No-one quite operates in the realm of the visionary Everything Everything. Setting dystopian ‘Black Mirror’-style concepts to songs which thrillingly find the sweet spot between esoteric experimentation and art-pop accessibility, the band have earned critical acclaim and a devoted following in equal measure, leading to five Ivor Novello and two Mercury Prize nominations, a run of six consecutive Top 10 albums, and major headline shows including London’s Alexandra Palace.

Everything Everything have always explored grand concepts in their albums, as demonstrated by 2022’s ahead-of-the-curve ‘Raw Data Feel’ (which fed everything from 4Chan forum posts to the teachings of Confucius into an AI program, and used its responses as a basis for its lyrics and titles).

That continues with the release of their new album ‘Mountainhead’. It imagines an alternate society in which those at the lowest rung of society’s ladder are forced to work relentlessly to keep its elite, at the mountain’s peak, elevated. While it’s an idea that looks to a nightmarish future, it’s full of engaging metaphors for our current existence, from capitalism and environmentalism to religion and celebrity worship. The music is just as engaging, their art-pop heart coloured by an array of off-kilter production touches and a new-found alt-pop accessibility.

Head Body Connector is the third offering from Noah Prebish, Peter Spears, and Brother Michael Rudinski’s Psymon Spine project. It is a record that relishes in the heady, the psychedelic, the abstraction of temporality as we know it. Head Body Connectoris a studio record from a band obsessed with production. It’s also a record that more so than any other Psymon release is interested in explicitly sounding live. It’s a guitar-forward album. Something that is ready-made to be performed. It features Liquid Liquid’s Dennis Young’s percussion and Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors, FLYLO, The Roots) on backing vocals as well as long time collaborator Sabine Holler. Head Body Connector also saw the induction of drummer Zeb Stern, guitarist/vocalist Sarah Aument, and bit later on, guitarist/vocalist Aubrey Haddard.