Mortality Tables’ Impermanence Project continues apace, this time with a nine-minute work by alka, with spoken word by Andrew Brenza. This piece uses a 1979 / 80 cassette recording of Mortality Tables founder Mat Smith singing Marie Lloyd’s music hall song ‘My Old Man (Said Follow The Van)’ with his late father, James.
As Bryan Michael (alka) writes, ‘I felt there was a parallel between the rent collector-avoiding moonlight flits that inspired ‘My Old Man (Said Follow The Van)’ and the fleeting, ever mutable nature of life. I also like the idea of moments being captured within magnetic fields – a cassette, in this instance – which can then be re-played. To me, they’re like ghosts of memories.
Given just how fragile those magnetic fields are – prone to deterioration and even erasure – while the very tape itself is liable to stretching, warping, being chewed in the heads and rendered unplayable, or even snapping, it feels as if the medium of the source material is, in itself, an encapsulation of impermanence. Even supposedly permanent records are always at risk of ceasing to be.
And, indeed, such a simple recording, likely made for fun in the moment without a view to posterity, absolutely captures the essence of impermanence; James is no longer with us, but his voice lives on here, while the voice of Mat as a child is a reminder that childhood, too, is but a stage, and one which is, in the scheme of life, but brief.
Initially, the sound is so quiet that one may even think there is nothing but silence, but gradually, soft, gently pulsating synth tones fade in. The instrumentation is sparse, ethereal, cloud-like, while the voices drift amidst a soft, dreamy haze, very much creating the effect of the ‘ghosts of memories’ of which alka speaks. It isn’t until the final three minutes that Brenza’s spoken word contribution begins, reflecting on impermanence and mortality, and ‘the way I started to dress like my father once, after his death, because it made me feel close..’
The different elements are drawn together in an almost alchemic fashion, to produce a work which is not lugubrious, but wistful and contemplative.
MESH demonstrate their remarkable proficiency far beyond producing massive electronica hits by delivering a wide-angled mid-tempo advance single that amalgamates melancholia with relentless urgency in the shape of the music video ‘This World’. This is the final advance track before the iconic alternative electronic duo’s new album will be released on March 27, 2026.
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MESH comment: “I lingered in front of a piano and my mind wandered into cinematic film score territory and continued into how these soundtracks or epic pieces of music set an emotional landscape for the film”, Richard explains. “This was my train of thought when I wrote what was to become ‘This World’. Then Mark added the underpinning modular lines which gave this uneasy dynamic.”
“This is a really beautiful song in my opinion”, Mark opines. “It came together by a huge group effort with Rich’s solid and emotional instrumentation, lyrics that just seemed to come together, and Olaf’s inspired production and arrangement changes. It turned out to be one of my favourites on this album.”
My first encounter with The Sunken Land was at the York EMOM (that’s Electronic Music Open Mic) at the start of the month. There were looks and mumblings of surprise, confusion, and even consternation within my vicinity. These events attract makers of a broad spectrum of music, from those who dabble to the obsessives, from laptops to modular setups to self-made kit, and from pop to ambience to far more experimental stuff. Often, there’s much interest and conversation in the gear being used, particularly as a fair bit of the kit is rather novel. ‘What is that?’ began to be asked around as The Sunken Land’s set started. There was incredulity, amazement at the instrument being wielded on stage, something alien to these night. It was a guitar.
The man playing, it, one David Martin, was conjuring layered soundscapes, pleasant to the ear, but underpinned with a physical density. It was well executed, and powerful, and distinct.
worm moon sessions, released the following day, captures the sound of that live performance well.
While there’s apparently no scientific evidence, there is plenty of anecdotal indication that people feel different on and around full moon. Werewolf mythology is but one example of the way the power of the moon seems to affect us, and since this satellite planet drives the Earth’s tides, it’s hardly surprising we also feel that we sense its force. There’s also something compelling, mesmerising, hypnotic, about a large, bright moon, or a moon with an aura, or displaying an unusual hue. This year’s worm moon, on 3rd March, was particularly unusual, emerging a fiery red from a total lunar eclipse, and perhaps some of this rare power filtered into The Sunken Land’s recordings here. While worm moon sessions may not represent an immense leap from demos 2026, released in February, there’s most definitely evidence of a gradual honing of the ‘bedsit doomgaze’ form here.
