Gently easing us into the new year, here are the releases from the first two weeks of 2024.

Bill Ryder-Jones                 Iechyd Da           

Welsh for good health or cheers, his fifth album is rich in scope, at times joyous, grand and sweeping, at others heartbreaking, intimate and tender.

Cash & Carter    No Use Praying

Five track EP from country duo concluding with an unexpected cover of The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’.

Infant Island      Obsidian Wreath             

An album about trudging through the end of the world: where climate catastrophe, the acceleration of capitalist extractive exploitation, the apathy towards social health which has emerged from the pandemic, and an endless stream of ongoing crises too numerable to be named, constantly haunt the edges of our vision, like a rot that sets in on the borders of being.

Kreidler                               Twist (A Visitor Arrives)

An affair of electronic pop music, nurtured in Jetztzeit clubs, with roots in Rhenish kraut, British post-punk (with a touch of NYC and Brussels), and international polyrhythm.

@            Are You There God, It’s Me, @ EP            

Duo flirting with hyper pop and technological conundrums.

Folly Group        Down There      

Group drawing from post-punk, dub, trip-hop, dance music and traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms on an album exploring alienation in modern Britain.

Ryujin   Ryujin  

Samurai metal act that has developed their own identity, expressed with accents of tasteful traditional Japanese instrumentation (i.e. Shamisen, Dragon Flute, Erhu, Taiko) alongside conventional metal guitar shredding.

Dau        Gilly’s Wood     

A record made entirely from reed organ and improvisations recorded in the hawthorn wood that lends its name to the album.

Blue Orchids      The Greatest Hit (Magic Mountain)        

Reissue of their 1982 debut with added demos and live tracks.

Kali Uchis            Orquídeas          

Her fourth album and second Spanish language one is inspired by the timeless, eerie, mystic, striking, graceful and sensual allure of the orchid.

His Lordship       His Lordship      

A debut album consisting of twelve frenetic, frenzied, rapturous tracks.

Nailah Hunter   Lovegaze            

Artist who creates her own sonic fantasy world through her harp, ambient electronics, twisted R&B and experimental pop.

Magnum              Here Comes The Rain    

New album from the classic rock band.

The Hope Conspiracy     Confusion/Chaos/Misery EP      

Four abrasive tracks reflecting the socio-political nightmare that entangles us.

Shed Seven         A Matter of Time            

Their first album since 2017’s ‘Instant Pleasures’

Sprints  Letter to Self

Debut album on City Slang from Dublin four-piece who have recently opened for Yard Act and Suede.

Lily Seabird        Alas      

An album traveling between moments of whispered indie-folk and gritty alt-country, with hints of shoegaze acting as a vignette around the edges.

Lifesick                 Love and Other Lies       

Swedish death metal band with lyrics inspired by the turbulent nature of life.

Exit Eden             Femmes Fatales

Combining symphonic heaviness with pop music on a record that celebrates women taking control of their own narratives with autonomy, intelligence, and independence.