Three albums (one very Christmassey one!) and an EP this month. Tracey Thorn “Tinsel and Lights” Woob “Have Landed” Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin “Instrumental Tourist” Burial “Truant / Rough Sleeper Tracey Thorn “Tinsel and Lights” “Tinsel and Lights” is that rarest of records, a Christmas record that is perfectly suited to the season and is not in any way overbearing or irritating. Most albums that are Christmas themed are usually centred on lots of covers that are taken from a small subset of well worn classics.

The second Woob album (AKA “Woob 4495”) is probably the greatest ambient album ever made and is certainly the best one you have never heard of. Originally released in 1995 on the em:t label it is also a rare record. I don’t have an actual copy but I have seen one! I downloaded it off the internet and even that is quite difficult to do. My friend is an avid collector of all the em:t releases and it is easy to see why: all the albums are titled in a specific way that is very appealing to people who like to collect things and they also have very striking nature photography on the covers.