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viewing 1 To 25 of 30 items
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2LP
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SCR 155LP
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Double LP version. Pink Cadillac color vinyl. Innsbruck-based Lars Andersson and Phillip Dornauer's shoegaze-inspired beginnings coalesced on their acclaimed 2017 EP, Glimpse, which did just as it said, offering a tantalizing peek into their world; the full, glorious vista is now revealed on their accomplished debut album. And All That Ever Could Have Been really is breathtaking. It begins with an almost 15-minute post-rock epic and takes in nods to ambient, dreampop and even prog, with echoes of Galaxie 500, Low, Beachwood Sparks, Dungen, The Besnard Lakes, Sigur Rós, and M83. Its eight tracks belie both the band's youth and their small number, forming a mountain of sound that suggests they are more of a geological outfit than a musical one. "Skeletal, celestial shoegaze [that] reflects the cold beauty of the Austrian Alps" --Stereogum.
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CD
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SCR 155CD
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Innsbruck-based Lars Andersson and Phillip Dornauer's shoegaze-inspired beginnings coalesced on their acclaimed 2017 EP, Glimpse, which did just as it said, offering a tantalizing peek into their world; the full, glorious vista is now revealed on their accomplished debut album. And All That Ever Could Have Been really is breathtaking. It begins with an almost 15-minute post-rock epic and takes in nods to ambient, dreampop and even prog, with echoes of Galaxie 500, Low, Beachwood Sparks, Dungen, The Besnard Lakes, Sigur Rós, and M83. Its eight tracks belie both the band's youth and their small number, forming a mountain of sound that suggests they are more of a geological outfit than a musical one. "Skeletal, celestial shoegaze [that] reflects the cold beauty of the Austrian Alps" --Stereogum.
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CD
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SCR 194CD
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Former Engineers songwriter Mark Peters pays a final visit to his debut solo album Innerland (SCR 094CD/LP, 2018) with the release of New Routes Out Of Innerland, a collection of reworkings. Innerland was one of 2018's most surprising sleeper successes. An intentionally low-key album of windswept instrumentals inspired by Mark's move back to his native northwest, it gave musical nods to Eno, Talk Talk, Vini Reilly, and Richard Thompson, and first appeared as a limited-edition cassette before being expanded to vinyl and CD editions in April of 2018. Something about its beautiful simplicity struck a chord and slowly but surely. This new version, however, is completely different. It finds Mark looking outwards, away from the bleak, post-industrial landscapes of Wigan, and inviting eight different artists from around the world to interpret and translate the instrumentals of Innerland into their own musical and geographical languages. German sound artist Andi Otto takes "Twenty Bridges" and turns it into a weird world music groove, the cello recalling Arthur Russell, the rhythm Holger Czukay circa Movies (1979); Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska sprinkles stardust all over "Mann Island", morphing it into a slice of febrile, filmic techno; former Disappears and now FACS frontman Brian Case wrangles "Windy Arbour" into a dark, dystopian drone; as previously heard last year on a limited edition lathe-cut 7" single, Ulrich Schnauss subtly re-frames "May Mill" as elegiac electronica, the kind of oddity that could have graced a Tears For Fears B-side circa Songs From The Big Chair (1985); Moon Gangs, aka Will Young from BEAK>, climbs "Gabriel's Ladder" and finds some delicate drone'n'bass; American producer and DJ Odd Nosdam takes his experience of working with Boards Of Canada and turns "Shaley Brow" into a sinister tape collage, entirely in keeping with the murky history of the locale; E Ruscha V, the erstwhile Medicine guitarist also known as Secret Circuit, converts "Cabin Hill" into Balearic Blue Nile; finally, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma lights up "Ashurst's Beacon" as an inferno of deliciously distorted shoegaze. All eight are so disparate and yet they hang together perfectly, resulting in an exciting musical journey to somewhere completely new.
