Following the release of Everything Harmony, which garnered acclaim from Questlove, Iggy Pop, Anthony Fantano, The Guardian, and countless others, The Lemon Twigs—the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario—have once again captured the attention of the music listening public. Set for release less than a year after their last album, A Dream Is All We Know is a joyous affair. As the title suggests, it’s less of a sober look at the darker side of life, and more a hopeful sojourn into the realm of dreams.

Michael’s line in lead single and album opener “My Golden Years” – “In time I hope that I can show all the world the love in my mind” – serves as a statement of intent for the whole collection of songs, as the brothers race against time to create as much quality pop material as possible. On track two, The Lemon Twigs invite listeners into a bubblegum paradise with euphoric harmonies and biting clavinet (“They Don’t Know How To Fall In Place”), followed by an existential space age epic (“A Dream Is All I Know”), and, elsewhere on the album, a baroque pocket-prog tune (“Sweet Vibration”), a two-part nightmare-comedy that doesn’t let up (“Peppermint Roses”), and more.

Equipped with the songwriting chops of a lost era (somewhere between The Brill Building and 10452 Bellagio Road) the new record was carefully arranged and produced entirely analog in the brothers’ Brooklyn recording studio. Most of the tracks were constructed with the two brothers swapping instruments and layering all the parts themselves, but one exception to that rule was “In The Eyes Of The Girl,” which was co-produced by Sean Ono Lennon in his upstate New York studio.

While the album is chock full of progressive pop ideas, it closes appropriately with an ode to early rock and roll on “Rock On (Over and Over),” contextualizing the band as part of a lineage of rock and roll that’s never really stopped. For The Lemon Twigs, it took almost a decade for critics and audiences alike to present them with the major accolades they’ve earned this past year. While their initial records were appreciated for the musical proficiency they displayed, the brothers’ past few records have communicated their ideas with more clarity and emotional resonance. In other words, “It took too long to say ‘rock on.’”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's a great lineage of influence hidden in The Lemon Twigs' sound, but one that is definitely less prominent than their uniquely modern take on the classic. There's a little bit (and a little bit more) of Beach Boys in the brilliant 'How Can I Love Her More?' but the melodic turns and orchestral flourishes are uniquely theirs, and help to make what is without a doubt their strongest LP to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Golden Years
2. They Don’t Know How To Fall In Place
3. Church Bells
4. A Dream Is All I Know
5. Sweet Vibration
6. In The Eyes Of The Girl
7. If You And I Are Not Wise
8. How Can I Love Her More
9. Ember Days
10. Peppermint Roses
11. I Should’ve Known Right From The Start
12. Rock On (Over And Over)

Joe Armon-Jones teams up with Hak Baker and Nubya Garcia on new EP Wrong Side Of Town. The lead single is all about being priced out of London, something Hak Baker has experienced first-hand growing up in East London, and shares “I think it’s time to scream and shout that we’re here to stay, and if you don’t like it, you must be on the wrong side of the town.”

Musicians on the record include Black Midi’s Morgan Simpson on drums, Nubiyan Twist bassist Luke Wynter, Ezra Collective saxophonist James Mollison playing alongside Nubya Garcia, and additional percussion from Horseman. Mixed by Prince Fatty, mastered by Noah Priddle, and released via Armon-Jones own imprint Aquarii Records. This record marks the first of a dubs series on the way, and each release will include a vinyl exclusive track.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wrong Side Of Town (feat. Hak Baker)
2. Dub Side Of Town
3. Nubya’s Side Of Town (feat. Nubya Garcia)
4. Wrong Side Of The Rhodes

Kee Avil's music is both adventurous and intimate, intellectually challenging and emotionally resonant. The Montréal guitarist and producer's 2022 debut LP Crease garnered plaudits from outlets like The Wire, The Quietus, Mojo and Foxy Digitalis, picking up a Canadian Juno Award nomination and Bandcamp Album Of The Day and Albums Of The Year along the way. Its intricate construction, unnerving atmospheres, and knife-edge take on avant-pop prompted comparisons to early PJ Harvey, This Heat, and Gazelle Twin. A remix EP with work by claire rousay, Ami Dang, Cecile Believe, and Pelada brought collaborative perspectives to four Crease tracks, offering new pathways within those songs.

With Spine, Kee Avil strips back her heavily textured compositions, opening up a much rawer sound. She calls it folk—and while traditionalists might scoff, this is urgent music that reflects the precarity of modern life, as well as the jarring mixture of electronic and real-world interactions that have become the fabric of our day-to-day experiences.

There's a hypnotic post-punk somnambulance to it all, using the repetition and fracturing of melodic phrases interwoven with delicate electronics to create curious and persistent hooks. While not a concept album, themes of time's passage, remembrance, and decay crop up across multiple tracks. Each track intentionally only has four elements—guitar, electronics, and two other instruments, with Kee's voice and guitar pushed to the front. Within this minimalist framework, the juxtaposition of beauty and discomfort that is key to the Kee Avil sound stands out in skin-prickling relief. "We're shaped by many versions of ourselves," says Avil. "I was looking back at these versions of myself and what could have been, what didn't end up being and what did end up being, and going back like that through time. Seeing the future, the past."

Spine was written in Kee Avil's home studio after a lapse in writing while touring Crease and working on other projects. She is a well-known and respected member of the Montréal experimental scene, and formerly ran Concrete Sound Studio with Zach Scholes, who continues to work with her as a producer on Spine. Compared to the three years that went into making her debut, Spine emerged in a matter of months—a process that may also be a factor in its intensity and sharpness: "This record was much harder, like it was really discovering everything from scratch." In her desire to not simply replicate or extend the sound of Crease, she felt she had to rip up the rule book, write in a different way, and pare back songs against her usual instincts.

Sometimes, when we work against our ingrained habits, we get to the core of who we really are. Spine is an exercise in that process. Without over-intellectualizing or being didactic, it hits immediately and emotionally, especially if you are a person who has spent much time in the process of self-examination. Kee's voice hisses, whispers, and chants; her guitar bends and rings; electronics skitter and crackle; violin creaks like a door in the wind. There is something so evocative about the atmospheres she creates that it's easy to overlay one's own feelings onto her work, but to do that wholly would be to overlook one of the most important things about Spine: Kee Avil's clear and thoughtful vision. This isn't just the next step forward in her artistic trajectory; it's a stunner of a record that stands on its own, a bracing and thrilling listen that has much to reveal about the contradictions inherent in being human. — jj skolnik

TRACK LISTING

1. Felt
2. The Iris Dry
3. Remember Me
4. Do This Again
5. Fading
6. Gelatin
7. Showed You
8. At His Hands
9. Under
10. Croak

Standard-bearers of the early Louisville scene, Babylon Dance Band created (largely out of whole cloth) the magic that later became identifiable as the Louisville sound: abstract yet urgent garagepunk stylings smothered in generous helpings of guitar heroism and surprisingly soul-shouterinfluenced vocals.

In December 1980, the Babylon Dance Band’s massive artistic footprint landed them on the cover of NYC’s Village Voice (even before the band’s first single was released). A year later, they broke up before releasing this: their posthumous second single.

Later generations of Louisville rockers from Squirrel Bait to King Kong to Slint to Will Oldham to Tara Jane O’Neil freely cite Babylon Dance Band as a major influence, as do northern compatriots including Yo La Tengo.

In 1994, Matador Records issued a posthumous Babylon Dance Band LP. Today, Babylon Dance Band guitarist Tara Key and bassist Tim Harris continue to work together in the New York City band, Antietam.

TRACK LISTING

1. Somebody
2. Rubbertown

Blushing’s unique brand of dreampop-infused indie rock hearkens back to the halcyon days of college radio. With a diverse array of influences including Elastica, Curve, Veruca Salt, Lush, The Breeders, and Smashing Pumpkins, Blushing manages a deftly executed eclecticism that recalls the best elements of alt rock’s past while retaining a vitality and immediacy that tethers them firmly to the present. On their recently completed third LP, Sugarcoat, Blushing’s dynamism is on full display, flitting effortlessly from spacey psychedelia to twee pop jangle with finesse and panache. Sugarcoat is a dense, reverb-laden exploration of altrock’s 40+ year history that conjures up concord from chaos. This album is where the band get to explore their love for expanding genres, from Post-punk (Seafoam), Psych-gaze (Slyce), Grunge pop (Silver Teeth), Indie Pop (Tamagotchi), Slowcore (Sugarcoat) and beyond. A huge highlight when making the album was the ability to collaborate with Jeff Schroeder on the track “Seafoam”. The band had the opportunity to meet with him a few times over the years and asked him to see if he would be interested in lending lead guitar on the track as they were nearing the end of recording. He agreed right away and wrote a perfect accompanying lead while out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins. The contribution elevated the song and the band are so grateful to have his influence captured on the album. Sugarcoat is out May 3rd on Kanine Records.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1. Intro
A2. Tamagotchi
A3. Seafoam
A4. Slyce
A5. Silver Teeth
A6. Sugarcoat
Side B
B1. Fizz
B2. Say When
B3. Pull You In Two
B4. Charms
B5. Debt

The Bolshoi released three albums during their existence, but they also recorded a fourth album that was never officially released during their tenure. Provisionally titled Country Life, it was released in 2015 as part of a limited 5-CD box set. We are excited to now release it on vinyl for the first time. Country Life consists of demos recorded for the album, and many of these only survived on reference cassettes but were digitally restored. We are especially thrilled that Trevor Tanner has recorded a brand new acoustic reimagining of the song “Dolores Jones” made specifically for this release.

