'Faded Heart' is Mushy's mature debut album after many years in the Italian underground and the result is no less than astonishing. The imaginative spaces created by the Rome based artist steers from her previous experimental/industrial roots, towards nocturnal synth-driven blues about lost loves and intimate struggles. This album is made of songs, ten glowing lo-fi dirges and lullabies. The singing is very peculiar, always layered with effects. Sometimes whispered and sometimes bursting with primeval moans. Mushy states the 80s dark wave as one of her main inspirations and the influence of Liz Fraser's pre-Heaven Or Las Vegas ways of singing can be spotted. Sound-wise we find analogue gear merged with strange found instruments (a four stringed guitar bought at a flea-market can be heard in many lo-fi parts of the album) and objects. The journey starts with 'Child Of Light Will Burn', one of the best tracks in the moan-wave micro-genre in my opinion, think about a ghoulish version of Grouper's fluttering compositions. The b-side's boiling cauldron of sound sorcery contains some of the best moments of the album, 'I Will Not See It' and the title track are bounded togheter by a dark droning glide and again the title track is her most heartfelt piece and the one that will be instantly recognized by the listeners. 'No More' is a wavey affair, a collaboration with Mannequin record's Alessandro/Newclear Waves. Be quick because the record is selling extremely fast and it's the album of the week at Rough Trade. Out on white vinyl edition of 300 and on cd with four (amazing) remixes by Soft Metals, Newclear Waves, Crossover and Heinrich Dressel.

Another awesome release on Rome's Mannequin Records, this time it is a split EP that puts together French cold-wave (or brutal-wave) heroes Frank (Just Frank) and Soviet Soviet, Italy's most alienated postpunkers. FJF in a few months became a pillar of the new new-wave scene and personally i think that they are in a state of grace. The 5 tracks presented here are very close to perfection with a painstaking attention to details. Their 15 minutes side departs from the bleak and tipically cold-wave sounds of their debut album ('The Brutal Wave' on Wierd Records) towards a seamless fusion of analogue machines with an intricate guitar work. The vocal parts improved and reveal more of the emotional side of Chris and Kirti's lyrics. There are two astounding instrumentals, placed as intro and outro of their side - 'Saint' is my favourite and made me think about those simple and devastating Sisters Of Mercy's first instrumental sketches. 'Valerie' is a highlight here and the finest moments of Little Nemo come to mind. 'Do The Soviet' is dancey and steers away from the melancholic mood that usually pervades their compositions. The track is dedicated to Soviet Soviet's gig in Nice, at the beginning of this year and celebrates the friendship between the two bands. With Soviet Soviet is an entirely different affair as they deliver a personal take on the pitch-black side of post-punk and draw inspiration directly from the first Wire and Kiling Joke. In their side of the split, they take you by the hand in a modern tale of urban psychosis. Their sound can be described as howling guitars over a skull crushing-rhythm section, actually one of the best i've heard in years.'Lokomotiv' is the track that made me fall for them, an unstoppable aggression that gets everyone moshing, when played live . 'S.Y.' is a one-way trip to Death Valley 69, if you get what i mean. 'Cobretto' will suddenly make you dance and tighten your jaw. Be sure not to miss their live shows, some of the best in Europe. Limited edition of 500 copies ' Silkscreen ultra limited edition of 50.

Wrapped in glossy paper, with a minimal artwork in red and white, comes this stellar split LP between Led Er Est and Ancien Régime. Led Er Est is an all-analog trio hailing from Brooklyn and one of the pivotal bands of Wierd Records. Their style bridges the gap between the first Cabaret Voltaire's lo-fi approach on pop and a more straightforward europop attitude. “Ps 18” is an instrumental track with nasty synthlines and a perfect groove that will push your brain from side to side, if listened at the proper volume (a personal favourite). The second one is “Lonesome XOXO” and shows them dealing with a brighter kind of synthpop compared to the one played on their debut “Dust On Common”, which came out just 6 months ago. “A Darkness In My Soul” is a great cover, originally from Solid Space, one of the most obscure and underrated minimal synthpop bands (fingers crossed for a reissue...). “Ants” harks back into their experimental roots (well documented on their untitled tape that came out on Throaning Tapes) and the last one is another cold-pop gem called “Orange”. The b-side was a total blast to me, Ancien Régime is one of Italy's best kept secret! They are a young band from Rome and they play a dark post-punk soaked with lots of synths and vintage drum machines. The incisive singing flows perfectly in the mix with new wavey guitar and pounding bass structures. “Brief Encounter” and “When They Fall” are heartfelt anthems and i bet they both work fine when played live.“The Phantom Chariot” is a more brainy affair and takes a little more to get under your skin. Ancien Régime are a huge revelation and i have the feeling that this band is moving towards something big, let's just wait! Edition of 500, be quick.

"Judged by 12, Carried by 6" is the first album by Blessure Grave and it is out on CD on Canada's finest Alien8 and on limited LP on Release The Bats. They mix goth aesthetics with an extremely good songwriting. Yes, you've read that correctly, somebody is taking it where Theater Of Tragedy left many years ago. You'll find a claustrophobic drumming similar to Crisis (can't help mentioning them as a standard, i might be a little obsessed) and deathrock-like lyrics, often tinged with a pitch-black humour which takes us back to the californian tradition (Reyna and Toby are from San Diego). The sound on this LP shows a slight more refined studio work, which doesn't alter the "live" feel of their previous recordings. "In The First Place", also out as a limited 7" on Holidays Records, leads us back into our beloved old smoke-filled, scarcely lit room with crumbling walls and blood dripping everywhere. "Open Or Shut" and "Hope For The Worst" could be instant anthems for the lost boys (yeah, the movie). Being goth or post-punk in 2010 means being open to a wider and different audience, that's why this album and the previous singles and tapes were out on labels dealing with experimental, noise or whateveryouwanttocallit. The cd version comes with the striking "Learn To Love The Rope" EP as a bonus. Just great.

Canada is the home for some of the best experimental musicians, just think about Tim Hecker or Aidan Baker (also known as ARC and Nadja) . This new album by AUN goes straight to the olympus of canadian ambient virtuosi. "Motorsleep" shows some major changes from the past, you can read the review of his previous works on these pages. Martin did a tribute to Klaus Schulze's Irrlicht in collaboration with Allseits and i guess he's been listening a lot to the kosmische heroes because the music on "Motorsleep" points skyward. There are beautifully unsettling tracks like "Erzot" which sounds like Tangerine Dream on a bad acid trip! There are also some warm feedback based tracks like "Neiges", not so distant from the first works of the aforementioned Tim Hecker. No wonder if Martin describes his own music as "blight-metal", outsider metal mixed with shoegaze. This album is mixed by James Plotkin, a well known expert for bleak ambiences.