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‘worm moon’ brings the heavy drone of Sunn O))) but with elements of melody rising out of the dense sonic swamp. These melodic details, in context, evoke the form of later Earth. It’s the kind of slow, deliberate guitar work that compels the listener to really hone in on the textures and tonality, the way the notes of a struck chord – thick with distortion and expanded with reverb – interact with one another.
The shorter ‘almost true’ is altogether lighter, more graceful, emphasising the ‘gaze’ aspect of the self-made genre tag. It’s still dense and underpinned with slow, droning distortion, but there’s a soft, almost ethereal hue around it, and the experience is ultimately uplifting, like the first signs of spring.
The Melvins and Napalm Death share ‘Rip The God’, the latest in a chaotic alchemy conjured on their joint album, Savage Imperial Death March (10th April, Ipecac Recordings).
The album shares its name with the bands’ Savage Imperial Death March tours from 2016 and 2025, but marks their first full-length studio collaboration under the moniker.
About this next track, Shane says; “The opening Buzz riff begins with that classic timing – a hiccup right at the end of the riff cycle making the riff extra special! Simple yet tricky to remember… it had my head spinning when I played the bass to it – Multiply that head spin with the guitar pedal noise static we all added – God was ripped and drunk on joyful noise…”
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The album was recorded at the Melvins’ Los Angeles studio, with Buzz Osborne (vocals/guitar) and Dale Crover (drums) joined by Napalm Death’s Barney Greenway (vocals), Shane Embury (bass), and John Cooke (guitar).
“I have loved the Melvins forever and their outlook on music,” Embury explains. “A chance to make an album of eclectic musical madness with them was truly an honour and a whole lot of fun, which surely is the whole point! Let’s do another one soon.”
“Napalm Death are one of my favorite bands ever,” Osborne says. “It was an absolute pleasure and a dream come true to do this collaboration with them. We wrote songs together. I would write a riff and we would learn it and record it right there. They wrote stuff and we would learn it immediately as well. It was truly a 50/50 partnership.”
"Funny how life turns out sometimes… collecting hard-to-find Melvins 7-inches on Bleecker Street in 1989 and then touring twice and doing an album with them within the following 35 years,” Greenway adds. “Had a great time with it all, and nice to work with fellow travellers in the Melvins who also couldn’t care about pandering to ‘demographics’. I felt myself almost babbling lyrically during the recording, and that alone made for very fun recording times."
Savage Imperial Death March pre-orders are available now. The eight-song album will be released on CD, digitally, and across four limited-edition vinyl variants: Black As Your Soul, Indie Exclusive Obnoxious Orchid, Ipecac Exclusive Absurd Aqua, and Revolver Exclusive Neon Coral. An abbreviated version of the album was released during the band’s 2025 tour as a hyper-limited vinyl/CD edition. This iteration features new Mackie Osborne-created artwork and two new tracks (‘Awful Handwriting’ and ‘Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy’).
This one’s been out for a while now, but some releases simply have a slow diffusion. And Fini Tribe’s career was one of slow diffusion and… and what, really? Certain corners of the press dug them. Me, I was a bit too young at the time to appreciate them, and never felt compelled to delve into them retrospectively… until now. Chris Connelley, of course, went on to find fame and (mis)fortune with The Revolting Cocks, and also stepping up to the ranks of Ministry. His autobiography, Concrete, Bulletproof, Invisible & Fried: My Life as a Revolting Cock (2008) might not be the best-written book ever and might have benefitted from some finer editing, but it’s a wild ride, and it’s a fair analogue for his recorded output, too. A bit variable, but when it’s good, it’s off the scale. That they would change their approach in the mid-late 80s means that this compilation spans their initial phase
Whatever happened to Revolting Cocks in the later years, where they became a touring tribute act is a topic for another time, but the fact Connelley’s legacy includes Murder Inc. and contributions to KMFDM and one-off single projects like PTP and Acid Horse (a collaboration between Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire) is worthy of reverence.
