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Interlacing black metal and high-energy rock n’ roll with gothic melodic and harmonic flourishes, Wolf Hex, the 3rd LP from Canada’s Wormwitch, is filled with monumental moments continuing the band’s upward trajectory in the global metal scene. "Shortly after 2019’s release of Heaven That Dwells Within, we went on an indefinite hiatus. Just before the beginning of the virus and the first quarantine, we made the decision to come back to Wormwitch with rejuvenated spirits and write a new record. The result is 10 songs that we recorded between 3 studios over the course of this past Autumn. The writing and recording process has been the smoothest, most natural, and most fulfilling we’ve experienced thus far and we’ve never been so confident in a record throughout its creation. As always, endless thanks to those who have been with us since the beginning as well as those who have discovered us through HTDW. Your individual support is absolutely noticed and appreciated. We think about you and remember your names." - WORMWITCH

Fractal City, the latest Cubenx album is a collection of terrestrial jams and arachnean ambient ballads that are particularly apt for urban listening. If its predecessors cracked the musical codes in force and shone by the versatility of their references, this new opus offers its listener an intense and symbolic sound environment.


The raw material of Fractal City was first conceived as a series of sound patches, designed to run in parallel with Canadian digital artist Maotik's installation. Broadcasted in real-time by generative patches reacting to various external and non-human data, those musical excerpts have been rendered in hundreds of nuances and extended over infinite durations. This unusual approach confers to the recording of the finished album's outstanding immersive strength.

Recorded live on a single track over a short period of a few weeks, the nine compositions of Fractal City capture the obsessions of its author for postmodern urban landscapes, and the revelation of new perspectives on the city of Paris.

The opening piece `Ssarg´ seems to hide the figure of the Mexican ambient producer Jorge Reyes. Cubenx built a cocoon of energetic layers, a new home of the mystical kind harmoniously integrated in a flourishing rainforest ecosystem.

`Transect ´refers to the urban development model of the same name, which is based on a division of the city into autonomous "fractal" zones. It also echoes the concept of "metro polarities" which considers the city as a mosaic of social groups. "By cycling in the evening with a friend, we could get away from the city centre to the suburbs of Paris. The contrasts are striking. You move from chic districts to bedroom communities, from industrial zones to improvised caravan camps. But there is a kind of energy in this heterogeneity that pushes you to always pedal further."

A few miles away, it would look like Art and urbanism have tried to level the cultural and social discrepancies of the outskirts of Paris. "Architectural sites like the Arcades of Bofill are splendid. There are completely extravagant projects, which seem to emerge from nowhere."
These buildings with ambitious aesthetics off the beaten tourist track, deteriorate over time and often remain far from the expectations of the local population. A feeling of nostalgic beauty is particularly perceptible on the slowest and most introspective ballads of the album as 'Urban Decay', 'Hagel' or 'Axe Majeur'. The producer leaves nonetheless no room for melancholic emptiness. "Every time, I have the impression that urban culture is taking its rights back and that young people appropriate the places in one way or another."

Just like `Transect', ` Quantified' and `Fractal City' present themselves as mirrors of a daily urban life in constant motion. All three are empowered by an overheated factory, which dispatches hypnotic beats and burst of analogue compressors with a clinical precision and direct them straight away to the reptilian areas of their listener's brains.

The sequencing leaves however space and time to take breath and makes way for aerial sonic excursions of spiritual and enlightened nature. On `Human Dilemma', Cubenx shows some concerns to opening the Pandora's box of transhumanist theories. While a long cosmic wave gives the listener a feeling of perfect fullness, a dizzying guitar distortion cast doubts on long term outlooks. `Smash Other' on the other way alternates gentle dissonances over an ocean of white noise and concludes the album on ethereal note.