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LP
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SCR 194LP
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LP version. Green vinyl. Former Engineers songwriter Mark Peters pays a final visit to his debut solo album Innerland (SCR 094CD/LP, 2018) with the release of New Routes Out Of Innerland, a collection of reworkings. Innerland was one of 2018's most surprising sleeper successes. An intentionally low-key album of windswept instrumentals inspired by Mark's move back to his native northwest, it gave musical nods to Eno, Talk Talk, Vini Reilly, and Richard Thompson, and first appeared as a limited-edition cassette before being expanded to vinyl and CD editions in April of 2018. Something about its beautiful simplicity struck a chord and slowly but surely. This new version, however, is completely different. It finds Mark looking outwards, away from the bleak, post-industrial landscapes of Wigan, and inviting eight different artists from around the world to interpret and translate the instrumentals of Innerland into their own musical and geographical languages. German sound artist Andi Otto takes "Twenty Bridges" and turns it into a weird world music groove, the cello recalling Arthur Russell, the rhythm Holger Czukay circa Movies (1979); Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska sprinkles stardust all over "Mann Island", morphing it into a slice of febrile, filmic techno; former Disappears and now FACS frontman Brian Case wrangles "Windy Arbour" into a dark, dystopian drone; as previously heard last year on a limited edition lathe-cut 7" single, Ulrich Schnauss subtly re-frames "May Mill" as elegiac electronica, the kind of oddity that could have graced a Tears For Fears B-side circa Songs From The Big Chair (1985); Moon Gangs, aka Will Young from BEAK>, climbs "Gabriel's Ladder" and finds some delicate drone'n'bass; American producer and DJ Odd Nosdam takes his experience of working with Boards Of Canada and turns "Shaley Brow" into a sinister tape collage, entirely in keeping with the murky history of the locale; E Ruscha V, the erstwhile Medicine guitarist also known as Secret Circuit, converts "Cabin Hill" into Balearic Blue Nile; finally, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma lights up "Ashurst's Beacon" as an inferno of deliciously distorted shoegaze. All eight are so disparate and yet they hang together perfectly, resulting in an exciting musical journey to somewhere completely new.
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12"
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SCR 145EP
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Four remixes of songs from Buenos Aires-based singer/producer Sobrenadar's acclaimed international debut album, Y (SCR 140CD/LP, 2018). Former Hookworms man XAM adds some modular moods to the stately synthpop of "Inhabil"; furthering the historical cultural links between Wales and Argentina, Gwenno turns "Noordzee" into six minutes of mellifluous marimba with a dreampop sheen; shoegaze legends Slowdive reimagine "Del Tiempo" as a delightfully distorted heartbeat; Sonic Cathedral labelmate Mark Peters relocates "Cruce" to the innerlands of Wigan, and converts it into gale-force guitar-pop. Clear vinyl with orange and aquamarine splatters; PVC sleeve; Edition of 200.
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7"
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SCR 138EP
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Cocteau Twins guitar legend Robin Guthrie has reworked one of the highlights of the Swedish shoegaze trio's acclaimed debut album Pink Noise (SCR 135CD/LP). He's taken the Disintegration-meets-slightly-out-of-focus-Saint Etienne of the original and turned it into a classic indie-pop song -- like Lush, The Primitives, or even Strawberry Switchblade, with some nice Cocteau-style bits in the background. On the flipside, ther's an audacious cover of David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" (which often features in their live sets). They slow the song right down and turn it inside out, only adding the famous guitar riff as a synth motif near the end.
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CD
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SCR 140CD
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Sobrenadar is the solo project of Buenos Aires-based Paula GarcÃa. The name translates as "supernatant" -- essentially floating on the surface of a liquid -- the perfect description of the music she has been making since 2006. Inspired by "soundtracks, music of past times, '70s, '80s, ambient, Boards Of Canada, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Grouper", her mix of reverbed beats, electronica, guitars and vocals are like a deep-sea dreampop. Following her guest appearance on Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's album On The Echoing Green (2017), this is Sobrenadar's first international release. It combines her two most recent self-released EPs, Dromer (2016) and Habita (2017), and follows a succession of singles and remixes by Slowdive, Gwenno, XAM (Hookworms), and Mark Peters.
