Essentially, Gatecrasher is known for two things: its loyal affinity to trance music and the colourful cyber bunnies who worship at its altar. If you've never been, and don't really fancy dressing up like an extra from Pokémon, this is a good introduction to one of Britain's premier nightclub experiences. The pace and quality is relentless-a never-ending stream of sequenced nirvana that rarely fails to deliver. Spread across two CDs, the first nudges gently percussive techno into the realms of soft Teutonic trance. Oliver Klein's "Rheinkraf" bubbles away like effervescent mercury, while the seductive pianos tickling Frean's "Heaven's Gate" are fittingly celestial. England's Terra Firma subtly ups the ante with the staccato-driven "Keep Moving" and the ethereal vocals wafting through "Love Has Come Again" are welcomingly human. After this comforting blanket of rich progressive house, CD2 blows in like a force 9 gale. The beats are harder, the riffs razor sharp, and when storm-trooping anthems like Albion's "Air" march neatly through your brain, you're left in no doubt that Gatecrasher is one UK export we should all be mightily proud of. -Paul Tierney.

The original 1994 edition of Generation Star Wars had a sleeve that featured stormtroopers with swastikas emblazoned on their helmets and a picture of Alec Empire (lodged between C3PO and R2D2) posing as a techno's blond poster-boy. Its re-release seven years later is stripped of trademark infringements leaving a stark black cover with the legend "Fight The Imperial Forces". The music, of course, has not changed a note. But its arch criticism of conservative forces-whether political or cultural-remains as sharp as the day it was recorded. "Lash The 90ties" cuts straight to the chase with a tractor beam of pink noise that indicates a path for strings that drift like solar winds and breaks that crumble like Mir on re-entry. At over 10 minutes long, it's a bloated but brazen criticism of everything it purports to hate. Money-hungry, android mentalities are revealed on the muted S&M of "Maschinenvolk" and the bleep-beat samba cipher of "Sonyprotitutes". Followed by a triptych of acid tracks-"Pussy Heroin", "New Acid" and "Smack". Running on empty, the former traces a junkie's decline in low-end. The second is a distorted bad trip, the latter a mess of decaying sound. [+]

Originally released as Undark in 1996, and then named among the Albums Of The Year by both The Wire and DJ Magazine, Russell Mills' debut now comes remastered and beautifully repackaged by Mills himself in impressionistic 4AD style (unsurprising, given Bella Union is the label of ex-Cocteau Twins Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde). Due to his heavy-duty reputation in the world of multi-media art and sonic exploration, Mills here draws together an absurdly prestigious array of guests, including Guthrie, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, U2's The Edge, Japan's David Sylvian and both Brian and Roger Eno. Each contributes tellingly to mesmerising techno-soundscapes intended to reflect the sweet harmony, churning menace and uncontrollable unruliness of nature (and our unsteady place within it), as well as the way everyday objects and patterns can, when seen from a different perspective, be revealed as unsettlingly odd. Rhythmically complex and (Sylvian excepted) deliberately burying its occasional vocals and guitars in the mix, Strange Familiar is exactly what it claims to be. Moreover, as it draws you in gradually, it's eventually totally overpowering. -Dominic Wills.

Thanks to some radio play for "2Wicky" (from their debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular), Hooverphonic won mainstream attention and early admission into the trip-hop pantheon. But this Belgian group's sound was always closer to the warm etherealness and pop aspirations of bands like Australia's Single Gun Theory than the wispy experimentalism of Portishead. Well, they'll probably still be labeled a trip-hop band, but Blue Wonder Power Milk is essentially an electronica-tinged symphonic pop album-and a very strong one, at that. The breathy coo of new vocalist Geike Arnaert melds effortlessly with the languid beats of tracks like "Club Montepulciano" and "Eden" as well as with the more muscular drum & bass of "Battersea". In fact, almost all the songs-many of which are augmented by simple string arrangements-possess a beguiling beauty guaranteed to keep your finger on the repeat button. Highly recommended. -Steve Landau Thanks to the radio ubiquity of "2Wicky" (from their debut album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular), Hooverphonic won mainstream attention and early admission into the trip-hop pantheon. But this Belgian group's sound was always closer to the warm etherealness and pop aspirations of bands like Australia's Single Gun Theory than the wispy experimentalism of Britain's Portishead. Well, they'll probably still be labeled a trip-hop band, but Blue Wonder Power Milk is essentially an electronica-tinged symphonic pop album-and a very strong one, at that. The breathy coo of new vocalist Geike Arnaert melds effortlessly with the languid beats of tracks like "Club Montepulciano" and "Eden" as well as with the more muscular drum & bass of "Battersea. [+]

Think of a sober B-52s taking their inspiration from Brian Eno and the German synth pioneers of the '70s, and you'll have a sense of this English sextet's sound. -Jeff Bateman.

At the very least, former Transglobal Underground singer Natacha Atlas has done the British alternative sector a huge favour by introducing the musical palette of the Middle East and North Africa into the mix. Ayeshteni, like Atlas¹s previous album, 1999's Gedida, will most certainly be bought by many people who would never otherwise listen to music from this part of the world, and that is most certainly a good thing. On its own merits, however, Ayeshteni is slightly less impressive. This is mostly because Atlas has failed to cart any influences in the other direction, and stuck rather too slavishly to a template that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has ever caught a taxi anywhere between Casablanca and Baghdad. As a result, the one overt attempt here at crossover-a cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell on You"-sounds rather forced and the rest blends all too readily into a single impenetrable and inseparable morass. Andrew Mueller.

Paul and Phil Hartnoll, the two brothers who make up Orbital, work in a no-frills, self-contained way. Ever since their scene-defining rave theme "Chime", they have started each recording from scratch, making albums of variety, vitality and dedication. This, their fourth album, is no more conventional than the rest (six individual, unrelated soundscapes, including one track that lasts 30 minutes), but was popular enough to reach No. 3 in the UK album charts on release in April 1996. Opener "The Girl With The Sun In Her Head" is affectionate and tender, "Dwr Budr" scary, and "Out There Somewhere" is hedonistically full-on, showcasing their extravagant, gleeful layering of sound and textures. Best heard at 3am, very loud, preferably in the open air. -Charlie Porter The Hartnoll brothers remain the great hope of ambient techno-sleeker, smarter, and way more dynamic than the rest. The duo's third full-length disc is a sonically splendid variant Snivilisation (1994). -Jeff Bateman.