EP: ALPHABET’S HEAVEN
Rosewater (alphabetsheaven.bandcamp.com)
Never one to keep things simple, this release from Alphabet’s Heaven is only available on cassette. Although it features 12 tracks, only one has a name. Because they collectively last under half an hour, it’s an EP rather than an album. And with every purchase you also get three different mp3 tracks, not on the cassette. Still with us? Good – because it’s worth it. Layers of ambient electronica await, with delicately placed samples and crackly glitches building the charm. Heavenly. (JMM)
ALBUM: BIRDEATSBABY
Feast Of Hammers (birdeatsbaby.co.uk)
From gaudy gloom-core to chamber goth, the suggested superlatives helpfully included with this album invite the listener to a decidedly dark party. Eerie folk tales are loaded up with musical melodrama as sinister pianos chime around power chords and percussive bombast; an immersive experience that suggests live proximity is probably necessary to fully take it all in. And people certainly are; dates preceding this release have seen a rapidly growing audience of vaudeville shadow dwellers and inveterate gloomists. (NC)
ALBUM: FOXES!
Foxes! (Big Salad Records)
Ever wondered what Super Mario playing maracas sounds like? Listen to the first track on Foxes! self-titled debut album and you’ll know. The LP is a cheery collection of upbeat indie, reminiscent of what America produced in the 90s. Tracks like ‘The Panda Bear Song’ sound perfect for bouncing down Brighton beach on a space hopper. The band skilfully keep the album from falling into synth overkill with moodier tracks like ‘Descartes’, a hidden gem on this charming offering. (TT)
EP: GHOST MUTT
Sweat Mode (Donky Pitch)
Brighton maestro Ghost Mutt’s been twisting bass music round his little fingers for a few years now, but he’s been suspiciously quiet for the past couple of months. With this release, all is forgiven: four tracks of sultry vocal hooks nestle over relentlessly catchy bass riffs, melding the smoothness of r’n’b with futuristic hip hop’s wonkiness. Title track ‘Sweat Mode’ is a very memorable toe-tapper, and EP closer ‘Figure You Out’ has grooves that could make even the most heinous dad-dancer look good. (JMM)
SINGLE: HINT
Crash and Burn / Aliens Enter (Tru Thoughts)
This double a-side single really shows how diverse an artist Hint is. ‘Crash and Burn’ features Jamaican vocalist Natalie Storm, and is a dirty lesson in how to make a UK funky track brilliant. If you’re not nodding when this drops, you’re probably wearing a neck brace. ‘Aliens Enter’ is a laid-back, low-slung hip hop track with the tough vocals of Texan rapper T-Fly. Hint’s next album is due out this year and if this is a taster, we can’t wait. (JMM)
EP: PIXELORD
Keramika (Hit And Hope)
Local record label Hit And Hope have a talent for sorting the superb from the subordinate, and although they only have a few releases, they’ve all been of a very high quality so far. This EP from Pixelord is no different, with opening track ‘Imaginary Friends’ being the stand-out, with waves of cut up glitches, sweet vocal snatches, and a progressive beat that starts out innocently enough before morphing into a sci-fi bass explosion. The Groundislava remix is equally impressive, adding resonance and warmth. (JMM)
COMIC: PAUL STAPLETON
The Undisputed King of Nothing #1 (Bedsit Press)
Stapleton is widely known for his cartoons of cheery biscuit-faced characters exchanging witty banter in everyday Brighton locations. TUKON is the antithesis of that. A mass of dark grey shading scatters sparse shards of light across multi-panel dioramas of a post-pandemic world. A sole survivor, more Gary Neville than Robert Neville, wanders desolate streets pondering his lot in life. The cliff-hanger ending to this first 28-page comic will have genre enthusiasts eagerly awaiting issue two, due out later this month. (AP)