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LP
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SCR 140LP
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LP version. Color vinyl. Sobrenadar is the solo project of Buenos Aires-based Paula GarcÃa. The name translates as "supernatant" -- essentially floating on the surface of a liquid -- the perfect description of the music she has been making since 2006. Inspired by "soundtracks, music of past times, '70s, '80s, ambient, Boards Of Canada, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Grouper", her mix of reverbed beats, electronica, guitars and vocals are like a deep-sea dreampop. Following her guest appearance on Jefre Cantu-Ledesma's album On The Echoing Green (2017), this is Sobrenadar's first international release. It combines her two most recent self-released EPs, Dromer (2016) and Habita (2017), and follows a succession of singles and remixes by Slowdive, Gwenno, XAM (Hookworms), and Mark Peters.
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CD
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SCR 135CD
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Swedish shoegaze trio Echo Ladies release their debut album Pink Noise which comes just a few months after their self-titled EP (SCR 134EP, 2018), which got the attention of BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X, Beats 1, The Line Of Best Fit, and Clash, to name but a few, and sold out immediately upon release. The album mixes A Place To Bury Strangers-style total sonic annihilation with skewed synth-pop and the band cite the Cocteau Twins and The Jesus And Mary Chain as the main musical influences, but there's also a nod to The Cure's Disintegration (1989) and even Saint Etienne. Lyrically, it's all about teen angst, which explains their perfect mixture of melancholy, euphoria, anger, and tenderness. A sense of emotional confusion that is echoed by the title.
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LP
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SCR 135LP
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LP version. Pink vinyl. Swedish shoegaze trio Echo Ladies release their debut album Pink Noise which comes just a few months after their self-titled EP (SCR 134EP, 2018), which got the attention of BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio X, Beats 1, The Line Of Best Fit, and Clash, to name but a few, and sold out immediately upon release. The album mixes A Place To Bury Strangers-style total sonic annihilation with skewed synth-pop and the band cite the Cocteau Twins and The Jesus And Mary Chain as the main musical influences, but there's also a nod to The Cure's Disintegration (1989) and even Saint Etienne. Lyrically, it's all about teen angst, which explains their perfect mixture of melancholy, euphoria, anger, and tenderness. A sense of emotional confusion that is echoed by the title.
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CD
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SCR 094CD
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Innerland is the first ever solo album by Engineers co-founder/songwriter and Ulrich Schnauss collaborator, Mark Peters. It was originally released as a low-key limited-edition cassette late in 2017, but it sold out immediately through word of mouth and the backing of BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne and Gideon Coe, Uncut magazine, and Caught By The River. It has now been re-landscaped into a larger-scale, eight-track album. A collection of instrumentals, with nods to Brian Eno, Talk Talk, Richard Thompson, Vini Reilly, and Felt's Maurice Deebank, Innerland highlights Mark's incredible musicianship, positioning his guitar rather than his voice as the focal point of the music. It also finds him reconnecting with his youth and rediscovering a sense of place, following a move back home to northwest England in late 2016, with all the songs named after local places and landmarks.
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LP
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SCR 094LP
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LP version. Blue vinyl. Innerland is the first ever solo album by Engineers co-founder/songwriter and Ulrich Schnauss collaborator, Mark Peters. It was originally released as a low-key limited-edition cassette late in 2017, but it sold out immediately through word of mouth and the backing of BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne and Gideon Coe, Uncut magazine, and Caught By The River. It has now been re-landscaped into a larger-scale, eight-track album. A collection of instrumentals, with nods to Brian Eno, Talk Talk, Richard Thompson, Vini Reilly, and Felt's Maurice Deebank, Innerland highlights Mark's incredible musicianship, positioning his guitar rather than his voice as the focal point of the music. It also finds him reconnecting with his youth and rediscovering a sense of place, following a move back home to northwest England in late 2016, with all the songs named after local places and landmarks.
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10"
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SCR 134EP
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2018 repress forthcoming... Echo Ladies' mixture of guitars, synths, and drum machines is more like a Venn diagram of your favorite bands and records. At various points you can hear The Cure's Disintegration (1989), The Jesus And Mary Chain's Automatic (1989), New Order and A Place To Bury Strangers' total sonic annihilation, but crossed with the soaring indie-pop melodies of The Radio Dept, Alvvays, Camera Obscura, and even a little bit of Saint Etienne. This self-titled debut EP was released by Hybris in Scandinavia in 2017, and is reissued by Sonic Cathedral. Echo Ladies is Matilda Bogren, Mattis Andersson, and Joar Andersén.
