Steven Wilson's 'The Future Bites' is a significant milestone for the former Porcupine Tree man and celebrated sound architect. Following on from his highly praised 5.1 surround sound remixes of artists such as Tangerine Dream, Roxy Music, Simple Minds and, in the last few months, Ultravox and Tears For Fears, 'The Future Bites' is a truly outstanding collection of electronic and art-rock tracks. The lyrics of the album meanwhile explore how we're being constantly prodded by the internet's mercilessly efficient and ever-evolving alogrithms, telling us what to buy, where to go, what to think, and who to vote for. Was the future meant to be like this? Probably not. 

Elsewhere in this issue, we have a short story by one other than John Foxx, examine the electro-acoustic stylings of Langham Research Centre, chat with the masked mystery that is Lambert, catch up with Ghost Box outfit Beautify Junkyards, and salute the work of record sleeve design legend Malcolm Garrett. We have Add N To (X), Polypores, Hattie Cooke and Kit Monteith too. And as ever, there’s also the groaning shelves of our review section to get stuck into. Not that we are telling you what to buy, you understand. Shop ’til you drop.

To accompany this issue, we have a superb red vinyl Steven Wilson seven-inch featuring edits of 'King Ghost' and 'Eminent Sleaze', two of the highlights of 'The Future Bites'. There is a strong sense of emotional resonance to the former, a gorgeous electronic track about how people present themselves on social media. "It's about this ghost version of yourself, without all of the failures and neuroses and insecuritites," notes Wilson. 'Eminent Sleaze' is a heavier affair, the slap delay on pretty much every element giving the track what Wilson describes as "this subterranean quality, this slightly surreal otherness".