The Bolshoi were different. Their songs were dark and subversive, sufficient evidence for many critics to corral them under the 'Gothic' banner at the time of their debut - but they really only "flirted" with Goth. They oozed dark, pensive lyrics supported with inventive pop-goth guitar making them nearly impossible to categorize.

The suburban surrealism of the lyrics was rooted in the stories from characters on the fringes of society rather than brooding romantics, with an undercurrent of boredom, inadequacy and violence. Not the usual themes for pop success!

TRACK LISTING

1. World In Action 
2. Under The Shed 
3. What’s Your Favourite Colour 
4. Country Life 
5. We Don’t Want Him Here 
6. Boy From The Nursery World 
7. Long Tall Sally In A Black Dress 
8. Too Late 
9. Out There In The Distance 
10. Castaway 
11. Dolores Jones 
12. Yee Hee 
13. Madame Hecate 
14. Last Chance For The Slow Dance 
15. Everything Is Done For You Today 
16. Dolores Jones 2023

Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009 comprises songs and sketches drawn from Trish's extensive archive of 4-track tapes and MiniDiscs. The recordings lay the groundwork for what would have been Broadcast’s fifth album, offering a window into Trish and James’ creative process during the post-Tender Buttons period from 2006-2009.

Photography used in its artwork is by Trish and James and the artwork is designed by Broadcast's long-time collaborator Julian House.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There are few bands who could put out such an extensive collection of demos and sketches and have it be not only a great insight into their creative processes (it is definitely that), but a sonically imperfect but thematically impeccable collection. There's a reason Broadcast are so respected, and this is it.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Song Before The Song Comes Out
2. March Of The Fleas
3. Greater Than Joy
4. Mother Plays Games
5. My Marble Eye
6. Roses Red
7. Hip Bone To Hip Bone
8. Running Back To Me
9. I Blink You Blink
10. Infant Girl
11. I Run In Dreams
12. Luminous Image
13. A Little Light
14. Hairpin Memories
15. My Body
16. Follow The Light
17. Tunnel View
18. Where Are You?
19. Singing Game
20. I Want To Be Fine
21. The Games You Play
22. Grey Grey Skies
23. Puzzle
24. The Clock Is On Fire
25. Petal Alphabet
26. Tell Table
27. Fatherly Veil
28. Dream Power
29. Heartbeat
30. Call Sign
31. Crone Motion
32. Sleeping Bed
33. Join In Together
34. Colour In The Numbers
35. I Am The Bridge
36. Spirit House 

Look to the East, Look to the West, the new album by Camera Obscura, is a revelation. The Tracyanne Campbell-led outfit, reuniting with producer Jari Haapalainen (Let’s Get Out of This Country, My Maudlin Career), have crafted an album that simultaneously recalls why longtime fans have ferociously loved them for decades while also being their most sophisticated effort to date.

It is also the most hard-fought album of Camera Obscura’s career. Following the 2015 passing of founding keyboardist and friend Carey Lander (to whom the penultimate track “Sugar Almond” is addressed), the band went into an extended hiatus. They remained in contact, but their status was uncertain until they announced their return, having been invited to perform as part of Belle & Sebastian’s 2019 Boaty Weekender cruise festival, along with a pair of sold-out warm-up shows in Glasgow. Donna Maciocia (keys and vocals) joined founding members Kenny McKeeve (guitar and vocals), Gavin Dunbar (bass), and Lee Thomson (drums and percussion) for those shows and has since become a regular songwriting partner of Campbell’s.

Recorded in the same room where Queen wrote “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Look to the East, Look to the West feels big, a widescreen reframing of Camera Obscura’s sound that, paradoxically, saw the band go back to basics there are no string or brass arrangements, with more emphasis placed on piano, synthesizers, Hammond organ, and drum machines, and, perhaps most strikingly, the group have dropped the veil of reverb that characterized their previous albums. The tinges of country and soul that give Camera Obscura’s baroque take on pop music its bittersweet edge have never been more apparent guitars shimmer into the distance, keys haunt, and Campbell’s voice searches for the heart, reflecting on love, loss, and the passage of time.

Lead single “Big Love” relishes in the space between country rock and prog, a pining break-up anthem featuring the soaring pedal steel of Tim Davidson. It’s a Nashville Sound heartbreaker, tackling the complexity of wanting to rekindle a bad relationship with Campbell’s uncanny ability to render the past: “It was a big love, she said / That’s why it took ten years to get her out of her head,” she begins.

“We’re Going to Make It in a Man’s World” was co-written with Maciocia for filmmaker Margaret Salmon’s 2021 film Icarus (After Amelia). (Salmon, in turn, shot Look to the East, Look to the West’s cover photography featuring Fiona Morrison, who was on the cover of Camera Obscura’s debut, Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi.). Ironic and sincere, the two navigate the reality of being women in the music industry, somehow floating over Davidson’s pedal steel and Maciocia’s keys. “The Light Nights” is a swooning song propelled by a western shuffle and killer guitar, striking a balance between a particularly good honky-tonk joint’s jukebox and a lost gem of California pop music waiting to be discovered in a 7” bin.

Look to the East, Look to the West is the sound of a band that has grown more confident in its sound and purpose than ever. It is Camera Obscura at their best and most evocative, an album that completely rearranges the listener’s emotional core, leaving them sad and exhilarated at the same time. Camera Obscura’s catalog is replete with songs people point to as life-changing, songs that will stick with them all their lives. Look to the East, Look to the West has 11 of them; take your pick. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Camera Obscura return! After the sad passing of Carey Lander, it's hard to imagine how the band could continue but 'Look To The East...' takes all of the latent melodicism and swooning choruses and strips them back to a fairly minimalist backbone. There are moments of the cinematic intensity and wistful grandiosity of their previous work but it's a much more emotionally wrought, fickle affair, and all the more beautiful for it.

TRACK LISTING

1. Liberty Print
2. We’re Going To Make It In A Man’s World
3. Big Love
4. Only A Dream
5. The Light Nights
6. Sleepwalking
7. Baby Huey (Hard Times)
8. Denon
9. Pop Goes Pop
10. Sugar Almond
11. Look To The East, Look To The West.

The Cat’s Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years ’92-’93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros’ Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane’s Selected Songs 1997-2003). It’s a smart selection of songs by one of Australia’s finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat’s Miaow’s history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets.

An even deeper pass through the archives of The Cat’s Miaow, Skipping Stones is a welcome follow-up to 2022’s Songs ’94-’98, which pulled together material from seven-inch singles and compilations. Diving into the four cassettes that the group released over a two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat’s Miaow’s music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren’t forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all.

It's also a fascinating snapshot of one arm of the ‘international pop underground’. While they were clearly listening to music from the US, UK and elsewhere – there are glimpses of Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3, Beat Happening, and The Pastels in some of the songs here – The Cat’s Miaow also feel, consciously or not, part of a continuum of Australian underground pop that takes in The Particles, The Lighthouse Keepers, The Cannanes, The Honeys, Even As We Speak, and The Sugargliders (who they would cover several times). Like those before them, The Cat’s Miaow balanced opposing forces in their music: naivete and knowingness; fragility and strength; worldliness and world-weariness; play and seriousness; heartache and pleasure.

The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from – Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) – were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence, run by Wayne Davidson. Toytown felt like the perfect early home for The Cat’s Miaow, their cassettes rubbing shoulders in the label’s catalogue with brilliant groups like Sukpatch, The Ah Club, Kitty Craft, and Land Of The Loops. The local context is just as important, too, with The Cat’s Miaow sharing their time and creative vision with friends in The Ampersands, Stinky Fire Engine, Girl Of The World, Super Falling Star, Pencil Tin and The Sugargliders. And cassettes were an important form of exchange – cheap, easy to reproduce, not too expensive to send interstate or overseas, they were the most accessible DIY format for any group starting to spread the word about their noise.

All of this is to say, the thirty-five songs here landed in several different contexts, national and international, which goes part-way to explaining the group’s curious cosmopolitanism, the style and spirit in their sound. The Cat’s Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that’s pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie’s and Bart’s lovely, unforced singing.

