Here’s two tracks of electronic noise from RDKPL, on Inner Demons Records; I’m reviewing this via a download code for Bandcamp, so there’s no packaging to consider, but I like the simple, diy, ‘bedroom’ packaging that I’ve seen on other Inner Demons releases. Both tracks are ten minutes in length, and both play with similar sounds.

Originally released in 1996, Hopelessness and Shame was the debut album from this Philadelphia instrumental trio. They have been classified as ‘doom jazz’, though I’d say you’d have to add taut rock/ metal to that description. Here from SRA Records- as either a CD or vinyl(either red or yellow varieties)- is a recent(ish) reissue of the album, which was recorded by Steve Albini, with a new remastering.

“As an artist, I am informed by my unique perspective as partially colour-blind and dyslexic. In my work, I explore notions of perception, context, and diversity through the construction of immersive spaces that seek to heighten the audience’s awareness of their own direct experience.” Based in LA, multidisciplinary artist and composer Yann Novak has created a unique platform from which he explores both sound and light directing awareness to our own world of individual experiences. With a diverse body of work that ranges from installations and sound diffusions to ‘architectural interventions’ and the written word, Novak has seemingly performed almost everywhere including the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane, the sadly-no-more Iklectik in London and his home state of California where he was recently awarded the honour of Cultural Trailblazer for 2021-22 by LA’s Department of Cultural Affairs. In amongst all this, Novak has been equally prolific with his musical output - in fact it’s something that has been a central part of his work for the last twenty years.  And his new deep-listening album Continuity is the latest in a series of recordings that sees the American artist use sound to probe the nature of reality. 

Tourist Trap is a late 70’s American horror film that blends slasher and supernatural genre tropes. The rundown waxwork setting manages to balance a decidedly darkly quirky tone, with moments of eerier unease, telekinetic murder, and jarring terror. Here from the folks at 101 Films is a new Blu-ray release, taking in a fair selection of both new and old extras. With a card slip sleeve and a thirty-two-page perfectly bound booklet.

Palindromes was the 5th feature from Todd Solondz, America's auteur of uncomfortable and taboo-breaking drama/cringe-inducing dark comedy. The early 2000s picture focuses on Aviva, a middle-class thirteen-year-old girl who is obsessed with having a baby. The film is presented in a decidedly off-kilter fairy tale manner, with the lead character shifting between eight different actors over the picture's length, all adding to the awkwardness and fist-biting edginess of the whole thing. Here from Radiance Films is a new release of the film, coming as either a dual UHD/Blu-ray format release or a stand-alone Blu-ray; I’m reviewing the latter of these. Both versions take in a 4k restoration, a few new interviews, a new video essay, and a forty-page inlay booklet.

Dissonant, aggressive, and passionate, Noise Trail Immersion's latest, Tutta La Morte In Un Solo Punto, has the Italian death dealers pushing out a sonic assault that challenges the listener with its complexities and subtleties, as well as its full-on assault. The product of ten years of hard work and determination, their newest pits dissonance vs melodies, deepening each track with its enigmatic arrangements and structures. Thick and well-layered, Tutta adds a heavy sense of unease, and its shifting tones and patterns keep the listener on edge throughout its runtime.