Author Archives: Arcana

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About Arcana

My name is Ben Hogwood, editor of the Arcana music site (arcana.fm)

Switched On – Daniel Avery – Tremor (Domino)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

To quote the press release, Daniel Avery returns with his most ambitious work to date.

“Channelling every corner of his sound, Tremor is a bold and transportive body of work through euphoric shoegaze, submerged techno, ambient soundscape and industrial bliss. It remains unmistakably Avery, yet dramatically evolved.

As with his previous long player, Avery brings an inspiring cast of collaborators, headed by Alison Mosshart (The Kills) but also featuring Walter Schreifels (Quicksand / Rival Schools), bdrmm, Julie Dawson (NewDad), yeule, Ellie, Art School Girlfriend, yunè pinku, and Cecile Believe.

“This is a living and breathing collective,” says Avery. “Since the earliest recordings, Tremor felt like a studio in the sky, a space in time through which we could all pass as artists” he reflects. “It’s the welcoming spirit of acid house with the doors flung open wider still to allow in every influence from my musical journey: the warmth of distortion, the stillness inside intensity, the transcendental beauty of noise… They have always been there in my music but now it feels like those ideas are being transmitted in Technicolor. This is a record for the post-rave comedown kids, the guitar heads and anyone else who wants to come along for the ride. Everyone is welcome.”

What’s the music like?

Expansive – and also progressive. Avery is honing his approach, happy to mix a song-based structure with spacious instrumentals, all with an eye on the headphone listener.

Shoegaze influences abound, while there are also echoes of Trentemøller and Nine Inch Nails, but the overall has Avery’s unmistakable stamp of quality, the otherworldly elements that give his music such a striking profile.

There is a huge space for Cecile Believe’s cool vocal on Rapture In Blue, then big guitars, NIN style, for Haze. A Silent Shadow is similarly massive, with a lovely haze to the  bdrmm vocals and an impressive punch to the grungy guitars. Greasy off the Racing Line has power but feels more derivative, while Tremor itself is superb, reminiscent of Hybrid in their cinematic heyday. A Memory Wrapped In Paper And Smoke is a spacious treat after that, followed by the lovely, calming chant of Art School Girlfriend on closing track I Feel You.

Does it all work?

Largely – occasionally, the feeling of mid-90s nostalgia is impossible to ignore, but this feels largely a forward facing album.

Is it recommended?

It is. Daniel Avery creates unusual colours and soundscapes of the deepest hues, and their cinematic production proves the ideal foil for his vocal guests. Power, poise and ambience coexist to great effect here!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,735 – Thursday 4 December 2025

New music – Mary Lattimore reworks ‘Rosa Canina’ by Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry & Rebecca Foon (One Little Independent and Envision Records)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Harpist and composer Mary Lattimore is unveiling her rework of Rosa Canina, taken from First Sounds, the debut collaborative album by Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry, and Rebecca Foon.

Lattimore, known for her transcendent and evocative solo works, brings her signature sense of intimacy and cosmic spaciousness to the piece. Her reimagining deepens the original’s meditative string motifs, layering them with shimmering harp. Her rework finds her in dialogue with kindred spirits, artists who also inhabit the borderlands between classical form, ambient meditation, and intuitive sound.

You can listen below:

Published post no.2,737 – Wednesday 3 December 2025

New music – The Coral: She Died On Christmas Day (Run On Records)

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adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Three decades and twelve albums haven’t offered a single Christmas song from Merseyside psych sorcerers, The Coral, until now. As overdue as the reply from Santa to a lost child’s letter and as cursed as Krampus’ footsteps getting closer in the dead of Christmas night, the filmic five-piece release She Died On Christmas Day, their first new music since 2023’s Top Five album, Sea Of Mirrors.

With a limited edition 7” release available to fans and collectors, titled Christmas On Coral Island, the title track is the last to feature the narration of the Ian Murray, also known as The Great Muriarty. Bringing dramatic poise as narrator on both The Coral’s 2022 album, Coral Island and 2023’s ‘spirit broadcast’ of Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, Ian and James’s Skelly’s late-grandfather ably sets the scene on the B-side.

Published post no.2,736 – Tuesday 2 December 2025

Switched On – The Black Dog – Loud Ambient (Dust Science Recordings)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story

‘Loud ambient’ is an ironic term The Black Dog coined for music that didn’t quite fit in with their series My Brutal Life – but also took on a humourous bent when they considered how they are seen in some circles as making purely ambient music.

As this album reminds us, that is emphatically not the case, and if anything proves their most instinctive form of music. For Loud Ambient began as a response to Rothko’s artwork, specifically his use of colour fields, blending, mood and scale. The band fed these responses through work on their beloved 909, 808 and 707 keyboards.

As the band say, during recording, “everything just fell into place creatively. Surprisingly for us, the tracklisting never changed, just small tweaks here and there. That rarely happens. It marks a first for us as a band. All the stars aligned and the confidence in this album is the strongest we have ever had.

Loud Ambient was made to dance to, something we have not done in a while. We welcome the return to the dancefloor with both hands. Will you join us?”

What’s the music like?

We will definitely join The Black Dog on the dancefloor if this is the music they are dancing to! The ten tracks are completely free of padding, really satisfyingly worked, instinctive and – as they say – confidently dispatched.

This is a strong set of energised electronic music with a bucketload of melodic interest, bolstered by chunky chords above the quicker beats. There are ambient hints of course, but the likes of They Came For My Head get on with things in a pretty lively fashion. The excellent Double Drop Nightmares nips along, while Reality Comes Crashing Back In charms with its chattering and bleeping, as does the amiable Rumination Romance.

Meanwhile the rich tones of Pamphlet offer warm comfort at the end.

Does it all work?

Yes – and it’s all hugely enjoyable. A real representation of fun had in the studio!

Is it recommended?

It is indeed. The Black Dog are incredibly prolific these days, but Loud Ambient is another example of just how consistently strong their work is, whether you’re in the hammock or on the dancefloor!

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,735 – Monday 1 December 2025

On this day – the first performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Rococo’ variations in 1877

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by Ben Hogwood. Image by Charles Reutlinger, used courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1877, the first performance took place of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme Op.33.

Composed for solo cello and orchestra, the piece had a chequered history. The German cellist William Fitzenhagen, who gave the premiere in Moscow under the baton of Nikolai Rubinstein, made unsanctioned cuts and amendments to Tchaikovsky’s original, meaning the composer’s intended structure and phrasing went awry.

Here is the original version, with cellist Johannes Moser and Case Scaglione conducting the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France:

Published post no.2,734 – Sunday 30 November 2025