There are a clutch of gorgeous songs here that would reappear in a different form on later releases, classics like “The Phoebe I Know”, “Third Floor Fire Escape View”, “Not Like I Was Doing Anything” and “You Left A Note On The Table”, but plenty of other magic too, all of it finding its way to vinyl for the first time (some tracks appeared on compact disc via the compilations A Kiss and A Cuddle [Bus Stop, 1996] and Songs For Girls to Sing [Drive-In, 1997]). Remarkably, The Cat’s Miaow have also recently released a split single with Rocketship featuring newly recorded material and returned to the stage for their second-ever gig.

But this double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing – some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you’re likely to hear.

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1 - Side A
How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up?
Make A Wish
Hollow Inside (original Cassette Version)
Faded (original Cassette Version)
Not Like I Was Doing Anything (original Cassette Version)
Disappointed
I Wanted None Of This
Fire Damage
Halo

Disc 1 - Side B
From My Window
Aurora
It Might Never Happen
Nothing's Ever Quite That Simple
Brighter Star
The Phoebe I Know (original Cassette Version)
Little And Small
Sleepyhead
Dust From A Memory
A 50s Ballad
A Few Words
From My Window

Disc 2 - Side C
Pet Sounds
Third Floor Fire Escape View (original Cassette Version)
You Left A Note On The Table (original Cassette Version)
Short Sighted (original Cassette Version)
I Hate Myself More Than You Do
Talking To Trees
Ice Cream
Saviour For The Hurrying Man
Ferry No. 6

Disc 2 - Side D
Little Baby Sour Puss
Nothing New (original Cassette Version)
Climb My Stairs (original Cassette Version)
Autumn (original Cassette Version)
I Really Don’t Know (original Cassette Version)
Sunday
Memphis ‘54
Walk On By
Georgie

Loved is the third album by the British band Cranes, released in 1994. Siblings Alison and Jim Shaw formed the band back in 1989. They recorded several successful albums, including the 1991 Wings Of Joy and 1994 Loved. Loved combines elements of alternative rock, shoegaze, dream-pop, and darkwave. Their gothic elements made a return, while they retained the feeling of their previous album Forever. It was another artistic experience, with nicely orchestrated and constructed songs.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Shining Road
Pale Blue Sky
Rêverie
Lilies
Are You Gone?

Side B
Loved
Beautiful Friend
Bewildered
Come This Far
Paris And Rome
In The Night (Hidden Track)

Dea Matrona have always been an exciting proposition. A duo that pushes boundaries of genres in an authentic yet nostalgic way, their debut album ‘For Your Sins’ bestows a passion project like no other. An album that bridges together an intoxicating blend of indie pop and rock with superb sophistication, influences from Fleetwood Mac, HAIM, The White Stripes and Arctic Monkeys drench through. From the thumping and prowling ‘So Damn Dangerous’ to the whimsical pop wonder ‘Every Night I Want You’, the low strums of ‘Black Rain’ to the country swing of ‘Won’t Feel Like This Forever’, it delivers a slice of everything. Easily a Dea Matrona classic for long-time fans but the perfect introduction for newcomers, it is set to draw one and all into Dea Matrona’s infectious aura.

Dea Matrona say about the album: “It’s a record about trying to find ourselves & failing over & over again until we realised that part of the fun of being in Dea Matrona is that we’ll never really know who we are or what we want to say”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stuck On You
2. Stamp On It
3. Red Button
4. Every Night I Want You
5. So Damn Dangerous
6. Glory, Glory (am I Free)
7. Wilderness
8. Did Nobody Ever Love You?
9. Won't Feel Like This Forever
10. Dead Man's Heart
11. Get My Mind Off
12. Black Rain

Part of the Leeds UK art/music scene in the late 70s that launched the Gang Of Four and the Mekons, Delta 5 were signed to Rough Trade after only a few months in existence, and released their first single recording "Mind Your Own Business" in 1979. No less an authority than legendary BBC Radio DJ John Peel received an advance copy of the single and played it twice that same night. He then requested that the band do a session for him and the band was officially on its way. Relentless gigging with the Gang Of Four, Echo And The Bunnymen, B52s, Specials, Teardrop Explodes, and U2 put the band on the map worldwide. They continued touring and recording until various members departed in late 1981, when they recorded one last single and then broke up for good in 1982.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Mind Your Own Business
2. Now That You've Gone
3. Anticipation
4. You
5. Try
6. Colour
7. Delta 5
8. Make Up

Side 2
1. Triangle
2. Innocenti
3. Train Song
4. Final Scene
5. Singing The Praises
6. Shadow
7. Circuit
8. Journey

From the furnaces of Stoke-On-Trent comes the super-limited debut EP from Formal Sppeedwear, a wonky new wave teacup ready to be sipped.

Taking creative cues from Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies and Conny Plank’s experimental recording techniques to flesh out synthpop-oriented melodies, the EP stomps along with Scary Monsters-era Bowie guitar lines, early 80s Numan basslines and surreal lyrics - “Ready, set on my mark: Tesco Extra, Marks and Sparks” cries Clewlow on 6 Lofty Ash. There’s a versatility to the tracks; with the jolting staccato of The Line counter punched by EP closer and highlight Dismount’s soaring synth slow burn.

Defying the seas of young musicians moving to London and Manchester to find their path, Beck Clewlow (Bass, Vocals, Synthesisers) Charlie Ball (Guitar, synthesisers), and Connor Wells (Drums, Guitar, Synthesisers) stuck it out in Stoke, using the city as a blank canvas - devoting their spare time to writing and experimenting, building their own studio out of charity shop finds and cash-converter synths and recording equipment.

Out in the creative wilderness of Staffordshire there’s a healthy DIY scene brewing with bands waiting to make their mark; fly posting their own shows, making one-off merch for each gig, sharing lineups with one another. “There is no sense of geographical confinement here, there’s a wealth of talent who act indifferently to their surroundings. It’s particularly nice that some of our friends from here are starting to receive attention from elsewhere” say the band. As fellow locals University and Christian Music start to garner attention from the rest of the UK, it’s time for Formal Sppeedwear to follow suit.

Stoke-on-Trent might not be the first place you’d look to find your favourite new band - The Bootleg Beatles are one of its finest exports if you ask Google - but Formal Sppeedwear are here to show you the kilns are alright.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bunto
2. 6 Lofty Ash
3. The Line
4. Dismount

Following their critically acclaimed 2019 debut album Unfurl, Hidden Notes Records are happy to announce the release of the multi-award-nominated experimental/contemporary folk string duo Fran & Flora’s sophomore full-length album, Precious Collection.

Released on Friday 12th April 2024, this album, produced by the duo themselves, explodes in myriad directions expressing the richness of the long-standing collaboration between Francesca Ter-Berg (cello/vocals/electronics) and Flora Curzon (violin/vocals/electronics). With Klezmer and Yiddish song as the predominant inspiration for the record, Precious Collection defies convention, featuring self-penned tunes and unique arrangements pushing their ground-breaking project beyond their virtuosic string playing. Drummers Ursula Russell (Snapped Ankles, Alabaster DePlume) and Simon Roth (Chris Potter, Alice Zawadzki, Adrian Dunbar) feature on the record on full kit and Ukrainian Poik (marching drum) respectively, and Francesca and Flora experiment with bowed cymbals, extended piano techniques, and samples of found sounds.The album was recorded in three different locations - Total Refreshment Centre (London), Big Jelly Studios (Ramsgate) and Great North Sound Society (Maine, USA).

The music of Fran & Flora sits in two camps, both steeped in tradition, with material drawn directly from archival recordings, recovered manuscripts and years of study with traditional music masters, whilst simultaneously garnering a contemporary and avant-garde aesthetic, speaking to the more classical and experimental listener. Fran & Flora inject their source material with drones, loops, free improvisation and electronics to create a ‘border-defying’ (Mojo) sound. Their influences range across a wide spectrum of artists and composers from Silver Mt.Zion to Rhiannon Giddens, Lankum, Brìghde Chaimbeul, Colin Stetson, Adrienne Lenker, Shabaka Hutchings and Mica Levi.

TRACK LISTING

1. Nudity
2. Romanian Fantasies II
3. New Beginnings
4. Fishelekh Gefinen - To Catch A Fish
5. Nign
6. Dobriden-Hamanul
7. Kick Up In 9
8. Feygele - Little Bird
9. Flowers For Innocence
10. Yikhes - Lineage (Donia IV)
11. Hold Me Close
12. Sholem Aleichem 

After two critically acclaimed albums (2020’s ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’ and 2022’s ‘The Rest Is Distraction’), and numerous mini-album, EP and single releases, London-based trio Girls In Synthesis return with their new statement; their third album ‘Sublimation’.

If you thought you knew GIS, think again… they have moved on and created a dark and intense, yet melodic, collection of songs; their take on an angular pop record. Opening song ‘Lights Out’ is split into two distinct sections; the opening a Barrett-esque vocal and guitar lament to sleep deprived anxiety which morphs, via a ‘Faust Tapes’ influenced freeform noise section, into a stomping, high intensity closing blitz.

