Dub Narcotic Sound System – Fuck Shit Up

The incomparable K Records have reissued Dub Narcotic Sound System’s acclaimed single, Fuck Shit Up. “It has been out of print for decades. People hear it at parties and when they are done dancing to it, want to know what it is and where they can obtain a copy.” Says K’s wizard-founder Calvin Johnson. The  single comes with a new B side Fuck Shit Up (Hifi Sean Mix) put together by Hifi Sean aka Sean Dickson, formerly and once again of Soup Dragons, Scotland’s pioneer pop punk progenitors. The original, the remix and the censored version are essential, especially now. Play very loud and often!

Tiny Magnetic Pets – Low Places

Daryl Bamonte over at Archangel Music sent us the Harmonious Grey EP from Tiny Magnetic Pets. The Irish band announce they are “dark synth-wave specialists” which maybe true but the moniker doesn’t quite capture their ability to pursue a smart retro-sound without getting all clogged up in “sounds-like” references. Listen carefully, these people construct excellent music.

Sea Of Days – Wound Poem (feat. Maud Anyways)

Shane Speed is the fellow behind Sea Of Days who shares the following info, “Brighton based. Lyrically deep, musically dreamy”. No disagreement with any of that, except you should know Shane has a nice catalogue of releases for you to indulge in, his LP, Wound is fine place to start. Well-crafted songwriting here and Sea Of Days are available o the always first-class Shoredive imprint. Oh, and a tip of the hat to Rachel Benjamin for the appealing artwork.

Charles Nieland – Redshift

NYC producer, indie music veteran Charles Nieland gets a big thumbs up from us, not least of all because he is a cool fellow to chat with. Check out our conversation here. Charlie has been a round the music biz for enough years to have a stellar list of collaborations and participations. His new EP, The Ocean Understands shows Mr. Nieland in fine form, experimenting, drawing inspiration from a myriad of sources. Listening to The Ocean Understands you be correct in wondering if Charlie has a voluminous music library. I’d like to have Nieland along for a serious music-trivia contest. 

Hence – Steadying The Ship (Long Lost Edit)

Hence are Daryl Bamonte & Knuth who announce, “Hence transcends the traditional boundaries of a band. At the genesis of Hence was a meeting between Knuth and Daryl Bamonte. In an unexpected twist of fate, a casual conversation turned into a life-changing proposition: “Create a track, and I’ll release it”, Bamonte said while lunch was being served in a Berlin hotel garden. This moment of happenstance didn’t just birth a song; it birthed Hence.” About Steadying The Ship they say, “This is an hypnotic, poetic dive into the paradox of those who hold things together at their own expense, the ones who become so devoted to maintaining peace that they forget their own truth.” The emotive vocals are courtesy of Arika Adams. To learn more about Hence listen to our conversation here.

Civilistjävel! x Mayssa Jallad – Holiday Inn (January to March) (Version)

The LP Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels (Versions) is a radical response to Mayssa Jallad’s 2023 original LP, a lyrical account of epochal events in Beirut at the dawn of Lebanon’s civil war. Civilistjävel! (aka Swedish producer Tomas Bodén) applies a stripped, dub methodology to Mayssa’s rich stems, refracting the Arabic source through the hazy prism of Northern European electronica. A truly exceptional album most deserving of your attention. There is much to discover here in not only the music but also the lengthy story behind the recordings, so we have included a link for you to download.

Michael J. Sheehy with Brigid Mae Power and Fiona Brice – The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water is a re-working and re-interpretation to celebrate the re-issue of the album, My Grief on the Sea from Michael J. Sheehy. The string arrangement is by Fiona Brice and the beautiful backing vocal from Brigid Mae Power. The song was primarily inspired by evidence in the 1835 poor law commission report of the ‘poor who live in huts’ and who were known as ‘squatters’ along the Irish coast. They were ‘strangers, generally supposed to be tenants dispossessed of their holdings in other parts of the country, who are induced to flock towards the sea coast for the sake of the cheap food they can easily procure’. They would often occupy ‘a half or a quarter of an acre of land’, where they would ‘build a miserable hovel’ and often pay an ‘enormous rent’. The protagonists in the song are imagined living in these conditions as the Irish Famine takes hold of the country. This LP comes to us via Bring Your Own Hammer – not a band, a group, an ensemble or even a collective. If anything, it is a faction but unlike nineteenth-century Irish factions, who met, armed with sticks and two-handed wattles in fairs and markets, and dedicated, as no faction before, to the re-interpretation of historical material in song form. Big thanks to Brian O’Neill of Dimple Discs for sending this one over. I highly recommend this album.

Tearbound – For You It’s Fun, For Me It’s Torture

Along with the disturbing song title, Tearbound selected an equally unsettling name for their debut album, An Unreachable Memory Of You (Redux). Tearbound is a five-piece shoegaze band from San Jose, Costa Rica. They say their sound draws from early shoegaze influences as well as the heavier edge of the genre’s recent evolution, plus they are deeply involved in the Costa Rican underground music scene. Currently, they are in the process of recording their new album, meanwhile they have revisited their debut An Unreachable Memory of You with a remix and mastered to better reflect their up-to-date vision. While this is a solid collection well-produce songs, you need to take note that Nico at Shoredive has released this LP and that is a certification of serious quality.

Ellis Clasper – Now

I love this cut* from the debut LP, Periapsis by freelance artist and producer, Ellis Clasper out of Sunderland in the north east of England. The once bleak and downtrodden city is now in the throes of, if not gentrification, it’s hardly the grim unforgiving place I knew as a kid. Ellis with his excellent writing and production skills has captured a persuasive forward thrust. He is making clever, most enjoyable electronica. Mr. Clasper is also responsible for the cool artwork, thumbs up to that. Periapsis is available on the Waxing Crescent imprint who state they are providing a hub and platform for artists to release quality, weirdly beautiful electronic and experimental music. Do not overlook! *I love the whole album!

Froid Dub – On The Nose

Ransom Note Records say they are over the moon to welcome illustrious French Electronic duo Froid Dub to their fold for the debut 12” vinyl release with us, Tears Maker Chant. I will admit, I have no proof that Froid Dub are with On The Nose issuing a testimonial to the longevity of the original Sleng Teng rhythm first made popular in 1985 by Jamaican up and coming talent Wayne Smith with Under Mi Sleng Teng. Trainspotters will now that the The Sleng Teng riddim went on to spawn nearly 500 cover versions. Its success is widely credited with single-handedly transitioning reggae from analog to computerized production. On The Nose is pitched down a little, all the same, Froid Dub with their LP Tears Maker Chant should be on your must-get list.

Wayne Smith – Under Mi Sleng Teng (Original Instrumental Version)

This should be in everyone’s collection!

Photograph by N “The view from E’s bed – Comala, Mexico” iPhone May 2025. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection