Album review overview: Aldous Harding, Little Simz and more

Dozens of new albums arrive at Maxazine’s editorial staff every week. There are too many to listen to, let alone review them. It ensures that too many albums are left behind. And that’s a shame. That is why today we post an overview of albums that arrive at the editors in short reviews.

Octo Octa – Sigils for Survival

With ‘Sigils for Survival’, the American producer Octo Octa, alias Maya Bouldry-Morrison, delivers her fourth album on T4T LUV NRG: eight house tracks that turn a decade of queer life into a kind of dancefloor incantation. Ten years after coming out as a trans woman, she assigns each track a sigil, a magical seal, and builds the entire thing using hardware in her forest in New Hampshire. No laptop house then, but tactile machine music with MIDI drift and all. Opener ‘First Intention (Right Here, Right Now)’ sets the tone with a Roland TB-303 that sounds like it has wandered straight out of the British rave scene of ’92, while ‘Survival Groove’ moves forward for ten minutes at 128 bpm as Bouldry-Morrison intends it: as a protective loop rhythm. Anyone who cherished her ‘I Need You’ from 2019 will recognise the same warm, breakbeat-infused house approach, only more sharply produced and more ritualistically framed. Not everything lands equally hard. ‘Keep Pressing On’ leans heavily on familiar piano house and lacks identity. But that is a scratch on an otherwise confident, joyful and politically charged album. (Jan Vranken) (8/10) (T4T LUV NRG)

Cage Fight – Exuvia

‘Exuvia’ is the second album by this British hardcore band. Formed in 2021 by TesseracT guitarist James Monteith and bassist Jon Reid as an outlet to channel their anger over the COVID-19 lockdowns and as a tribute to bands they listened to in their youth, such as Biohazard, Slayer, Terror and Hatebreed. Meanwhile, drummer Nick Plews was also added to the line-up, and in February 2021, Cage Fight became a fact with the arrival of French vocalist Rachel Aspe, whom James Monteith knew from her previous band Eths. Bassist Jon Reid has since been replaced by Will Horsman, who appears for the first time on ‘Exuvia’. Cage Fight makes some progress with ‘Exuvia’ compared to the self-titled debut album released in 2022. First of all, Cage Fight has been promoted from Candlelight Records to parent label Spinefarm Records. The second step forward is the greater diversity and quality of the songs on ‘Exuvia’. Where the debut was mainly an aggressive mix of hardcore and thrash, there are now also more influences from melodic death metal, giving fans of Sylosis and Venom Prison a good reason to pick up ‘Exuvia’. Producer Lewis Johns delivers solid work and creates a wall of sound while retaining aggression and energy. Besides the excellent musicians, I want to praise vocalist, screamer, squealer and grunter Rachel Aspe. With her exceptionally varied voice, she lifts the good songs to a level better than good or excellent. On the opening track ‘Confined’, guest musician Rob Parton provides ‘everything’. His electronic music, combined with the brutal guitar riffs of James Monteith immediately shows Cage Fight’s experimental drive. On ‘Pick Your Fighter’, Julien Truchan from French deathgrind band Benighted appears, who is allowed to unleash his pig squeals extensively on this track. Fans of brutal groove-oriented hardcore cannot ignore this album. (Ad Keepers) (8/10) (Spinefarm/PIAS)

Jason Miles – 100 Miles for Miles Davis

You have inevitable records. Such as Jason Miles’ tribute to Miles Davis. Jason Miles worked with Miles in the 1980s on various albums, including ‘Tutu’ and ‘Siesta’. With ‘100 Miles for Miles Davis’, Jason celebrates the hundredth birthday of Miles and especially his ongoing drive to reinvent jazz. Everything Miles stood for comes back in one way or another in the tracks on this album. Jazz, funk, electronics, sometimes in great bombast, sometimes in restrained melancholic melodies, but always the spirit of Miles is audible, even tangible. For this, Jason has invited no small names to play along: Randy Brecker, Russell Gunn and Michael Stewart all show how Miles influenced them, without any attempt to imitate the true master. The great strength of the album lies in the production. Jason Miles understands, like few others, how important atmosphere was in Miles Davis’ later work: space, pulse, tone colour. Pay special attention to the rhythm section. James Genus and Vinnie Colaiuta form the heartbeat of this album literally. The heartbeat of the hundred-year-old Miles. A heart that still beats tirelessly in the music. (Jeroen Mulder) (8/10) (Jason Miles)

Little Simz – Sugar Girl

Little Simz, for those who have missed it: for years quietly Maxazine’s favourite hip-hop artist. With the four-track EP ‘Sugar Girl’ (AWAL Recordings), the London rapper trades the strings of ‘Lotus’ for the sweat of the afterclub. Producer Jakwob, also present on ‘Drop 7’ from 2024, delivers beats that sit between rage trap and post-club experiment. Opener ‘That’s A No No’ starts with a Simz who sounds like she has no time left for nonsense, and that suits her well. ‘Game On’ with JT, previously seen at Coachella, is the darkest moment, while ‘Open Arms’ with Nigerian DEELA slips into an Afro-tech groove you would want to hear for a whole night longer. Closing track ‘Telephone’ with 070 Shake gambles on alt-rock guitars and wins that gamble. Anyone still looping ‘Gorilla’ from 2021 will have to adjust. Worth it. (8/10) (AWAL Recordings)

Aldous Harding – Train on the Island

‘Train on the Island’ by Aldous Harding is an officially confirmed release from the week of 8 May 2026 and appears in multiple independent release calendars, vinyl and distribution listings. The album is released via 4AD and is described as a new step in her distinctive folk and art-pop approach. The release is part of the core selection of that week and is consistently listed alongside other major indie releases. Although track details are limited in public documentation, the album release itself is confirmed through multiple distribution channels and label announcements. It therefore belongs to the core of that week without any doubt about existence or timing. (Elodie Renard) (8/10) (4AD)