‘Sensational - that’s Frank Hatchett!’ These words can be found on many of the 16 albums credited to the legendary NYC jazz dancer, choreographer, and teacher to the stars - Madonna, Brooke Shields, Olivia Newton-John, and Naomi Cambell.

In the highlights compiled on this expansive double LP set, the sounds of Hatchett’s albums run the gamut from disco and funk in the 1970s to electro and proto-techno as they glide through the ’80s. Most tracks clock in at a brisk 2:30 – the ideal length for Hatchett’s classes or his students’ recital performances. Fans of library music will find a similar focus on immaculate performances, while the tightly coiled drum breaks, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and thumping 808s will send rare groove collectors into a state of head nodding bliss.

Hatchett’s name and photos may appear on the sleeves of his records like Dance Crazy, Jazz Power, or Vop Style, but he is nowhere to be found in the music contained within. Instead, these albums dating back to 1974 were recorded by studio players under the guidance of musical director Don Tipton or arranger Zane Mark. Performers include: keyboardist Fred McFarlane (Madonna, Keith Sweat, Evelyn “Champagne” King), drummer Bernard Davis (Steve Winwood, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kool & The Gang).

TRACK LISTING

6 8
Which Way Is Up
Rainforest
For The Lover In You
Ccdclip
Dance Crazy
Just Dance
Hollyrock
Break Out
Getaway
Wishing On A Star
Sams Tune
Malibu Nites
Music Is The Answer
Message From Kenya
Shamballa
The Men
We Supply
Flashy Super Groove
Stratus

The second album from Hatchie, ‘Giving The World Away’ is the truest introduction to the songwriter at the helm of the project, Harriette Pilbeam. Although her sound arrived fully-formed, a dazzling dream-pop and shoegaze tangle, it’s here that she distills the core of herself into a record.

“There's more to me than just writing songs about being in love or being heartbroken -- there's a bigger picture than that,” Pilbeam explains. “This album really just feels like the beginning to me, and scratching the surface – and even though it’s my third release as Hatchie, I feel like I’m rebooting from scratch.”

For Pilbeam, that bigger picture explored here includes confronting her anxieties after decades of compartmentalisation; realising her own self-confidence and self-esteem; taking control of her own narrative, and her place in both her professional and personal life. On ‘Giving the World Away,’ she held herself to higher standards, especially with personal lyrical precision. At the time she started working on it, she was caught in a strange headspace. When 2018 EP Sugar & Spice and subsequent debut LP Keepsake both arrived to critical acclaim and catapulted Hatchie into an international spotlight, she felt both unsure of herself and an intense, self-imposed pressure to keep going forward. Trapped in constant motion, Pilbeam was unable to be present or appreciative of herself, both professionally and personally.

She tackles that struggle directly in the moody single “Quicksand,” written with GRAMMY-nominated Olivia Rodrigo collaborator Dan Nigro. “I used to think that this was something I could die for / I hate admitting to myself that I was never sure,” she sings, inverting the thesis of one of her early break-out singles “Sure.” And then, a few lines later, she regains her footing -- in her musicality, and in herself: “It’s all I know, and I’m taking it back.”

“Quicksand is about dealing with the realisation that you'll never be satisfied” Pilbeam comments. “I started writing it when I was home between tours in 2019 before finishing it with Joe Agius and Dan Nigro the next year. I was feeling guilty and ungrateful for not being happy about a few different things in my life that were technically going well. I had to work through some tough learned thought processes and emotions that had been working away for years to try to understand how to be happy with my present, and stop fixating on my past and future. The video digs deeper into showing this juxtaposition of such sadness and anger despite being surrounded by glamour and grandeur."

Director Nathan Castiel adds: “For ‘Quicksand', I created a video that plays off of some tropes of Hollywood glamour in a melancholy and surreal way while giving Harriette room to perform and express the song's raw emotions. We leaned into a neon-tinged after hours aesthetic and shot on 16mm which added a griminess to the opulent locations and set pieces.”

“Quicksand” sets up the rest of the record; an album about self-confidence, about reclamation, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly.

Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, also recently GRAMMY-nominated and known for his work with Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast, and Wild Nothing, ‘Giving the World Away’ is Hatchie’s most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring extensive input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it’s synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of ‘90s trip-hop and acid house influences.

Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction -- she had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across ‘Giving the World Away,’ she returns to that same theme – dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Pilbeam grew up the youngest in her family, a self-described “big baby,” but says the last year and a half gave her the space to understand herself better. After years of emotional avoidance, here she excavates her fears fully.

‘Giving the World Away’ is an album about self-confidence, about reclamation, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, ‘Giving the World Away’ is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Crystalline synths and rolling bass licks permeate the retro-tinged percussion and dreamy echoic vocals, bringing to mind the perfect pop of Tegan & Sara mixed with walls of shoegaze fuzz.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1) Lights On
2) This Enchanted
3) Twin
4) Take My Hand
5) The Rhythm
6) Quicksand
Side B
7) Thinking Of
8) Giving The World Away
9) The Key
10) Don't Leave Me In The Rain
11) Sunday Song
12) Til We Run Out Of Air

BONUS TRACKS On Download Card:
Back Into Your Arms (Hatchie's Version)
Don't Leave Me In The Rain (Demo)
Quicksand (Demo)
The Rhythm (Demo)

For the making of ‘Keepsake’, the Brisbane-bred musician otherwise known as Harriette Pilbeam recorded in a home studio in Melbourne and worked again with John Castle - the producer behind ‘Sugar & Spice’, a 2018 release that prompted Pitchfork to dub Hatchie the “dream-pop idol of tomorrow.” And while the album begins and ends with two massively catchy pop tracks - the brightly defiant ‘Not That Kind’ and the euphoric and epic ‘Keep’ - many songs drift into more emotionally tangled terrain, shedding light on experiences both ephemeral and life-changing.

Throughout ‘Keepsake’, Hatchie’s kaleidoscopic sonic palette draws out distinct moods and tones, continually revealing her depth and imagination as a musician and songwriter. On lead track ‘Without A Blush’, jagged guitar riffs and woozy rhythms meet in a sprawling piece of industrial pop, with Hatchie’s gorgeously airy voice channelling loss and longing, regret and self-doubt.

Another industrial-leaning track, ‘Unwanted Guest’, unfolds in wobbly synth lines and fantastically icy spoken-word vocals, along with lyrics about “being dragged to a party I don’t want to be at, then getting at a fight at the party, and kind of hating myself for it but hating everybody else too.” Meanwhile, on ‘Her Own Heart’, Hatchie presents a radiant jangle-pop gem that puts a singular twist on the post-breakup narrative. “I’d seen people in my life go through breakups and end up with no idea what to do with themselves,” she says. “I wrote that song from the point of view of a girl who winds up on her own and embraces having to figure out who she is, who doesn’t let her life get turned upside-down like that”.

On ‘Stay With Me’, Hatchie offers up ‘Keepsake’s most utterly rhapsodic track, all incandescent synth and unstoppable rhythm. “At first I thought I could never put that on my album - it felt too dancey and pop, and I figured it could really shine on someone else’s record,” she says. “But then I realized: I’m the one dictating what my sound is; what I put on my album is up to me.”

That self-possessed spirit infuses all of ‘Keepsake’, which ultimately serves as a document of a particularly kinetic moment in Hatchie’s life. “I’m not much of a nostalgic person when it comes to memories, but I do have a tendency to hold on to certain things, like tickets from the first time I went someplace on holiday,” says Hatchie in reflecting on the album’s title. “It made sense to me to call the record that, at a time when I’m going to probably end up with a lot of keepsakes - and in a way, this whole album is almost like a keepsake in itself.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Shoegaze goes pop and it's a total joy. Great songs.

TRACK LISTING

Not That Kind
Without A Blush
Her Own Heart
Obsessed
Unwanted Guest
Secret
Kiss The Stars
Stay With Me
When I Get Out
Keep

A reawakening for the Swedish visionaries, Sincere solidifies their impressive trajectory in a fuzzed out haze of dark and arresting shoegaze pop. An expansive trip through noisier, bittersweet pop realms that recalls My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Deerhunter.

Underpinning everything there’s a continuing sense of drama throughout; richly textured crescendos, chiming guitars and delicate melodies are guided by Caroline Landahl’s tender yet sharpened vocals. Sincere is joyously effervescent, but with a dark underbelly where fury manifests in a swirl of entrancing and propulsive percussion.

A gorgeous and dazzling piece of aching romanticism, destined to feature on a thousand mixtapes.

Recorded last year in Malmö, Hater welcomed two new band members and those early day sparks saw them quickly turning demos into fully-formed new songs that appear on the record. Sincere was produced by long-time collaborator Joakim Lindberg and was mixed and mastered by John Cornfield, whose credits include Ride, The Stone Roses and Robert Plant.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
A1 Something
A2 I'm Yours Baby
A3 Bad Luck
A4 Proven Wrong
Side B
B1 Brave Blood
B2 Far From A Mind
B3 Summer Turns To Heartburn
B4 Renew, Reject
B5 Hopes High

Hater’s powerful vulnerability and charm has seen them rise quickly through the ranks earning kudos from NPR (Austin 100), Stereogum (Best New Bands Of 2017), The Fader, BBC6 Music, BBC Radio 1 and more. Effortless and assured, the Scandi quartet drift eloquently into well-structured and stunning melodies. Resolute in their sound, ‘Siesta’ is the perfect soundtrack for that summer romance and the inevitable break up. Heartbreak has never sounded so sweet!.

Produced by Joakim Lindberg (Yast and Hey Elbow) at Studio Sickan within old railway sheds outside of Malmö Sweden. Hater tackle their personal experiences of life, love and relationships yet through their shared songwriting there's a togetherness. Synth pop earworm ‘It’s So Easy’ contrasts the slower paced 'I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You' that blends beautiful sweeping sax from Inge Petersson Lindbäck. Hater “boast Marr-esque guitars and vocals reminiscent of fellow Swedes and The Concretes” (Norman Records) whilst having the pop sensibilities of The Chills, Alvvays, Snail Mail and Makthaverskan.

TRACK LISTING

1. From The Bottom Of Your Heart
2. It's So Easy
3. I Wish I Gave You More Time Because I Love You
4. Closer
5. Fall Off
6. I Sure Want To
7. Things To Keep Up With
8. Your Head Your Mind
9. Why It Works Out Fine
10. The Mornings
11. Cut Me Loose
12. All That Your Dreams Taught Me
13. Seems So Hard
14. Weekend

Ranging from inner-city soul to orchestral grandeur to a bluesy ballad to easy-listening pleasantries, 'Extension Of A Man' was Donny Hathaway's most ambitious LP, the justly titled capstone to his phenomenal career. Coming, however, from one of soul music's most widely talented figures, this wasn't exactly a surprise; both of his previous studio full-lengths, 'Everything Is Everything' and 'Donny Hathaway', treated soul as merely a starting point to express his multitude of ideas concerning music and arrangement, song and performance. First up is six-minute orchestral piece "I Love the Lord; He Heard My Cry, Pts. 1-2." Arranged and orchestrated for 45 musicians by Hathaway himself, it applied the buoyant optimism of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" to a religious context, and segued smoothly into the transcendent "Someday We'll All Be Free," one of Hathaway's most beloved songs. Elsewhere we get chart hits "Love, Love, Love" and "Come Little Children".

Queen of the underground, leader of the new school and visceral techno genius Helena Hauff returns to the Piccadilly shelves with a new double LP on the evergreen Ninja Tune. The title has a duality that Hauff enjoys - the German word “Qualm” ( kvalm) translates as fumes or smoke, whilst the English meaning refers to an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one's own conduct. True to form, the record is unapologetically raw and finds her returning to her original modus operandi - jamming on her machines - “trying to create something powerful without using too many instruments and layers”.
A former resident of the Golden Pudel club in her hometown Hamburg, Helena’s profile and global standing has grown exponentially since the release of “Discreet Desires” in 2015, purely on the strength of her authenticity and her expertly curated DJ sets spanning acid, electro, EBM, techno and post punk. Gigging incessantly (and still lugging a box of records across the world) Helena’s reputation earned her an invitation to join the BBC Radio 1 Residency, she was the subject of cover features for Crack Magazine and DJ Mag, she played headline sets at Sonar (b2b with Ben UFO) and Dekmantel, and at the end of 2017 Crack Magazine declared Helena “The Most Exciting DJ In The World (Right Now)” and her ballistic BBC Essential Mix was voted the best of 2017.

Born and raised in Hamburg, a self-confessed child of the 90s, Helena was obsessed with the music she discovered via the television on channels such as MTV and VIVA. She recalls her grandmother buying Technotronic's 'Pump Up The Jam’ at the flea market for her and watching coverage of iconic electronic music festival Loveparade in Berlin on TV. She has fond memories of borrowing CDs from the local library and making her own mixtapes - these days an archaic practice but from a curatorial standpoint these were her earliest outings as a DJ. Helena picks out Miss Kittin & The Hacker and Toktok vs. Soffy O as inspirations but it was the self-titled album from 2001 by electro icon Radioactive Man that was "a real eye-opener" providing the stimulus for her to dive in and immerse herself in the music and culture.

At university Helena studied first for a Fine Art degree, but whilst she enjoyed the emphasis on experimentation and artistic freedom, she realised that she didn’t have an innate need to make visual art, the prerequisite for a career in that oeuvre according to her lecturer. However, she did have exactly that compulsion in regards to DJing: “I was obsessed with DJing, there was no question that I had to do it. It wasn’t about the money, I just wanted to DJ somewhere,” she explains. Next Helena enrolled on a degree in Systematic Music Science and Physics. Heading in almost the polar opposite direction to her Fine Art background, it was a highly technical syllabus incorporating maths, physics and acoustics but perhaps on some level this juxtaposition of science and art has shaped her approach to coaxing music from her machines?

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Hauff brings the heat for her newest one for the legendary Ninja Tune, with shadowed beats clashing headfirst with snarling resonant 303 and clattering industrious ambience, a brilliantly produced LP, and a thoroughly rewarding listen.