But before he jetted off to the USA for that pivotal meeting with Big Al, there was Fini Tribe, and they produced a veritable shedload of material in five-year spell.
As the accompanying notes detail, ‘Fini Tribe was born into the cash-poor but culturally-wealthy environs of post-punk Edinburgh in the very early 80s – 1980 to be precise. A tiny three-piece with no drummer would soon swell into a muscular six-piece with inherited or cheaply-purchased instruments. Band members Chris Connelly, Simon McGlynn, Andy McGregor, Davie Miller, Philip Pinsky, and John Vick haunted the cold, damp warrens of the Niddry Street and Blair Street rehearsal rooms, just off the high street in Old Town Edinburgh. Drawing on the influences of everything from Throbbing Gristle, Wire, Can, Captain Beefheart, and numerous angular funk bands that were spewing out of the John Peel Show at the time, they also drew from the seemingly bottomless well of modern film, writing, and art that was abundant in the festival city.’
The result? Everything including the kitchen sink. And here we have a forty-seven track document of that career, with singles, Peel Sessions, live cuts, remasters, remixes, you name it. It’s all there, from the earliest works, like the tracks from the scratchy post-punk debut 12” Curling And Stretching (1984) are present in remastered form, and they sound stark and magnificently angular and challenging.
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There must have been something in the water – or maybe it was the Irn Bru or Buckfast – in Scotland around this time, since it yielded The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Altered Images, and laid the foundations of the JAMMS / KLF – although at this time Bill Drummond was doing mental shit plotting rabbit-shaped tours for Echo and the Bunnymen.
The first EP is spikey and angular and vaguely jazzy, and brings in elements of post-punk and what would become aligned with mathy post-rock in years to come. It’s aged well, for sure, and the same is true of the second EP, Let The Tribe Grow, released in October 1986. Combining warped synths and jittery guitars to conjure an air of tense paranoia, this is tense listening. ‘All Fours’ deploys thunderous percussion that’s pure Test Dept, and ‘Detestimony’, too, is dominated by relentless crashing beats. The EP’s last track, ‘Monomil.’ is murky, doom-laden ambient and fairly disturbing
Their cover of Can’s ‘I Want More’ saw the band move to Wax Trax! and perhaps not entirely coincidentally cement a more pumping dance style – that is to say, an industrial dance party style that was very much the sound of WT circa ’87 and shares considerable common ground with early RevCo – but at the same time, they still sound unmistakably Scottish, and not solely on account of Connelley’s vocals. ‘Idiot Strength’ (the B-side of ‘I Want More’) could be an outtake from Big Sexy Land. The same is true of the drum—dominated ‘Make it Internal’, which now sounds like a rehearsal for ‘Beers, Steers, and Queers’. In some ways, it probably was.
After the early EPs and Peel Sessions, there’s a host of material hauled from the dark depths of the back catalogue, much of which is of a rare quality.
On ‘An Evening with Clavichords’ and ‘Goode Duplicates’ they sound more like a frantic 80s pop band wrestling with jazz elements and slap bass, and there’s a whole lot happening on ‘Bye Bye to the October Sky’, which straddles goth, electro, industrial, and all kinds of post-punk experimentalism. ‘Throttlehearts’ lands like a Scottish Scott Walker, and is pretty mad but also compelling.
The live material – four tracks from ’87 and five from ’83 – both from sets performed in Edinburgh, are illustrative of a band unyielding in their desire to challenge. The later recording is reminiscent not only of RevCo, particularly in the grinding bass grooves and messy confrontational stylings, but the live albums of Foetus on their Thaw tours of ’88 and ’89. The set from ’83 is rougher rawer, in terms of performance and sound quality, but the contrast is telling in that the later recording is more attacking and abrasive. This was not a band that mellowed as they evolved: instead, they grew in ferocity during this time.