With ´Fractal City", Cubenx eludes his irreconcilable love for shoegaze pop song and techno to concentrate exclusively on the production of mutant experimental materials. The result is an uncanny musical object, rich in image and sensation. Cubenx give us a guiding framework, enthralling enough to engage the listener to a tour of town. But he leaves it to the sole listeners to design their own projection of the city.

London's SlothBoogie return with the second instalment of their 'Dancing With Friends' series this August, featuring exclusive new music from Kemback, Felipe Gordon, Mak z, Bill Mango, The Revenge and more.

Following the success of the inaugural 'Dancing With Friends', which featured the likes of Kassian, Letherette, Joe Cleen and Ruff Stuff amongst others, the crew are back with that ever so tricky... second album. This sequel however, will not disappoint. The team have scoured the four corners of the globe to provide listeners with a comprehensive follow up that showcases more brand-new music from their favourite producers.

'Dancing With Friends Vol.2' is a deftly curated selection of the diverse styles synonymous with the SlothBoogie sound, ranging from the hazy deepness of cuts by Amy Dabbs, DJ Counselling, Bill Mango, Metropolitan Soul Museum and Kristy Harper to Disco tinged, jazzy, bumpy numbers from the likes of Jesse Bru, T.U.R.F. and Felipe Gordon through to more tripped out acid workouts by The Revenge, Fede Lng & Mojeaux, Togethrs and Pablot.

With this latest collection you can trust SlothBoogie to bring some much-needed dancefloor unity and sun-drenched energy to the world for the summer of 2021. The perfect soundtrack to reconnect and begin dancing with friends once again.

The vinyl format will come as a Gatefold Cover with 2 x 12" cream speckled clear vinyl and will include the full digital album download cards.

In James McMurtry’s new effort, ‘The Horses and
the Hounds’, the acclaimed songwriter backs
personal narratives with effortless elegance
(‘Canola Fields’) and endless energy (‘If It Don’t
Bleed’).
This first collection in seven years spotlights a
seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns
toward reflection (‘Vaquero’) and revelation (closer
‘Blackberry Winter’). Familiar foundations guide
the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to
this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren
Zevon seems to be stomping around among the
guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He
never signed on for work for hire.”
‘The Horses and the Hounds’ is a reunion of sorts.
McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary
producer Ross Hogarth (Ozzy Osbourne, John
Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson
Browne’s Groovemaster’s in Santa Monica,
California. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two
albums - ‘Too Long in the Wasteland’ and
‘Candyland’ - and later mixed McMurtry’s first selfproduced album, ‘Saint Mary of the Woods’.
Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist
David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie
Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.

Maybe We Never Die, Anderson East's third release for Elektra/Low Country Sound takes the Alabama born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s seductively vintage voice in a decidedly fresh direction. The 12 tracks flow together with an overarching sense of ambience but maintain distinct musical boundaries. The energy toggles between a hunger for vulnerability in togetherness and a clinging to solitude as a romantic self-defense. There is consternation with the speed and volume at which the world operates and solace to be found in the simple act of getting up and going. And the beguiling title track, with its woozy strings swirling around East’s celestial falsetto as it curls towards the ceiling like smoke is, as they say, a whole mood; a sense of a single night’s dusk-to-sunrise contemplation. Collaborating once again with Dave Cobb along with longtime bandleader and now co-producer Philip Towns, East has found an enticing new avenue, one that maintains a connection to his past but keeps his eyes on the road ahead.

Maybe We Never Die is East's first new music since 2018's breakthrough album, Encore, which featured the Grammy-nominated #1 AAA radio single, "All On My Mind." Heralded by critics, The New York Times praised Encore as, “…an often lustrous revisiting of raucous Southern soul, rousingly delivered and pinpoint precise. He has a voice full of extremely careful scrape and crunch, but his howls never feel unhinged," while Rolling Stone declared, “On Encore, East’s influences meld seamlessly, stacking the album with Stax-worthy R&B grooves, gospel-blues ooohs and aaahs, surging keys and blasting brass.” Known for his magnetic live performances, East and his band have performed sold-out shows worldwide and have been featured on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "CBS This Morning Saturday," NBC's "TODAY" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers," PBS' "Austin City Limits" and more.

