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.
BIG | BRAVE "in grief or in hope"
in grief or in hope marks a shift for BIG|BRAVE towards denser, guitar-oriented compositions. With longtime touring bassist Liam Andrews (MY DISCO, Aicher) joining guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie and guitarist Mathieu Ball in the studio for the first time, the pieces are keenly layered with a rich tapestry of harmonics and tonal intricacies. Each piece is its own biome of distortions starkly contrasted with delicate, even tender, moments. Wattie writes: “I wanted to explore catchy, melodic phrasing weaved throughout the intensity of the instrumentation and drony chord changes. All that I could reflect on was grief and hope; death and life; cause and effect; shared experiences of being a human person.”
Together the trio deliver emotional momentum that vividly describes the complex and deep feelings of struggle, pain, and transcendence. in grief or in hope transmits that sense of humanity with every gesture.
Ori Kaplan & Lihu Melamed "Reverie"
Reverie is the first full-length collaboration between Ori Kaplan and Lihu Melamed – a cinematic, soul-soaked LP that drifts between modal jazz, cinematic scores and psychedelic rock.
There’s a strong cinematic undercurrent throughout Reverie. Think Charles Heston wandering through an Old Testament epic; Ennio Morricone soundtracking a desert horizon; Nino Rota scoring Fellini’s Rome; or Pasolini filming in Ethiopia. Minor-key strings, modal structures and unhurried grooves sit alongside echoes of Mingus and Yusef Lateef, with Ori’s baritone sax and flutes guiding the listener through shifting scenes and moods.
Reverie is not about nostalgia, but about continuity – the passing of musical language from one generation to another, reshaped by experience, curiosity and trust. A debut LP that sounds lived-in, expansive and quietly confident.