The collection winds up with some experimental offcuts, which aren’t the most listenable of pieces, but do provide an insight into their evolutionary workings. The Sheer Action of the Fini Tribe 1982-1987 is a fascinating document, not necessarily a band ahead of its time, but a part of a revolutionary zeitgeist. And while bands like Depeche Mode and Yazoo and The Human League were bringing synths into the mainstream with pop tunes created using emerging technologies, the underground was throwing out bands like this, bands like DAF, bands like Foetus, Meat Beat Manifesto, Test Department. A lot has changed since then – culturally, and musically – change worthy of not simply acknowledgement but an entire thesis. It’s a thesis not for me to write, but The Sheer Action of the Fini Tribe 1982-1987 is a document which needs to be referenced in it.
The acclaimed trio BIG|BRAVE have announced their 10th full-length, in grief or in hope, out June 12th, 2026. in grief or in hope is an innovative vision of electro-acoustic sound and emotive storytelling, an endless bounty of overwhelming distortions and devastating beauty.
Along with the album’s announcement, the trio have shared first single & video ‘the ineptitude for mutual discernment,’ a powerful encapsulation of the ensembles’ singular approach to textural distortion and emotional complexity which contrasts tides of bristling guitars against guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie’s resolute voice. The video was created by guitarist Mat Ball with color correction by filmmaker Stacy Lee.
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in grief or in hope marks a shift for BIG|BRAVE towards denser, guitar-oriented compositions. With longtime touring bassist Liam Andrews (MY DISCO, Aicher) joining guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie and guitarist Mathieu Ball in the studio for the first time, the pieces are keenly layered with a rich tapestry of harmonics and tonal intricacies. Each piece is its own biome of distortions starkly contrasted with delicate, even tender, moments. The trio’s instinctual progressions are made more vivid through live recording, harnessing the gargantuan and storied sound of their performances. Within texturally maximalist loops and affected vocals, the pieces utilizes the aesthetics of drone, electronic, and heavy music within a foundation of pop song form.
Wattie writes: “I wanted to explore catchy, melodic phrasing weaved throughout the intensity of the instrumentation and droney chord changes. All that I could reflect on was grief and hope; death and life; cause and effect; shared experiences of being a human person.”
The tenth album for the ensemble, in grief or in hope pays homage to their past while looking into their future. Standout “the ineptitude for mutual discernment” expands on lyrical themes first explored on 2015’s Au De La where “verdure” echoes melodies from the title track of 2014’s Feral Verdure. These references to their past serve as potent reflection points on BIG|BRAVE’s evolution as artists. A sonic whirlpool of string instruments surrounds Wattie’s commanding vocals as she shifts from spectral undulations on pieces like ‘what may be the kindest way to leave’ to the direct, spare declarations of the title track. The ambiguity of mountainous chords on ‘an uttering of antipathy’ are coupled with autotuned phrases emphasizing isolation inside the fray.
Together the trio deliver emotional momentum that vividly describes the complex and deep feelings of struggle, pain, and transcendence. in grief or in hope transmits that sense of humanity with every gesture.
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Photo credit: Stacy Lee
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ON TOUR IN MAY AND JUNE
24 May – Utrecht, NL – EKKO 25 May – Amsterdam, NL – OCCII 27 May – Saint-Imier, CH – Toxoplasmose Festival 28 May – Basel, CH – Kuppel 29 May – Torino, IT – Jazz is Dead 30 May – Piacenza, IT – Desert Fox Festival 31 May – Ljubljana, SI – Channel Zero 2 Jun. – Poznan, PL – Pawilon 3 Jun. – Berlin, DE – Berghain
Founded in 2002 by Brendan Ross, Frontal Boundary have been mining a seam of aggrotech, synth-pop, and raw emotional expression for almost a quarter of a century (mid 00’s hiatus notwithstanding, which meant that it wasn’t until 2012 that debut album Electronic Warfare emerged).
