THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

Zach Phillips & Olia Eichenbaum met online in late 2018 and quickly began collaborating remotely, and in France and Brooklyn. First working together under the name the Pearly Gates, they toured western Europe together in 2019 with a common band shared between Olia's project Œ & Zach and Ma Clément's group Fievel Is Glauque. After taking a year off, it was during the early months of the pandemic that they started sending music and lyrics back and forth. Before they knew it, the entire Perfect Angels album was written and recorded in under a month, with Olia & guests' remote overdubs taking a bit more time. It was recorded entirely to Tascam 388 1/4" 8-track tape with computers intervening only during guest overdubs, mixing & mastering.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Moat (feat. Shoko Igarashi)
2. All Love (feat. Thom Gill)
3. Orchids Are Not Sold
4. The Meaning Of Love (feat. Gaspard Sicx)
5. The Informant (feat. Ryan Power & Logan Hone)
6. Una Palabra
7. Exit From The Ultra-World (feat. Shoko Igarashi)
8. You're So Alive
9. Sightseeing
10. Sweetheart (feat. Vincent Pieuvre)
11. Fue Ayer
12. I'm Outbid (feat. Logan Hone)
13. Lamb Of Shame (feat. Logan Hone)
14. Touch Of Touch (feat. Vincent Pieuvre)
15. What Am I Gonna Do With You? (Hey Baby)
16. Angels Suffering
17. Two Minutes Of The Year
18. No Better Pain (feat. Chris Cohen)

It's the summer of salute. The Manchester-based producer makes his debut on Steel City Dance Discs. In salute's words: '"Ultra Pool" is a selection of club tracks I started making as lockdown restrictions were being lifted and shows started rolling in again. Over the last few years, I've been revisiting a lot of the French house records I used to listen to as a teenager - I wanted to let that influence shine through as I'm a huge fan of that sound. I wanted a body of work that was both very high energy and harmony-heavy, and I think "Ultra Pool" is the perfect way to summarize where my head is at right now'.

High speed sample choppage, unrelenting nrg, voluptuous filter usage; loopier than a rollercoaster and with a grin so wide yer jaw hurts. Recommended!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Steel City Dance Tracks continues their impeccable form with this French-house inspired offering by salute who is coincidently based right here in Manchester. High energy feels and wide-eyed grins are offered throughout "Ultra Pool".

TRACK LISTING

A1. Sternenhimmel 
A2. Pleasures 
B1. Heaven 
B2. Ultra Pool 

Their debut album documents the journey through their friendship, from school to where they now find themselves, commenting on what's around them.

"translating to ‘further beyond’, a latin naval term adopted by those exploring uncharted waters, we present a collection of our best works to date, each lyrically distinct but venturing into new territories that life presents; mass media, tory austerity, mental health, homelessness, the deprived nhs and the release that music gives you from it all. come with us to make sense of what lies beyond in this world through questions, power and statements that we stand by."

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: This is one of my favourite albums this year. Think the super melodic pop of The Rolling Blackouts but swathed in Rainy City drizzle rather than Antipodean sunshine.

TRACK LISTING

1 Full Round Table (Explicit)
2 Wayfinding
3 Kulture
4 Need You No More
5 Wide Asleep (Explicit)
6 Fair Game
7 Opaque
8 Not In Love (Explicit)
9 My Fall
10 My Fall II
11 Can I Trick

“I’m in the middle of something I can’t wake up from. And you’re part of it” - Ache Ultra Truth finds me in a very different place to where I’ve been before. My previous albums have all focused on the idea of music being an escape or a distraction from the world but that’s not the case this time. For me this album is about looking directly into the fire, not running away from it. There’s a way through but it involves keeping the important people in your life close to you and navigating the darkness together. This is an intentionally heavy and dense album, the edges frayed by flames. There are hooks but finding them all requires effort from the listener. I want to be incredibly clear that this is not a club album made by a DJ - I couldn’t feel further away from that description right now. I’m no longer dealing in a misty-eyed euphoria. Ultra Truth is a distorted fever dream of a record: noisy, determined and alive. 

David Lynch, Nine Inch Nails, Bjork, David Fincher, Silent Hill, Wu-Tang, Chris Cunningham, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, Deftones, Portishead, Massive Attack, Silent Hill, Hype Williams, Smashing Pumpkins, Kid A….

There’s a running theme through all of these influences, something that could crudely described as futuristic gothic noir. It all has a dark, often aggressive edge to it but, importantly, it all has a certain swagger that I was so captivated by in my younger years. That’s where the power lies: it says “this is a leftfield corner of culture but there’s a place here for you here if you want it.” That’s what I felt as a teenager and something I’m carrying through with Ultra Truth. A walk through the darkness together. In every way possible, I’d like to position this album in the world of artists and bands, well away from nightclubs.

