REZN "Cycles in the Infinite Dream"
From The Sleeping Shaman: “
Coming from stoner roots, REZN’s trans-dimensional brand of doom metal and heavy rock touches upon elements of ambient and free jazz to create something which is simultaneously ominous yet glorious. Cycles Of The Infinite Dream is the band’s eighth full-length, their third for Sargent House, and easily sits on my yet-to-be-written Top Ten of 2026 list.
With its airy synthesizer opening, Rite Of Passage swirls with apocalyptic beauty, showcasing Rob McWilliam’s distinctive tenor vocals much further up in the mix than is usually heard. The riffs churn with post-metal swathes of a somewhat Adam Jones-ish style, while the keyboards light the way. Transient recalls In The Absence of Truth-era Isis but coupled with Spencer Ouellette‘s glorious use of saxophone. This jazz element has definitely brought a unique layer to their sound that isn’t often heard in many heavy music genres. The gentler melodic stylings of Aerial Birth recall more recent offerings from Elder but with a bit more restraint.”
Hill Collective "Fire In Orbit"
Hill Collective strike out with Fire In Orbit, their first release for Batov Records and the Brighton ensemble’s most focused and expansive studio statement to date. Rooted in spiritual jazz but unafraid of the natural looseness, humour and raw edges that arise when imaginative musicians collaborate, Fire In Orbit captures a band working collectively, instinctively and with space to breathe.
Over the past three years, Hill Collective have become a central presence within Brighton’s small but fertile jazz-adjacent scene. They have appeared at Love Supreme Festival and The Great Escape, supported Etuk Ubong, and built a reputation for live performances that balance structure with volatility. Their 2024 studio album Tonal Prophecy, released via Germany’s Fin Du Monde, introduced them to the wider jazz press, earning praise as “a soulful, avant-garde addition to the bustling UK jazz landscape” (UK Vibe), while Jazz Journal noted that “the spirit of Ra is close” and All About Jazz heard “resonances of Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman”. If that record marked their arrival, Fire In Orbit feels like consolidation rather than expansion, leaner in sound, clearer in intent and more assured in delivery.
Bob Bert "Beach Bongo Bloodbath"
Most music gourmandizers know the name Bob Bert as the drummer for Sonic Youth in their formative years.
With BEACH BONGO BLOODBATH Bob Bert is finally stepping out under his own name for his first true solo album. For this outing he has seriously re-worked a number of cover songs into a veritable audio soundtrack for the movie of his life. Surprisingly for a guy who has slammed away for some very noisy guitar outfits, this is an album with NO guitars or bass.
Bob utilizes a variety of drums and percussion sounds as well as piano, synths, theremin, Farfisa, Rhodes, etc creating a new world of sound. There are six originals and eight covers that play to his love of campy teenage horror flicks, art damaged punk fuk-u-ness and Warholian underground groover vibes. Let the BEACH BONGO BLOODBATH begin………..
MONO "Snowdrop"
When MONO recorded their previous album, OATH, with longtime production partner and friend, Steve Albini in 2023, they never fathomed that it would be the final studio album they made together. Albini tragically died the following year, and that loss left MONO faced with profound grief and uncertainty. Albini had become a fundamental part of MONO’s unmistakable sound, and the thought of replacing him was daunting, to say the least. Enter: Brad Wood (Touché Amoré, The Smashing Pumpkins).
Chosen for both his familiarity with MONO’s creative and technical working process – as well as his decades-long friendship with Steve Albini – Brad Wood entered Albini’s storied Electrical Audio studios in September 2025 to record what would become Snowdrop. Once again working with Chicago-based conductor and orchestral musical director, Chad McCullough, MONO enlisted a 10-piece orchestra as well as an 8-piece choir for the eight massive pieces that make up Snowdrop. Mixed by Wood at his Seagrass home studio in Los Angeles, the album is equally intimate and enveloping.
Where there could easily be a pall hanging over Snowdrop, there is instead an extraordinary air of gratitude. Rather than steep in heartache, there is a poignant appreciation for the resonance of life well-spent with a dear friend – and the yearning for what may come. Snowdrop is the sound of a band turning shock and sadness into hope and wonder – and finding renewed focus in the freedom of unknowing.
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