TRACK LISTING

1. Barrow Boot Boys
2. Lifestyle Guru
3. Btdr-revisited
4. Entropy Created You And Me
5. Fag Butts In The Fire Bucket
6. Hyper-Intelligent Genetically Enriched Cyborg
7. The Smell Of Suds And Steel
8. Primordial Sludge
9. Qualm
10. No Qualms
11. Panegyric
12. It Was All Fields Around Here When I Was A Kid

South London producer Ben Hauke takes a sonic excursion to South America via Lewisham for a new seven track release for Far Out Recordings. While littered with Afro-Latin percussion, and samples of obscure Brazilian, Cuban and Colombian records, Only Old stays true to Ben’s distinctly London identity, with a record that fluctuates between house, broken beat and instrumental hip-hop.

Having collaborated with the likes of Nubya Garcia and Joe Armon Jones, Ben Hauke stands at the electronic end of London’s new jazz movement. Currently working on new releases with more of a focus on live instrumentation, Ben titled the release ‘Only Old’ as it leans more heavily on his foundational approach to music making: an idiosyncratic, almost brazen sampling style in productions bursting with personality.

Always full of character and style, Hauke’s productions have seen him likened to Theo Parrish and Madlib, with an altogether physical approach to sound. Title track ‘Only Old’ is moody broken beat with eerie sampled vocals and piano. ‘Get Up To Get Down’ is a light n’ breezy summer house stepper, while Brazil-inspired ‘Runners’ sounds as if it was made for MF Doom.

TRACK LISTING

It Weren’t A Satellite
Get Up To Get Down
Only Old / Runners
You’re Not Deep
Digi Luv Ft. Eggrum
Bait Leo

Graceful compositions flow throughout. Steve Hauschildt’s fourth release for kranky following his Where All Is Fled full length from late summer 2015.

The songs fluctuate from the serene calm of album opener Horizon of Appearances, to the pulsing hypnosis of Ketracel, and on to searing grandeur of album closer Die in Fascination, Throughout, Steve remains restrained and in complete control of his sound.

Strands is a song cycle that is about cosmogony and creation/destruction myths. The title alludes to the structural constitution of ropes as I wanted to approach the compositions so that they consisted of strands and fibers which form a unified whole. This was so the songs could have the appearance of being either taut or slack without being fundamentally locked to a grid. So the sounds/tones have a certain malleability to them and sound like they're bending through time. It's also grittier and more distorted than my previous albums.

I wanted to try and capture that moment in nature and society where life slowly reemerges through desolation, so it has a layer of optimism looming underneath. The music represents this by seemingly decaying at times but then reforms and morphs in a fluid way back to its original state. I was also inspired by the movement of rivers, particularly their transformative aspect and how they're in a state of flux and change, in particular the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland where I live, which notoriously caught on fire thirteen times because of industrial pollution in the 1960s and before. I was very interested in the dichotomy of oil and water and the resulting, unnatural symptoms of human industry. It's a very personal record for me as it is a reflection of my hometown where I grew up and where it was mostly recorded.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Where 'Where all Is Fled' was nuanced, but rife with confident and optimistic moments, 'Strands' is much more tilted towards the uneasy. Slightly syncopated melodies and growing pads unsettle but never become jarring, merely lending an equally proficient counterfoil to the majority of his already startling oeuvre.

TRACK LISTING

1. Horizon Of Appearances
2. Same River Twice
3. A False Seeming
4. Ketracel
5. Time We Have
6. Strands
7. Transience Of Earthly Joys
8. Die In Fascination

For Volker Bertelmann, aka HAUSCHKA, music is not solely about its sound, but also a means to facilitate the exchange of ideas and foster meaningful interactions between individuals, revealing his fascination with human connection and engagement. Despite being known for his distinctive prepared piano sound, the Academy Award-winning composer intentionally named his 15th solo studio album PHILANTHROPY to express his compassion and openness. The album's song titles, such as "Diversity," "Nature," "Loved Ones," and "Altruism," perfectly align with their respective musical compositions. HAUSCHKA's albums often serve as a platform to provoke dialogue on specific themes, and PHILANTHROPY follows this pattern, aiming to offer optimism and energy in response to the challenges of recent years. The album combines upbeat and pensive pieces, featuring moments of joy, introspection, and peaceful interludes. Overall, PHILANTHROPY showcases HAUSCHKA's compositional prowess and serves as a gift that sparks reflection and celebration.

TRACK LISTING

1. Diversity
2. Searching
3. Inventions
4. Detached
5. Limitation Of Lifetime
6. Nature
7. Science
8. Loved Ones
9. Generosity
10. Magnanimity
11. Altruism
12. Noise

Hawk Eyes are from Leeds. They consist of Paul Astick (vocals / guitar), Rob Stephens (guitar), Ryan Clark (bass) and Matt Reid (drums), and have done so in some form or another since 2005. Well, since drummer Matt joined from Whores Whores Whores anyway.

One of those previous so-called ‘forms’ was Chickenhawk, whose gruesomely complex ‘Modern Bodies’ album of 2010 cheerily brutalised a not-so-innocent generation of grumpy grunged-up kids as they toured the known universe with Alexisonfire, We Are The Ocean and The Computers.

The end of 2011 saw the renamed and reconstructed HAWK EYES foursome setting out their stall for future ever-so-slightly-mellower chaos with a nomination for Best Hard Rock Act at the Artrocker awards, touring fun with Turbowolf, The James Cleaver Quartet and Ginger Wildheart (though not all at the same time, you understand) and the release of the five-track ‘Mindhammers’ EP on Brew Records, a manically precise fusion of ferocious melodies and vivacious riffs which spewed forth comparisons with Foo Fighters, QOTSA, Alice In Chains and the epically heavy monstersound of Faith No More.

All extremely true, and all very indicative of a band growing up and rolling with the melodic punches. And the ‘Mindhammers’ template is refined and rewired on ‘Ideas’, HAWK EYES’ debut album which is sleek and modern and hardcore and suitably post-post-everything, but also cosmic and mischievous and never averse to (ab)using a classic riff here or there.

“Writing this album, I opened up my closet, and a skeleton came out.” In a café just around the corner from his Edinburgh flat, Hamish Hawk is contemplating his extraordinary new record, A Firmer Hand. “The thing that links all of the songs is a sense of the unsaid, whether out of guilt, shame, repression, embarrassment, coyness, whatever it might have been. I realised: I am going to say these things, and not all of them are going to make me look good. The album made so many demands, and I just gave myself over to it.”

At this stage, where only a handful of close associates have heard the finished album, Hawk is still unsure of what the reaction might be from fans, critics, even family. He jokes that A Firmer Hand is the first of his records that his parents might not enjoy. “But the fact that it makes me nervous tells me it was the right thing to do.”

It takes only a couple of listens to be sure that it was a risk worth taking. And just a couple more to determine that A Firmer Hand is the best and boldest record Hamish Hawk has delivered to date. “It’s a bit of a coming of age record,” he says. And a record for the ages.

TRACK LISTING

1. Juliet As Epithet
2. Machiavelli’s Room
3. Big Cat Tattoos
4. Nancy Dearest
5. Autobiography Of Spy
6. You Can Film Me
7. Christopher St.
8. Men Like Wire
9. Questionable Hit
10. Disingenuous
11. Milk An Ending
12. The Hard Won

“Writing this album, I opened up my closet, and a skeleton came out.” In a café just around the corner from his Edinburgh flat, Hamish Hawk is contemplating his extraordinary new record, A Firmer Hand. “The thing that links all of the songs is a sense of the unsaid, whether out of guilt, shame, repression, embarrassment, coyness, whatever it might have been. I realised: I am going to say these things, and not all of them are going to make me look good. The album made so many demands, and I just gave myself over to it.”

At this stage, where only a handful of close associates have heard the finished album, Hawk is still unsure of what the reaction might be from fans, critics, even family. He jokes that A Firmer Hand is the first of his records that his parents might not enjoy. “But the fact that it makes me nervous tells me it was the right thing to do.”

It takes only a couple of listens to be sure that it was a risk worth taking. And just a couple more to determine that A Firmer Hand is the best and boldest record Hamish Hawk has delivered to date. “It’s a bit of a coming of age record,” he says. And a record for the ages.

TRACK LISTING

1. Juliet As Epithet
2. Machiavelli’s Room
3. Big Cat Tattoos
4. Nancy Dearest
5. Autobiography Of Spy
6. You Can Film Me
7. Christopher St.
8. Men Like Wire
9. Questionable Hit
10. Disingenuous
11. Milk An Ending
12. The Hard Won

Angel numbers: a series of recurring numerical patterns or sequences which those who believe in such things invest with cosmic significance.

Also, the name of the forthcoming album by Hamish Hawk – an apt title for an artist who bounces between scepticism and wonder, who alchemises the quotidian, who is engaged in a constant quest to outwit and outflank the ordinary. With the release of Heavy Elevator in September 2021, Edinburgh-based Hawk established himself as a writer of heartfelt, headstrong, unashamedly literate songs to stimulate both pulse and psyche. Heavy Elevator offered words to savour and tunes to relish. The songs were filmic and romantic, blending wit, wisdom, resignation and beauty with a kind of sceptical joie de vivre, delivered in a rich baritone that has drawn comparisons to everyone from Jarvis Cocker to Scott Walker. A singer of style and guile peddling accessible intelligence: what’s not to love? Heavy Elevator established a powerful artistic imprimatur which nonetheless felt neither defining nor confining. While the album has been justly lauded, Hawk’s next steps have moved the story considerably further forward. Angel Numbers meets growing expectations head on, with panache and aplomb.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A roaring mix of cleverly written rock music, with jagged melodies and gritty distortion tempered with rich production and Hamish's wonderfully emotive vocal stylings. 'Angel Numbers' is great fun, beautifully written and well worth a listen.

Laura says: Without doubt one of the most extraordinary musical talents to emerge in the last few years. His song writing takes in everything from chamber-pop to post-punk, with smatterings of country and indie-pop. The guitars jangle, twang and shimmer, interwoven with keys and occasional strings, providing the perfect backdrop for his witty, evocative lyrics. I enjoyed his debut, Heavy Elevator, but this album has blown me away - one of my albums of the year for sure!

TRACK LISTING

1. Once Upon An Acid Glance
2. Think Of Us Kissing
3. Elvis Lookalike Shadows
4. Bridget St. John
5. Frontman Ft. Anna B Savage
6. Desperately
7. Bill
8. Angel Numbers
9. Money
10. Dog-eared August
11. Rest And Veneers Ft. Samantha Crain
12. Grey Seals

Vivian Comma paints the Madonna, visibly on the verge of fainting. Christopher Wren walks amongst us once more, forswearing designing cathedrals for singing them. One half of the 1973 Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champions has a perfect serve. The boy who inhabits Track Three of John Lennon’s Imagine repeat-dials, passive-aggressively, to Tiree. A funeral, swinging to the Gay Gordons. A latter-day Paul the Apostle is offended by the sight of Edinburgh Castle – and, infinitesimally worse, can’t finish a beer.

These are the people and places, scenes and scenarios of the songs of Hamish Hawk.

Rich of voice and even richer of imagination, the singer-songwriter from Edinburgh creates musical pen-portraits as vivid in lyric as they are in melody. In all the wholly best ways, these are chamber pop songs that have swallowed both a dictionary and a compendium of modern urban (and island) fairy tales. And, on Heavy Elevator, his first fully-formed album, this prolific artist presents a perfect ten tracks packed with characters, incident, emotion, geographical/artistic references and tunes to hang your coat on.

Heavy Elevator, released on September 17th 2021, is the critically-acclaimed breakthrough album from Edinburgh’s Hamish Hawk.

TRACK LISTING

1. Vivian Comma
2. This, Whatever It Is, Needs Improvements
3. The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973
4. Bakerloo, Unbecoming
5. Your Ceremony
6. Caterpillar
7. Daggers
8. Heavy Elevator
9. Calls To Tiree
10. New Rhododendrons 

Despite an aversion to the spotlight, Marquis Hawkes is one of the fastest-rising names in house music. A string of 12"s for labels such as Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, Clone and Aus preceded a trio of exceptional EPs for Houndstooth, which won him swathes of new fans, from the DJ booth and the radio studio to, of course, the dancefloor. Now he presents his long-awaited debut album, ‘Social Housing’.

Including a devastating new song with legendary vocalist Jocelyn Brown and contributions from regular collaborator Timothy Blake, the album encompasses the full spectrum of house music, from deep grooves to disco cut-ups, soulful keyboard jams to jacking drum machine workouts. With several high profile DJs already singing its praises, ‘Social Housing’ is set to be the soundtrack for the Summer.

The aptly-titled "Raw Materials" sees Marquis Hawkes making a welcome return to the primitive house rhythms for which he became known via his early work for Dixon Avenue Basement Jams. Highly influenced by house originators Ron Hardy, Gene Hunt and Roy Davis Jr, "Raw Materials" updates the form with modern production techniques whilst preserving its authenticity. The title track sprawls over the A-side, making you move with a deep and hypnotic 808 beats and mesmerising dusty pads. Far deeper than a straight up banger, this is transportative club music of the highest order. The flip, on the other hand takes no prisoners, offering instead two cuts of raw drum machine clatter, strained vocal cuts and analogue tones in the form of ‘‘Ave That" and "Jerk U Later". All in all, this is a well rounded release, moving effortlessly from the immersive beauty of the A-side to the deadly dancefloor destroyers on the flip.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: "Raw Materials" sees the DABJ mainstay blessing Houndstooth with the sexiest, most sultry house sound you're likely to hear this year. Deep, warm and intimate, this is marriage material. The two B-side cuts on the other hand, are sleazy, raw and gritty basement bangers for all the hoodrats.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Raw Materials
B1. ‘Ave That
B2. Jerk U Later

Well, this is rather nice! A super-limited 12" in a hand stamped and numbered screen printed sleeve.

Artwork by H. Hawkline.

Last Thing On Your Mind and unreleased b side "More Salt".

Recorded in Los Angeles with Samur Khouja, who worked with Huw on his last album, In The Pink Of Condition, the track features Cate Le Bon and Josiah Steinbrick.

