Astronauts #4. (A4). Well, finally it's here. After four years of toil and six months of international postal nightmares. It certainly is the zine that loves to keep you waiting. This issue, David Keenan talks with Bill Wells, Scotland's jazz luminary. Simon Wickham-Smith holds forth on the topic of David Behrman and the Sonic Arts Union. A re-print of a 1990 Shirley Collins interview from Ptolemaic Terrascope. Other interviews include Dan Brown of Hall of Fame, Matt Valentine and PG Six of Tower Recordings, Future Pilot AKA and Tim Barnes. Plus reviews from the usual crew + house guests Simon Wickham-Smith, Alan Cummings, and Kevin Moist. £1.95. (2).

The Broken Face #18 (A4). Included are interviews/features on Portland's jazz-folk-drone-indie-improv-whatever ensemble Rollerball, Simon Wickham-Smith's consistently amplified and expanded lexicon of creative music, the Ponys' pop music which is so much about contradictions that we're not even sure it's pop at all, Californian multi-instrumentalist Steven R. Smith, the fog-clad vibrations and aural claustrophobia of Lovely Midget, the untamed beauty of Michael Gira and a deep look into the Finnish underground scene. We also got a chance to visit the frank and humorous, informed and loose world of Pengo, the textural, languid and open landscapes of the Necks, Italian space/psychedelia explorer Dario Antonetti and Texan Crevice's mysterious and atmospheric drones crossed with a puckish sense of humor. Add to all this an extensive 1998-2003 wrap up, more than 200 reviews and you've got yourself another issue fully packed with fascinating music. £2.75 (3).

The Broken Face #17 (A4). September 2003 issue. Among it's 69 pages can be found interviews/features about Sandoz Lab Technicians, the uncrowned masters of intoxicating noise, free jazz and drone, Oddfellows Casino's delicate pop beauty in disguise, Birchville Cat Motel's crackling clatter and gorgeous organic dronescapes, Chris Thompson's timeless psychdelicised folk, Reynols' surrealism and pure magic, percussionist/producer/noise maker Tim Barnes as well as Climax Golden Twins' irresistible collage of global impressions and references. Add to that interviews with The Impossible Shapes, Bloomington's finest deliverers of brilliant pop innocence and complex melodies, New Zealand's Armpit, Devendra Banhart - the gardener of Pleasantville, the wide open folk deserts of Migrantes and more than 200 reviews. £2.75 (3).

The Broken Face #16. (A4). April 2003 issue with interviews/features about the never-ending spin of rhythmic mysticism and hypnotism of Finish psych-folk-space-drone-noise ensemble Avarus, the Australian born minimal guitar maestro, Oren Ambarchi, the German guitar sculptor Steffen-Basho Junghans, the increasingly excellent Time Lag and Idea imprints, Doleful Lions' elegant brand of psych-pop whimsy, the seriously damaged but wonderfully tuneful guitar euphoria of Major Stars, the Japanese Blues man Kan Mikami, the mystical Boston-based folk/psychedelia collective Sunburned Hand of the Man and an extensive look into '70s band/collective/spiritual movement Yahowha 13. Plus the usual selection of in-depth reviews (180 approx.). £2.75 (3).

