The Leaf Lab

Oh No Ono: Remixes [Vinyl 12"]

Twisted Science: Cold Fusion [Vinyl 12"]

Beautiful Seizure is the debut album from Chicago trio volcano!, and it's an intense, exhilarating and immensely rewarding ride. What may at first sound chaotic and unplanned reveals itself on repeated listening as meticulously structured: rhythms gather, flicker, melt (down) and emerge as something different; splenetic episodes give way to passages of hymnal calm which in turn are shattered as language breaks down into strobe-like stuttering and is tugged back into line by Sam Scranton's insistent drumming; silvery shards of controlled static ride high above everything. Melodies are stretched to and beyond breaking point, Aaron With's guitar shifts between a ragged, feverish dissonance and bright spaciousness. There are no boundaries and no indulgences, nothing here that's hackneyed or extraneous.

The haunting first single by Nancy Elizabeth. Packing a lot into its three minutes and 20 seconds, the dynamic 'Hey Son' opens with a Davy Graham-inspired guitar figure and Nancy's unmistakably Northern voice, building to a crescendo of crashing percussion and dense vocal harmonies. The B-side song (exclusive to this release) is the evocative 'Live By The Sea', a recording of just Nancy's voice and the churning drone of an Indian harmonium.

Roll The Dice Meets Pole: In dubs [Vinyl 12"]

Listening to volcano! is a journey through highs and lows, through confusion and clarity. Like much of their work, 'Apple Or A Gun' (the first single from their groundbreaking debut album Beautiful Seizure), refuses to be pigeonholed, or indeed easily comprehended on first listen. But it will repay your attention a hundredfold. With dramatic stylistic shifts and a typically ambitious arrangement, the song veers from delicate to possessed in the blink of an eye. Lucid but anarchic, never allowing the listener a moment to relax. Yet despite the apparent chaos, melody is never sacrificed. The single is backed with a recording of a live favourite that will only ever appear on this release: 'I've Been Loving You Since Desert Storm'.

I Used To Try is the second single by Lancashire born and bred Nancy Elizabeth. With shimmering dulcimer and sparse, booming percussion, 'I Used To Try' is a forceful statement of independence. "I like my world/'cause it's mine": the song's strident declarations are proudly unforgiving. 'In The Morning' (which is exclusive to this single) is more contemplative, just Nancy's delicate piano and down-to-earth, unaffected vocals.