OEM Compilation I by various artists Founder member of OEM, Adriana Cicccone, writes:How did the idea of putting together a compilation album start?Covid has pretty much put an end to live shows. The music industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. …

The emphatic Canadian collective return with an intimate reflection on issues affecting individuals in modern society. Powerful, devastating and utterly heartbreaking, Respire confess and convalesce with their astounding second album.

We only became aware of Often The Thinker with the release of this year’s magnificent Better Part Of Vice but 1st December 2017 marks the 10th anniversary since the release of their first album History. To mark the occasion they’ve set their entire cat …

It’s the composition of these tracks that sets it apart from most modern electronica albums, as it thoughtfully looks to its inward human elements.

A post punk record of exceptional quality, made highly distinctive within the current trends of independent music by its inviting darker hue, immaculate production and the band’s wonderfully curious lyrical imagery. By Rich Buley.

Overall I like the album. It’s very chilled out, ideal for late night relaxing. I’m looking forward to catching them live to see if the songs take a different turn to the way they’ve been recorded. By Mike Dench

Compass & Knife have risen far above the sum of their influences, and delivered a very fine instrumental rock album that made its way comfortably into this writer’s overall top 20 releases of 2015. Jolly well done them. By Rich Buley.

Disarm:15 is a veritable buffet; a mixed grill in shape and character that leaves you happily sated yet heartily looking forward to the next instalment. By Phil Makepeace

As ambitious and unique as it is earthy and unkempt, Repeat Offenders is a soundtrack to barroom brawls and morning-after despair…perfect for this festive season. By Aidan Hehir

outwardness lost is available free/pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp now. Give it a spin, I think it’s one of the best post-rock albums of the year. By Chad Murray

This album is a stunning accompaniment to a dark night of the soul, with arresting production from the band that endures effortlessly throughout the album to create a work that stands well as individual pieces or even better as one seamless whole. By Chad Murray

Ægeria will see POSTVORTA further enhancing their status as a rising force in the world of post and black metal. By Rich Buley.

It’s perhaps unfashionable in a post-rock, math-rock, ironic-rock world, to be a band that really play well, that really sing well, and just bang out great tunes, but the Scaramanga Six really are the whole package. If you haven’t got into them what the fuck have you been doing all this time? Your record collection needs them and so do you. By Stuart Benjamin

The Black Atlas to me is one to watch, there are moments of promise but it seems like, overall, The Black Atlas has a long way to go in terms of finding his sound. By Chad Murray

There is a psychedelic element to this album and a romance to it, in that its slow boil allows you to either reject it without any sort of disruption or embrace it as it submerges you into a soundtrack of warm baths and dopamine showers. By Chad Murray

The whole collection has this reoccurring disclosure and intimacy that stands in everything they do. There is no mystique with Her Name Is Calla, no bullshit; they are a band of articulate people expressing themselves honestly and unreservedly and there is nothing more sacred or powerful to find in music than honesty. By Chad Murray

The story completely failed to captivate me…but happily the music itself is once again flawless, especially when provided with breathing space on the ‘instrumental’ version that allows the subtleties and emotional depths to come to the fore to dramatic effect. By Andrew Rawlinson

I think with a few lucky breaks we may hear more from Guards of May in the future. It’s just – with the exception of ‘Numbers’ – not my cup of tea, that’s all. By Stuart Benjamin

Final Days Society have recorded an album that undoubtedly wears its influences on its sleeve, but here is a band full of integrity, delivering often quite beautiful music in a passionate, evocative way. By Rich Buley.

Maff have a solid foundation to build from, with the strength of the song-writing and a promising amalgamation of classic alternative guitar styles marking them out as ones to watch. – By Rich Buley.

For those discovering 93MillionMilesFromTheSun for the first time with this album, there is absolutely nothing intrinsically wrong with the record, and it would certainly provide a basic introduction to this special band. By Rich Buley