The Broken Face #11, #13, #14, #15. (A4) £2.50 each (3).
Jeeeez, I've no idea what particular orifice my head was up when the past eight issues of this fantastic publication came out. But I've missed more than a few treats. If you're like me and have never come across it before. It's the ideal bridge between Ptolemaic Terrascope and Opprobrium. #11 talks to Jackie-O Motherfucker, Ring, Subarachnoid Space, Freed Unit, Kinski, Mazarin, Bluesanct and has a John Fahey tribute. Spring 2002 brings issue #13 and includes interviews with Neil Campbell/Vibracathedral, Omit, Mike Hinds of Road Cone Records, TheBrotherEgg, The Iditarod, Summer Hymns and Marianne Nowottny. #14 is 70 pages long and includes interviews/features about the harsh reality of Piano Magic, the absolutely gorgeous outsider folk of Six Organs of Admittance, the spluttering jazz of the editors namesake Mats Gustafsson, the rock sub-genre voyager Damien Youth, the ambient resonance of Rafael Toral, the melody-perforated dreamscapes of Bill Holt (Dreamies), the superbly detailed sonic canyon of Double Leopards and Winslow, the rock band. Add to that an extensive interview with Peter Stapleton of the magnificent NZ label Metonymic. #15 includes the seriously damaged psychedelic excess of Pärson Sound, the transcendental drone/noise of Thuja, the slow motion drone marathons, guitar explosions and abstract folk structures of Arco Flute Foundation and the earthy melodies and layered choral harmonies of Japanese duo Nagisa Ni te. On top of all this is one man's story from Terrastock 5, a glimpse from Sharron Kraus' shady side of folk music, the Warlocks' jagged Velvetsian rock, Oneida's blast of interstellar warp action and acid rawk, Fursaxa's blurry drone sketches, the blissful elegance of Tarentel, top 2002 lists. For all issues the reviews sections run along the same lines as the aforementioned PT and Opprobrium, they cover some great ground. Excellent to say the least.

ByPass #5. (UK, A4). UK's premier review zine. Now edited and published by Slab-o-Concrete. Something like 400 reviews of small-press publications. Just about everything from music zines to comics, via politics and mail-art. Titles come from all over the world and have details of how to get hold of them too. Clear presentation with many illustrations. The best guide to the underground press you'll ever find. Trust me. £1.00. (2).

Caught in Flux Number Four. (USA, A5ish). Return to 'real zine' subject matter after #3. Interviews with Palmolive from Slits/Raincoats, Loud Family (ex Game Theory), Rastro!, Bunnygrunt, Vinyl Devotion and stacks of other great stuff. Including High School reunion accounts, stuff on zines, records and live events. £0.75. (2).

Caught In Flux Number Six. (USA, A5ish). The usual high quality writings where Mike came to the UK for a jaunt last year. Interviews with Bis, Dolly Mixture, Jane Fox, Small World Experience, Wandering Lucy, Neil Hamburger, Kumari, The I Live the Life of a Movie Star Secret Hideout plus reviews, articles, etc. £1.00. (3).

Dialogue With Space. (USA, A4). Discussion periodical, taking it's art with more than just the pinches of salt that most of it deserves. Talking about records as commodities and visits some great labels along the way Gyttja, Catsup Plate and Little Brother Records. An interview with Mr Graham Lambkin, some in-depth free jazz reviews, an over view of Dome and home of the 'Say No To Thurston Moore Foundation' ( a worthy cause indeed ). £1.00. (2).

DLK The Hell key. (France, A4). Weird French zine, that's published in both French and English. Mainly looks at that pigeon hole I hate, post-industrial which includes stuff on Pankow, In The Nursery, Skinflick productions. But the most worthy article to note is the one on Germany's Drone Records. £1.00. (1).

Hayfever #4. (Germany, Digest + 7"). Time to polish up on your German as this fantastic magazine is mainly written in it. The Pip Proud and Our Glass Azoth interviews are in English. But other stuff covered here includes Moonshake, Conrad Schnitzer (part II), Kissy Fur, Dirty Three, Liimanarina, Raster Music, Schlammpeiziger, the Kiwi Animal, The Flying Luttenbachers, Bucher, Platten and Sensationen. 7" has pieces by Schlammpeiziger, Produkt, Kissyfur and The Flying Luttenbachers. £3.50. (3).

Jewelled Disease. (USA, A5). Weird scrawlly but interesting and entertaining comic from the pen of Theo Davis. That's the one that does the covers for John Davis and the last couple of covers for Frantzine. £0.50. (1).

Kindling. (Aus, A5). Almost an entire fanzine based on a series of postal interviews with one Danny Butt. Starting off with first musical impressions, life with Crabstick, the move to Dunedin, European travel and ending up with Flies Inside the Sun and Rain. £1.00. (1).