Talking about the track, Huw said:

'It waits like the cat who knows it'll eventually get cream. Sits, makes eyes and then sips, always watching, one eye on the washer, the warm smell of fresh china'

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

THREE TRACK RECORD STORE DAY ONLY 12” SINGLE LIMITED TO 750 COPIES WORLDWIDE.

EXCLUSIVE TO INTERNATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY

LIMITED GREY VINYL EDITION OF 750 UNITS OF THIS FACSIMILIE RELEASE OF HAWKWIND OFFSHOOT HAWKLORDS’ CLASSIC RARE 1979 12-INCH EP

NEWLY REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES Atomhenge, the home of HAWKWIND’s catalogue between 1975 – 1997 (managed by Esoteric Recordings) are pleased to announce the release of an official Record Store Day limited facsimile edition of the classic and rare Grey Vinyl 12-inch EP “25 Years”, originally issued by Charisma Records in 1979.

Originally featured on the album “25 Years On”, the A-side of this EP was significantly remixed in 1979 for this release.

This reissue is strictly limited to 750 units, has been newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and fully restores the original release artwork.

QTY FOR UK: 500

TRACK LISTING

1. 25 Years
2. (Only) The Dead Dreams Of The Cold War Kid
3. Pxr 5

The Hawklords open the doors of perception to a 'Brave New World' In celebration of a decade since The Hawklords re-booted for the 21st century in 2008, the band release their seventh consecutive studio album "Hawklords VII: Brave New World". It follows the band's critically acclaimed 2017 album "SIX" which charted in the Official UK Top 40 Rock Chart. Featuring former Hawkwind members Harvey Bainbridge (synths & vocals) and Jerry Richards (guitar & vocals), with Dave Pearce (drums) and Tom Ashurst (bass & vocals), "Brave New World" is an album of soaring transcendence and grinding power.

Described by the band as, "Dedicated to all fellow travellers who choose to explore SPACE on their own terms", HAWKLORDS release their 12th consecutive album and 10th studio album comprising all brand new songs.

From the bone-crushing opener, Gravity Well, with its Dante-esque 'Fires of Hell' lyrical commentary, to the pop- strut ear-worm mantra of Super Star Drive, the darkly explorative construct, Lost in Space, which is as much about loneliness as it is about the vastness of the Universe, to The Silence of Space, a dark poem about the fate of the galaxy set to an electro/industrial soundtrack reminiscent of any sci-fi classic movie, Gravity Zero and its super hook classic chorus, "Any life on Mars?" to You Will Be The Sun, a romantic ode to any form of love under the stars, this is an album for audiophiles of all kinds which takes the listener on a journey through the dark and the beautiful spaces of human existence.

"Inner space, outer space, head space: Human Race" to quote Hawklords founder member, guitarist and songwriter, Jerry Richards. The S P A C E band line-up is: Mr Dibs (Bass, Vocals, Audio Generators), Dave Pearce (Drums) and Jerry Richards (Guitars, Bass, Vocals, SFX and Foley).

Their NEW album, in full, iconic KPM cover is a return to the laidback jazz-funk that helped Alan and Brian demonstrate their library chops. The album is classic Hawkshaw/Bennett. It swings, it grooves, moves and thrills with a flair these two have perfected over years.

Alan Hawkshaw (piano/Hammond) and Shadow’s drummer Brian Bennett are responsible for some of the slickest, funkiest and most sought-after library records ever made in the UK, particularly ones recorded on the legendary KPM label. Their work has now become the go-to place for sampling in music today. Artists such as Dilla, Nas, and the xx, right through to the billion selling Kanye & Drake have taken Hawkshaw’s and Bennett’s immaculate beat-driven soundscapes for their own usage.

Their new album, in full, iconic KPM cover is a return to the laidback jazz-funk that helped Alan and Brian demonstrate their library chops. The album is classic Hawkshaw/Bennett. It swings, it grooves, moves and thrills with a flair these two have perfected over years.

Standout tracks such as "Hole In One", "In The Clouds", "Interchange", "Oasis", "On The Nile" and "Corcovado" are no mere excursions in nostalgia, for they carry lots of deft studio work that many a producer would give their right arm for. Hawkshaw’s arrangements allow the drums, guitar, bass, strings, Hammond, flute and brass to swirl elegantly around the 12 original tracks; a masterclass in recording.

Cut by Pete Norman, housed in a beautifully designed Richard Robinson sleeve and pressed at 180g by Record Industry in Holland, this release has been afforded the care and attention it rightly deserves. Essential.

STAFF COMMENTS

Patrick says: The kings of the KPM library scene, groove barons Alan Hawkshaw and Brian Bennett hit the studio together for the first time in years and treat us to an eagerly anticipated LP of new material. As you'd expect from this pair of heroes, it's a far out and funky affair. KPM x BeWith for the win!!!

TRACK LISTING

Flying
Hole In One
Reignited
Straight Up
Serengeti
Open Road
In The Clouds
Corcovado
On The Nile
Marrakech
Oasis
Midnight Jazz

McKeown creates a patchwork of dream sequences and woozy psychedelia that range from low key groove and floating-in-space cosmic horror. “Electronic folk horror” was how it was described to me, and I gotta say I can get on board with that description. But there’s much more happening here. Moments I’m reminded of Colin Stetson’s excellent Color Out Of Space score, while other times there’s a real Tangerine Dream vibe, ala their Legend soundtrack.

This incredible new release follows a path along the electronic skyways first created by the German Krautrock electronic pioneers of the 1970s, such as Cluster, Ash Ra Tempel, Roedelius and Michael Rother.

Hawksmoor is James McKeown. He first created Hawksmoor five years ago as an imaginary hauntological soundtrack, inspired by the six Hawksmoor churches in London. Further releases have followed on Environmental Studies, the cassette-only label Spun Out of Control, Castles in Space and The Library of The Occult.

For his debut on Soul Jazz Records, Hawksmoor has created a fascinating blend of these two sensibilities – a love of German electronic music of the 1970s alongside the British retrofuturism and cultural memory bank aesthetic of hauntology - Ghost Box, Mount Vernon Arts Lab, Advisory Circle, Focus Group, etc.

Using strictly modular synths (Moog Sub37), electronic drum rhythms and guitars, Hawksmoor creates an electronic landscaped music world that is both new and old, immediately identifiable and yet utterly unique.

TRACK LISTING

Cycloid
Nuclear Kites
Praxis
Telepathic Heights
Athanasia
A Neural Interval
Synesius
The City Ships Of Alpha
Dream Logic
Abstract Machines

Cherry Red Records are pleased to announce the release of the new album by the legendary Hawkwind, Into The Woods. It follows the critical acclaim and commercial success of last year’s Top 40 album The Machine Stops. “Part of this album is a continuation of the story begun in The Machine Stops,” says Hawkwind’s head honcho Dave Brock, “living above the ground and Into the Woods.” Warm-up dates for Hawkwind in mid-March are dubbed ‘A Glimpse Into Greenness’, which gives some indication of the conceptual and lyrical themes behind the new album.

TRACK LISTING

1. Into The Woods
2. Cottage In The Woods
3. The Woodpecker
4. Have You Seen Them
5. Ascent
6. Space Ship Blues
7. The Wind
8. Vegan Lunch
9. Magic Scenes
10. Darkland
11. Wood Nymph
12. Deep Cavern
13. Magic Mushroom

A recorded document of the Hawkwind's “Chronicle of the Black Sword” stage show of 1985, based on the Elric series of novels by Michael Moorcock. This newly remastered edition features the entire stage show and restores Moorcock’s narrative on CD for the first time (outside of a rare 1994 American CD release) making a definitive edition of one of Hawkwind’s most memorable works.

Atomhenge, the label home for the Hawkwind catalogue between 1975 – 1997 is pleased to announce the release of “The Charisma Years 1976 – 1979”; a 4 CD set comprising all four of Hawkwind’s albums originally released by the Charisma label – “Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music”, “Quark Strangeness & Charm”, “Hawklords: 25 Years On” and “PXR 5”.

These recordings saw the influence of lyricist and front man Robert Calvert come to the fore in the band. The originally and breadth of Hawkwind’s music was expanded greatly during this period and the four albums released between 1976 and 1979 are now regarded as ground-breaking classics.

This official 4CD clamshell boxed set features each album in a replica card sleeve wallet and includes an illustrated poster.

Cherry Red Records are pleased to announce the release of the new album by the legendary Hawkwind, 'The Machine Stops'. A concept studio album and a live stage show, The Machine Stops is based on EM Forster's sci-fi classic. His dystopian vision of the future is brought to life with characteristic Hawkwind style.

An atmospheric, musical interpretation beginning in tunnels deep beneath the earth, where every need is controlled and catered for by the machine. The struggle to escape and find a way to reach the outer surface is a utopian dream, which could prove to be the most deadly dream of all. Forster's visionary masterpiece provides a chilling warning of the dangers of isolation, reliance on computer technology and the effects upon society.

• THE LONG AWAITED OFFICIAL REMASTERED EDITION OF HAWKWIND’S CLASSIC 1975 ALBUM
• FEATURING THE FIRST EVER REMASTERED VERSION MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL ANALOGUE MASTER TAPES
• PLUS ONE BONUS TRACK
• FEATURES BOOKLET WITH PHOTOS, MEMORABILIA & ESSAY

ATOMHENGE, the home of HAWKWIND’s catalogue from 1975 – 1997, are pleased to announce the long awaited release of a definitive edition of the classic 1975 album “WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME”.

Recorded in 1975, the album is a ground-breaking classic of Hawkwind’s career. Featuring a line-up of DAVE BROCK, NIK TURNER, LEMMY, SIMON HOUSE, SIMON KING & ALAN POWELL, the album is arguably one of the finest rock albums of the mid-1970s.

• THE LONG AWAITED OFFICIAL EXPANDED 3 DISC DELUXE REMASTERED EDITION OF HAWKWIND’S CLASSIC 1975 ALBUM
• FEATURING THE FIRST EVER REMASTERED VERSION MADE FROM THE ORIGINAL ANALOGUE MASTER TAPES ON CD ONE PLUS 8 BONUS TRACKS, FIVE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
• CD TWO FEATURES A NEW STEREO MIX BY STEVEN WILSON MADE FROM THE MULTI-TRACK MASTER TAPES PLUS 5 BONUS TRACKS, TWO PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
• DISC THREE – NTSC REGION FREE DVD FEATURING NEW 5.1 SURROUND & STEREO MIXES OF “WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME” BY STEVEN WILSON & A 96 kHz 24-BIT FLAT TRANSFER OF THE ORIGINAL 1975 STEREO MASTER TAPES
• ALSO FEATURES BOOKLET WITH PHOTOS, MEMORABILIA & ESSAY

Atomhenge, the home of HAWKWIND’s catalogue from 1975 – 1997, are pleased to announce the long awaited release of a definitive edition of the classic 1975 album “WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME”.

This Atomhenge edition marks the first time that the original analogue stereo master tapes have been used for a remastered edition. This set also features the single B-side “Motorhead” as a bonus track.

The first of a series of Richard Hawley music boxes.

Turn the handle to play a snippet of Coles Corner.

It'll melt your heart!

It’s been a while since the last Richard Hawley album - 4 years in fact. During that time he made a decision to break the recording / touring cycle he’d been working since he was 14 and went off to write music for films and also an acclaimed musical, "Standing At The Sky's Edge", based around a housing estate in his home town. But now he’s back, with a new album, and although there’s plenty of the swoonsome, croonsome Hawley we know and love, he’s not been afraid to push the boundaries a little.

If you’re a 6music listener, then you can’t fail to have heard the opening track, the bluesy rock’n’roll stomp of “Of My Mind” - maybe a bit of a shock to the system for long-time Hawley fans, but fear not! It’s followed my the Smithsian “Alone” and then the gorgeous “My Little Treasures” - a beautiful, heartfelt song written about drinking with two of his late father’s oldest friends. The sweeping strings and pedal steel of the title track and slow strummed ballad  “Emilina Says” wind things down beautifully.

I don’t know if the album was put together with the thought of an A-side and B-side in mind, but that’s how it comes across, with both sides opening with a big ballsy blast that slowly eases as the needle creeps inwards. The B-side opens with “Is There A Pill?”, with it’s pounding drums and big string surges that bring to mind “A Design For Life” era Manics. It’s followed by the chugging “Galley Girl” and then gently drifts into the languid “Not Lonely”. “Time Is” could be a Neil Diamond cover (he wrote some gems you know!) and is followed by my favourite track on the album “Midnight Train” - classic Hawley! And finally, the album is rounded off with the short but sweet, gentle strum of “Doors”.

“Further” is possibly the most diverse album Richard Hawley has recorded, but it flows beautifully - partly down to the wonderfully intertwined guitar playing of Hawley and long-time cohort Shez Sheridan, but also because Hawley is such a great song writer. If like me, you are unsure on first listen, stick with it - it’s worth it!

TRACK LISTING

1. Off My Mind
2. Alone
3. My Little Treasures
4. Further
5. Emilina Says
6. Is There A Pill?
7. Galley Girl
8. Not Lonely
9. Time Is
10. Midnight Train
11. Doors

The new album by Richard Hawley, 'In This City They Call You Love' sees Richard ditch the distortion pedals and go back into making voice most prominent.

Following the universal acclaim for 'Standing At The Sky's Edge', the award-winning musical based on his songs, in May Richard Hawley returns with 'In This City They Call You Love', his ninth studio album and his first since 2019's 'Further'.

'In This City They Call You Love' features 12 outstanding songs, many of which can be described as 'vintage Hawley' and are amongst some of the finest ballads he's ever written. Gorgeous melodies and arrangements are accompanied by his emotive and sonorous voice, which sounds better than ever, and will make this a crowning moment in a hugely successful recording career of almost 25 years.

TRACK LISTING

1. Two For His Heels
2. Have Love
3. Prism In Jeans
4. Heavy Rain
5. People
6. Hear That Lonesome Whistle Blow
7. Deep Space
8. Deep Waters
9. I’ll Never Get Over You
10. Do I Really Need To Know?
11. When The Lights Go Out
12. ‘Tis Night

Iconic singer/songwriter Richard Hawley recorded live at the beautiful Piece Hall in Halifax on Saturday 4 September 2021. Live at Halifax Piece Hall captures, for the first time, Richard Hawley in concert with his band in full force. Recorded on a beautiful autumn night in September 2021 and in spectacular settings, the album features many Hawley classics as well as songs from his most recent album ‘Further’, augmented by a 4 piece string ensemble. Simply put, it is Hawley at his best.