Tracks such as ‘Deceit’, ‘We Are Here’ and ‘Picking Things Out Of The Air’ see the group at their most melodic to date, minimising some of the chaotic noise elements of their signature sound and bringing to the fore impassioned, soaring vocals and keys melodies. Their trademark, driving drums and bass foundation is particularly evident on songs ‘I Judge Myself’ and ‘Corrupting Memories’, but is counterbalanced by intense, early goth influenced keyboard lines, bringing influences from late 1970s/early 1980s into focus with the contemporary GIS intensity. Slow-burning tracks ‘I Was Never There’ and ‘The Prefix’ build up tension and atmosphere with sparse arrangements and circular, spiralling outros, while closer ‘A Damning Lesson’ sees the band return to their intense, bludgeoning wall of sound only to send it into a blur of echoing drum machine, reminiscent of the early work of Cabaret Voltaire.

Lyrically, GIS prove themselves head and shoulders above their contemporaries, leaving the pastiche sloganeering and lecturing to those wishing to preach to the converted, and reach inside to bring forth poetic and challenging analysis of the anxiety and emotional turmoil of self-reflection and human relationships. Booked in for extensive UK/EU touring throughout May and June, the band will be adapting their white-heat live show to bring subtlety and clarity to the new songs from ‘Sublimation’, losing none of their unique and intense performance in the process. Be ready…

TRACK LISTING

Lights Out
Deceit
Semblance Of Choice
We Are Here
Corrupting Memories
I Was Never There
Picking Things Out Of The Air
I Judge Myself
Subtle Differences
The Prefix
A Damning Lesson

Warning, Green Day's 6th studio album, was released in 2000 and continued the remarkable run of successful releases for the band following Dookie, Insomniac and Nimrod.

The album blends the band's usual punk rock sound with pop, folk and acoustic elements. Hit singles from Warning include "Minority" and "Macy's Day Parade".

Expanded 30th Anniversary Edition of Kristin Hersh’s stunning debut album, which includes b-sides, string versions and lyrics and sleeve notes by Kristin.

TRACK LISTING

CD1:
1. Your Ghost
2. Beestung
3. Teeth
4. Sundrops
5. Sparky
6. Houdini Blues
7. A Loon
8. Velvet Days
9. Close Your Eyes
10. Me And My Charms
11. Tuesday Night
12. The Letter
13. Lurch
14. The Cuckoo
15. Hips And Makers

CD2:
1. Hysterical Bending
2. The Key
3. Uncle June And Aunt Kiyoti
4. When The Levee Breaks
5. A Loon (String Version)
6. Sundrops (String Version)
7. Me And My Charms (String Version)
8. Velvet Days (String Version)
9. The Key (String Version)
10. Velvet Days (String Version - Instrumental)

Yeah x 3 - Sonic Boom and Panda Bear Reset Remix & Instrumental Remix:
Two masters of modern day psychedelia fire the original into outer space to create a head spinning, foot stomping analogue space walk of a track.

Yeah x 3 - The Vendetta Suite:
On the Reason to Live mix, Belfast’s Balearic producer The Vendetta Suite turns back time and turns Yeah x 3 into a brilliantly shimmering ’80s pop anthem from an alternate universe.
Elsewhere, the Reason to Drift version is a gorgeous beatless ambient track that sounds like first light through stained glass windows.

TRACK LISTING

A1/ Yeah X 3 - Sonic Boom & Panda Bear Reset Remix
A2/ Yeah X 3 - Sonic Boom & Panda Bear Reset Instrumental
B1/ Yeah X 3 - The Vendetta Suite Reason To Drift Mix
B2/ Yeah X 3 - The Vendetta Suite Reason To Live Mix

Yeah x3 - X-Press 2 Remix & Dub
Rocky and Diesel’s remix is a deep techno stomp that flickers with the occasional celestial vocal sample, before slowly opening out into a hypnotic middle section that’s guaranteed to make people lose themselves on the dance floor.

Yeah x3 - Rich Lane Remix & Dub
Producer Rich Lane gives Yeah x 3 a hefty chugging bassline and a simple, irresistible acid loop for a mix that builds towards a massive hands in the air ambient breakdown before returning with more chug and more acid.

TRACK LISTING

A1/ Yeah X 3 - X-Press 2 Remix
A2/ Yeah X 3 - X-Press 2 Remix Dub
B1/ Yeah X 3 - Rich Lane Remix
B2/ Yeah X 3 - Rich Lane Remix Dub

‘Inevitable Incredible’ is a brand-new studio album that sees Kelly writing primarily on the piano for the first time. Recorded on a remote island in Norway, the forthcoming album see’s Kelly step away from the comfort of Stereophonics and explore emotion and vulnerability. Recorded in just 6 days, the album features 8 incredibly evocative cinematic songs, all with live vocal & piano plus stunning orchestral strings.

TRACK LISTING

1. Inevitable Incredible
2. Turn Bad Into Good
3. Time's Running Away
4. Echowrecked
5. Sometimes You Fly Like The Wind
6. Monsters In The House
7. May I Come Home From My War
8. The Beast Will Be What The Beast Will Be

Noah Kahan on Cape Elizabeth –
“And that EP in particular is such a special story, because it was right at the beginning of the pandemic, and I just made it with my neighbour, a friend of mine, who’s an amazing producer.

We worked on it for a week, and we didn’t really promote it too much — and it kind of became “Stick Season” before “Stick Season” in a lot of ways.

It was a study on a place and a relationship in a place, and it was the first time I’d experimented with telling a story that felt like it had an overarching narrative.

And it was also the first time that I let myself just not care about how it sounded at the end. Whatever the process was, I just wanted it to make me happy. And to see it connect with people really inspired me to write “Stick Season.”

It kind of gave me the confidence to be like, “All right, this niche-specific storytelling stuff can actually connect with people in a more universal way.” I really owe it all to that EP, and it’s still probably my favorite piece of work I’ve made. I just love it.”

Within six days and “without overthinking anything,” Noah Kahan completed the five-track Cape Elizabeth EP which has amassed 200M streams. See the newly repackaged Cape Elizabeth Aqua vinyl as Noah’s “thank you to the fans who stuck around, came to shows, watched my livestreams, and listened.” The vinyl features fan favorite songs “A Troubled Mind”, “Glue Myself Shut” and “Maine”.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Troubled Mind
2. Close Behind
3. Glue Myself Shut
4. Anyway
5. Maine

The second-ever release by Louisville legends (and venerable Drag City recording artists) King Kong.

This record is the centrepiece of Ethan Buckler’s high concept ‘blues’ trilogy that began with King Kong’s ‘Movie Star’ debut single (later reissued on Drag City) and concluded with the band’s debut LP, ‘The Old Man on the Bridge’.

Here, a power-trio lineup plays a triad of perfect songs and, in so doing, saves rock and roll from being ‘Albinized’.

In Conflict zine, Gerard Cosloy described this era of King Kong thusly: “King Kong have an almost unnatural understanding of the relationship between the various instruments. Or, as The Frogs would say: ‘That was a good drum break.’” You need this record.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Boy
2. The Man
3. The Birdy Song

Legendary Swiss punk band from the late 70s - "You can't dispute Liliput's status as pioneers of feminist art-punk - Along with fellow travelers like the Slits and the Raincoats, this (mostly) female Swiss group took advantage of punk's anything-goes attitude and created jittery, spirited pop that was both in step with the times and completely singular The early material is a riot of exuberant energy, taking stylistic cues from peers like Gang of Four and Wire-- propulsive bass, skittering pop rhythms, slashing guitars-- and adding distinctive overlapping vocal patterns, which are sung, shrieked, and hiccupped in three languages and made- up dadaistic slang. More than 20 years on, it still sounds fresh." - Lisa Gidley

TRACK LISTING

1. Ain't You
2. Beri-Beri
3. Madness
4. Krimi
5. 1978
6. Nighttoad
7. Hedi's Head
8. U
9. You
10. Nice
11. DC-10
12. Die Matrosen
13. Split
14. Hitch Hike
15. Eisiger Wind
16. Igel Turk
17. Wig- Wam
18. Thmlerdoll
19. Tisko
20. Turn The Table
21. Dolly Dollar
22. I Had A Dream
23. When The Cat's Away

Cathartic avant-rock, literate DIY folk & experimental composition exploring displacement, love, climate change, belonging & the places we call home - RIYL Jim O’Rourke, Richard Youngs, This Heat, Richard Dawson, Flying Nun.

‘Real Home’ is the new album by the Manchester-born, London-based artist Kiran Leonard. His sixth album proper (not including innumerable tour-only CD-Rs and short-run cassettes), since his precocious debut in 2013, ‘Real Home’ finds Leonard invigorated by inspiration and experience, making passionate, literate, and mercurial music that explores displacement, love, memory, climate change, connections to home and more.