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7"
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SCR 126EP
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Deerhunter co-founder and drummer Moses John Archuleta released his debut album Lifetime Of Love as Moon Diagrams in 2017, after being pieced together over a ten-year period. The two remixers here hail from the same Glasgow underground dance scene. Happy Meals take the album's surprisingly upbeat closer "End Of Heartache" and turns it into an infectious piece of '80s electro brilliance, while Komodo Kolektif recast the album's epic centerpiece "The Ghost And The Host" as a spaced-out gamelan jam, complete with samples of philosopher Alan Watts. Pink vinyl.
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12"
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SCR 112EP
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Featuring two reworkings of "Hall Of Mirrors" by Andrew Weatherall, which the man himself describes as "like taking Steve Reich down the disco with a bit of acid thrown in". Joining him on remix duties are Andy Bell from Ride, who welds the bassline from Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng" on to "For The Fallen" and turns it into a pulsating electronic groove. Finally, The Early Years' Sonic Cathedral label mate XAM (aka Matthew Benn from Hookworms) stretches out "Fluxus" into 13 exhilarating minutes of Kraftwerk meets New Order. Includes download code.
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CD
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SCR 130CD
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The follow-up to Spectres' acclaimed 2015 debut Dying (SCR 090B-LP/090CD), Condition was recorded by Dominic Mitchison and mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road in London. It's louder and more abrasive than their debut, but also a real progression. It sounds huge and adds a genuinely innovative and confrontational edge. "There were discussions about experimenting with electronics, but the idea soon petered out when we realized we still wanted to experiment with guitars," reveals singer and guitarist Joe Hatt. As a result tracks such as "End Waltz" have a relentlessly pounding, almost techno structure, in contrast to the kinetosis-inducing dirge of "Dissolve". Elsewhere, the almost restrained (by Spectres' standards) white noise and wordplay of "A Fish Called Wanda" and the sprawling "Colour Me Out" are counterbalanced by brutal assaults such as "Neck" and "Welcoming The Flowers". "On this album we became even less interested in actually playing guitar," explains Hatt, "which meant that we got more into experimenting with the sounds we could get out of them when brutalizing them and letting the feedback do the talking."
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LP
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SCR 130LP
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LP version. Comes in a gatefold sleeve. The follow-up to Spectres' acclaimed 2015 debut Dying (SCR 090B-LP/090CD), Condition was recorded by Dominic Mitchison and mastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road in London. It's louder and more abrasive than their debut, but also a real progression. It sounds huge and adds a genuinely innovative and confrontational edge. "There were discussions about experimenting with electronics, but the idea soon petered out when we realized we still wanted to experiment with guitars," reveals singer and guitarist Joe Hatt. As a result tracks such as "End Waltz" have a relentlessly pounding, almost techno structure, in contrast to the kinetosis-inducing dirge of "Dissolve". Elsewhere, the almost restrained (by Spectres' standards) white noise and wordplay of "A Fish Called Wanda" and the sprawling "Colour Me Out" are counterbalanced by brutal assaults such as "Neck" and "Welcoming The Flowers". "On this album we became even less interested in actually playing guitar," explains Hatt, "which meant that we got more into experimenting with the sounds we could get out of them when brutalizing them and letting the feedback do the talking."
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LP
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SCR 100LP
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Following the release of The Early Years's long-awaited album II (SCR 110CD/LP, 2016), Sonic Cathedral reissue their self-titled debut album, originally released in 2006. The album includes the singles "All Ones And Zeros" and "So Far Gone". On its release, it received glowing reviews. It's an underrated classic that will appeal to fans of Cluster's Sowiesoso (BB 039CD/LP) and Spiritualized alike. It also comes with the seal of approval of Brian Eno, The Horrors and Damo Suzuki. A brand new vinyl cut by Noel Summerville, who has previously worked on a number of My Bloody Valentine and Warp reissues. Edition of 300 on transparent orange wax.