TRACK LISTING

1. Off My Mind
2. Alone
3. Standing At The Sky's Edge
4. I'm Looking For Someone To Find Me
5. Tonight The Streets Are Ours
6. Coles Corner
7. Galley Girl
8. Don't Stare At The Sun
9. Open Up Your Door
10. Down In The Woods
11. Is There A Pill
12. For Your Lover Give Some Time
13. There's A Storm A Comin'
14. Heart Of Oak

The latest in the Richard Hawley music box series is  fan favouriet ‘I’m Looking For Someone To Find Me’, from the award winning Singer-Songwriter’s 5th studio album ‘Lady's Bridge’. 

Released in 2007, Hawley said the LP was about “leaving the past behind” and was named after another landmark location in his hometown of Sheffield. The Guardian called the record “beautiful, moving pop at its best" and it was lauded by the NME as “an album that has moments that won't be bettered this year or any other.” with BBC Music adding that it “furthers his cause in becoming a proper national treasure".

Richard Hawley is widely recognized as both one of the UK’s greatest songwriters and one of its most respected. Alongside two Mercury Music Prize Nominations, a BRIT award nomination and 4 UK Top 10 Albums, the Sheffield native songwriter has collaborated with the likes of Pulp, Arctic Monkeys, Lisa Marie Presley, Paul Weller and Elbow.

Following the success of Standing At The Sky’s Edge, which won Best New Musical and handed Hawley Best Original Score at the 2023 Olivier Awards, BMG announce the first ever Richard Hawley collection; Now Then: The Very Best of Richard Hawley.

Curated by Hawley and long-term collaborator Colin Elliot, Now Then spans his twenty plus year career, exhibiting all facets of his song writing mastery; marrying his most cinematic moments with his most tender, his best loved work and a host of hidden gems from his early work, to create a collection for both his hardcore fanbase and the perfect entry point for his newest fans. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A much-needed best-of from the brilliant Richard Hawley, spanning a full 20 years in the business and including a whole host of quintessentially Hawley offerings including 'Coles Corner' and 'Standing At The Sky's Edge'. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side A
Open Up Your Door
Midnight Train
Tonight The Streets Are Ours
Coles Corner
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Baby, You're My Light
Side B
Not The Only Road*
My Little Treasures
Standing At The Sky's Edge
Heart Of Oak
The Ocean
Side C
Seek It
Off My Mind
Coming Home
I Still Want You
Just Like The Rain
Run For Me
Side D
Alone
For Your Lover Give Some Time
Serious
Don't Stare At The Sun
There's A Storm A'Comin
*previously Unreleased/exclusive

CD Tracklisting:
CD1
1. Open Up Your Door
2. Midnight Train
3. Tonight The Streets Are Ours
4. Coles Corner
5. Ballad Of A Thin Man
6. Baby, You're My Light
7. She Brings The Sunlight
8. Not The Only Road*
9. Which Way
10. My Little Treasures
11. Naked In Pitsmoor
12. Standing At The Sky's Edge
13. Long Black Train
14. Heart Of Oak
15. You Don't Miss Your Water
16. The Ocean
CD2
1. Don't Stare At The Sun
2. I Still Want You
3. Off My Mind
4. For Your Lover Give Some Time
5. Hotel Room
6. I’m On Nights
7. Seek It
8. Serious
9. Precious Sight
10. Remorse Code
11. Alone
12. Born Under A Bad Sign (Single Version)
13. Our Darkness
14. Run For Me
15. Kelham Island
16. There's A Storm A'Comin'
*previously Unreleased/exclusive

The 2nd in the series of Richard Hawley music boxes.

Wind the handle to play the gorgeous refrain from Open Up Your Door.

An absolute gem!

‘Standing At The Sky’s Edge’ is the title track from Richard Hawley’s sixth studio album, which debuted at number three in the UK albums chart in 2012 and was nominated for that year’s Mercury Prize. Named after Skye Edge, a hillside area with views over the city centre, the song went onto inspire a musical which tells the story of three families over sixty years living in Sheffield’s Park Hill housing estate. It premiered at the Crucible before transferring to the National in London and won Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre. This is another great Music Box version of one of Hawley's best-loved songs, so why not…

The third in the series of Richard Hawley music boxes.

"Do you know why you got feelings in your heart....."

Vice Cooler from Oakland CA is the sonic insurgent behind the Sonic Youth approved Hawnay Troof. "Dollar And Deed" is his second album following on from the groundbreaking debut "Get Up Resolution: Love".

The music of Hawthonn is dense and atmospheric, but not inaccessible. Experimental electronic techniques fuse with doom-laden organ riffs, crystalline piano, elemental drones and haunting vocals. Largely guided by their own unconscious muse, the band’s chief inspirations lie outside of music, in Romantic poetry, dreams and reveries, esoteric symbolism, the history of magic and witchcraft, folklore and the English landscape.

Hawthonn is Leeds-based duo Layla Legard and Phil Legard. Having previously collaborated in music, as well as text and photography, they officially formed in 2014 to deepen their uniquely imaginative approach to musicmaking. Often developing from obsessive explorations of a particular theme, their work precipitates dreams and imaginative journeys, which inform the direction of their music. Their earliest music explored the afterlife mythos of Coil’s Jhonn Balance through the image of the Hawthorn tree and Cumbrian landscape where his ashes were scattered. Their approach draws lyricism from the psychoacoustic phenomena of “phantom words”—sonic textures translated from geographical space into droning sound spectra, and verbalized dream imagery.

The prime symbol of Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing), is mugwort. An herb associated with dreaming, travel and menstruation, mugwort particularly favors edgelands: those abandoned, untended places, part man-made, part rural, where nature begins to reclaim what humanity has left behind. The music here unfolds a mandala of symbolism from these liminal spaces, drawn from a web of fascinations which unfolded during the recording process.

TRACK LISTING

1 In Mighty Revelation
2 Misandrist
3 Lady Of The Flood
4 Eden
5 Dream Fugue

Archaic Devices will also release long-awaited reissues of 2009's psychedelic Observatory EP, 2011’s The Haxan Cloak LP and 2013’s Excavation LP.

Listening to everything Bobby Krlic has recorded as a composer, songwriter and producer is a thought-provoking and exciting experience. With an impressive and ever-growing list of film and television titles to his name, the launch of Archaic Devices allows listeners to revisit his early work as The Haxan Cloak in anticipation of a third full length album that will no doubt be as innovative and metaphysically eye-opening as its predecessors

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
CONSUMED
EXCAVATION (PART 1)
EXCAVATION (PART 2)

SIDE B:
MARA
MISTE

SIDE C:
THE MIRROR REFLECTING (PART 1)
THE MIRROR REFLECTING (PART 2)

SIDE D:
DIEU
THE DROP

Bobby Krlic shares “N/Y,” the first new piece of solo music released as The Haxan Cloak in over a decade. Blistering and propulsive, “N/Y” draws upon the sonic hallmarks Krlic established as fundamental to The Haxan Cloak but with newfound depth drawn from the skills that he has honed over the past decade composing music for film and TV. It is accompanied by a visual also produced and directed by Krlic.

‘N/Y’ is a feeling I’ve had for a really long time,” he says of the track. “It was made with the intention of being something that I could play live only, and was just this burst of intensity that could re-contextualize anywhere I would play it in. I kept working on it and it became something that I wanted to hear regardless of the context. I made the video in the same way. Making charcoal drawings and oil paintings, then fusing these together with self-shot video of myself in my studio. It feels immediate and without compromise. It was made quickly, in a moment, with complete intention. I really hope it changes the space you’re in.”

Krlic’s work in the early 2010’s as The Haxan Cloak bridged the then radically separated worlds of avant garde, drone, metal and electronic music. Earning critical praise from the likes of DAZED, The FADER Pitchfork, Mixmag, The Quietus, The New York Times and The Wire, among others, Krlic’s staunchly independent output brought him to the attention of such luminaries as Björk, Goldfrapp, and Father John Misty as an in-demand producer. Since 2015 he has established himself as a composer for Film, Television and Games, winning a BAFTA award for his score to the Playstation 5 flagship game, Returnal and an Ivor Novello award for his original score for Midsommar, a celebrated artistic collaboration with director Ari Aster. He returned to this collaboration this year with Beau Is Afraid. In addition to his recurring work with Aster, Krlic has flexed his compositional chops for two radically different projects this year, contributing scores to A24 and Netflix’s No.1 acclaimed dark comedy thriller Beef and Warner Bros and DC Studios’ Blue Beetle, the latter of which went on to top the box office upon release.

The release of “N/Y” coincides with the announcement of Archaic Devices, a new label founded by Krlic that will serve as the home for his future releases as The Haxan Cloak alongside reissues of his past work under the moniker. Krlic admits that starting a record label wasn’t something that had occurred to him until he finished building his own home studio in LA and he regained the master tapes to his records from various underground labels. All of his archival releases have been remastered, with aspects of their design and presentation tightened up by Krlic to present his music exactly as he initially intended. Working with revered visual artist Christopher Leckie, Krlic has built a stark, unique identity for his newly minted label Archaic Devices that extends to a new line of merchandise, as well as new visual directions for the label’s first and forthcoming releases. 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
N/Y

SIDE B:
N/Y

Archaic Devices will also release long-awaited reissues of 2009's psychedelic Observatory EP, 2011’s The Haxan Cloak LP and 2013’s Excavation LP.

Listening to everything Bobby Krlic has recorded as a composer, songwriter and producer is a thought-provoking and exciting experience. With an impressive and ever-growing list of film and television titles to his name, the launch of Archaic Devices allows listeners to revisit his early work as The Haxan Cloak in anticipation of a third full length album that will no doubt be as innovative and metaphysically eye-opening as its predecessors. 

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
OBSERVATORY

SIDE B:
HONFOUR (TEMPLE)

Archaic Devices will also release long-awaited reissues of 2009's psychedelic Observatory EP, 2011’s The Haxan Cloak LP and 2013’s Excavation LP.

Listening to everything Bobby Krlic has recorded as a composer, songwriter and producer is a thought-provoking and exciting experience. With an impressive and ever-growing list of film and television titles to his name, the launch of Archaic Devices allows listeners to revisit his early work as The Haxan Cloak in anticipation of a third full length album that will no doubt be as innovative and metaphysically eye-opening as its predecessors

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A:
RAVEN’S LAMENT
AN ARCHAIC DEVICE

SIDE B:
BURNING TORCHES OF DESPAIR
DISORDER

SIDE C:
THE FALL
THE GROWING

SIDE D:
IN MEMORIAM
PARTING CHANT

This EP is Hayashi's release sincehis debut LP Ambivalence. Hayashi has studied under Japanese avant-classical composer Mica Nozawa. When not DJing,he works in a record store in Tokyo. Thus far, Hayashi has released a string of 12”s on labels including Going Good Records, Jinn Records, Lovers Rock, Gravity Grafittiand Moscoman’s Disco Halal. Previous work by Hayashihas been called “a complex patchwork of studio gear, live instruments, dusty jazz records and smartly cut library sounds, whose textures are soft and inviting. But its arrangements are constantly ruffled, squeezed, brushed and pinched—which is to say, nothing stays still for long”.

TRACK LISTING

Side A:
1.U
2.Cs

Side B:
1.I
2.Sr

The full 33-minute, unreleased, psychedelic funk jam session by Memphis rhythm kingpins the Bar-Kays, mixed directly from the original tapes. Contains bonus rhythm section instrumental and booklet detailing the history of this never-before-heard version of one of Isaac Hayes’ most famous songs by Hayes historian Bill Dahl.

Hayes was already a cutting-edge funk master at Stax Records when he accepted the unprecedented assignment of creating a soundtrack for the 1971 action flick Shaft. At a time when R&B songs routinely timed out at three minutes and under, Hayes’ albums for Stax’s Enterprise imprint had been breaking new ground since 1969. His masterpiece Hot Buttered Soul consisted of only four tracks, two songs on The Isaac Hayes Movement clocked in at a hair under 12 minutes, and one selection on his …To Be Continued stretched to 15:33.

But his epic “Do Your Thing,” one of the cornerstones of the two-LP Shaft soundtrack, outdid them all. Occupying nearly the entire last side of the set, it concluded after 19-and-a-half grooving minutes with the overdubbed sound of a needle scratching violently across a piece of vinyl. No one knew that jarring ending masked the existence of another 13 minutes of “Do Your Thing.” Consigned to the vaults, those improvisatory extensions—somewhere in between free-jazz and psychedelic rock—were seemingly destined never to be heard. Until now.

Even from the very first 'wikka', anyone on the planet can spot the classic theme from Shaft. Creative juices in full flow, the mighty Isaac Hayes penned a Blaxploitation theme so funky, fresh and orchestrally superior that it seized control of the collective pop consciousness with a vice-like grip. But if you look and listen beyond the ubiquitous title, Hayes delivers four sides of melodic and conscious mood music, only rivaled by Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" for the genre's top spot. The contemplative groove of "Bumpy's Lament" found favour with Mobb Deep and Dr Dre, "Ellie's Love Theme" did the trick for Biggie Smalls while "Do Your Thing" prompted Big Daddy Kane to get super smooth. Each and every track is worth a mention, especially the breezy soul jazz sway of "Cafe Regio's", but rather than hear me wax lyrical, you should just cop a load of this wax - Black Moses in full effect!

Band on the Wall Recordings is excited to present the first release from The Singles Club; a body of new work for 2021 that celebrates the artistic practice and far-reaching talents of one of its favourite artists and one of the hardest working musicians to grace the Band on the Wall stage.

Second year participant of Gilles Peterson’s Future Bubblers scheme and rising vocal talent, Mali Hayes is a jazzy-nu-R&B type neo soul artist, who has received personal endorsements from the likes of Jamz Supernova, Gilles Peterson & Jamie Cullum.