When Walter Smith III released his fourth solo album ‘Still Casual’ in 2014,
people listened, and the album was heralded as one of the top
releases of the year.
Now, fans of the saxophonist and composer can experience the tenorist’s wideranging release on vinyl for the first time on this special 2xLP, 180 gram limited
edition pressing with gatefold artwork.
Smith’s discography is pleasingly joined-up. As ‘In Common 2’ follows ‘In Common’, ‘Still Casual’ references his 2006 solo debut ‘Casually Introducing’. The
title might be another one of Smith’s trademark riffs, but the album is as committed to exploration as any other. Over the course of ten original tracks, Smith
covers a swathe of musical and emotional ground.
The players assembled for ‘Still Casual’ speak volumes for the quality of Smith’s
company. Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire joins Smith for explosive soloing on
‘Fing Fast’ and ‘Something New’. In Common co-convenor Matthew Stevens
provides reflective harmonic support and muted solo colours alongside the
understated backings of Taylor Eigsti. Together, Harish Raghavan and Kendrick
Scott provide moments of tension and intrigue from the backline, adding suitable punch to the opener ‘Foretold You’.
Chronologically, the album precedes the In Common projects, and comes right
as Smith hits his stride as a composer and arranger. From the elaborate (‘About
360’, ‘Processional’) to the personal (‘Greene’ is dedicated to saxophonist Jimmy Greene, whose daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook school shootings in
2012), Smith shines across fast-flowing vernacular and reflective, tender tones.
Still Casual showcases a group stretching themselves in a way that never seems
hurried, delving into a powerful collective energy to test their limits instead.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, Latin America's biggest metal export SEPULTURA refused to sit back and act like an animal trapped in a cage. Like the flowers growing out of the deceased bird’s body depicted on the stunning colourful cover artwork by Eduardo Recife, the thrash metal pioneers from Belo Horizonte made good use of their unexpected free time to start a project that kept them busy throughout the entirety of 2020:

‘SepulQuarta’ was born at the very beginning of the pandemic when everything was halted”, guitarist Andreas Kisser remembers. “We had a new album out, but we couldn’t tour for it. Therefore, we created this recurring event where we could talk with our fans around the world, play our music and exchange ideas, it was a blast! »SepulQuarta« kept us alive and strong throughout one of the most difficult times in human history.”

“Doing Sepulquarta during this period allowed me to stay in contact with music. Playing my instrument was the only thing left to do in this pandemic,” adds drummer Eloy Casagrande, and indeed, music seemed to be a good way of coping with the never-ending lockdown and fear of loss and isolation that haunted people worldwide. Obviously, the Brazilian pioneers were not the only musicians feeling this way, so they started to connect with friends and colleagues worldwide and asked them to not only be part of their weekly podcast, but also join them in playing one of SEPULTURA’s classics tracks. From the safety of their homes, international stars like David Ellefson, Scott Ian, Danko Jones, Devin Townsend, Matt Heafy and many more recorded a SEPULTURA track together with the band, which have now been mixed and mastered by Conrado Ruther.

“We invited our amazingly talented friends to be a part of our project, either jamming with us or as a guest in the many Q&A’s we promoted,” Andreas explains. “We talked about our history, music, politics, sports, philosophy, depression and the environment among other things. We learned a lot with specialist guests and many of the great minds of today. Here you will find unique performances of SEPULTURA’s music from the many phases of our career, with amazing guest musicians that lent us their talent and energy to record these historical versions!”