Encompassing songs recorded after moving to South London, ‘Real Home’ reflects on ideas of belonging and domesticity through folkloric, stream-of-consciousness songwriting. Across nine tracks, Leonard traces lived impressions of the household and the city, expressing sentiments of dislocation, alienation and stasis, but contentment too.

Infusing the avant-rock effervescence, terraced dynamics and visionary lyricism of his music with what he defines as a greater sense of openness, Leonard is as versatile, fervent and imaginative as ever on ‘Real Home’, yet his music is somehow more intimate, affecting, and acutely expressive. Shaped by dual considerations of simplicity and formalism, ‘Real Home’ is by turns beautiful, allusive, and ruminative, an album on which Leonard considers what his songs have resembled in the past and what they mean now.

In recent years, Leonard has crafted eloquent chamber music inspired by the likes of James Joyce and Clarice Lispector (‘Derevaun Seraun’), responded to contemporary politics and communication breakdown in the digital age (‘Western Culture’), and compiled solo works and ensemble recordings for a longform ode to Jonas Mekas and to one of Leonard’s enduring themes; home (‘Trespass On Foot’).

On ‘Real Home’, Leonard reiterates this abiding thematic focus yet ascends to new, different heights, in music of cathartic delicacy and dissonance where all the myriad dimensions of his work to date seem to crystallize.

There are sinuous songs about struggle and defying the pace of city life through drift and diversion (‘Pass Between Houses’), stirring songs of intense feeling and crescendo, described as a form of speculative detective fiction (‘Theatre for Change’). There are touching solo piano ballads (the title track), symbolic contentions with carbon capture and climate change (‘Utopia of Bog’), modes of experimental minimalism (‘Void Attentive’), and other profuse feats of compositional range, embroidered with wild tendrils of narrative and lyrical depth. A record to pore over, and get lost in.

Exemplifying the vast aesthetic scope of Leonard’s music, lead single ‘My Love, Let’s Take The Stage Tonight’ is inspired by country lodestar Hank Williams, Russian poetry and a late period love poem by William Carlos Williams. Yet for Leonard, the song signals a sense of accessible materiality, and is the product of a more linear approach to writing songs:

“My imitation of the great Hank Williams, in spirit if not in substance…This is one of the best efforts on Real Home at a song-as-object. Looking at it now I realise I was trying to write a song that made itself known as a song to the listener, and I wonder whether that’s crucial if you want a song to transcend its context. And that this is either accomplished through a total openness – by being inviting, by laying the tricks of the song out plain to see, as Williams and his many ghostwriters did so well – or by adopting a knowing aloofness, positioning oneself against the listener but letting it be known that that’s what it’s doing. In this song I try both, but mostly the former: as in, I wanted to write a song where every line follows on from the next.”

Imbuing the endlessly elaborate and inventive qualities of his music with a newfound streak of candid, clear-cut melodicism, Leonard has reached a special place in his artistry, on a record that feels familial, and expresses closeness. Assembled with affiliates including Lauren Auder, Otto Willberg, Jasper Llewellyn (caroline), Tom Hardwick-Allan (Shovel Dance Collective), Magda McLean (caroline, The Umlauts), Alex Mckenzie (caroline, Shovel Dance Collective), Isabelle Thorn (Dear Laika) & more, the recording process had a significant influence on the subject matter of ‘Real Home’, in sessions defined by close-knit camaraderie and artistic eccentricity:

“The theme of the home obviously recurs throughout the record; the album was mostly recorded in domestic spaces with friends, and the name of the album is Real Home. I like the qualifier ‘real’, like you’re getting past the cloak of the word and towards the thing-itself…[also] nearly all the percussion in this record was recorded on items from my dad’s shed (jam jars, sandpaper, blocks of wood, etc). Real home record!”

‘Real Home’, like anything by Kiran Leonard, is a record of dazzling multiplicity. Yet it’s a companionable prospect with a central premise; a collection of songs where listeners old and new can find a home. An album led by a scene; of Leonard standing at the threshold, ready to welcome you inside.

TRACK LISTING

1. Pass Between Houses
2. Theatre For Change
3. Real Home
4. Treat Me A Stranger
5. Utopia Of Bog
6. Void Attentive
7. My Love, Let's Take The Stage Tonight
8. The Kiss
9. He Had Always Led

Inspired by Dua’s own self-discovery, Radical Optimism is an album that taps into the pure joy and happiness of having clarity in situations that once seemed impossible to face. The hard goodbyes and vulnerable beginnings that previously threatened to crush your soul, become milestones as you choose optimism and start to move with grace through the chaos.

Infused with the energy of Dua’s hometown, London, the attitude of the album embodies the rawness, honesty, confidence and freedom of ‘90s Britpop. Radical Optimism transports its listener to a dreamy pop world rich in musicality, lyrically unapologetic and sonically liberating.

The 3x GRAMMY and 7x Brit Award-winning global pop powerhouse worked with a team of core collaborators throughout the project including Caroline Ailin, Danny L. Harle, Tobias Jesso Jr. and Kevin Parker.

TRACK LISTING

1. End Of An Era
2. Houdini
3. Training Season
4. These Walls
5. Whatcha Doing
6. French Exit
7. Illusion
8. Falling Forever
9. Anything For Love
10. Maria
11. Happy For You

In the secret history of indie-punk, Love Child were the missing link between Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and Bikini Kill. “[O]ne of Gotham’s most mercurial bands, able to leap from twee pop tunes to galvanizing skronkadelic constructs in a single bound.” - Trouser Press.

This, Love Child’s debut release, features shredding guitar (by future Drag City recording artist / author Alan Licht), cheeky lyrics, teen angst, proto-riot grrl, Ubu references, and songs that get way inside your skin and don’t let go. Plus: an incredible full-colour picture sleeve by Rudolph Grey.

TRACK LISTING

Limited edition silver vinyl anniversary reissue of the Magnetic Fields’ classic 1999 rumination on, of course, love. Funny, smart, dark, memorable, and a lifetime’s worth of listening. Stephin Merritt solidifies his songwriting genius on his “most ambitious and fully realized work.” (AMG)

This vinyl reissue is remastered for vinyl and beautifully packaged in a 10” slipcase box with three double gatefold sleeves and a 24 page booklet!

TRACK LISTING

1 Absolutely Cuckoo (1:34)
2 I Don't Believe In The Sun (4:16)
3 All My Little Words (2:46)
4 A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off (2:41)
5 Reno Dakota (1:05)
6 I Don't Want To Get Over You (2:22)
7 Come Back From San Francisco (2:48)
8 The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side (3:43)
9 Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits (2:25)
10 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be (1:11)
11 I Think I Need A New Heart (2:32)
12 The Book Of Love (2:42)
13 Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long (2:33)
14 How Fucking Romantic (0:58)
15 The One You Really Love (2:53)
16 Punk Love (0:58)
17 Parades Go By (2:56)
18 Boa Constrictor (0:58)
19 A Pretty Girl Is Like (1:50)
20 My Sentimental Melody (3:07)
21 Nothing Matters When We're Dancing (2:27)
22 Sweet-Lovin' Man (4:59)
23 The Things We Did And Didn't Do (2:11)
24 Roses (0:27)
25 Love Is Like Jazz (2:56)
26 When My Boy Walks Down The Street (2:38)
27 Time Enough For Rocking When We're Old (2:03)
28 Very Funny (1:26)
29 Grand Canyon (2:28)
30 No One Will Ever Love You (3:14)
31 If You Don't Cry (3:07)
32 You're My Only Home (2:17)
33 (Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy (2:18)
34 My Only Friend (2:01)
35 Promises Of Eternity (3:46)
36 World Love (3:07)
37 Washington, D.C. (1:53)
38 Long-Forgotten Fairytale (3:37)
39 Kiss Me Like You Mean It (2:01)
40 Papa Was A Rodeo (5:01)
41 Epitaph For My Heart (2:50)
42 Asleep And Dreaming (1:53)
43 The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing (2:46)
44 The Way You Say Good-Night (2:44)
45 Abigail, Belle Of Kilronan (2:00)
46 I Shatter (3:09)
47 Underwear (2:49)
48 It's A Crime (3:54)
49 Busby Berkeley Dreams (3:36)
50 I'm Sorry I Love You (3:06)
51 Acoustic Guitar (2:37)
52 The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure (3:10)
53 Love In The Shadows (2:54)
54 Bitter Tears (2:51)
55 Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget (1:55)
56 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (2:19)
57 Experimental Music Love (0:29)
58 Meaningless (2:08)
59 Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin (1:46)
60 Queen Of The Savages (2:12)
61 Blue You (3:03)
62 I Can't Touch You Anymore (3:05)
63 Two Kinds Of People (1:10)
64 How To Say Goodbye (2:48)
65 The Night You Can't Remember (2:17)
66 For We Are The King Of The Boudoir (1:14)
67 Strange Eyes (2:01)
68 Xylophone Track (2:47)
69 Zebra (2:15)

Mammoth Penguins are a 3-piece indie powerhouse, showcasing the songwriting and vocal talents of Emma Kupa (Standard Fare) backed up by the noisiest rhythm section in indie pop.