“Beyond the silent shadow Under the weight of a collapsing sky Close your eyes, and look to the light”

- Ultra Truth

This is the first time I’ve brought together so many people to join me on the journey and each guest plays a crucial role. I’ve always loved Marie Davidson’s punk approach so she was an obvious choice to open the album; Kelly Lee Owens returns, ten years after being the voice of Drone Logic and now a bona fide superstar in her own right; HAAi is an amazing friend and supernova artist whose beautiful singing voice I’m incredibly proud to feature twice on the record; Matty Healy is a figure I feel isn’t afraid to publicly look into the darkness himself, despite being a huge pop star; Sherelle is probably the most exciting DJ in the world right now and someone who does things entirely on her own terms; Jonnine is the singer from HTRK, one of my favourite bands of all time - having her on Only feels like a dream; James Massiah is a poet whose words feel like they shake the floor when spoken - I needed someone to finish the record with that weight; AK Paul is a soulful force of nature in the studio and the track Ache is just one of the things we’ve been working on; James Greenwood aka Ghost Culture has been my writing/studio partner for over ten years and I’ve always wanted to get his saxophone playing on a track; Manni Dee’s inimitable, burning touch can be felt on literally every second of the record as can that of mixing genius Marta Salogni. This is a collective effort throughout.

“The reprise of promise is here Fresh with broken haze Atop the Shadow Mountain Burns the fire of better days”

- Chaos Energy

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Ultra Truth' takes all of Avery's melodic expertise and subverts it beneath a crashing wave of shuddering percussion and sidechained pads. It's like some of Alessandro Cortini's fractured synth gloom rubbed off on Avery after their superb collaborative LP from 2020, and it's a wonderful divergence. Uncompromising and wholly mesmerising.

TRACK LISTING

New Faith
Ultra Truth
Wall Of Sleep
The Slow Bullet
Devotion
Only
Spider
Near Perfect
Higher
Ache
Collapsing Sky
Lone Swordsman
Overflowing With Escape
Chaos Energy
Heavy Rain
Trip (vinyl Only)
Time Takes A While (cd Only)
Out Of Silence (cassette Only)

‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ is the 14th studio album from Manic Street Preachers. It is both reflection and reaction; a record that gazes in isolation across a cluttered room, fogged by often painful memories, to focus on an open window framing a gleaming vista of land melting into sea and endless sky.

Musically, ‘The Ultra Vivid Lament’ is inspired by a formative years record box (ABBA, post-Eno Roxy, the Bunnymen, Fables-era REM, Lodger) though the end result could only be the unique union of James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire and Sean Moore, collectively one of the UK’s most consistently brilliant rock’n’roll bands for over three decades.

TRACK LISTING

1. Still Snowing In Sapporo
2. Orwellian
3. The Secret He Had Missed
4. Quest For Ancient Colour
5. Don’t Let The Night Divide Us
6. Diapause
7. Complicated Illusions
8. Into The Waves Of Love
9. Blank Diary Entry
10. Happy Bored Alone
11. Afterending

Indies Exclusive 7"
SIDE A: Orwellian
SIDE B Orwellian (Gwenno Remix)

Following Brutalism (2017) and Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), two releases that garnered global critical acclaim, IDLES return with their highly anticipated third album – Ultra Mono. Sonically constructed to capture the feeling of a hip-hop record (including production contribution from Kenny Beats), the album doubles down on the vitriolic sneer and blunt social commentary of their past work. Not far beneath the surface of their self-admitted sloganeering lies a deeply complex and brutally relevant album that chews up clichés and spits them out as high art for the masses. This is momentary acceptance of the self. This is Ultra Mono.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Including guest performances from David Yow, Jenny Beth, and Warren Ellis, their third album is an exhilarating punk tour-de-force. Bludgeoning drums, pummelling bass and searing guitars combine with wry social commentary for their most assured album to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. War
2. Grounds
3. Mr. Motivator
4. Anxiety
5. Kill Them With Kindness
6. Model Village
7. Ne Touche Pas Moi
8. Carcinogenic
9. Reigns
10. The Lover
11. A Hymn
12. Danke

Let's be honest – the first time many of us heard the otherworldly talents of the Ultramagnetic MC's was on a compilation. A smattering of singles in 1986 had barely registered beyond a small circle in New York, but the inclusion of the 1987 single 'Travelling at the Speed of Thought' on Street Sounds' 'Hip Hop Electro 16' set, sandwiched between classics from MC Shy D and Just-Ice, was a watershed moment.

In a way, it's their most atypical release. The deceptively simple combination of drums 'borrowed' from The Rolling Stones and a scratched hook from The Kingsmen's definitive version of Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' is one thing. The simple by their standards vocals, however, render it into a loveable pastiche of rock-rap, a more esoteric equivalent of Run DMC's 'Walk This Way'.

The flip is more in keeping with their style both on their earlier 'Ego Tripping' single and the soon-to-arrive landmark classic album 'Critical Beatdown'.

Over some heavily chopped drums from erstwhile breakbeat classic 'Apache' by the Incredible Bongo Band, Ced Gee and Kool Keith showcase flows that were different from anything out there at the time.

'M.C.'s Ultra (Part II Edit)' is part brag-rap, part baffling science lecture. Leaning heavily on the thesaurus, it's a slang heavy manifesto that elevated the boast rap to the next level. While Kool Keith would go on to be the group's breakout star, this is a showcase for the whole collective, right down to DJ Moe Love's slithery scratching sliding from one channel to the next.