"The title 'The Big Picture' is about seeing things from a positiveperspective, the album wants to be an optimistic pill although a bigreflection of what I have been, what I lived and what I have become atthis very moment. I feel in an age where I feel fine looking at the pastas much as looking forward to the future." -AFFKT Inspiration strikes in a myriad of waves. AFFKT's new album bringstogether all the best feelings and elements of the Spanish producer'screativity into one cohesive release. New concepts and styles that deliver the energy needed to be released after a forced pause. Sonically speaking 'The Big Picture' is probably his most expansiveand multifaceted electronic-driven album to date. AFFKT's carefullyconstructed retro-futuristic electronica definitely suggests the quaintand unique forms of body music bringing ties with rock, pop andcertainly more organic sounds. The musician is creating a new path, anew future by travelling to the past. This new LP is redefining its ownnew genre somewhere between techno, indie dance, industrial andnew wave inspirations.

Tomas Nordmark's music operates on multiple, equally thrilling planes. Having cultivated a deep appreciation for conceptual art and the phase-shifting minimalism pioneered by the downtown avant-garde community of NYC in the `60s, Nordmark set out to blend that with his pop-oriented upbringing and unique perspective on electronic music. The Swedish-born, London-based composer's new album pulses with unrelenting energy, waving and cresting around ambient tension and gorgeously realized melodies. Exit Ghosts is partly influenced by the history of film scores and the aesthetics carried by that tradition. As an instrumental album, Nordmark is tasked with conjuring emotions without words, and the way he utilizes specific cues mirrors the process of film scores, in addition to the work of seminal composers such as Tim Hecker, Arthur Russell, and Jóhann Jóhannsson.

CONFUSIONAL QUARTET: A few months after the release of the first and self-titled LP, this 10-inch album carrying the same title "Confusional Quartet" was released. On this album the band continues to offer songs (called songs even if Confusional Quartet did not have a singer) using the energy of post punk and the mood of new wave.
This new project also includes the piece "Sigla" produced and edited in 6 different ways.
"Sigla" is an example of what Confusional Quartet used to call "Banal Music" inspired by the designer Mendini's "banal object". This track was recorded and edited by tape recorders to come out in different "metamusical" forms.
This record stands out also for the beautiful cover featuring a photo of Giacomo Balla's "flowers" sculptures, the Italian futurist artist who worked on a plastic and dynamic reconstruction of the universe.

You can now listen to the ten tracks of this 10" on the A -SIDE of the new release on a 12". The B-SIDE is dedicated to a rare live recording dated 1980.
Despite the quality of an amateur audio cassette, this recording testifies the band's iconoclastic energy. A fulminating live set, just over half an hour, no words, just music, quickly passing from a punk piece to a jazz piece or to a polka.

This record is also offered by Italian Records on a special colored vinyl edition of 180gr.

Kim Wilde became an overnight sensation back in 1981 courtesy of the worldwide success of her single ‘Kids In America’, which offered a very British twist on the new wave energy and glamour of Blondie. In due course, Kim would enjoy numerous hits throughout the 1980s, first on RAK Records (with help from father Marty and brother Ricky) and then later on MCA (when she took up songwriting herself and toured with Michael Jackson and David Bowie).

Great follow up album! Led by Derya Yıldırım’s hypnotizing bağlama and vocals, the group draw a meaningful continuity from the Turkish folk repertoire to their original songwriting, with a strong sound identity and a dancefloor - friendly energy.

Grup Şimşek is a fresh and modern pop - group which combines Anatolian Folk and contemporary grooves, often contaminated by Psychedelia and progressive rock flavours.
Turkish singer and saz player Derya Yıldırım has been burning the candle for Turkish folk and psychedelia since her infamous performance at the New Hamburg Festival back in 2015. Soon after, Grup Şimşek was born and there started a ri ch journey of musical feast, exploring and rendering new versions of Anatolian classics as well as building a songbook of original compositions, with references to the music of The Doors, west coast US psych, Turkish musical activist and hero Selda Bagçan and many heroes of musical Anatolia.Grup Şimşek are itinerant by nature. They live apart across various European homes and span Turkish, German, French and English heritage with Derya living in Berlin. Despite this spatial incongruence, the group's harmo ny oozes through their music with a rich stew of funk - noir groove, organ energy, hypnotic saz (Turkish stringed instrument) and synths all layered beneath Derya's warm sometimes heartfelt vocal, singing verse and poetry, borrowed, evolved and new.

