property are concerned), when a bereaved and dysfunctional family finds itself stuck in a house in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do but go insane and try and kill each other as disgustingly and spectacularly as they can.
The washed-out, sun-bleached image on the cover and the faraway look in his eyes conveys a lot of the aesthetic of the songs here which, ably assisted by Heine Hansen on piano, Anders Holm Jensen on drums, Morten Lundsby on bass, Jakob Riis Holm on guitar, Eliel Williams Lazo Linares on percussion and Aksel Falgren on keys, look into the distance, lifted by the desire to go beyond, blurring distance, time and style into one fluid whole.
..thirty-three minutes of subtly inventive instrumentals and warmly abstract songs. Loosely assembled in tech terms but not necessarily low in fidelity, the multi-skilled Kennan solitarily forges these ten gathered pieces with varying combinations of keyboards, electronics, strings, guitars and her own reverb-wrapped vocals.
he instrumental energy of these compositions is off the scale. Instinctively light and airy, their complexity playful, imaginative; everything vibrantly falls into place, spiralling plenty of intriguing pyrotechnics in the process.
The group, rather like Mariam’s voice, has a mind of its own and the way the two interact is pretty special. They develop an awkward rhythm, allowing the words to feel nestled as myriad sounds cavort in the rushes and banks.
...some four years after 2022's Fjære and finds Berg plus bassist Bárður Reinert Poulsen and drummer Simon Albertsen sketching more post-jazz backdrops for Espen's vivid collection of new songs.
Whilst streaming playlists have become somewhat of a leviathan bestriding the world of multi-artist showcasing and taste-making, there is still space for the defiantly valiant art of assembling thoughtful standalone compilations. Particularly when they are curated by gatekeepers from the DIY mix tape generation, who also have a Rolodex replete with choice contributors at their fingertips. Enter then, two collections vying for such attention from reliable and familiar sources.
With flutes, harps, psalteries, melodica, organ, electronics, tabla, bells, drums, percussion and further assorted treats, you could be forgiven for thinking this would be an overwhelming barrage of noise, but instead the approach is subtle yet insidious; space being created by all four, which allows the myriad connections and combinations to be fully appreciated.
The constant evaluation and reworking of The Telescopes' sound is what keeps them relevant and yet oddly existing outside time. Nobody really sounds like them and hasn't done for years; and for all the flow of '80s and '90s bands reforming and reiterating, The Telescopes continue on their outward trajectory, still searching and rewardingly still discovering.