“A really great new British female vocalist from Manchester… She's got a real un-flashy kind of approach which I really like. Kind of a milder Jill Scott / Erykah Badu, definitely one to watch. We'll be hearing a lot more from her I'm sure!” – Jamie Cullum, BBC Radio 2

"I was fortunate enough to play demo's on my shows here at the BBC by Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. All premiers. And this is another one I think I'm gonna be proud of in a few years. Remember the name, Mali Hayes” – Gilles Peterson

A rising star in a flourishing Manchester music scene, jazzy-nu-R&B type neo soul artist Mali Hayes steps in a new direction for The Singles Club. Calling on past sounds, she breathes new life into previous work, combining vibrant real-life stories with honesty and soul, resulting in a release that is refreshing, infectious and dynamic. The lead track ‘Forgive You’ is a collaboration with fellow Future Bubblers participants, Medikul & Cult Architect.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Two stunning tracks from Mali Hayes fresh off the new Band on the Wall Recordings label, if this is a sample of what’s to come then we’re in for a treat. Soulful hazy-jazz which is good for the soul, mind and body.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Forgive You
B1. Come Closer

English songwriter and ex-Hefner frontman Darren Hayman releases his enthralling and ambitious new album ‘Thankful Villages Vol. 1’ via Rivertones.

A thankful village is a village in Britain where every soldier returned alive from World War I. Darren Hayman visited each of the 54 thankful villages and, focussing on village life, made a piece of music and a short film for each one. Some take the form of instrumentals inspired by the location, some are interviews with village residents set to music and others are new songs with lyrics or found local traditional songs.

‘Thankful Villages Vol. 1’ is the first (of three) volumes of the project and contains the first 18 villages that Darren visited during 2014/15. The pieces do not necessarily refer to the Great War, rather they portray the village and its communities at many points in history.

TRACK LISTING

Knowlton
Culpho
St Michael, South Elmham
Puttenham
Stoke Hammond
Little Sodbury
Rodney Stoke
Holywell Lake
Aisholt
Stocklinch
Strethall
Welbury
Scruton
Chelwood
Langton Herring
Herodsfoot
Butterton
Bradbourne

English songwriter and ex-Hefner frontman Darren Hayman releases his enthralling and ambitious new album ‘Thankful Villages Vol. 1’ via Rivertones.

A thankful village is a village in Britain where every soldier returned alive from World War I. Darren Hayman visited each of the 54 thankful villages and, focussing on village life, made a piece of music and a short film for each one. Some take the form of instrumentals inspired by the location, some are interviews with village residents set to music and others are new songs with lyrics or found local traditional songs.

‘Thankful Villages Vol. 1’ is the first (of three) volumes of the project and contains the first 18 villages that Darren visited during 2014/15. The pieces do not necessarily refer to the Great War, rather they portray the village and its communities at many points in history.

TRACK LISTING

Knowlton
Culpho
St Michael, South Elmham
Puttenham
Stoke Hammond
Little Sodbury
Rodney Stoke
Holywell Lake
Aisholt
Stocklinch
Strethall
Welbury
Scruton
Chelwood
Langton Herring
Herodsfoot
Butterton
Bradbourne

When Darren Hayman (Hefner) and Emma Kupa (Standard Fare/Mammoth Penguins) decided to make a duets record, we knew the results would be great, but we didn’t expect them to be THIS great. Gathering together a rhythm section consisting of Michael Wood (Whoa Melodic/Singing Adams) on bass and Cat Loye (Fever Dream) on drums, The Hayman Kupa Band create brash, bold and effortlessly melodic power pop. Sharing writing duties and sometimes singing each others words, lines are blurred and creativity explored in a wonderfully exuberant collection of songs.

The album, recorded in 3 days, is an exploration of relationships and, at its heart, it’s the sound of a friendship being made. Darren explains further: It’s only happened a few times but just once or twice I have seen someone on stage and thought, “I want to be in a band with them.” But I thought it the first time I saw Emma playing with her magnificent and under-rated band Standard Fare. I met her properly a little later in Sheffield when we played together. Before the gig I said I was suspicious of bands that wore hats. She wore a hat on stage. They say imitation is a form of flattery and I was glad that I noticed when I wrote the song “Boy, Look at What you Can’t Have Now” that it sounded like the sort of thing Emma might write. I covered up my theft by asking her to sing on it. When we were recording the song I suggested that we should write a whole album of duets. Musicians suggest things like this all the time because they are stupid or drunk. A few months later Emma told me she had started writing the album. This is what Emma does; she says something then does it. I race to play catch up. The songs were written over 3 weekends at her house and mine. Co-writing is something I’m not used to. It’s very intimate and me and Emma became friends through the process. Emma’s lyrics are sharp and precise whereas mine are more metaphoric. We talked about relationships and that’s what the album is about. It’s about our fears and paranoias and the search for trust and love. We deliberately swapped lines and genders so the narrative is never truly that of traditional duets. We wanted a band to make the album and chose Michael Wood and Cat Loye. 

TRACK LISTING

A1) Let’s Do Nothing
A2) No More Bombs
A3) Red Petal
A4) Over’s Now Overdue
A5) We Can Get By
A6) Do You Know

B1) A Tent Of Blankets
B2) Draw The Line
B3) My Right Arm
B4) Pretty Waste Of Time
B5) Reach Out
B6) Then We Kissed

English songwriter and former Hefner frontman Darren Hayman continues his journey around the United Kingdom’s 54 Thankful Villages. A Thankful Village is a village where every soldier returned alive from World War One.

An ongoing and hugely ambitious folk project, ‘Thankful Villages’ is only partially concerned with the war itself, moreover it is a celebration of British rural life. Darren pulls together first person interviews, folk tales and songs, field recordings and his own personal experiences to create a vast patchwork depicting community, history and legend.

‘Thankful Villages Vol. 2’ is something akin to an arcane musical radio documentary. The success of the first volume of ‘Thankful Villages’ has encouraged Hayman to go deeper into his subject. Themes of ‘the river’ and ‘death’ weave their way through these eighteen villages. A centuries old drowning is uncovered in ‘Arkholme’ on Bonfire Night. Dennis, the river man, tells us of a tragedy on the Weir in ‘Cromwell’. Judy Dyble, the original singer of folk legends Fairport Convention, joins Darren in the village of ‘Upper Slaughter’ and sings a lyric about the generations flowing like water through the village.

Darren uncovers two World War II air disasters in ‘Woodend’ and ‘Wigsley’, where he records in the abandoned control tower at the airfield, the so-called cemetery of lights. Perhaps the most shocking and miraculous of tales is found in ‘Flixborough’ where in 1974 the local plastics factory exploded killing everyone inside but nobody in the lucky village. Derek and his son tell us the story of finding each other amongst shards of glass.

However, glimpses of light shine through the darkness; a sunny day of wild swimming in ‘Tellisford’, a village fete with bell ringing in ‘East Norton’ and a tale of a grateful Belgian refugee in ‘Norton Le Clay’.

TRACK LISTING

Cundall
Norton Le Clay
Chantry
Tellisford
Woolley
Shapwick
Cromwell
Wigsley
East Norton
Maplebeck
Stretton En Le Field.
Nether Kellet
Arkholme
Colwinston
Upper Slaughter
Woodend
Coln Rogers

English songwriter and former Hefner frontman Darren Hayman continues his journey around the United Kingdom’s 54 Thankful Villages. A Thankful Village is a village where every soldier returned alive from World War One.

An ongoing and hugely ambitious folk project, ‘Thankful Villages’ is only partially concerned with the war itself, moreover it is a celebration of British rural life. Darren pulls together first person interviews, folk tales and songs, field recordings and his own personal experiences to create a vast patchwork depicting community, history and legend.

‘Thankful Villages Vol. 2’ is something akin to an arcane musical radio documentary. The success of the first volume of ‘Thankful Villages’ has encouraged Hayman to go deeper into his subject. Themes of ‘the river’ and ‘death’ weave their way through these eighteen villages. A centuries old drowning is uncovered in ‘Arkholme’ on Bonfire Night. Dennis, the river man, tells us of a tragedy on the Weir in ‘Cromwell’. Judy Dyble, the original singer of folk legends Fairport Convention, joins Darren in the village of ‘Upper Slaughter’ and sings a lyric about the generations flowing like water through the village.

Darren uncovers two World War II air disasters in ‘Woodend’ and ‘Wigsley’, where he records in the abandoned control tower at the airfield, the so-called cemetery of lights. Perhaps the most shocking and miraculous of tales is found in ‘Flixborough’ where in 1974 the local plastics factory exploded killing everyone inside but nobody in the lucky village. Derek and his son tell us the story of finding each other amongst shards of glass.

However, glimpses of light shine through the darkness; a sunny day of wild swimming in ‘Tellisford’, a village fete with bell ringing in ‘East Norton’ and a tale of a grateful Belgian refugee in ‘Norton Le Clay’.

TRACK LISTING

Cundall
Norton Le Clay
Chantry
Tellisford
Woolley
Shapwick
Cromwell
Wigsley
East Norton
Maplebeck
Stretton En Le Field.
Nether Kellet
Arkholme
Colwinston
Upper Slaughter
Woodend
Coln Rogers

When Darren Hayman made his debut in 1997 with the acclaimed indie band Hefner his lyrical remit was the broken hearted. His early songs told the story of the lonesome and lost, and broken dreams of love on the back streets of London. After Hefner, Hayman’s palette grew to include a unique take on place and memory. In the early 2000s he wrote a trilogy of albums around the history of Essex. In 2012 he made an instrumental album describing the tranquillity of Lidos. In 2016 Darren was awarded ‘Hardest Working Musician’ by the Association of Independent Music for his epic project on Thankful Villages, the 55 villages that survived the Great War with no casualties. His most recent record, 12 Astronauts, tells the personal story of the only men to have walked on the Moon. Darren is continually obsessed with the idea of what songs can be, and the stories they can tell.

As he explains, “With projects like Thankful Villages, I became interested in what a record could be, using field recordings, interviews and songs to make sound collages. I wanted to return to the stricter art of song writing and try and make the twelve best compositions I could. I wanted to make useful songs, words that could be comfort, not just thoughts that would depress.”

TRACK LISTING

A1) How It Could Be
A2) You Were My Map
A3) Don’t Haunt Me
A4) A Real Human Being
A5) Let’s Drift
A6) Love Is Through
B1) Otium
B2) A Room Within A Room
B3) No Lime For The Gin
B4) The Safest Way
B5) Turn My Grey Tick Blue
B6) Feel Like This Every Night
C1) Girls Who Look Like You
C2) Here’s The Stillness
C3) Loser Run
C4) Say You Want To Be Alone
C5) We Are Repaired
C6) Easter Gold
D1) Actually I Still Really, Really Miss You
D2) Holiday Eyes
D3) Where Were You
D4) Adverse Camber
D5) I Am Owned
D6) You Were Always Here 

Angular, intense songs, in a Fugazi quiet-loud-quiet style.

Gleefully jumping between late 80s synth-pop, the new boogie sounds purveyed by Gulf Point and People’s Potential Unlimited, with touches of insouciant Francophone pop and modern indie-dance, “Private Sunshine” bursts into our headspace this Autumn.

The London native first made her mark professionally as keyboardist for New Young Pony Club, one of THE bands at the epicentre of the white hot day-glo nu rave scene alongside the likes of the Klaxons and Test Icicles in 20060. This particular offering is much more indebted to Hayter's adolescent diet of Bowie, Prince, Human League and Madonna whilst hanging loose with a plethora of modern day contemporaries (listed below).

Full to bursting with evocative electro-soul love letters to her home town of London, alongside addictive bubblegum flavoured bursts of indie-disco. It’s like Kylie meeting Mr Fingers or Tom Nobel producing Peggy Gou – something beautiful and melancholic yet sharply modern and new.

From the warm, woozy, lysergic harmonies of opener “Cherry on Top”, which sound like a beloved old cassette unravelling, to the fizzy, infectious “Cold Feet”, which calls to mind Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam at their most heartworn, taken in toto the album perfectly nails the essence of gorgeously nostalgic synth-pop with a twist; crisp, stylish and sophisticated music which heralds the next chapter of Lou Hayter quite nicely, actually. Her retro-futuristic results will give 2021 the pop fix it so desperately needs and if you're looking for stuff that'll coexist happily alongside Silver Linings, The Orielles, Lonelady & Crazy P on your next mixtape, then this is the surely the ticket. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Lou Hayter's "Private Sunshine" thankfully arrives just in the nick of time, preventing Crazy P from getting a restraining order out on me for over-obsession and repeat listening. If you like pop-flecked & electronic indie-boogie-disco laced with sweeteners and dressed to impress – this is for you!

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Cherry On Top (3:19)
2. Telephone (4:22)
3. My Baby Just Cares For Me (4:56)
4. Time Out Of Mind (3:37)
5. Private Sunshine (4:04)
Side 2
1. Cold Feet (3:35)
2. What's A Girl To Do? (4:10)
3. Still Dreaming (4:27)
4. This City (3:54)
5. Pinball (3:35)

Boz Hayward returns with a deeply personal album which combines his particular take on modern folk, and adds a a vibrant slice of country music, together with his trademark whimsical pop elements. "Tennessee Ten" is ten new songs written during and around two visits with his mother in 2014 and 2015 to care for his aunt in Eastern Tennessee whose health was failing, and, who passed away during the second visit. There is a narrative that runs through the album creating a delightful and sometimes poignant atmosphere.

Using his trusted band of musicians Hayward delivers 38 minutes of varied tunes with a combination of sardonic humour and wry observations about life in the latter half of the 2010s. There was a clear intent to write a few songs with a country feel, given the Tennessee location and this is the most of obvious in "Night of the Fireflies" "Trail of Tears" and "The People Are Good". But as with any release from Hayward the sounds vary between quirky alternative pop in the spirit of Ray Davies, Kevin Ayers or Robyn Hitchcock, Morricone soundtracks, Klezmer, a hint of lounge jazz, and gentle country/folk/blues

TRACK LISTING

1.Totally Weird 02:24
2.Night Of The Fireflies 04:03
3. Patsy Lane 03:04
4. Trail Of Tears 03:02
5. In My Little Bubble 04:17
6. The Lexicon Of Life 05:14
7. The People Are Good 04:03
8. Now That You Are Free 04:38
9. You Ain't No Man 04:22
10. Byrdman And Birdo 02:44

Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with Phil Manzanera in the group Quiet Sun project as well as a short stint with Gong. He was a session musician on The Raincoats' second album, Odyshape, and on one occasion played drums for the anarchist punk band Crass.