May 2024 sees the release of their fourth album Here on Fika Recordings. After 2019’s big, bold and confident There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win, and the initial shock of the global pandemic cancelling a trip to SXSW in 2020, the band returned to the studio in the summer of 2021 to start recording.

The new record leans into a raw pop-punk power-trio sound more than ever, with a deep growl in layered guitars and bursts of percussion and harmony. The songs and artwork explore themes about finding a place for yourself and familiarity with people and places. Although it turns back towards a classic three-piece sound, the band weren’t restricted by that palette, adding finishing touches of percussion, extra guitars and backing vocals in short bursts in a garden shed, and also bringing in gorgeous strings to sweeten the title track.

The sound builds on the band’s first album, Hide and Seek, which was released with the much-loved and sorely missed Fortuna POP! in 2015. The follow-up LP John Doe in 2017 was an ambitious concept album, exploring the feelings of loss and anger at a man who fakes his own death only to return years later, expanding well beyond the 3-piece rock‘n’roll template, with washes of strings, synths and samples.

The ‘Penguins have been smashing it at some high-profile support slots in the lead up to this album release, including at Allo Darlin’s joyous reunion at Islington Assembly Hall (Oct 2023) and Muncie Girls last ever London show (Dec 2023). They play the Leicester Indiepop all-dayer and Wales Goes Pop in March, before heading out on tour in support of the new album in May.

Those big singalong choruses need your voice shouting back from the crowd with joy and defiance.

Mammoth Penguins are Emma Kupa (guitar, vocals), Mark Boxall (bass, vocals) and Tom Barden (drums, vocals). Reminiscent of the pop melodies of The Beths, the indie dissonance of Land of Talk, and the guitar forward slacker rock of Weezer, Mammoth Penguins marry heart-ache indiepop with spiky guitars and Emma’s frank confessional songwriting.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Species
A2. I Know The Signs
A3. Flyers
A4. Blue Plaque
A5. Everything That I Write
A6. Here
B1. Nothing And Everything
B2. Help Yourself
B3. Old Friends
B4. Lost Friends
B5. Success
B6. A Plea For Kindness

A band who have justifiably been championed across the world, Tokyo’s Melt-Banana have been responsible for some of the most complex punk rock ever made … that far outshines ninety-nine percent of most other bands out there. The band once described their live show as “Shooting machine gun and laser beam, chaos in order.” And I think that pretty much sums them up. — Olli Siebelt, BBC No wave without the self-conscious pretension, avant garde composition compressed into one-minute-or-less bursts, urgency, intricate destruction, pure glorious abandon. Melt-Banana play the same way that Repulsion, Naked City, The Ruins, or The Boredoms all make you want to scream and dance and kill your neighbors. This is not music that we are conditioned to accept. This is you delirious with joy scraping your five senses off the floor. —Matthew Moyer, Ink19 Melt-Banana are in a league of their own. There are other extreme hardcore bands out there who are experimental and unique but Melt-Banana are more than that. They area giants amongst infants. Masters amongst pupils. Kings amongst serfs. Nobody can do what they do and nobody can adequately use words to describe them. —Jeb, Crass Menagerie

Nourished By Time won the hearts of everyone at Piccadilly HQ last year with his debut LP "Erotic Probiotic", which later appeared in many other End Of Year lists (we're were there first though ;) - Ed).

The "Catching Chickens EP" - marking his signing to XL Recordings - sees the singular Baltimore artist further cement his stylistically eccentric; lyrically poignant brand of songwriting even further with five tracks that could only have emanated from his own astral plane.

Written between 2022 - 2023 in his home studio in Baltimore, "Catching Chickens" takes inspiration from the iconic scene in Rocky II where his trainer makes him chase and catch chickens as a test of agility. With tracks like “Hell of a Ride”, in which Nourished By Time contemplates the fall of the American empire and late-stage capitalism loneliness, and “Had Ya Called”, which deals with the frustrations of growing distance in friendships, Nourished By Time chronicles his own test of agility as he weaves through the motions of his newfound notability.

“Hand On Me”, complete with music video shot by Josh Renaut, explores paranoia that corrodes love and trust in a traumatic relationship. As he puts it, 'the video is about being reminded that you’re an angel by other angels, featuring a surrealist commentary on celebrity culture'.

As we've quickly come to expect, NBT has no problems laying bare his own truth with painstaking honesty; and thankfully he's seen no desire to change the production process on this outing, with a DIY take on freestyle, soul, RnB and boogie built around a humble collection of synths and drum machines. It's a beautifully succinct, well-rounded follow up to "Erotic Probiotic" which should see him expand his cult adored fan base and rachet up a whole heap of accolades as the year progresses. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Highly antipated by us all here at Picc HQ. One of the hottest acts of 2023 follows up with a killer EP further cementing his unique songwriting prowess. We love you Marcus!

TRACK LISTING

1. Hell Of A Ride
2. Hand On Me
3. Poison-Soaked
4. Had Ya Called
5. Romance In Me

Hello and welcome to Cult Value, the new album from Manchester-based band Oort Clod, released by Safe Suburban Home in the UK and Repeating Cloud in the US this April. We are very excited to introduce this mercurial and unique collection of songs. The album includes garage stompers such as “#7”, off-kilter indie whining like the title track “Cult Value”, perfect indie pop songs like ‘Car Talk’ and much more.

Featuring members of Unpaid Intern, the Hipshakes, Jeuce and the Early Mornings, Oort Clod was originally conceived by songwriter Patrick Glen as a fluid project with shifting members. Over the course of pandemic-era practices above the empty Peer Hat pub (the epicentre of DIY music making in Manchester) the current line-up solidified. In 2021 Oort Clod released a split E.P. with fellow Manchester band Priceless Bodies, pursuing a darker and more experimental sound. The EP received international airplay including BBC6 Music and KSFX.

After playing gigs with bands like Porridge Radio, Jeffrey Lewis, and Garden Centre and even more practices above the Peer Hat, Oort Clod have mounted up once more to make Cult Value.

The album’s sound is hard to pin down but it is Oort Clod’s most accessible and complete work so far. The band finds common ground in the alternative rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, the post-punk and indie bands on Flying Nun Records and trashy compilations of post-British Invasion 60s garage gems like Nuggets. All of which come through, warped by Oort Clod’s particular sensibility, on this record made at Delicious Clam studios in Sheffield under the watchful eye of Ed Crisp. You’ll even get their cover of ? &the Mysterians “96 Tears”—rated the best ever cover of the song by the Blanketing Covers podcast, beating Jonathan Richman, Aretha Franklin, the Stranglers and Suicide (this actually exists, honestly).

So there you have it the short and sweet lowdown on the new album Cult Value by Oort Clod. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as they did making it and spread the good word as you see fit. Good luck in your endeavours and take care.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Lake
2. #7
3. Car Talk
4. Cult Value
5. Politicians' Eyes
6. AC Greed
7. Paper Cuts
8. Wrong Attention
9. 96 Tears
10. Imagination
11. Inner Rat

Hailing from a place of ancient mariners' secret coves and vast moors beaten by the wind and rain, Backwater Collage is James Hoare's first solo album under the name of Penny Arcade.

Despite leaving London for the West country he grew up in, the Englishman is no stranger to the scene. He has been wandering around as if awakened from a long, not-so-peaceful sleep for some time now. You have most probably come across his washed-out blue eyes several times, in projects including Veronica Falls, The Proper Ornaments and Ultimate Painting.

For this dreamy, hand-stitched record, Hoare has taken his time. Maybe because he had to rescue his songs from various recording sessions tinged with a number of mishaps he amusedly admits he is accustomed to: broken multitracks, failing tape machines, rarely available drummers living in the capital. The eleven intimate and solitary songs which make up the album, delivered in the greatest home recording tradition, are nonetheless cautiously produced. James unfurls pure, uncluttered melodies in which his gentle, melancholic voice mingles with smooth, warm vocals by Nathalia Bruno. Barely saturated guitar solos sometimes disrupt the clear, unpolished musical line. Hopping onboard, longtime friend Max Claps has added keyboard parts which manage to embrace the minimal nostalgia of the tracks while preventing any teary pathos. Similar to Jack Name or Syd Barrett – only less psychedelic – in terms of songwriting and stripped back atmosphere, Hoare is sitting on the Velvet Underground's black-and-white sofa and gives his album a subter- ranean feel. At times restless but light-footed, deprived of any unnecessary effects, the record follows in the steps of a less noisy but just as raw and unadorned Jesus and Mary Chain.