Only previously released in the UK as a 7" that's now very hard to source, this is a chance to re-embrace this breakthrough from a legendary group.

TRACK LISTING

Travelling At The Speed Of Thought
M.C.’s Ultra (Part II Edit)

Creepy Crawl is proud to unleash the second release from Tampere, Finland’s heavy psych over-lords – Warp Transmission.

The previous release – the amazing Tamám Shud, was a reissue of a demo/rehearsal/whatever cassette – this is their first album proper – recorded and produced by the band themselves and then expertly mastered by the legend that is John McBain, former member of Monster Magnet / Hater / ETC

From the arctic circle comes the freshest and least revivalist take on stratospherically exhilarating psychedelic rock since “Spine Of God” was released in 1991, or “Relaxing With” in 1995… turned up, turned on and blasting out of your speakers, this throbbing over-blown riff monster could be the blast of guitar spuzz we need… a furious slab of unrelenting and unforgiving psychedelia.

This debut album proper from Finland’s Warp Transmission will stand up along side the afore mentioned debuts by Monster Magnet and The Heads, as well as the Stooges / Hawkwind / Blue Cheer / On Trial / early Nebula / Union Carbide Productions.. ,, it really is an almost untouchable single LP of speaker gashing, amp blowing, phaser shredding scree… you get to the end?? You simply put it back on again....

Label disclaimer: this is not Stoner Rock, or, indeed Shoegaze…. This is Warp Transmission, primitive-heavy..primordial ooze rock!

TRACK LISTING

1: Ultra Thrust
2: Cast Into The Process
3: Wipeout
4: The Insect
5: Crash Like Waves
6: The Stranded
7: Quicksilver Mindstream

"GT Ultra" is the second full length album by Guerilla Toss on DFA Records. The album demonstrates a remarkable shift in sound, musicianship and songwriting, without ever giving up the remarkable unhinged quality that made their earlier recordings so exciting. The album title "GT Ultra" is a clever nod to Project MK Ultra, the government sponsored experiments using new experimental drugs to explore mind control, torture and forced confessions, often with LSD as their drug of choice. These tests lasted from the mid-1950s-1960s but with a new administration in the White House, government sponsored torture is fresh again on many minds. The songs on the album ricochet back and forth between hyper bouncy pop and deeper darker longer, more nuanced tracks. Peter Negroponte’s drumming, always a major highlight for the band, is in full force once again, this time bringing a Nassau / Compass Point feel to many tracks, like the classic recordings of Grace Jones and Talking Heads. Kassie’s vocals and lyrics are both more personal and more cryptic than ever (but you can hear every word this time and there is a lyric sheet). As preferred, the meaning is within the listener. It is a dream state record for sure, meant to take you along on a similar vibe that the band has been tripping on these past few years, filled with an insistence to “hydrate, gyrate, think straight, no weight,” all the while under the influence of golden beams of orange sunshine, glimmering glitter and kaleidoscopic bursts.

Adding to the authenticity, the album is wrapped in vintage blotter acid, created by legendary LSD archivist and artist Mark McCloud and The Institute Of Illegal Images, based in Francisco.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A visceral and heavy-hitting mash-up of worldy psychedelia, funked-up soaring electronica and swirling cosmic freak-outs. Brilliantly innovative, eminently satisfying groovers.

TRACK LISTING

Betty Dreams Of Green Men
Can I Get The Real Stuff
Crystal Run
TV Do Tell
The String Game
Skull Pop
Dog In The Mirror
Dose Rate

Ahead of Rustie’s debut album ‘Glass Swords’ Warp drop this special limited edition 12” featuring the hotly anticipated album track ‘Ultra Thizz’ and new , exclusive track ‘Dreamzz’ - which is only available via this release. The flipside of the vinyl is etched with the ‘Glass Swords’ and ‘Rustie’ logo.

‘Ultra Thizz’ is impossibly catchy, interlaced with speaker-shredding electro-funk basslines, unpredictable bursts of red-lined synth twists and the kind of chipmunks-on-speed vocals that put happy hardcore in the shade. Keeping up with the current 90s trend, Rustie drops 4/4 rave number 'Dreamzz' on the flip. Pushing the compressed, shiny technicolour synths and luminescent arpeggios to the limited, this is dance music for the loud-phone-on-the-bus generation.

It’s not surprising that press and his peers have all praised his phenomenal debut, with the likes of Skream, Oneman, Joker, Jackmaster and Bibio all going nuts for it.

Electric Eel Shock are unique, in that they've a vision of rock'n'roll that refuses to stay in one box. Energetic, lively and rousing, they're the sort of band you'd love to have play at your house party, when the guests are into everything from metal to stoner to punk to... well, any other genre defined by turning on the power and putting on the style.

MU330's seventh full length release is chock full of their own distinct brand of high energy skacore. "Ultra Panic" has the band playing more ska than any of their previous albums. With the help of organist Chaz Boy and saxophonist John Paul Camp III lending their talents, it is obvious after one listen that this is perhaps one of the finest ska releases in the last ten years.