Since the late 1980s he has concentrated on solo projects and collaborations, including Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith. Begin Anywhere is his brand new solo album and shows a different side to the Charles Hayward we know. The drum set is left in the corner, and instead we get fragile yet powerful songs on piano and voice. A very personal Hayward album, let yourself be surprised. 

Boz Hayward’s third album is a collaboration with the late Brian Tibby. Shortly before falling ill, over a number of weeks Brian - the regular opener at Chorlton Folk Club - gave a series of handwritten letters to Boz, containing amongst them a series of whimsical observations of local life… Inspired by the workings of Brian’s colourful and wonderfully eccentric imagination, ‘Edward Edwardly and the Marquis of Flixton’ is Boz’s witty response, a 13 track album which, named after one of the most vivid character sketches from the collection, sets each of these to his own unique blend of orchestral urban folk music.

Crossing Calexico with Mogwai will take you some way here… but only some way… This is very welcome unchartered territory. A highly original 10-track acoustic film score album rich in melody, harmonies, atmosphere and dynamics with a good mix of tempos that will take the listener to many places inside 40 minutes.

Boz Hayward’s fourth album SHORTSCORES is the first body of work created solely for Video Jam – the experimental short film/live score event from Manchester. Boz has been associated with Video Jam since its inception in January 2012. His cinematic, narrative writing style, coupled with his quaint and idiosyncratic 'Bozchestra' (traditionally consisting of Boz himself on acoustic guitar, a mariachi bass/guitarron, violin, trumpet and percussion) lends itself perfectly to the art of the film score. A rich, rewarding listen.

Simple and beautifully crafted acoustic songs with rich, clear vocals and
haunting harmonies. Refreshingly original. The nearest you could get to
this? – Possibly the music of Richard Hawley stripped down with a filmic
feel that takes you from baking spaghetti western to frozen dark gothic.
Some laments, some storytelling, observations of everyday people and
consumerist society and a message of love. A charming complement to a
weekend morning or life on the road...

Shay Hazan radiates with musical diversity on 'Wusul وصول', His second solo album on Batov Records. Acclaimed Tel Aviv bassist, band leader, composer and producer, Shay Hazan emerges into the limelight with his highly anticipated second solo album, 'Wusul وصول'. This groundbreaking musical odyssey artfully melds the enchanting sounds of Gnawa music, spiritual jazz, hip hop grooves, and electronic production, with a rich tapestry of Middle Eastern and African influences.

Hazan's debut solo album for Batov Records, 'Reclusive Ritual,' unveiled a fresh musical realm. It introduced the guimbri, a three-stringed camel-skin-covered bass plucked lute used by the Gnawa people of Morocco, to a landscape of jazzy horns, synths, and laid-back hip-hop beats.

The album garnered support on BBC 6 Radio Music and earned Hazan a mix on the Huey Show. With over two four- 'لوصو star reviews, Songlines magazine dubbed it "groovy," while Mojo magazine described it as "hypnotic." 'Wusul builds on this legacy, offering a broader sonic palette, enhanced organic instrumentation, a lighter atmosphere, and elevated production values.

The album's enigmatic title, 'Wusul' (Arabic for 'arrival'), celebrates the expected birth of Hazan’s first born child, expected to arrive around the same time as this album. Fitting, given that the latter is the result of a transformative phase in Hazan's career, with many of the album’s songs evolving and taking shape during live performances. Most notably, a majority of the musicians featured on 'Wusul لوصو' are integral members of Hazan's live band, bringing a synergy and connection to the music that is palpable.

Standout track, “Sunflowers”, featuring the exceptional Nitai Hershkovits on keys, showcases Hazan's prowess on guimbri, guitar, percussions, and synths. This mesmerising composition, recorded by Hazan himself, seamlessly weaves together a diverse array of musical elements, resulting in an uplifting and danceable masterpiece.

On “A Walk In Dir El-Assad”, Hazan invites listeners with him to the small Arabic village of El-Assad, where at night the air is full of sounds of music emanating from multiple weddings. Over a cacophony of percussion, live drums from Shahar Haziza, and Hazan’s earthy guimbri-led basslines and gritty guitar, Eyal Netzer and tenor sax and Roy Zuzovsky trade solos and harmonise over the melody.

Delivering one of the heaviest grooves on the album, “Vibe jadid” commences with the distinctive percussive sound of krakebs, large iron castanet-like musical instruments, primarily known for supplying the rhythmic aspect of Moroccan Gnawa music, before the earthy guimbri bassline hits, accompanied by a half time hip-hop-like kick drum and clap. Triumphant horns ring out the anthemic melody, offset by otherworldly synths.

Shay Hazan's creative process reveals a cross-cultural narrative influenced by his extensive travels, from Central America to Japan, where he encountered the rich tradition of Gnawa musicians in Tel Aviv. The album includes a fascinating tune named “Shimo Kitazawa”, inspired by a Tokyo neighbourhood, as well as other tracks infused with the global vibes that have touched his musical soul. Dedicated compositions like “Dew” and 'Yooltz” pay homage to the friends and musicians who helped shape this album. Opener “Dew” is a nod to trumpeter Tal Avraham, who contributes a hypnotising solo. “Yooltz” is a loving tribute to tenor saxophonist Eyal Netzer, who contributes a soulful solo to the song, adding a distinctive layer of brilliance to the album. The Afrobeat leaning “Oladipo”, on the other hand, is dedicated to the late great drummer, musical director of Fela Kuti's band legendary Africa '70, and pioneer of the sound, Tony Allen.

Hazan utilises synths to create an eerie atmosphere on “Street Souls”, inspired by the characters who frequently inhabit the streets around Hazan's studio, sharing insightful comments from time-to-time. The slim wall of separation, provided by his machines and studio walls, from the junkies and prostitutes outside is emblematic of the slim divide between his privileged existence and theirs. This urban tension continues on album closer “Riff Raff”, taps into the tumultuous undercurrents of social movements and demonstrations, injecting a sense of urgency into the album's diverse tapestry, with its jolting groove. Shay Hazan's journey continues as he embarks on a series of international performances, including the Jazz Jantar Festival in Dansk, Poland, and the Tel Aviv Jazz

Festival. He has recently captivated audiences at the prestigious Jazz in the Park Festival in Romania and the Jerusalem Jazz Festival. His music transcends borders, uniting listeners worldwide in a vibrant celebration of sound and culture.

'Wusul لوصو' is an introspective journey through the intricate tapestry of musical influences that have shaped Shay Hazan's unique sound. While Western and Mizrahi pop have left their marks on the record, they serve as threads in a larger, more intricate musical fabric. Hazan's profound exploration transcends traditional boundaries, weaving together a rich sonic tapestry that defies easy categorization.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dew
2. Oladipo
3. A Bite Of Sand
4. Sunflowers
5. A Walk In Dir El-Assad
6. Yarabi
7. Shimo Kitazawa
8. Yooltz
9. Vibe Jadid
10. Street Souls
11. Riff Raff

Birthed out of the boredom of rural village life in Buckinghamshire, Haze now reside in Bristol and make urgent, dissonant music, described as a ‘special brand of ramshackle post-punk that’s raucous and dripping with irony’ by So Young Magazine.

Lyrically, often adopting the biographical form, they have strived to deconstruct our society, addressing topics such as toxic masculinity in ‘Ladz Ladz Ladz’ and our false deification of historical figures in ‘Piochitas’ and new single ‘St John’, whilst maintaining a sense of humour that pervades their live shows

TRACK LISTING

A - St. John
B - Piochitas

It’s safe to say The Hazey Janes have undergone their fair share of globetrotting in their ten years together, all the while refining their zig-zag path from country to psych to power pop. They’ve headlined throughout the UK, played in support to the likes of Elbow, Idlewild and Snow Patrol, made two trips to the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas - where they showed their versatility by being able to open for both Susanna Hoffs and The Presidents of the United States of America.

Since 2011’s The Winter That Was, the group’s third album, the quartet have undertaken some of their most rigorous and prestigious tours to date, opening as guests for Wilco on the European leg of their world tour and, more recently, Deacon Blue - the latter culminating with a sold out performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Inspired and rejuvenated by their time in Spain, where their dates with Wilco concluded, the band ensconced themselves in the country’s South-west to record fourth album, Language of Faint Theory, returning to El Puerto De Santa Maria to collaborate with Paco Loco (The Posies, The Sadies, Josh Rouse) and John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady), the team that produced and mixed their debut, 2006’s critically lauded Hotel Radio.

Engineering skills aside, one of the main the reasons we chose Paco’s studio is the vast array of vintage recording equipment and weird and wonderful guitars and keyboards he collects. The whole session went down to two-inch tape via an old 1970s Cadac console from Scorpion Studios in London which was previously used by Queen, T-Rex, Supertramp and goodness knows how many other bands that swanned in through their doors. John then mixed down to quarter-inch tape, completing the album’s warm analogue sound, which we had our hearts set on from the start” says front-man, Andrew Mitchell. No matter how far the apple drops from the tree, home is where the heart is, and within lead single, ‘The Fathom Line’s chiming, saturated guitar-pop and euphoric vocals is a homage to their beloved hometown of Dundee.

Mitchell explains; “For many years Dundee’s long and illustrious, if somewhat tumultuous, past has been the source of much debate and deliberation in both song and literature. While ‘The Fathom Line’ continues that tradition, weaving through tragedy and triumph of the history that hangs in the air through the city by the Silvery Tay, it observes and celebrates the plight of the underdog.” Bassist Matthew Marra elaborates, “While the recording of the album may have been geographically detached from the East coast of Scotland, there’s a strong narrative of our lives in Dundee running through Language of Faint Theory. The year leading up to the recording was a particularly emotional one for the four of us and that certainly infiltrated the writing process. All the songs depict events, people and places in and around the City of Dundee.”

“…cruising between REM, The Byrds, and The Beatles, awash in glistening three-part harmonies…” Classic Rock.

TRACK LISTING

1. Iwan
2. The Fathom Line
3. All Is Forgotten
4. In Shadows Under Trees
5. If Ever There Is Gladness
6.Beyond The Heath
7. The Genesis
8. (I’m) Telescoping
9. Language Of Faint Theory
10. Bellefield Moon

Phoenix, Arizona 1955…a twenty-five year old disc jockey and fledgling songwriter, Lee Hazlewood, is trying to break into the music industry. He takes Greyhound bus trips to Los Angeles to pitch songs, only to be rejected each time. Undeterred, Lee starts a record label called Viv Records. Running the label out of his house, Lee finds the artists, writes the songs, produces the sessions, arranges the pressings of the records and handles distribution. Recently discovered tapes in the Viv Records archive yielded an unbelievable find, the earliest known recordings of Hazlewood singing his songs…Lee’s first demo! The mysterious and bountiful tapes featured Lee singing early unheard compositions and a complete first draft of his Trouble Is A Lonesome Town song cycle that would become his first official solo album in 1963.

Light in the Attic Records is proud to continue it’s Lee Hazlewood archival series with 400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56, a collection of previously unknown intimate recordings, never intended for release. Lee sings, plays guitar and even presses the record button on the tape machine. These are rural sketches and small town dreams, captured in an innocent time before the path ahead was clear.

These songs rewrite Lee’s recorded history, adding a new first chapter to his saga. For Hazlewood addicts, hearing these early tracks and the embryonic version of Trouble Is A Lonesome Town is akin to finding an early draft of the Old Testament.

“That’s beauty of Lee’s songwriting. It lives on. People will hear it for the first time, even though it’s fifty years old or whatever, if it’s good enough and strong enough, they’ll accept and like it as much as if it was just created. That’s the wonderful legacy that Lee has. It’s wonderful to look back and make all this early work available. To put “Boots” and all those other LHI songs into perspective. That it all started somewhere and this is where.” – Arizona Music Historian and record producer, John Dixon.

TRACK LISTING

Cross Country Bus
The Woman I Love
Five Thousand And One
Lonesome Day
A Lady Called Blues
Five More Miles To Folsom
Fort Worth
The Old Man And His Guitar
Peculiar Guy
Long Black Train
I Guess It’s Love
It’s An Actuality
Buying On Time
The Country Bus Tune
Long Black Train
Run Boy Run
Big Joe Slade
Son Of A Gun
Georgia Chain Gang
Look At That Woman
Peculiar Guy
The Railroad Song
Six Feet Of Chain
Trouble Is A Lonesome Town

By the end of the 1960s Lee Hazlewood’s LHI Records had burned piles of cash, gone through a half dozen distributors and failed to achieve the kind of chart success “Boots” had promised. Fortunately for Lee there was a land where he was still on the top of the charts, a place where women flowed like Brännvin...Sweden was calling.

Released as the last LHI LP, Cowboy in Sweden was a soundtrack to the 1970 cult classic film of the same name starring Lee Hazlewood. The film was a surreal psychedelic account of Lee’s journey to his new homeland, while the soundtrack was a perfect compilation of Hazlewood’s orchestral melancholy country pop songs. Recorded over a prolific globe trotting three year period, Lee’s peak on LHI records was ironically the label’s swan song.