Dissolution Sessions' is the first release by art punk rockers The Imbeciles since their well received eponymously named debut album earlier this year. The six-track EP
features a new band line up - and a different sound. 'We've slimmed down from a meandering, vegan, six member prog rock combo, to a tight-knit, guitar-led, steakeating 4-piece,' says lead Imbecile, Butch Dante. 'The guitar sound is fuzzy punk beast-master AF, and we like it.'
The band had originally gone into the studio earlier this year to record a radio session for 6Music. That ended up being cancelled because of the pandemic crisis. 'We
were there anyway so we started riffing on some new songs and everything came together real fast,' continues Butch. The result is three new songs and three new
versions of tracks that first appeared on the album. 'The music is still weird; but everything just gets to the point faster,' he adds. "You can hear that energy in 'Yes I
Am'; it's the sound of a band having fun being creative again after a difficult year.'
That particular new track is a Foo fighters/STP/Stooges-style banger, but played on Imbeciles terms - one note leads and guitar scrapes, with off beat stabs and a pop
punk drum track that pulls the whole together. And the overall vibe of the EP is a NSFW hybrid of 1979 London punk (Skids and Ruts), with second guitar stolen from
eighties Echo and Bunnymen and a leavening of Bauhaus art rock.
'Sunday Leaguer' was inspired by Butch's love of English football. The song is both a banging punk celebration of the beautiful game, and a lament to the gaping hole left
in peoples' lives when Coronavirus forced the cancellation of all football in March. As well as the Premier League, MotD and other football staples, the song also
celebrates the unsung legends of amateur Sunday League football. Dante, a Crystal Palace fan, enlists Palace's Holmesdale Fanatics on the track, who are heard chanting
'Eagles', while the video for the song pays tribute to the club's mascot, Keya, who sadly passed away this summer.
Charlie Conkers makes his debut on the EP as the band's drummer. 'He's young, good looking, and talented. It's quite annoying, actually,' Butch says. New lead guitarist
Stan Moseley makes a sideways move into the band from his previous role as The Imbecile's chief engineer and co-producer - the producer role now being occupied by
music legend, Youth, with whom the band has just started working on a new album, to be released in 2021.
'Having Youth involved as producer and co-writer is the most dope thing that has ever happened to the band,' says lead singer and bass player Kip Larson. 'Everyone is in
a super positive, hyper creative place right now and we can't wait to see what we come up with.'
So what about the name, Dissolution Sessions? Was it a nod to the pandemic, or a reference to the band breaking up and reforming again with its new members?
Neither, according to Butch. 'Kip was super hung over at the session. too many Dos Equis, yo. Hence: Dissolution Sessions.'