Modern Rock Magazine Issue No. 7 and No. 8. (A5). £1.25 each. (1). No. 9 £1.40. (1). .
The latest couple of instalments of this well informed journal formally known as Rock Mag. Renowned for its lengthy, in-depth, almost thesis like, reviews. Which since no. 8 fall under such group headings such as 'Old School', 'Noise, Post Rock, etc.', 'New Postmodernism', 'Techno' and 'Rock'. And now it would appear that each issue features regular correspondence with Alan Licht. No. 7 has articles on Paul McCartney, The Fall and an interview with Lake of Dracula. While No. 8 is almost purely a reviews driven edition it does have a forum for readers to get things off their chest plus Mr Licht's opinions on the Beatles' White Album. Whatever it features this publication is a must read for any serious music fan. No. 9 is the latest edition, published January 2002. And includes the usual detailed letters section, an essay on the early music of the British '60s band Kaleidoscope, an essay on Hackamore Brick's One Kiss Leads to Another LP, and as ever a fairly substantial review section.

Rock Mag #6. (USA, A5). £1.50. (2).
If you’ve missed it before Rock Mag's the sort of publication that digs deep into it's subjects, especially when reviewing audio product. Sometimes we're talking thesis. Up for discussion in issue #6 George Harrison's solo output, The Sex Revolts (a book about male domination in rock history). But the majority of this mag, as always, is taken over by the reviews which covers a large area from the sort of stuff you can get from Fisheye right through to some more classic rock. Also see Modern Rock Mag.

Second Skin #7. (USA, Digest). I'm pretty sure this is the first issue of Second Skin I've clamped my eyes on and it comes from the same camp as the mighty fine Dalmatian label. On the level chats with Bill Smog, Peter Jefferies and Ashtray Boy. A wee bit of fiction can be found plus tons of reviews in that NZ pop, lo-fi, noise, pop arena. Very readable and down to earth. £1.00. (2).

Speeder 4. (A5). Return of the almighty Speeder. What you have here is some stuff from the Speeder website. Hacked up and placed in a rail carriage friendly format. So there’s stuff on Minmae, Reynolds, Solex, Mandorris and Tore(Mykedroner Records), Very Good Records (the label, not a list of or an in-depth analysis of the authors favorites!), the Bowlie Weekend and many reviews of many formats. And it’s Free. Just send us the postage. (2).

Counting Several Fury Animals With a Toothpick Doesn't Mean You're Not Punk Rock II. More documented proof that good things do come out of Belgium bedrooms. Shrimper type, lo-fi ness and pop in the shapes of Perfume IV, Ed Nolbed, Tin Foil Star and Kaz Toolk. Comes attached to the Toothpick 2000 fanzine. An enthusiastic, slightly misinformed, fun packed poke at the underground. Full of ramblings, tour diaries, reviews and fish. Stuff on Crescent, Mote, Blonde Redhead, Boyracer, Cane and more. Cassette and A4 magazine. £1.75. (3).

Ujaku Number Six. (Aus., A4). Nice periodical that covers noise through to heavy metal. In here you have Lucas Abela/Peeled Hearts Paste, Hi-god People, John Dale (Varispeed/Rhizome and Astronauts fanzine), Bucketrider and Scratch My Nose. Plus a few pages of honest, no bull, reviews. Essentially a free magazine were just charging a nominal fee to cover shipping costs from Australia. 25p (1).

Ujaku Seven.  (Aus., A4).  Now relocated from Adelaide to Melbourne.  Seven heads in the noise and fucked electronics direction that Six pointed towards.  Interviews include Dworzec, Pimmon, Minit, blank tapes, Martin Ng, Sphagnum Nagasaki, Curse ov Dialect and much more.  Plus a bunch of reviews, including the What is Music? Festival and ZZ top! A refreshing slice of antipodean happenings.  75p (1).

Woolly Bugger #4. (USA, Digest). £1.00. (1).
A fine zine from the house of Union Pole. #4 has writings by William Hooker, Rob Carmichael, Tim Ellison, Andy Bolus plus articles on all sorts of stuff from jazz to classical, bringing in some history along the way.