TRACK LISTING

Pray Them Bars Away (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Leather And Lace (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood _ Nina Lizell
Forget Marie (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Cold Hard Times (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
The Night Before (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Hey Cowboy (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood _ Nina Lizell
No Train To Stockholm (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
For A Day Like Today (24 Bit)-suzi Jane Hokom
Easy And Me (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
What's More I Don't Need Her (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Vem Kan Segla (i Can Sail Without The Wind) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood _ Nina Lizell
Me And The Wine And The City Lights (session Outtake) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
First Street Blues (session Outtake) (24 Bit)-suzi Jane Hokom
Pray Them Bars Away (alternate Version) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Easy And Me (alternate Version) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
For A Day Like Today (take 1) (24 Bit)-suzi Jane Hokom
First Street Blues (take 1) (24 Bit)-suzi Jane Hokom
Leather And Lace (alternate Vocal Mix) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood _ Nina Lizell
The Night Before (mono Single Mix) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
What's More I Don't Need Her (instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Pray Them Bars Away (take 7 Instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Easy And Me (take 5 Instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Cold Hard Times (take 4 Instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
No Train To Stockholm (instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Me And The Wine And The City Lights (instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood
Hey Cowboy (instrumental) (24 Bit)-lee Hazlewood

With his handlebar mustache and booming baritone, Lee Hazlewood was one of the defining stars of the late ‘60s. Though he’s perhaps best known for his work with Nancy Sinatra (including writing mega-hit “These Boots Are Made For Walking”), Hazlewood did stunning work away from that particular glamour queen and found latter-day champions in Beck, Sonic Youth, and Jarvis Cocker. Now, for Record Store Day 2012, we are kicking off our excavation of the Lee Hazlewood archives with this anthology, Singles, Nudes & Backsides, collecting the best of Lee’s solo songs and duets from his LHI (Lee Hazlewood Industries) imprint.

As a true legend of the great American songbook and a rebellious pioneer who left behind a lengthy trail of echo-laden pop masterpieces, Lee’s influence continues to reverberate today. Between 1968-71, Hazlewood not only released his finest solo work but produced numerous artists on LHI. From acid-folk and country-rock to pop-psych and soul, LHI issued dozens of long-forgotten 45s and LPs. This series will include material from LHI (re-mastered for the first time from the original analog tapes), along with Lee’s output for other labels, rarities, and unreleased gems.

See the sleeve: surrounded by nude girls, each wearing a fake mustache, Hazlewood wears a suit, ever-so-slightly awkwardly playing the role of the ‘60s playboy. Just like the picture, the songs present a man conflicted; he’s the tender-hearted romantic, the broken-hearted loser and the rugged cowboy, all in one. It’s there in the western swing of “Califia (Stone Rider)”, the loneliness of ”The Bed” and the bleak beauty of ”If It’s Monday Morning.” Hazlewood’s tremulous voice was made for duets (indeed, he wrote ”Some Velvet Morning”, one of the greatest of all time); here, Suzi Jane Hokom, Ann-Margret and Nina Lizell play counterpart to his manly tones.

In the wonderful liner notes, written by British journalist Wyndham Wallace, the writer describes his friend Hazlewood as “a curmudgeonly, unpredictable sort at the best of times, as impatient with his own talent as he is with other people.” The Hazlewood Wallace knew was puzzled by the growing interest in him in the last two decades of his life, which was ended by cancer at age 78. That late flurry of interest saw him perform at the Royal Festival Hall in 1999, his first-ever solo performance in the UK.

A natural wanderer, Lee lived a big life, fighting in the Korean War, working as a radio DJ in Phoenix, Arizona, setting up Viv Records in the ‘50s, working as a big-shot LA producer in the ‘60s, signing Phil Spector to his Trey Records label and prematurely announcing retirement in the wake of the mid-‘60s British invasion. He didn’t: Nancy Sinatra came along, the hits started flowing and he continued producing characterful solo albums into the ‘70s, which saw his move to Sweden. By 2007, Hazlewood was living in Vegas, and begrudgingly enjoying that flurry of latter-day interest in his work. This landmark compilation promises to create many more converts.

TRACK LISTING

1. Califia (Stone Rider) - Featuring Suzi Jane Hokom
2. The Bed
3. Sleep In The Grass - Featuring Ann-Margret
4. Leather And Lace - Featuring Nina Lizell
5. If It's Monday Morning
6. The Night Before
7. Bye Babe
8. Victims Of The Night - Featuring Ann-Margret
9. Chico - Featuring Ann-Margret
10. Hey Cowboy - Featuring Nina Lizell
11. No Train To Stockholm
12. Won't You Tell Your Dreams
13. Nobody Like You - Featuring Suzi Jane Hokom
14. Trouble Maker
15. What's More I Don't Need Her
16. Come On Home To Me
17. I Just Learned To Run

The mid-to-late '60s were strange days for Lee Hazlewood. Having struck gold as songwriter and vocal foil for Nancy Sinatra, he signed up to MGM as an artist in his own right, and between 1966 and 1968, produced three ambitious solo albums that were eclectic, idiosyncratic, and most of all, unpredictable.

It was a happy time for Lee; his music was hot on the charts, he was fully immersed in his collaboration with his muse, Suzi Jane Hokom.

The second of his MGM trilogy - 1967's peculiarly named Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause And Cure - took on countrified French ye-ye (“The Girls In Paris”), a tale of a young bullfighter built on Spanish guitar and choral cowboys (“Jose”), a string-drenched song about the passing of time (“The Old Man And His Guitar”), and a western epic about a Native American tribe (“The Nights”). And that was just the first four tracks. Elsewhere, the honky tonk madness of “Suzi Jane Is Back In Town,” the Byrds-like jangle of “In Our Time” and–in the bonus tracks–an instrumental named “Batman” confirm this to be one of Hazlewood's most far-ranging, far-out LPs ever.

It’s the result of two main factors: ambition–to top Phil Spector, primarily–and cash, which paid for orchestras, plush studios, and the inestimable talents of arranger Billy Strange. “I think the big sound of those records came out of the Spector thing,” says Hokom, in the new liner notes. “If you can have a big sound and you have money to burn… it was a flamboyancy.”

Released before the Nancy & Lee LP–a bona fide hit for Reprise Records–Hazlewoodism was a tougher nut to crack, a record that confused by combining po-faced delivery with unabashed comical touches. By 1967, Hazlewood had founded the LHI imprint, and was busy building his own empire–one we've been lovingly archiving for the past few years. We now present this missing link in the story, plus predecessor, The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood and follow-up, Something Special. Welcome to Hazlewood's magnificent–and mad–MGM years.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Girls In Paris
2. Jose
3. The Old Man And His Guitar
4. The Nights
5. I Am A Part
6. Home (I'm Home)
7. After Six
8. Suzi Jane Is Back In Town
9. In Our Time
10. Dark In My Heart
11. Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks Frenesi*
12. Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks Muchacho*
13. Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks Batman*
* Bonus Track

The Head and the Heart came together in the summer of 2009, during frequent visits to the open mic night at Conor Byrne in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

Californian Josiah Johnson and Virginia-native Jonathan Russell formed the core songwriting partnership, before adding keyboardist Kenny Hensle. Kenny, then 21, had packed up his piano and moved up to Seattle from California to pursue musical score-writing. Charity Rose Thielen, violin and vocals, had just returned from a year of studying and playing music in Paris. Drummer Tyler Williams moved from Virginia after Jon sent him the demo of Down in the Valley, relocating across states to be a part of this. Finally, Chris Zasche, was bartending at Conor Byrne and mentioned one day that he'd be happy to play bass for the nascent band. It all felt right: The Head and the Heart was born.

The band entered Seattle's Studio Litho in early 2010 to record these songs that had been kicking and twisting in the catalytic development of their live show. Recorded by Shawn Simmons at Studio Litho and Steven Aguilar at Bearhead Studio, the band was selling burned copies in handmade denim sleeves at local shows within a few weeks. Self-released in June 2010, the debut album helped build an impressive head-of-steam for the band through the second 1/2 of the year, gaining fans at influential Seattle station KEXP, local record shops (a consistent top 10 seller for Easy Street and the #1 album of 2010 at Sonic Boom), and venues up and down the west coast.

For the 2011 re-release of the album, Sounds Like Hallelujah has been re-recorded, live favorite Rivers and Roads has been added, and the album has been re-mastered.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cats And Dogs
2. Coeur D’Alene
3. Ghosts
4. Down In The Valley
5. Rivers And Roads
6. Honey Come Home
7. Lost In My Mind
8. Winter Song
9. Sounds Like Hallelujah
10. Heaven Go Easy On Me

Bonus Tracks:
11. Chasing A Ghost (Live)
12. Josh McBride (Live)
13. River’s And Roads (Live)

Kerrie from E Bloc's Dark Machine Funk goes from strength to strength with her first guest producer featuring on the label's fifth release. Head Front Panel, Kerrie confesses, has been a massive source of inspiration both for her own productions and the direction of the label; so she musta been well buzzing when they agreed to this feature!

"Panama" starts us off with concentric brick wall drums and a tribal whoop carrying Detroitian strings and swelling synth passages. Instantly traversing the Atlantic with a track that's equal parts us and Motor City. "Tactile" continues this allegiance with wigged out, nagging leads ricocheting off clattering metallic beats that somehow tips its hat to both Jeff Mills and Luke Slater simultaneously.

"Surdo" goes for a mainroom throb, fluttering hats and thrusting low end reminding us of DJ Rush in peak flow. Finally "Them", the most Millsian offering here, utilizes pitched 909s, a circular acid line and expert saturation to create a track that'll twist craniums and summon interplanetary communication between us and any passing UFOs.

Top stuff. Real techno! 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Serious UK-Detroit hybridization here with one of my favourite releases on Kerrie's DMF label. Strictly for the headstrong, fierce, uncompromising techno that beats its chest gleefully.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Panama
A2. Tactile
B1. Surdo
B2. Them

Liverpool legend Michael Head (Shack, The Strands, Pale Fountains) returns with a stunningly beautiful double A-side single. "Velvets In The Dark" is a gorgeous conversational swooner in the style of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talking", whilst the flip, "Koala Bears" has an almost jazzy flavour and slips into (Bacharach and David's) "Close To You" as made famous by The Carpenters! Strange, inspired magic from a bygone time, these two tracks perfectly complement one another: two evocative little stories done justice by the prettiest finger-picking, warmest horns and the classiest of arrangements. All in all, a little gem.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: This is a beautiful, stand alone single, unavailable anywhere else and a good old fashioned double A side too. Both songs are absolutely beautiful but then that's a given where Mick is concerned.

Not surprisingly (if you are familiar with any of the members’ other bands), the music is a whirlwind of intensity, which is fitting given that it was written, recorded, and produced in the span of only a week before being released by Three One G Records in 2005. All seven tracks showcase Blilie’s one of a kind, relentlessly vicious vocals. Listen more closely, and you will quickly recognize Serbian’s rapid-fire, precision drumming mixed with Pearson’s hard-hitting bass lines, which mesh perfectly alongside Votolato’s cacophonous guitar style in conjunction with Zinner’s playing (which takes on a harsher tone than we typically get to hear from his playing in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

Clever and humorous song titles such as “I’m a Taxidermist- I’ll Stuff Anything” and “Street College” give way to lyrics that are full of curious imagery and bellicose attitude, emanating influence from each of the band’s members.

As for the rest of the world, we are left to wait with baited breath for the moment when all of these radical friends can find another free week or two to set aside and blow our minds (and ear drums) once again. The band has been left open-ended over the years, and members are optimistic about creating new material in the future.

‘The sort of music that might make you want to drive a motorcycle across a thinly-iced lake, or start a PCP-fueled wrestling league’ - VICE

Reissue and remastered 2005 EP from post-hardcore supergroup

Featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, the Blood Brothers' Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato, and The Locust's Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian

TRACK LISTING

1: Radical Friends
2: I’m A Taxidermist I’ll Stuff Anything
3: Prick Class
4: Street College
5: New Soak For Our Empty Pocket
6: Thrash Zoo
7: Michael J. Fux Feat. Gnarls In Charles

Beautiful and evocative and recorded in his home-town of Liverpool between March 2016 and June 2017, the album is the culmination of four years of hard work. Equal to his finest moments, Adiós Señor Pussycat will undoubtedly only further cement his reputation as one of this generations greatest songwriters.

Since a self-imposed hiatus in 2008, Michael Head has been working with a fluid concept of an ever-rotating band format to provide a flexible platform for the range of his new live and recorded works.

‘Under the guise of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band in 2013, they released their sought-after debut EP, Artorius Revisited, and followed this with a double A sided 7”, Velvets In The Dark / Koala Bears in 2015.

A soulful and poetic genius, fate, bad luck and circumstance and often conspired to deny him his rightful dues. Loved and lauded by fellow artists and critics alike, he started out in the early 1980s with The Pale Fountains, with whom he recorded a brace of acclaimed albums, Pacific Street (1984) and …From Across The Kitchen Table (1985). He subsequently formed Shack with his brother John and went on to record five albums over almost twenty years including the much loved and acclaimed Waterpistol and HMS Fable in 1999 which saw the band briefly flirt with chart success and hailed from the cover of the NME as “our greatest songwriter”

He also released, what is often regarded as his classic album, The Magical World Of The Strands under the name of Michael Head & The Strands in 1997, and with Shack currently on hiatus he has been performing under the Red Elastic Band guise for the past few years.

The album features the following musicians:
Michael Head - Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
Steve Powell - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Phil Murphy - Drums
Tom Powell - Bass Guitar
Nina - Piano
Dan Rogers - Electric Guitar
Rod Skipp - Cello
Dewi Tudor Jones - Violin
Helen Tonge - Viola
Martin Smith - Trumpet
Andy Diagram - Trumpet
Simon James - Saxophone
Steve Powell, Joanne Head, Phil Murphy, Mary McCombs - Backing Vocals
Michael Head, Phil Murphy, Karina Townsend - Percussion

TRACK LISTING

1. Picasso
2. Overjoyed
3. Picklock
4. Winter Turns To Spring
5. Workin' Family
6. 4&4 Still Makes 8
7. Queen Of All Saints
8. Josephine
9. Lavender Way
10. Rumer
11. Wild Mountain Thyme
12. What's The Difference
13. Adios Amigo

62 years of music, loves, losses, long summer days and longer, darker nights are vividly recalled by ‘our greatest living songwriter’, Michael Head and The Red Elastic Band as he plays out flickering scenes from his life on new album, Loophole.

12 evocative and autobiographical songs to be accompanied by the written word as Michael Head prepares his memoirs for release with an autobiography with Nine Eight Books. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Dear Scott's mellower sibling picks up where our record of the year left off, with the stunning Shirl's Ghost, and meanders beautifully through Mick's usual magical worlds before ending on his ages old, but hitherto not recorded, lost classic, Coda. Mick's only gone and smashed it again. As the maestro himself would undoubtedly say: Is Right!