As the title of their latest offering indicates, this is an album brimming with nihilism, frustration, darkness. The expansive-sounding ‘Remember’ is one of those intro tracks which in a way create a false expectation of something a bit mellow, a robotix voice announcing ‘We are Frontal Boundary’ over a cinematic, semi-ambient drift and an easy, mid-tempo beat. And of course, this all changes with ‘Burn’, which slams in hard with a heavy stomp and snarling, distorted vocals, with words like ‘destruction’ and ‘corruption’ emerging and essentially telling you what you need to know.
While decidedly dancey in its synths which soar and stab across thumping basslines and relentless thudding beats, there’s something unflinchingly dark and nasty about Failure, not least of all the heavily-processed, dehumanised vocals, but equally, the sample selections are unsettling – even seemingly innocuous snippets take on sinister overtones in context, in the way that children’s voices sound menacing in horror movies.
Failure is very much cut from the same cloth as Controlled Bleeding and Mussolini Headkick and a bunch of late 80s / early 90s Wax Trax! stuff, and in places – as on ‘Hollow’ and ‘Hate’ Frontal Boundary really go all out on the aggressive rave stylings. The latter feels perhaps a shade light for the subject – musically that is: the vocals are strangled, scorched, demonic. Is black metal rave a thing? If not, Frontal Boundary may be pioneers of a new genre.
It’s high octane, Hi-NRG, and while the lead synths are poppy and dancey as anything, the overall vibe, with the contrasting vocals in particular, is gnarly, and harsh. It’s a juxtaposition which works well: although the musical style and vocal delivery are both genre tropes, the way in which Frontal Boundary draw them together feels fresh, innovative, powerful, and proof positive that there is no success like failure.
mclusky have returned with new music (and some not-so-new music) in the form of a mini album called i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley, which ipecac recordings will release on 20th march (digital) and 1st may (vinyl). it will be released in the following formats: digital, black vinyl, ipecac/band translucent red vinyl and the rough trade exclusive variant, crystal fuchsia. today, they share the track ‘as a dad’.
‘as a dad’ is a song about several things.
the first of these several things are men who begin sentences / clauses with ‘as a dad…’. which is fine as long as the sentence / clause bears no relevance to the actual experience of being a dad. occasionally though, the prefix is appropriate (about 1/7). society must bend to this.
the second of the several things is a modern child’s wonder at how much it must despise its male progenitor in the early stages of life. the mother is all. the father can fall down the stairs and die in a puddle of his own slippers, and that’s okay.
the third, and last i can be arsed to list, of the several things, is something to do with the pride of being replaced by your offspring. i look forward to gradually fading into the background (unless i die suddenly in an avalanche) and becoming a grey footnote set against a sofa. when i stop breathing i hope nobody notices for at least an hour – this means that whatever board game is being played at this family gathering i’ve just fantasised is at least competitive (and wasn’t an expensive waste of time and money).
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if you happened to catch the new peaky blinders movie this past weekend, you might have heard ‘people person’ on the big screen along side music from nick cave and fontaines d.c. the song is from the band’s 2025 release, the world is still here and so are we. the movie is in cinemas now and on netflix 20th march, and the soundtrack is out now.
Industrial glam kingpin Raymond Watts and his chief songwriting partner in swine Jim Davies (ex-Prodigy and Pitchshifter) are proud to announce that PIG has given birth to a healthy new album, ‘Hurt People Hurt’. Weighing in at 10 tracks, this latest addition to the PIG bloodline will be released into the wild on 22nd May 2026.
‘Tosca’s Kiss’ is out today as the album’s first single. Inspired by Watts’ well-known love of opera, it’s a song for the strong of stomach but not the faint of heart.
The album follows the dirt directly to the dustcart where misfits and reprobates can both lose and find themselves in this full fat emporium of ecstasy, naked words and momentous music. Plucked and sucked on the fruits of pain and bliss, this prime slice of PIG provides a light space for dark spirits. Enter bruised, leave changed.