With Backwater Collage, alone at the helm under a stormy sky, James Hoare invites his listeners to s ettle in the sheltered comfort of a cup of tea.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Jona
A2. Don’t Cry No Tears
A3. Want You Around
A4. Dear John
A5. Prodigal Son
A6. When The Feeling Is Gone
B1. Black Cloud
B2. Mr. Softie
B3. Dennis
B4. Garage Instrumental
B5. One More

On her fourth album, west coast artist Jessica Pratt expands the scope of her artistry, placing her sharpest songs to date within an ever-broadening pool of influences including spectral '60s pop, Hollywood psychedelia and bossa nova. Whereas Pratt's 2019 record, Quiet Signs, floated elegantly in the ether, Here in the Pitch is entrenched in more earthen characteristics, as the title suggests, and her craft is emboldened with a newfound gravitas.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Here In The Pitch' takes Jessica Pratt's established sound (brittle folk and slow country balladry) and widens the net into slow hazy pop and soaring widescreen songwriting. Though she's not moved away from the more minimalistic pieces, there are a lot more moments of both jubilance and fear, it's a beautifully crafted and intensely personal creation.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1 Life Is
A2 Better Hate
A3 World On A String
A4 Get Your Head Out
A5 By Hook Or By Crook

Side B
B1 Nowhere It Was
B2 Empires Never Know
B3 Glances
B4 The Last Year

Across the ten tracks on Jess Ribeiro’s incoming new album ‘Summer of Love’, she traverses isolation, loss, tiny snatches of love, expectation versus reality, once-in-a-century pandemics and healing. It was written and recorded during a particularly unstable time, with Ribeiro living in nine different houses across a two year period, including six months in a church outside of the city, “That instability affected my mental health, ”she says. It also created the spark for her fourth album, on which she transfixes audiences as she digs deep into the present, past, and wanted future.

The first demos for Summer of Love were put down at a solar-powered shack by Jess with her friend and musical collaborator Dave Mudie (Courtney Barnett, Super American Eagle), an experience that wasn’t without excitement: “We used all the solar power trying to record. It ended with us around a fire for the rest of the night, terrified that the boars were going to get us.”

From there, she recorded the album with Nick Huggins on Wautharong Country in Point Lonsdale, with special guests Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White,) on drums, Darcy McNulty on saxophone, folk-diviner Leah Senior on keys, James Seymour on bass, Davie Mudie taking percussion duties, Carrie Webster’s violin and viola, and Huggins himself chipping in on bass, tape and drum loops, synth, guitars and piano. The way in which the album came together with her collaborators - separately, but towards the same north star - is where the beauty in the work is experienced. “It was improvised and experimental, musicians could only visit on eat a time due to the restrictions, half of the musicians never even came to the studio”.

TRACK LISTING

1. Maybe If I Wore Sunglasses Inside I Won’t Feel Tired
2. Everything Is Now
3. The Trees & Me
4. Paradise
5. Jump The Gun
6. Airborne
7. Helicopter
8. Summer Of Love
9. Wake In Fright
10. Howl

Castle Face is proud to present Dan Rincon’s (OSEES, Wild Thing, Apache, Personal and the Pizzas) premier solo release Spotlight City.

Artificial landscapes and melodies comprised of Moog Grandmother, Mellotron and a kinky Modular system span from beautiful and lilting to haunting and etherial. The album was a years long learning experience of getting all components and ingredients to link arms and blend comfortably. Wrangling was part of the process. Strings soaring and sines weaving. Sometimes in the atmosphere, sometimes in the Earth’s core, sometimes flanked by neon blur as it hums & weave patterns through a world imagined in vintage sci-fi pulp.

“I was listening to a lot of solo Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler records while writing this record and I’d say that both have been hugely inspirational on what I want to do as a solo recording artist. The way both of those of those artist pushed the early, chaotic electronic music into something more melodic is really inspiring to me, it’s not that dissimilar than trying to get melodies out of a modular synthesizer.”

An absolute necessary slab for anyone a fan of CF, OSEES, Popol Vuh soundtracks , 8 bit video game accompaniment & 80s Tangerine Dream. Burn one and burn out.

For fans of: Nick Hackim, D’angelo, Dijon. "Steven is the sound of me holding a mirror up to and critically reflecting on who I am: the good, the bad, the ugly. It's about trying to understand the multitudes within me." - S. Raekwon. Steven Raekwon Reynolds performs as S. Raekwon, but his second LP is simply called Steven. Across ten tracks of furious and subtly strumming guitars, plodding bass riffs, and whispering revelations, S. Raekwon's newest album strips back sonic and personal layers to present his most vulnerable, yet authentic self.

Born in Buffalo and now based in the East Village of New York City, Steven wrote, produced, engineered, and mixed everything on the record, in addition to playing every instrument except the drums. He packed up a rental car with all his gear and returned to his fiancée's parents' home in Southern Illinois, where they rode out the pandemic and where he recorded half of Where I'm at Now. The house proved to be a nontraditional recording space, but one that provided plenty of physical space as well as spiritual room for experimentation.

Steven and drummer Mario Malachi, longtime friends since their days at college in Cleveland, Ohio, spent a week in July 2023 transforming the living room into a make-shift studio, rearranging furniture, sitting face-to-face in front of a mic, and taping songs in single takes. It was a new way of working together, with no demoing or pre-production; Mario hadn't even heard the songs before getting there, which created a sense of spontaneity and improvisation. Where his debut explored his past - longing for a connection to his father and the Black side of his family and wrestling with his identity while being raised in a household by a single, white mother - Steven looks inward. Steven is loosely structured in three parts: Part 1 is fast and energetic, exploring the concepts of rage, anger, jealousy. Part 2 is slow and dynamic, with themes of ugliness, disappointment, embarrassment. Part 3 is something gentler, a moment of contentment and clarity. Steven is a portrait of strengths and weaknesses, flaws and fulfillments. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Steven’s Smile
2. Old Thing
3. Winners & Losers
4. The Fight
5. The Camel
6. If There’s No God…
7. Does The Song Still Sound The Same?
8. It’s Nothing
9. What Love Makes You Do
10. Katherine’s Song 

After releasing their debut album "(I’m) Stranded" to both critical and commercial success, The Saints followed up with the 1978 album Eternally Yours. The set features some of their most popular tracks to this day, including “Know Your Product”, “Private Affair”, and “This Perfect Day”.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Know Your Product
2. Lost And Found
3. Memories Are Made Of This
4. Private Affair
5. A Minor Aversion

SIDE B
1. This Perfect Day
2. Run Down
3. Orstralia
4. New Centre Of The Universe
5. Untitled
6. (I’m) Misunderstood
7. International Robots

Nine-time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum global superstar Sia has cemented her role as one of today’s biggest stars, sought after songwriters, and captivating live performers. She has partnered with Diplo and Labrinth to form the group LSD, and has written global smashes for today’s biggest acts including Beyonce, BTS, David Guetta, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ozuna, and many more, cementing her role as one of today’s biggest stars. She now returns with her tenth studio album.

Spanning over 10 years, it traverses a wealth of geographies and their natural environments, where the artists have uncovered sonic steps left by poets, filmmakers, revolutionaries, and the impact of climate change. Soundwalk Collective's founder, Stephan Crasneanscki, has explored, captured and collected the world's remotest places in sound to awaken a sonic memory within the landscape, uncovering traces of past and current histories of the world we are living in.

The resulting compositions are made of sound that reflect our relation to this world, the environment, the soul of our existence, and the creative process of the artist. Initially composed as long travelling shots, soundtracks to an invisible movie, Stephan brought these recordings to Patti Smith, giving her new landscapes to channel her poetic vision. This ongoing resonance between the artists - which started during a chance encounter on a plane - has been shaped by their correspondences: ongoing conversations with the intention of reflecting on life and nature.

