Dead, Dead Swans (aka Milwaukee, Wisconsin's John E Swan) play a blend of raw and world-weary American folk music, with some real tuneful edges. I first became aware of the band late last year with the release of their second album Even Still, We Were Together, on Punkerton Records. I’ve recently just heard and reviewed the reissue of their first album, 2022 Lenses (also on Punkerton) - so I thought what better time to track down Mr Swan for an email interview.

Formed in 2022, Sebastian Tomb is a Berlin wall noise project that adds creative touches to its sound such as synth elements, morphed ‘n’ warped dialogue,  and generally unbalancing sound craft. It also uses pictures of women from the past- so an interesting blend of sound and theme. I’ve been very impressed with most of the projects' output- so I decided to track down the person behind the ‘wall’/ project- Joris Martin Sabinius for an email interview.

Since the early 1980’s Alien Sex Fiend have gleefully dodged genre labels and brackets. The UK two-piece darkly tongue-in (rotten) cheek sound mixes elements of Goth, psychobilly, punk, electro-fired shock rock, and various brands of electronica- for a distinctive and one-off experience. Last year Cherry Red Records- their long-running label- released the third in their classic album boxset series- The 13th Moon Years. This features the project's last four albums, as well as a ton of bonus tracks- taking in Nocturnal Emissions (1997), Information Overload (2004), Death Trip (2010), and Possessed (2018).  Both members of the band-Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend, kindly agreed to give us a rare/ in-depth email interview- discussing the bands' origins, their career, and of course The 13th Moon Years boxset.

As the end of the year rolls to the end. Here are our writer's best-of lists for 2024, and as always, it’s a highly genre-varied mixed selection of titles- highlighting the site's mission statement- be genre-varied.  Some writers list taking in both music/ sound and film, or just music/ sound- depending on what they review on M[m]

2024 saw the return of Splintered - the British noise rock collective who have largely been AWOL for the last thirty years. In their initial run between 1992 and 1996, they released four albums and recorded two sessions with John Peel. The band's new album Between Scylla And Charybdis is a rewarding blend of lo-fi and the expansive, and since its release in May of this year, it has gone on to be one of my favourite more formal rock-focused albums of the year. It’s a release that brings together elements of jam rock, moody punk-edged psych, and droned-out/murky art-rock/post-punk. Imagine if Pink Floyd appeared in the early ‘80s, and had more sinister/murky intentions. I tracked down the project’s vocalist Richard( Richo) Johnson for an email interview.

Most Films within the serial killer found footage/ faux snuff film genre feature both gory murder & brutal torture. One of the few film series to step away from these tropes is the Amateur Porn Star Killer trilogy from the early 2000s. They focus on the more coerced & manipulative side of their killer, with the added addition of jarring real hardcore sex, and grim mumblecore drama. The three films are directed/written by Canoga Park, California-born Shane Ryan-Reid- who also plays the film's charming/ highly manipulative killer Brandon. Earlier this year as part of their Raw & Extreme Wild-Eyed Releasing reissued all three films.  Shane kindly agreed to an email interview- where we discuss his influences, the three films, and the most recent appearance of the Brandon character in 2020’s Choke.