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Raymond Watts has an impressive resumé. Aside from fourteen albums as PIG, he has worked with stalwarts of the global industrial scene such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Foetus and Psychic TV, in Japan with the bands Schwein and Schaft, and was a founder member of electronic rock band KMFDM with a key writing and vocal role on their best known songs of the ‘80s/’90s.
Watts has also written music for film, TV, advertising and fashion shows in Europe, Japan and America. His work in fashion includes ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’ (Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York) and ‘Plato’s Atlantis’ for the late fashion icon Alexander McQueen, which was reprised as ‘Savage Beauty’ (MMOA and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London).
In the first of what we anticipate will be a new regular – or at least recurrent – feature on Aural Aggravation, we explore five albums that inspire a band or musician, plus one ‘wildcard’ entry. Here, for this first instalment, we hear from Jonathan Dickin of The Big Them.
Given the nature of The Big Them, focussing on improvisation, noise and repetition, I wanted to put the spotlight on some records that I personally think define repetition in music as something very special.
1: Tony Conrad & Faust – Outside the Dream Syndicate
If we’re talking about transcendence through repetition, there is no recorded audio on earth that achieves that greater than this one. It’s like listening to a bonafide miracle personified as audio. Two of the greatest engines of music, collaborating on a record that exists outside the confines of time and place. Faust on a locked groove rhythm for the entirety of both sides, whilst the masterful Conrad drones his way into your brainstem. This is an essential record as a far as I’m concerned.
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2: Water Damage – In E
And so if that last record was the groundwork for repetition, Water Damage are the evolution. They take that magical formula and dial in layers and volume to create thee thickest slabs of droning noise rock. I was lucky enough to see them in Salford last year and they played a single piece of music for 50 minutes and I’ve never felt more inspired – inspired to stick to one riff for an extended period of time, that is. This particular record is my favourite of theirs, a nod to Terry Riley’s "In C", which closes out with a spectacular cover of Shit & Shine’s ‘Ladybird’. Speaking of which…
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3: Shit & Shine – Jealous of Shit & Shine
Shit & Shine is a very interesting project, and an uncompromising one at that. Intensely prolific and artistically unbounded, Craig Clouse (and collaborators) has pulverised rhythms into the ground, with pneumatic bass tones and guitars that are almost unrecognisably thick with fuzz and distortion. The music sounds like it’s tearing itself apart and yet it’s so groove driven, I find myself completely enraptured – maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment. If you listen to nothing else from this list, please listen to the mammoth ‘Practicing to be a Doctor’ as I can safely say it is one of my all-time favourite pieces of music.
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4: Laddio Bolocko – ’97 – ’99
Rediscovered and released by John Dwyer through his magnificent Castle Face label in 2022, this compilation puts the spotlight on an underappreciated and potentially forgotten gem of noise rock, Laddio Bolocko. Lo-fi, gravely recordings of kraut-laced noise, again driving into the maximum repetition grooves. The track ‘Nurser’ is surely one of the finest examples of noise rock I’ve ever come across and for that track alone, this compilation deserves your time and full attention.
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5: Miles Davis – In a Silent Way
I am a huge jazz fan, though I do find it to be a very difficult genre to navigate, especially when you enter the realms of more Avant Garde and experimental jazz. However, I never once found it difficult to explore Davis’s discography and always return to him, particularly his electric period from ‘68 – ‘75. Whilst I could say that the jam- driven, cacophonous drive of Bitches Brew is more of a direct influence on TBT, In a Silent Way is the record I come back to most. Like all my other picks, it’s repetitious, but more in a way that is likely to lull you into the most dream-laden sleep of your life, floating there on Miles’s gentle melodies, and Joe Zawinul’s soulful electric piano/organ. It’s a truly wonderful record and is remembered for all the right reasons.
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Wild card – Guns N’ Roses – Use Your Illusion II
Just listen to Locomotive. It’s undeniable.
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Big thanks to Jonny for letting us take a glimpse inside his head! The Big Them have a new album, Four Colours, available for preorder on limited vinyl via Buzzhowl Records here:
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