In 1979 as a 15-year-old Eddie Piller was perfectly placed to be at the epicentre of the Mod revival. An inquisitive passion
for music, a family connection to Mod royalty The Small Faces, and an attitude that saw him travelling his home city, then
the country and then the world to take in the sounds that were emerging. In the years since, Piller has been a legendary
figure within the music industry setting up and continuing to own the ground-breaking Acid Jazz label, signing multiplatinum artists such as Jamiroquai and The Brand New Heavies collaborating on compilations with Martin Freeman and as
an award winning broadcaster even setting up his own Totally Wired Radio station. In The Mod Revival he looks back at the
movement that set him on his way.
• Mod is a sixties youth movement original built on sharp clothes, American soul music and nights on the town, that has never
really died. The originals added young British groups to their likes and then moved on, but their influence echoed on
through the 1970s in Northern Soul clubs, and in the sixties influenced bands of the pub rock era. When punk arrived, it was
supposed to sweep away the past, but instead the Sex Pistols were covering the Small Faces. The Clash brought in Mod DJ
Guy Stevens to produce London’s Calling, The Buzzcocks sounded closer to the Hollies than The Ramones and in The Jam’s
Paul Weller there was a musical and sartorial nod to the past of The Who, The Beatles and pop art arrows.
• Weller had spent the 1970s becoming obsessed by mod and saw punk as having a similar youthful energy to the era he had
missed by being born a decade too late. For others Weller’s style proved an inspiration, and as the Jam broke through in late
1978, they saw a wave of bands follow in their wake, and they themselves influenced others to form their own groups. But
there were other things. In bleak late 70s Britain the glorious optimism of the 1960s looked bright and shiny, and as it was
only a decade or so in the past, it was easy to pick up original records, clothes and books for pennies, and as you bought
these you met other like-minded souls who did the same. For those a little too young for punk, it was a community of gigs,
scooters, clothes, bands and records, and for many it developed on through.
• Eddie never stopped being a mod and has a unique perspective having now lived through four decades of being intimately
involved in the music that has emerged from the mod scene. In this part two double vinyl edition (Part 1 and its CD
equivalent reached #14 in the UK compilations charts) Ed guides us through some of his favourite music from the scene. He
guides us through a plethora of bands whose influences include The Who, The Kinks and the Jam, to sixties soul and R&B,
those with an eye on psychedelia. The records have a vitality and a certain stylish swagger to them, that marks them out as
mod. In the deluxe booklet, Piller has written a 5000 word note describing what it meant to him and has granted access to
his own scrapbooksfrom his many years of gig-going from which pages and memorabilia are reproduced.
• Eddie Piller’s Mod Revival is a personal appraisal from the founder of The Modcast, on what the mod explosion of the late
70s and 80s means to him…

New wave dancefloor instrumentalists Snazzback release stunning secondalbum on new label from Bristol's cultural instigators, Worm Disco Club. Bristolseven-piece Snazzback bring the sound of reopened dancefloors, of communalrelease, and of the joyful sound of dancing outside in the sunshine to live music.Their second album 'In The Place' overflows with deep grooves and loose,lolloping rhythms that tease and play, sometimes languid and carefree, othertimes energy spiralling upwards - and taking the listener with them, each andevery time. Their music is soaked in great black american dancefloor music,whether that's the sound we call 'jazz' or hip hop. They also bring other flavours- interlocking Afro-Latin rhythms, electronica and hypnotic rock, all marinated inBristol's long musical histories.

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community
leader William Parker presents a pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on his limitless vision.
One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the
last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher.
‘Mayan Space Station’ is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Parker
on bass, alongside Ava Mendoza (electric guitar), and Gerald Cleaver (drums).
Cosmic multi-hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled
rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full
flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with
compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest.
Mendoza’s prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings
as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is certainly clear here,
she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the
music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can
play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit
contours within the most open of forms.
Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the
nonpareil full-improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn.
William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass - in both
pizzicato & bow-as-prism modes.
William Parker: bass, compositions,
Ava Mendoza: electric guitar,
Gerald Cleaver: drums

Cromby debuts on Phantasy alongside vocalist Tee Amara with a luminous new single, ‘Qué Sientes’. An emergent anthem overflowing with the energy that has come to define the Belfast producer’s ascent as one of the most versatile talents in club culture, ‘Qué Sientes’ is contemporary electro brimming with character, skilfully remixed by Ecuadorian underground favourite, Nicola Cruz.

Raw in dancefloor intent, ‘Qué Sientes’ erupts with no hesitation atop Dance Mania-indebted drums, blending Tee Amara’s Spanish-language vocal performance with a seductive acid squelch. Written and recorded in Berlin during lockdown, ‘Qué Sientes’ is the meeting of two friends and lifelong dancefloor enthusiasts from across the world, fluid rave sensuality rendered ideal for Cromby’s already legendary closing sets at Panorama Bar, or any other high-voltage dancefloor.

