May 2025:
Albums
Planet Mu
Various –
Planet Mu 30
The influential UK label marks 30 years with a typically eclectic,
forward-facing trip through footwork, IDM and experimental. Zoning in on
new unheard music from its 2025 band of musical freaks,
Planet Mu 30 is loaded with the kind of leftfield experimentation
that established its reputation. Expect heaters from RP Boo, Traxman,
Jlin and more.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Independent Jeep Music
Erika de Casier
–
Lifetime
The alt-R&B artist's fourth album crystallises her tastemaking without
ever sacrificing style for substance. Written and produced entirely on
her own, Lifetime is a confidently self-referential record that
goes with her own flow, settling into sensual downtempo that somehow
manages to sound both effortless and studied.
Read the full review
Listen:
Spotify
Smalltown Supersound
Kara-Lis Coverdale
–
From Where You Came
Kara-Lis Coverdale's first album in eight years draws heavily from
programmatic music, a classical style that gained traction in the
Baroque period. Each song shares dozens of small stories, filled with
enough peaks and troughs to fill out a beat sheet for the next season of
The White Lotus.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Warner Records
PinkPantheress
–
Fancy That
Fancy That is a cheeky romp through UK dance pop history, sipping
from everything on the Y2K singles charts—from the digital glut of
Spiceworld to the trance vortexes of Frankfurt producer Spicelab.
Colours get dialled up to maximum saturation as PinkPantheress splashes
into full-hearted, unguarded pop for the first time.
Read the full review
Listen:
Spotify
True Panther Sounds
Model/Actriz –
Pirouette
Casting aside their previously hard-edged bravado, New York band
Model/Actriz embrace vulnerability with confidence and a newfound
lightness on Pirouette. They've dubbed it a dance pop album,
manually aping drum machines and introducing earworm hooks. The LP still
has the band's no wave dissonance and twisted bacchanalian throb, but
some seriously operatic vocal moments demonstrate a real willingness to
take the armour off.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Tresor
Surgeon –
Shell~Wave
What does techno mean to a 30-year-plus stalwart of the sound? For
Surgeon, it's a spiritual collaboration between humans and technology,
past and future. Shell~Wave bottles his personal experiences with
his machines and delivers it to listeners with the improvisation of a
free jazz musician.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Various –
Road Fever: New Generation Carnival Riddims From St. Lucia And
Dominica
This compilation is an invaluable snapshot of two rising genres—St.
Lucia's Dennery segment and Dominica's bouyon—dissected to a clinical
degree. Road Fever is a testament to the Caribbean's continuous
innovation, ingenuity and celebration of its ever-evolving musical
culture.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Method 808
Shanti Celeste
–
Romance
"Can we get closer?" So asks Shanti Celeste over a shimmery
bassline on "Unwind." On her second album, the British-Chilean producer
puts her vocals front and centre for the first time, fusing garage, R&B
and her signature house with a disarming sense of intimacy, both on and
off the dance floor.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Self-released
OSSX –
WORLD KEEPS TURNING
Prolific New Jersey trio OSSX are keenly attuned to the needs of the
dance floor. Their debut album wholeheartedly bolsters this reputation,
spreading their signature East Coast club sound—hollering vocals,
shuttling snares—over samples of '90s hits that almost seem too obvious
(look out for Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner," Cheryl Lynn's "Got to Be
Real"). But in OSSX's hands, pop and R&B become club tools that any
smart DJ will keep in their kit.
Listen:
Bandcamp
In Dust We Trust
Chaos In The CBD
–
A Deeper Life
From the bossa nova swing of "Mountain Mover" to the slinky downtempo of
"Barefoot On The Tarmac," A Deeper Life is breezy, crisply
produced music to loosen your collar to.
Listen:
Bandcamp
ESCHO
Smerz –
Big city life
On Big city life, Smerz finds a cohesive sound that elevates
their place in the Norwegian experimental scene. By leaning into
guitars, hook-driven R&B and low-slung electro, they've strengthened
their storytelling chops (as on the string-led "Feisty" and the romance
of "You got time and I got money") while keeping their loveable knack
for weirdness.
Listen:
Bandcamp
Self-Released
J. Albert –
Return To Sender
New York producer J. Albert returns with his first proper album in
years. The focus? Stoner ambient and dub techno. "Warped Mirror" offers
glimpses of his lo-fi house past with deep house chords and brittle dub
architecture. "22" cuts through the vibey feel, descending into an
industrial ambient abyss where synths snap and hiss like high-voltage
power lines. One to sink into.
Listen:
Bandcamp
Rush Hour Music
Ron Trent
–
Lift Off
Ron Trent's first album since
2022 builds on the smooth,
jazzy house that he's so loved for. Centreing bright synth lines and
cruising funk tempos, Lift Off slowly dials up the energy levels,
all while maintaining the Chicago legend's signature sultry cool.
Listen:
Bandcamp
ANS Recordings
Anthony Naples
–
Scanners
There's plenty to marvel at on Anthony Naples' sixth album,
Scanners. "Lifetimes" has an R&B feel to its gilded chords and an
East Coast shuffle to its booming drums. "Bounce" is slick, tunnelling
techno. "Somebody"'s stuttering, detuned piano notes slip intricately in
and out of a punchy four-to-the-floor beat. The rhythms are tight and
addictive from the start, the melodies keeping you tethered to the
endless groove.
Listen:
Bandcamp
Ambie—Tón
TraTraTrax cofounder Nyksan is next up on ambient sub-label, Ambie—Tón.
Under a new alias, Colombian Drone Mafia, the Bogotá producer works with
Mexican violinist Gibrana Cervantes to create 3D worlds. Ambient waves
recede into clattering noise; nocturnal insect chirps are countered by
the hum of a traffic jam. Even in the darkest passages, there's a
suspended sense of hope.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
Warp Records
Stereolab
–
Instant Holograms On Metal Film
16 years after Stereolab went on hiatus, the avant-pop band make a
triumphant return. The hooks are grander, the beats are louder and their
typically progressive lyrics are sharper than ever. "Melodie Is A Wound"
includes a screeching horn solo over jazzy production, while
"Electrified Teenybop!" is tantalisingly climactic, built on rollicking
synths and percussion. Welcome back, indeed.
Listen:
Bandcamp
Warp Records
Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke's lockdown album truly reflects the period
it was created in. Even when the LP is upbeat, there's a sense of
foreboding. Many of the tracks have a vintage clank that recalls Cabaret
Voltaire or even Throbbing Gristle at their most accessible; others
float in an ambient haze. These are songs for anxious times.
Read the full review
Listen:
Bandcamp