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2LP
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SCR 120LP
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Double LP version. XAM Duo is the new outfit formed by Matthew Benn of Hookworms and Christopher Duffin of Deadwall. This self-titled release is six tracks of improvised ambient beauty - both meditative and peaceful, it is astral jazz with an experimental kosmische undercurrent; modular synths meet saxophones; Cluster meets Terry Riley; Laurie Spiegel meets Pharoah Sanders. XAM Duo is a warm, immersive record that rewards repeat listens. XAM was originally Matthew's solo project. He recorded a number of tracks at home between Hookworms albums in 2014 which were released in 2015 as the Tone Systems EP on Deep Distance. Christopher says he approaches each song as a "mini-soundtrack to an imaginary film" and reveals that, while he was practicing at home, he played along to clips of There Will Be Blood (2007), Mulholland Drive (2001) and Synecdoche, New York (2008) to get the requisite atmosphere. "I appreciate that improvised music isn't for everyone, but it's something I love doing," Matthew concludes. "And, more often than not, Chris and I create something beautiful together."
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SCR 120CD
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XAM Duo is the new outfit formed by Matthew Benn of Hookworms and Christopher Duffin of Deadwall. This self-titled release is six tracks of improvised ambient beauty - both meditative and peaceful, it is astral jazz with an experimental kosmische undercurrent; modular synths meet saxophones; Cluster meets Terry Riley; Laurie Spiegel meets Pharoah Sanders. XAM Duo is a warm, immersive record that rewards repeat listens. XAM was originally Matthew's solo project. He recorded a number of tracks at home between Hookworms albums in 2014 which were released in 2015 as the Tone Systems EP on Deep Distance. Christopher says he approaches each song as a "mini-soundtrack to an imaginary film" and reveals that, while he was practicing at home, he played along to clips of There Will Be Blood (2007), Mulholland Drive (2001) and Synecdoche, New York (2008) to get the requisite atmosphere. "I appreciate that improvised music isn't for everyone, but it's something I love doing," Matthew concludes. "And, more often than not, Chris and I create something beautiful together."
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2LP
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SCR 110LP
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Double-LP version in foil-printed, textured sleeve. The Early Years follow their 2006 self-titled debut (Beggars Banguet) with their second album, II. Recorded in their home studio in rural Cheshire, England; mixed in Atlanta, Georgia, by Jason Kingsland (whose previous work includes Deerhunter's 2015 album Fading Frontier), and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Frank Arkwright (whose previous work includes releases by Mogwai and New Order). II is well worth the wait. It's stunning -- the sound of a band who have matured and relaxed into their playing, created without any external pressures or expectations. With the sheer scale of its scope and vision, it towers above the legions of kraut-psych bands that came along in The Early Years' wake. Opener "Nocturne" is a ferocious collision of human and machine -- guitars that evoke Will Sergeant on Neil Young's farm, Roland TB-303s squelching away, and the wild-eyed energy of Julian Cope circa Fried. Cope and the Bunnymen are reference points throughout, but II also recalls New Order (the elegiac "Fluxus"), Dean Wareham dueling Tom Verlaine ("Out Of Signal"), Spiritualized ("Hush"), and Harmonia meeting pre-definite-article-Verve (closer "Memory Case").
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CD
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SCR 110CD
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The Early Years follow their 2006 self-titled debut (Beggars Banguet) with their second album, II. Recorded in their home studio in rural Cheshire, England; mixed in Atlanta, Georgia, by Jason Kingsland (whose previous work includes Deerhunter's 2015 album Fading Frontier), and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Frank Arkwright (whose previous work includes releases by Mogwai and New Order). II is well worth the wait. It's stunning -- the sound of a band who have matured and relaxed into their playing, created without any external pressures or expectations. With the sheer scale of its scope and vision, it towers above the legions of kraut-psych bands that came along in The Early Years' wake. Opener "Nocturne" is a ferocious collision of human and machine -- guitars that evoke Will Sergeant on Neil Young's farm, Roland TB-303s squelching away, and the wild-eyed energy of Julian Cope circa Fried. Cope and the Bunnymen are reference points throughout, but II also recalls New Order (the elegiac "Fluxus"), Dean Wareham dueling Tom Verlaine ("Out Of Signal"), Spiritualized ("Hush"), and Harmonia meeting pre-definite-article-Verve (closer "Memory Case").