Complementing the Latin flavour of Cromby’s original production, French-Ecuadorian cult favourite Nicola Cruz applies his precision percussion and further cosmological atmospheres to ‘Qué Sientes’. Adeeply trippy take, Cruz’s result is late-night house psychedelia rendered both mechanical and mystical.

Following their last release, The Day Before Halloween_an imaginative, distorted-synth-driven concept album_Atmosphere returns with a refreshing new project, simply titled WORD? Steering back toward their signature sound, the album further highlights producer Ant's undeniable talents as the project leans into the classic boom-bap aesthetic, bringing a unique energy out of Slug's wisdom, wit and delivery. From onset, WORD? proves to be every bit an exercise in refining and advancing their craft as it is a harkening to earlier work. That is, while their releases have grown more broodingly cinematic, and increasingly concerned with the human condition and mortality, WORD? manages to reintroduce moments of levity and lightheartedness throughout, an approach seldom heard on their albums of late. From album opener "Fleetwood," with its razor-sharp snares and warm fleshy bassline, to the resonant melody of "Clocked", there are strong hints of Atmosphere's nascent years within the sound. Meanwhile, songs like "Woes", "Strung" and "Vanish" cheerfully make light of daily hardships, but they're more likely to be remembered for making listeners want to bob their heads and sing along. With Slug and Ant directing the course, the album plays like a joyride through a range of experiences and emotions, with an extensive cast of special guests hopping in and out along the way, including Evidence, Muja Messiah, Musab, Nino Bless, Nikki Jean, Anwar HighSign, BlackLiq, Sa-Roc, Haphduzn, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Aesop Rock, and the late MF DOOM (RIP). The result is a project that feels like it came from the era or, perhaps more fittingly, the mindset that created albums like God Loves Ugly, Seven's Travels, or the popular Sad Clown series, while sounding as polished and perfected as more recent albums like Mi Vida Local or Whenever. Ultimately, WORD? pairs the breadth of Atmosphere's talents with the beauty of their growth, all while showing they still have a lot of fun in the process and don't mind letting the listener in on the fun as well.

Muse celebrate the twentieth anniversary of ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ by releasing ‘Origin Of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX’ on Warner Records. The new edition features remixed and remastered audio plus re-imagined artwork and will be released on digital formats on June 18th before two vinyl packages follow on July 9th.



As the album’s anniversary approached, Muse asked the Grammy-winning producer Rich Costey, who has produced or mixed material on almost every subsequent record, to revisit the original recordings. Whereas most remix albums aim to radically rework the material, or to switch to an entirely different genre, the band and Costey wanted to provide a renewed clarity with a more open, dynamic and less crushed sound. This highlights parts and ideas previously buried or muted on the original mixes, like a harpsichord on ‘Micro Cuts’ and Abbey Road recorded strings on ‘Citizen Erased’, ‘Megalomania’ and ’Space Dementia’.



And that’s precisely what has been achieved. From the visceral opening riff of ‘New Born’ to the cinematic melancholy of the closing ‘Megalomania’ via the staggering scope of fan favourite ‘Citizen Erased’, the remix unveils every facet of the album’s intricate production alongside a new-found warmth. It further benefits from mastering courtesy of Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios.



Matt Bellamy said:



"In revisiting the album what we found was the original mixes on the singles, like ‘Plug In Baby’ and ‘Bliss’, were pretty good so they were the hardest ones to improve. It was the deeper album tracks like ‘Micro Cuts’ where we were able to make massive breakthroughs."



The ‘XX Anniversary RemiXX’ also adds ‘Futurism’ to the tracklist. Originally a bonus track on the album’s Japanese edition and subsequently tagged to the end of the album on streaming services, ‘Futurism’ now adds a burst of energy to bridge the gap between ‘Feeling Good’ and ‘Megalomania’. This reflects its placing on the 2019 box set ‘Origin of Muse’.



