New releases last two weeks: Ambient/Drone

Review: OK. Let's face some facts. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Drive is up there with one of the best scores ever put together. And that goes for the compositions of Cliff Martinez as much as the guest bands and artists drafted for the other songs. Where else are you going to hear Riziro Ortolani and Katy Ranieri's operatic overture, 'Oh My Love', and The Chromatics' low sung, mood-building electro tracker 'Tick of the Clock', side by side? The answer is, of course, nowhere. And that's just skimming the surface. Deeper inspection take us to some stunning pieces of ambient and drone. 'I Drive' is a remarkable example of gong bath on record, 'Skull Crushing' is overwhelmingly heavy thanks to its use of distant sound and up front quiet. It feels like you're in a pressurised chamber. We could go on, but that wouldn't save any room to mention the trophy piece - College and Electric Youth's spectacularly emotive synth stunner, 'A Real Hero'.