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2LP
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SCR 091LP
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Double LP version. Dead finds the songs from Bristol band Spectres' acclaimed 2015 debut Dying (SCR 090CD/B-LP) remixed by Mogwai, Factory Floor, Hookworms, Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas), Andy Bell (Ride), Robert Hampson (Loop), and many more. The instruction from the band was "kill our songs," and the remains are presented here as a stunning, 13-track album that builds on the original's feeling of claustrophobia and dread -- which won praise for its perfectly realized Sonic Youth-meets-A Place To Bury Strangers noise coupled with darker than dark lyrics worthy of Morrissey in his prime -- but recasts it across everything from brutal techno (Blood Music's "This Purgatory") to New Order-meets-Animal Collective euphoria (Andy Bell's "Sea Of Trees"). It's an occasionally punishing but always rewarding listen that begins somewhere in the depths of a K-hole, courtesy of Vision Fortune's "Drag," and ends somewhere rather beautiful with the celestial synths of Mogwai's "This Purgatory." (Mogwai's classic Kicking A Dead Pig was a big inspiration here.) "We see Spectres as something that can work in a variety of contexts," says frontman Joe Hatt, as he explains the motivation behind Dead. "Our musical interests spread out in different angles and we are always thinking of ways for what we do to evolve and mutate. We put together a list of artists who we admired, and thought would deliver a varied and eclectic mix. Some were close friends who are conveniently making some of the best music around, and others were pipe dreams that we thought would never happen. It was both nerve-wracking and fun waiting for each of the artists' versions to arrive in our inbox, and some definitely surprised us; but none disappointed." Also includes remixes by Oliver Wilde, Giant Swan, Dominic Mitchison, Gramrcy, and Spectres' Joe Hatt.
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CD
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SCR 091CD
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Dead finds the songs from Bristol band Spectres' acclaimed 2015 debut Dying (SCR 090CD/B-LP) remixed by Mogwai, Factory Floor, Hookworms, Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas), Andy Bell (Ride), Robert Hampson (Loop), and many more. The instruction from the band was "kill our songs," and the remains are presented here as a stunning, 13-track album that builds on the original's feeling of claustrophobia and dread -- which won praise for its perfectly realized Sonic Youth-meets-A Place To Bury Strangers noise coupled with darker than dark lyrics worthy of Morrissey in his prime -- but recasts it across everything from brutal techno (Blood Music's "This Purgatory") to New Order-meets-Animal Collective euphoria (Andy Bell's "Sea Of Trees"). It's an occasionally punishing but always rewarding listen that begins somewhere in the depths of a K-hole, courtesy of Vision Fortune's "Drag," and ends somewhere rather beautiful with the celestial synths of Mogwai's "This Purgatory." (Mogwai's classic Kicking A Dead Pig was a big inspiration here.) "We see Spectres as something that can work in a variety of contexts," says frontman Joe Hatt, as he explains the motivation behind Dead. "Our musical interests spread out in different angles and we are always thinking of ways for what we do to evolve and mutate. We put together a list of artists who we admired, and thought would deliver a varied and eclectic mix. Some were close friends who are conveniently making some of the best music around, and others were pipe dreams that we thought would never happen. It was both nerve-wracking and fun waiting for each of the artists' versions to arrive in our inbox, and some definitely surprised us; but none disappointed." Also includes remixes by Oliver Wilde, Giant Swan, Dominic Mitchison, Gramrcy, and Spectres' Joe Hatt.
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CD
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SCR 090CD
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2015 release. Bristol, England-based four-piece Spectres are the loudest, most abrasive band on the Sonic Cathedral label to date, and one that makes a mockery of those articles that crop once in a while asking if guitar music is dead. "If guitars are supposed to be dead," wrote Drowned in Sound in its review of 2013's Hunger EP, "it's probably because Spectres have killed them." Dying opens with the ominous and unsettling white noise and dark found sounds of "Drag" and is relentless for the next 50 minutes, taking in lead single "Where Flies Sleep," a re-recorded version of "The Sky of All Places" (originally released early in 2014 as part of the Too Pure Singles Club), and "Sea of Trees" (which was given away as a free download to attendees of Sonic Cathedral's 2014 10th-anniversary show at the 100 Club in London). Produced and mixed by Dominic Mitchison (Velcro Hooks).
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