‘Origin of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX’ is completed with a modernised reimagination of the album’s cover art courtesy of Sujin Kim. The visual artist has created a hyper-realistic 3D rendering of William Eager’s original cover image.



‘Origin of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX’ is now available to pre-order, with ‘Citizen Erased’ provided as an instant download. A limited edition exclusive 140 gram coloured double-vinyl set is available from the band’s official store. A striking package and a must-have item for collectors, it features LP1 on translucent sun yellow vinyl and LP2 on translucent orange vinyl. It will also be released on double black vinyl and digital formats. Both versions of the vinyl feature an unorthodox detail: the sides are marked M, U, S and E rather than the standard format

Reissue for John Joseph’s own all-star group 2017 debut album

At its purest, there is little that can match the visceral thrill and empowering spirit of hardcore. As front-man of New York City hardcore kings Cro-Mags, this is something John Joseph knows very well, and with Up In Arms, he and his Bloodclot compatriots deliver a furious collection that hits hard on every level. "In this band we're doing what each of us have always done: give it our all," he states plainly. "We work hard, and we have a lot to say. Look around the planet - people are fed up with the corrupt ruling class. They destroy the planet and kill millions for profit, and the formula for our response is simple: Anger + applied knowledge = results. Don't just bitch. Change it."

The results reflect the roots and passions of the individual members. Danzig/Murphy's Law guitarist Todd Youth was the first piece of the puzzle. "We've always talked about doing this record together, Todd had songs written and I had notebooks full of lyrics. In late September 2015, I went out to LA to do a triathlon and injured my calf muscle, so I couldn't race, and Todd said he could get some studio time. So, we went in and cut the demo. While there are things we may perceive as a negative in our lives, in fact the universe has a bigger plan, and that experience ultimately resulted in the record." Having been friends with Queens Of The Stone Age and Danzig powerhouse drummer Joey Castillo for three decades, the two musicians had long admired each other's work, and their collaboration has been a long time coming. Following Castillo's suggestion of bringing in Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age/The Dwarves) to handle bass duties, the lineup was complete. The songs that comprise Up In Arms manifested after the quartet plugged in and let the music speak for them. "We didn't decide to try to play anything, these are the songs that happened when we started jamming, and I love this band because there are no egos involved. Our goal is to make the best music possible, period. I love it when those guys contribute with melodies, etc., and I've even helped with some of the arrangements. Because we all think alike, our lyrics deal with the issues of the day, and that makes for better songs."

Every track on Up In Arms lives up to the rallying cry of the album's title - the bursts of high energy hardcore act as the perfect accompaniment to Joseph setting his sights on injustice and the seemingly endless flaws of the contemporary world. The breakneck thrashing of "Slow Kill Genocide" is an anthem for everyone sickened by those responsible for "killing the planet and all its inhabitants through industry and war. They're fucking maniacs and must be stopped." The suitably titled "Manic" attacks with bared fangs, Joseph making it clear that you can only push someone so far before they will react with violence - a call to arms for the disenfranchised who want tomorrow's world to be better than today's. Tracked at NRG in Los Angeles, the raw, old-school production that leaps out from the speaker comes courtesy of producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Revocation), and the record was mixed by Kyle McAulay at NRG. From the moment the opening title track explodes to life, it's clear that everyone involved is having a blast and playing from the heart, and that this is no frills / no bullshit music at its most passionate - every song evoking mental images of utter chaos in a heaving mosh pit.

For anyone approaching the album for the first time, Joseph has only this to say: "Turn the volume way the fuck up!" And with plans to tour everywhere, Bloodclot will be getting in a lot of faces in 2017 and beyond. "We are already writing material and the next album is in the works. But, for now, all we want is to hit the stage to support 'Up in Arms', and every single night leave every ounce of ourselves up there."