For CORRESPONDENCES, their collaboration focuses on eight unique pieces that revert the relationship of sound to image. Sound came first, and only then would imagery be found to tell the music's story, visually edited to each soundtrack. From a collaboration with TBA21- Academy exploring the destructive impact of seismic airguns and human interventions in the oceans, to the resilience of Nature in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, to the decentralized societies envisioned by Peter Kropotkin, to the wastelands of Pasolini's last night: the pieces presented become thought-provoking audiovisual journeys

TRACK LISTING

1. Pasolini
2. Medea

"Do One” is the last song I wrote for the new album, and the first song on that album, as well as the first single. So it’s a summation of what I’m trying to say with this record, a record about survival and defiance, but also one with a sense of fun and self-deprecation. 19 years into my solo career, I’m still standing up and putting out some of my best work. It feels good.” “Undefeated” is my tenth solo studio album, and in many ways I’m pleasantly surprised by that statement. I feel very fortunate that I’m still making records and touring - fortunate and proud. The record is fired by that feeling, and a new sense of energy and liberation. It feels like a new chapter for me - after the pandemic, back in the independent world, the new lineup of the Sleeping Souls, and a slightly bewildered sense of gratitude that I’m still standing, still have something to say. - Frank Turner

TRACK LISTING

1. Do One
2. Nevermind The Back Problems
3. Ceasefire
4. Girl From The Record Shop
5. Pandemic PTSD
6. Letters
7. East Finchley
8. No Thank You For The Music
9. The Leaders
10. International Hide And Seek Champions
11. Show People
12. On My Way Y
13. Somewhere Inbetween
14. Undefeated

*Disc 2 Deluxe CD
1. Do One (Acoustic)
2. Nevermind The Back Problems (Acoustic)
3. Ceasefire (Acoustic)
4. Girl From The Record Shop (Acoustic)
5. Pandemic PTSD (Acoustic)
6. Letters (Acoustic)
7. East Finchley (Acoustic)
8. No Thank You For The Music (Acoustic)
9. The Leaders (Acoustic)
10. International Hide And Seek Champions (Acoustic)
11. Show People (Acoustic)
12. Somewhere Inbetween (Acoustic)
13. Undefeated (Acoustic)

When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire… say it to yourself and then say it again. Repeat it like a mantra. It’s what UTO did.

Anyone familiar with the UTO’s lauded 2022 debut Touch The Lock, which Pitchfork praised for its “prismatic synth pop”, will be aware of the variegated nature of what they do. This album is just as colourful, with Neysa’s vocalwork sparking similarities to Kim Gordon’s off-kilter vocals, which they both ceremoniously jets through a post-electronica blender mixing stylized indie sleaze productions with 90s breakbeats.

While they might appear as a singular entity to others, UTO wrote large sections of this album apart, converging by the fireside to discuss the day’s work before coming together to hone and finish the songs. 2023 was, by their own admission, a difficult year, and that’s reflected in the Dantean themes expressed in songs such as the lead single ‘Zombie’, which arrived at the end of November as a taster for the new record; the latter’s dark heart is belied by the skittering beats, glitchy electronics and pummeling sequencers that elevate it from the void.

From fire, early man’s discovery, to AI, humanity’s next great adventure - with all of the wonders and complexities of human relationships in between - When all you want to do is be the fire part of fire really is about life, the universe and everything. Just remember, be the flame, not the moth.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Art&Life
A2. Plumbing
A3. 2MOONS
A4. Unshape
A5. Zombie
B1. Midway
B2. Napkin
B3. Lyrics
B4. Bredouille Feat. HSRS

Vanishing Twin’s seminal LP, The Age Of Immunology, receives a LTD edition pressing on None ‘Pink’ and Sine ‘Teal’ vinyl, limited to 500 units each and paired with matching sleeve art. As essential take on psych-pop futurism and a must for fans of Broadcast, Sun Ra and Ennio Morricone.

Establishing the band as innovators in their field, the record was declared “a masterpiece” by The Line Of Best Fit, while The Quietus asserted Vanishing Twin as “one of the most original and exciting acts of the moment”.

This was the group’s first LP for Fire Records, at the time of recording the band’s evolving lineup consisted of songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, drummer Valentina Magaletti, bassist Susumu Mukai, synth/guitar player Phil MFU and visual artist/film maker Elliott Arndt on flute and percussion.

The album was produced by Lucas in a number of non-standard, non-studio settings. ‘KRK (At Home In Strange Places)’ summons up the spirit of Sun Ra’s Lanquidity and Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio and was simply recorded on an iPhone during a live set which crackled with psychic connectivity on the Croatian island of Krk. The magical Morricone-esque lounge of ‘You Are Not an Island’, the blissed-out Jean-Claude Vannier style arrangement of ‘Invisible World’ and burbling sci fi funk ode to a 1972 cult French animation, ‘Planète Sauvage’, were all recorded in nighttime sessions in an abandoned mill in Sudbury.

TRACK LISTING

1. KRK (At Home In Strange Places)
2. Wise Children
3. Cryonic Suspension May Save Your Life
4. You Are Not An Island
5. The Age Of Immunology
6. Magician’s Success
7. Planète Sauvage
8. Backstroke
9. Invisible World
10. Language Is A City (Let Me Out!)

BONUS TRACKS: Download ONLY
1. The Age Of Immunology (Version)
2. Magician’s Success (Live)
3. Backstroke (Live)
4. Language Is A City (Let Me Out!) (Live)
5. You Are Not An Island (Version)
6. Cryonic Suspension May Save Your Life (Extended Life Version)

Hana Vu's "contemplative indie-pop captures the disillusionment of young adulthood," writes NME. Her new LP Romanticism furthers that sentiment as a coming-of-age work that mourns the impermanence of youth and searches for meaning. The acclaimed LA-born songwriter's been making music since high school, with a full-length debut and several EPs behind her of glowy, brooding anthems of abstraction and emotion. With previous work, Vu welcomed feedback as she went, but while crafting Romanticism, she shielded herself from outside opinion to preserve a singular vision. The result is a unified collection of songs aching with depth and intimacy. Lush and loud, the songs can feel both reminiscent of guitar-heavy late-aughts indie rock, and expansively futuristic in its layered synth bass. They pulse with meaning and jolt with playfulness, anchored by her powerful, sonorous voice and underscored by the record's Romantic era-inspired artwork. "I'm just trying to convey my perspective as boldly as possible. To succinctly crystalize how it feels to be young, but also to be deeply sad." Under Vu's magnetic gaze, soaking up sadness has never felt so alive.

TRACK LISTING

1. Look Alive
2. Hammer
3. Alone
4. 22
5. Care
6. How It Goes
7. Dreams
8. Find Me Under Wilted Trees
9. Airplane
10. Play
11. I Draw A Heart
12. Love

‘empathogen’ is the sixth studio album from WILLOW.

This release sees WILLOW moving again in a new alternative and jazz-tinged direction following her widely praised 2022 release, ‘’.

The album includes features from Jon Batiste and St. Vincent.

WILLOW’s album campaign includes performances on Jimmy Fallon and NPR Tiny Desk, with more to be announced, as well as Allure, Flaunt and Pop magazine covers.

TRACK LISTING

1. Home Ft. Jon Batiste
2. Ancient Girl
3. Symptom Of Life
4. The Fear Is Not Real
5. False Self
6. Pain For Fun Ft. St Vincent
7. No Words 1 & 2
8. Down
9. Run!
10. Between I And She
11. “I Know That Face.”
12. B I G F E E L I N G S

During the summer of 2013, Xiu Xiu frontman Jamie Stewart and producer Shahzad Ismaily traveled to Sigur Rós’s personal studio in Iceland. Having access to the space for only one day, Stewart worked on setting down his interpretations of American and Caribbean spirituals using a 1953 Silvertone guitar given to him by his father (producer Michael Stewart), the man who introduced him to religious thought and folk music. The resulting album, Unclouded Sky, explores themes of death and faith over the course of nine songs originally composed between 1850 and 1920, which are interspersed with field recordings Stewart made in the jungle of Guyana.

TRACK LISTING

1. (Demerara)
2. Blood Of The Lamb
3. (Berbice)
4. I’ll Fly Away
5. (Kaieteur)
6. Lonesome Valley
7. (Essequibo)
8. Wreck On The Highway
9. (Rupununi)
10. Church In The Wildwood
11. (Cuyuni)
12. Unclouded Sky
13. (Kanuku)
14. All Fo’ You
15. (Guiana)
16. Let The Lower Lights Be Burning
17. (Pomeroon)
18. Just As I Am

Liverpool's YOBS release their self-titled debut album on May 3rd 2024 via Fuzz Club, arriving off the back of their debut double single, 'Fortune Teller b/w Cemetery Man', which saw the four-piece burst on the scene n a gloriously scuzzy and hedonistic blaze. "All skull-crushing riffs and hallucinogenic effects", as Clash Magazine wrote, YOBS deal in primitive garage-punk/noise-rock salvos that race by with a bludgeoning intensity. Across the album's ten tracks and rapid 26-minute running time, the band revel in an abrasive, fun-as-hell rock'n'roll that will leave your bones rattling just as much as your speakers. Emerging out of the rubble of the now-defunct Liverpool bands Weird Sex and Ohmns, YOBS was kick-started in 2022 and is made up of Joey Ackland (Vocals), Alex Smith (Bass/Vocals), Michael Quinlan (Guitar/Vocals) and George Gebbie (Drums). Their debut full-length – recorded in four days at Hackney Road Studios with James Aparicio – arrives off the back of a 2023 spent playing rowdy, ear-ringing shows with the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, Mark Sultan, C.O.F.F.I.N, Alien Nosejob and more.

TRACK LISTING

1. YOBS Theme
2. Cyanide
3. Wasted
4. Shitty Eye
5. Plastercine
6. Fortune Teller
7. Head The Ball
8. Cemetery Man
9. Tito Puente
10. Carpet Burns (On My Tongue)