Following a very fun collaboration on the Challengers (2024) score with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Boys Noize’s continued partnership with the NIN crew has spawned another exciting reinvention of the group’s music. Though not always fully taking the songs somewhere new, the way this record updates a lot of the group’s material for the modern era makes it feel more relevant than ever — without losing its edge or the soul that made it so unique in the first place. “Vessel” starts the record on a visceral blade edge, cranking up every note till it almost hurts, and letting the song feel like a sensual and violent tornado. You’re brought through a dark rave in the grimy drive of “Parasite,” that quickly goes from a simple cutting synth run to a blazing wall of destruction entrenched in a dance core. While there are some fun additions in the mix, “Closer” shows the limits of this potential, as every elevation then takes something away from the dynamics of another. Though this appears to be more of a case of trying to mess with perfection. “Came Back Haunted” feels like a neon nightmare this time around, slowly building its wails and mounting beats until you’re thrown against the wall through sheer noise and distortion.
There’s an immediately enveloping sound to the world that Amery Sandford and David Carriere pull together on their electronic dream, “Smash.” You feel like you’re immediately pulled into an anime dance party, swirling in a daze of emotional highs and lows, almost dizzy in the blustering quality of dense sound. Every chorus hook from Sandford and the sly “What” makes for an utterly infectious refrain, bringing you back again and again. Short and sweet, the track even turns a “Live and Let Die”-esque reggae switch into a full-blown fizzling outro. The result is like the drunk crash-out from all the excitement finally catching up to you.
Though it feels like the Arkells have lost a bit of their growl over the years, they’ve morphed into an insane pop machine with endless charm and a wholesome power that has a social value all its own. The band trades experimenting for going all-in on an amazingly lush production, providing a sonic complement to the heartwarming power of 2025’s “Superman.” With the flaring piano lines on “Next Summer” the band is in high pop form, crafting one of their most heartfelt romantic gems yet, with enough hooks to knock you flat. In the midst of all this rising pop glamour, “Ride” pulls Grouplove into the fray for ecstatic harmonies and traded vocals, creating a wondrous swirl of smile-inducing sounds and produced to a sublime peak. The pianos bring a special warmth that carries “Imagine Barcelona” through its chipper summer vibes, taking its simple core and giving it soul, perfectly maxing out the cutesy lyrics. The record goes full dancefloor with a beachy disco on “What’s On Your Mind,” which, while a bit too soft tonally, has a great story and groove that, at minimum, shows the band has potential if they wanted to explore this side of things more.
From the outset, the sparkling electronics and ethereal qualities of Aurora’s vocals instantly craft the feeling of the titular light on this latest selection from the singer’s collaboration with Tom Rowlands. The track very much feels like being dropped into the middle roaring cut of one of the Chemical Brothers’ records in the best way, catching you as the wave starts to soar. The pair bring out the best in each other, with Aurora pushing harder and getting weirder in her performance, while Rowlands clearly is working with vigour to craft the bursts and flares in the music around Aurora’s performance. There are so many little characters and moments in the vocalist’s take on this song, and she finds ways to add textures within the tapestry of the song too, making even the smallest break feel like a major shift, and turning later sections into completely new beasts.
Shifting to another sound from Norway, Juni Habel offers something sparser and calming. As it mixes a bit of lo-fi sensibilities and crisp recordings elsewhere, Habel unleashes an album that feels timeless and full of so much personality and life that you can’t help but be won over. These sound mixes also create such a great sense of contrast that so many moments of the record hit harder simply by virtue of how stark every new voice sounds. There’s something classic in the subdued folk of “I’d Like to See It” that calls to a dozen greats while evoking a touch of nature in its timbres and deep warmth in every note, whether vocal or instrumental. With that chugging drum machine charge on “Pearl Cloud Song,” you’re pulled further into the hills, letting a brisk rain and the hum of life invigorate your soul in a soothing series of acoustic washes. The layered riffs of “Evergreen in Your Mind” creates a mesmerizing, hypnotic effect, with the dual nature of each voice here constantly leaving you feeling like you’re hearing a ghost echoing perfectly at all times. While more familiar, “Stand So Still” bears all the hallmarks of brilliant, classic folk, and in its rising strings and the mix of lo-fi vocals, it ends up being the most overpowering track of the record emotionally.
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