Published on
March 7, 2025
Category
Features
Essential weekend listening.
This week’s rundown is by VF contributors Annabelle Van Dort, Emily Hill and James Hammond.
Gastr Del Sol
Camoufleur
(Drag City)
Gastr Del Sol’s freewheeling ventures through sound were aptly condensed by last year’s excellent We Have Dozens of Titles compilation, and in timely fashion here we have a 2025 repress of 1998’s Camoufleur. Arguably the pinnacle of the project, on Camoufleur, David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke staked out an enthralling and balmy defiance of genre with acoustic guitars and voice as a narrative thread that’s happily unravelled and expanded upon by experimentation and a host of like-minded musicians. Essential listening for the unfamiliar. – JH
Various Artists
Studio One Showcase 45 (Expanded Edition)
(Soul Jazz Records)
Soul Jazz Records returns to their seemingly never-ending Studio One vaults with an expanded version of a long out-of-print, limited Record Store Day seven-inch box set, Studio One Showcase 45. Featuring eight bonus tracks from legends like Bob Marley and the Wailers, Horace Andy, and Johnny Osbourne, this selection of soulful roots and sun-drenched rhythms spans from classics to the more obscure, all the more illuminated by detailed liner notes from reggae historian Noel Hawks. – AVD
Tobe Hooper & Wayne Bell
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre OST
(Waxwork)
A much hankered after physical release for this legendary soundtrack finally sees the light of day some 50 years after The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s original release. With the original tapes long considered lost, the recent re-discovery of Tobe Hooper & Wayne Bell’s impromptu tape assemblage betters the bootleg versions out there, and Wayne Bell himself oversaw the restoration and remix. An aural fever dream of slaughterhouse atmospherics, Bell and Hooper worked on a shoestring to bring a library of sound effects and bric-a-brac instruments together into a soundtrack that stands as a foreboding precursor to many other sonic oddities that followed in its wake. – JH
aya
im hole
(Hyperdub)
It is a true delight to see aya release her debut album on the London imprint Hyperdub, having been a flourishing and fierce force in the UK music scene over the last couple of years. im hole brings together a multitude of genres from grime to straight-up tekkees and even features a guest spot for Manchester wizard Ice Boy Violet. It’s an exciting body of work for an equally exciting producer. – EH
Q Lazzarus
Goodbye Horses
(Dark Entries Records)
For many people, Goodbye Horses is the sound of one of the most famous moments of cinematic history but it goes beyond as a true cult classic. The song is sung with such a powerful depth of emotion, it’s taken people to a multitude of places and is being lovingly repressed by the perfect label – Dark Entries. Described by the label as a labour of love, the reissue also includes previously unheard demos from Q Lazzarus and serves as a moment of reflection on the unrecognised artist’s brilliance – EH
Dub Syndicate
Stoned Immaculate
(On U Sound)
Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sounds has already brought its A-game to 2025 with the release of five pivotal Dub Syndicate albums from the group’s late ’80s to mid-’90s period: Strike the Balance (1989), Stoned Immaculate (1991), Echomania (1993), Ital Breakfast (1996), and an extra-special, Sherwood-mixed version excursion, Obscured by Version (2025)—all of which are anthologised in the essential Out Here On The Perimeter 1989–1996 CD box set. Though it’s a tough pick between the five, here at VF, Stoned Immaculate takes the cake. A perfect distillation of Dub Syndicate’s fusion of dub and dancefloor-friendly sounds, Stoned Immaculate is a post-rave classic for a reason—fit for both soundsystem blasting and soundtracking the afters, it’s a true embodiment of nineties cool. – AVD
Josi Devil
Make It Better / Restless Sleep
(Hessle Audio)
It is always an exciting prospect when a new Hessle Audio release is out and people have been patiently waiting since the last release by Pearson Sound back in October 2024. As we enter our stride in 2025, the latest slice of music from the label comes via Bristol-based producer and DJ Josi Devil whose weighty two-tracker EP is not messing about. These tracks have been making the rounds in numerous DJ sets across the globe. This hotly anticipated EP is fresh off the press and ready to be devoured on the dancefloor. – EH
Oren Ambarchi & Eric Thielemans
Kind Regards
(AD 93)
Kind Regards lands as Oren Ambarchi and Eric Theileman’s second work as a duo and presents a seamless and highly transportive live session from 2023. Meeting Ambarchi’s guitar with Theileman’s percussion, it’s the pair’s well-seasoned improvisational abilities that keep this one compelling and expansive throughout. A balmy 45-minute glide through a sound world of insistent rhythm, subtle accompaniments, and an array of fluttering frequencies from a rotating Leslie cabinet. – JH
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