TRACK LISTING

1 Shirl's Ghost
2 Ambrosia
3 Ciao Ciao Bambino
4 Tout Suite!
5 The Human Race
6 You Smiled At Me
7 A Ricochet Moment
8 Connemara
9 Merry-Go-Round
10 You're A Long Time Dead
11 Naturally It's You
12 Coda

7" - Exclusive To Dinked Edition
Side A
1. Connemara - Acoustic (Live From Hebden Bridge)
Side B
2. Tour Suite! (Live Acoustic From Hebden Bridge)

2015 is a busy year for Michael Head:

His second record as ‘Michael Head and the Red Elastic Band’ has just been released on his own label, Violette - ‘Velvets in the Dark’ 7 inch single. Shack’s 1990 single ‘I Know You Well’ opens ‘Perfect Motion’, Jon Savage’s 2LP compilation as “a musical return-trip to these fondly remembered years spanning 1988-93”.

Plus, Megaphone is set to reissue ‘The Magical World of The Strands’ in its original form, with the addition of a 20-page booklet, including new liner notes by Michael Head himself and photographs testifying to the album’s sleeve work-in-progress.

The CD version will come with 2 bonus tracks – the B-Sides to the 1998 NME and Melody Maker Single Of The Week ‘Somethin’ Like You’. ‘Green Velvet Jacket’ is an acoustic solo piece by Michael Head. And Queen Matilda (demo) was recorded in early 1993 and produced by the band’s friend and live engineer Ian Eastwood on a 4-track Tascam cassette recorder.

Alongside this reissue comes ‘The Olde World’, an exclusive new album of recordings from the same sessions.

Last but not least, Michael plans his first gigs as ‘Michael Head & The Strands’ promising to play his classic album ‘The Magical World of The Strands’ in full.

After a couple of demos for the French promoter who paired him with his childhood hero Love’s Arthur Lee in 1992, Pale Fountains and Shack legend Michael Head entered a Liverpool recording studio the following year, with a new project in mind, ‘The Strands’. Michael teamed up with his brother and lifelong companion, John, his long-time drummer Iain Templeton and two new recruits, Michelle Brown on bass and Les Roberts on flute. The recording sessions would last two years and were only halted because Michael was offered a new major label deal. A deal, not for his current work, but for him to record as Shack again.

So it came to be that Stephane Bismuth, the French promoter, was left with 100 or so minutes of a thwarted project, only a third of which had made it to the mixing studio in Sheffield in the summer of ‘95.

Patch-working and weaving rough mixes and sketches – by engineer Steve Powell, made in Liverpool – with completed mixes by producer Mark Coyle who had hired an arranger and string section for sessions in Sheffield, Stephane Bismuth founded a new label Megaphone and finally released ‘The Magical World of The Strands’, in autumn of 1997.

This work-in-progress comprising sketches, rough mixes and fully orchestrated tracks, garnered great critical acclaim and is still rated by many as the "rarest jewel of the 90s", Q Magazine.

About “The magical world of the strands” :

“AS THE MAGICAL WORLD SO CONCLUSIVELY PROVES HE DESERVES THE WORLD” (9/10 NME 1997)
“THE RAREST JEWEL OF THE 90S” (Q 2014)
NME :`LIKE NICK DRAKE STRUMMING ALONG WITH THE STONE ROSES."
- **** GUARDIAN: "ONE OF THE FURTHEST REACHING ENGLISH GUITAR RECORDS THIS DECADE."
- **** Q: "INCREDIBLY AFFECTING, A STAGGERING ALBUM.
- **** UNCUT: "Regarded by many as the equal of the STONE ROSES debut."
- **** THE TIMES : ’BIGGER THAN A LEGEND '.

TRACK LISTING

1. Queen Matilda
2. Something Like You
3. And Luna
4. X Hits The Spot
5. The Prize
6. Undecided (Reprise)
7. Glynys And Jaqui
8. It's Harvest Time
9. Loaded Man
10. Hocken's Hay
11. Fontilan

CD BONUS TRACKS:
Green Velvet Jacket
Queen Matilda (Demo) 

Finding that luck, love and letting things roll works out for him just fine, Michael Head leads his Red Elastic Band into a fresh chapter with optimism and some of the best music of his career, releases his, Bill Ryder-Jones-produced album, Dear Scott.  

Revered by heavyweight songwriting peers and discovered by new generations of discerning listeners, all enraptured by the fruits of Head’s winding, 40-year career, the Liverpool singer-songwriter enters a new age of creativity and collaboration with Dear Scott. Promising to be a shimmering jewel cast by the minds and hearts of Merseyside’s finest musicians, the 12-track album is dusted with both Ryder-Jones’ artistry and the heavyweight musicianship of The Red Elastic Band, which Head found had ‘stepped up’ following almost a year apart, forcing him to dig deeper himself.

Of slipping back into writing and recording in 2021, Head continues: “After being apart for a while, I went for a walk on the beach with the band and it was beautiful, literally and personally. Rehearsals followed and it clicked into place, with one thing leading to the next. It’s very much the ethos we’re working by, keeping things simple, but keeping the momentum. I’d met Bill a few times and he’s a lovely guy. Once we knew he was interested in producing the album we didn’t need to think about it again, it just progressed and became a completely natural thing.”

Dear Scott refers to novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose debt-ridden, down-and-out years captured the imagination of Head, specifically a postcard Fitzgerald addressed to himself upon checking in at Hollywood’s infamous Golden Age retreat, The Garden Of Allah Hotel. Head explains: “A decade after being the king of the jazz age, Fitzgerald arrived unfashionable and sober, ready to conquer Hollywood. His agent with a sense of humour booked him into The Garden Of Allah, where writers, movie stars and even Stravinsky sometimes lived. He famously picked up a postcard on checking in and addressed it to himself.”

The postcard read: Dear Scott, How are you? Have been meaning to come and see you. I have living at the Garden Of Allah. Yours Scott Fitzgerald

Head states that the formation of The Red Elastic Band in 2008 began with ‘whoever was available at the time’, primarily as a vehicle for live performance, producing one, previous album in 2017’s Adiós Señor Pussycat. The band has since developed into a cohesive, mutually-supportive and permanent line-up, with Phil Murphy on drums, Tom Powell on bass, Danny Murphy on guitars and Nathaniel Cummins on guitars and backing vocals being the musicians taking on the world in 2022 alongside Head.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Kismet
A2 Broken Beauty
A3 The Next Day
A4 Freedom
A5 American Kid
A6 Grace And Eddie
B7 Fluke
B8 Gino And Rico
B9 The Grass
B10 The Ten
B11 Pretty Child
B12 Shirls Ghost 

THE PICCADILLY RECORDS ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2022.

PICCADILLY RECORDS EXCLUSIVE: 
For a limited period only, buy either the CD or vinyl you’ll get an exclusive 14 track CD bonus disc, 'Live At Strathaven'.

Finding that luck, love and letting things roll works out for him just fine, Michael Head leads his Red Elastic Band into a fresh chapter with optimism and some of the best music of his career, releases his, Bill Ryder-Jones-produced album, Dear Scott.  

Revered by heavyweight songwriting peers and discovered by new generations of discerning listeners, all enraptured by the fruits of Head’s winding, 40-year career, the Liverpool singer-songwriter enters a new age of creativity and collaboration with Dear Scott. Promising to be a shimmering jewel cast by the minds and hearts of Merseyside’s finest musicians, the 12-track album is dusted with both Ryder-Jones’ artistry and the heavyweight musicianship of The Red Elastic Band, which Head found had ‘stepped up’ following almost a year apart, forcing him to dig deeper himself.

Of slipping back into writing and recording in 2021, Head continues: “After being apart for a while, I went for a walk on the beach with the band and it was beautiful, literally and personally. Rehearsals followed and it clicked into place, with one thing leading to the next. It’s very much the ethos we’re working by, keeping things simple, but keeping the momentum. I’d met Bill a few times and he’s a lovely guy. Once we knew he was interested in producing the album we didn’t need to think about it again, it just progressed and became a completely natural thing.”

Dear Scott refers to novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose debt-ridden, down-and-out years captured the imagination of Head, specifically a postcard Fitzgerald addressed to himself upon checking in at Hollywood’s infamous Golden Age retreat, The Garden Of Allah Hotel. Head explains: “A decade after being the king of the jazz age, Fitzgerald arrived unfashionable and sober, ready to conquer Hollywood. His agent with a sense of humour booked him into The Garden Of Allah, where writers, movie stars and even Stravinsky sometimes lived. He famously picked up a postcard on checking in and addressed it to himself.”

The postcard read: Dear Scott, How are you? Have been meaning to come and see you. I have living at the Garden Of Allah. Yours Scott Fitzgerald

Head states that the formation of The Red Elastic Band in 2008 began with ‘whoever was available at the time’, primarily as a vehicle for live performance, producing one, previous album in 2017’s Adiós Señor Pussycat. The band has since developed into a cohesive, mutually-supportive and permanent line-up, with Phil Murphy on drums, Tom Powell on bass, Danny Murphy on guitars and Nathaniel Cummins on guitars and backing vocals being the musicians taking on the world in 2022 alongside Head. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Dear Scott is a masterpiece. Twelve perfect songs with melodies to die for and words that feel like scenes from a film condensed into poetry. Michael Head is the Liverpudlian genius renowned for his classic pop songs from “Thank You” and “Jean’s Not Happening” through to “Comedy” and “Meant To Be”. Forty years making music and he’s just made his joint best LP, one that if you’re into guitar based pop music you’d be daft to ignore.

It’s not always been like this. In a career buffeted by personal problems and dodgy deals it has taken the arrival of erstwhile Coral guitarist Bill Ryder Jones, a fellow Merseysider and huge fan, to draw the very best out of Mick. Bill has helped create what feels like a greatest hits LP but made up of brand new songs. There’s jangling indie pop, jazz, mystical folk, roving psych pop and even a splash of bossa, taking us right back to Mick's days as a teen star in the Pale Fountains! As I mentioned, each track is a short story or mini movie touching on the kindness of strangers, old Hollywood dreams, the futility of war, Liverpool trips, Love from afar and even a murder in gangland made wild and funky on album highlight “Gino And Rico”.

The tunes themselves are proper ear worms and the album is designed as an old fashioned two sided listen. Side 1 has six perfect pop songs, hit after hit, but flip it over and you’re whisked off into what almost feels like a song suite, interspersed as they are with towering strings, mad interludes (each track has contrasting parts that surprise and amaze) and psych rock guitar; it’s bewildering but oh so beautiful and it grows and grows with every listen. The record starts off neat but slowly expands into the stratosphere only to end on a heavenly lullaby, melancholic and magical.

Mick’s other great album, Waterpistol, was loved by all at Piccadilly nearly 30 years ago. That we’re here again all these years later is bizarre and brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Kismet
A2 Broken Beauty
A3 The Next Day
A4 Freedom
A5 American Kid
A6 Grace And Eddie
B7 Fluke
B8 Gino And Rico
B9 The Grass
B10 The Ten
B11 Pretty Child
B12 Shirls Ghost 

The band's upcoming debut EP 'Was It What You Thought' will be released on via Blitzcat Records and follows a flurry of exhilarating sold-out headline shows in the capital, support slots with Porridge Radio, Goat Girl, DEADLETTER, Heartworms and THUS LOVE, along with their three 2022 standalone singles "Televised", "Toothrot" and "Alligator".

Swaying from lo-fi bedroom tones to tumultuous blasts of snarling post-punk, headboy's blend of influences, ranging from Radiohead and Sleater-Kinney to Modest Mouse and Grizzly Bear informs the immediacy of their sound, whilst the band also note the impact of post-punk and no wave acts á la Gang Of Four, Orange Juice, Pixies and Television. 'Was It What You Thought' is an examination of knowing and not knowing.

STAFF COMMENTS

Laura says: Great debut EP from this London trio. Melodic guitar pop infused with post-punk energy. Definitely ones to watch I reckon!

TRACK LISTING

1.Reservoir
2.Sheep's Skin
3.Cement 04:08
4.Jackal Lake

The Headcoatees were Holly Golightly, Ludella Black, Kyra Rubella & Bongo Debbie, they released seven studio albums, a singles compilation and a split live album with Thee Headcoats. Thee Headcoatees played live along with Thee Headcoats from 1990–1999 when they split followed a year later by Thee Headcoats. Holly Golightly has gone on to release 13 solo albums and too many singles to mention, plus notable guest appearances on records by Rocket From The Crypt, The White Stripes and Mikabomb. Ludella Black was a founder member of legendary Medway band the DelMonas and has also released two solo albums with another planned for 2008 and is currently out on tour with The Masonics. Kyra Rubella released one solo album and singles on quite a few labels in the 1990's, she also did a single with Armitage Shanks in 1996. Kyra is currently in The A-Lines along with Debbie and Julie from The Musicians Of The British Empire. Bongo Debbie is currently in various bands including The Buffets, The A-Lines, and Dutronc and before that was also in The Would Be Goods, Honey & The Hucksters, Baby Birkin and probably a lot more besides.

Thee Headcoats and CTMF go head-to-head! Two Billy Childish bands battle it out with versions of the same song! Thee Headcoats version is taken from their forthcoming new studio album Irregularis: The Great Hiatus. The CTMF version is exclusive to this release. Two versions of the same song by different bands. Has each band heard the other version? If so, did they pass judgement? No, neither group heard the other version. I had forgotten how the CTMF version went - even though it was only a few weeks past. As with all the LPs there’s no rehearsal. I play the track - we do a run through and then press record. I don’t remember how either version goes now. There’s a famous saying – “Talent borrows; genius steals”. Are you a borrower? A stealer? Or something else entirely? As I’ve said before, I follow strict music industry guidelines and only plagiarise 50 percent of my material. Kurt Cobain put it better - he said people thought he was original because he didn’t let on what he was ripping off. Though we know he got the riff to his most famous song from The Daggermen, a local group Wolf (our drummer) played in. What was it like recording with Bruce and Johnny after such a long time? We met up in the studio in the morning, had a cuppa, a chat, plugged in and recorded the LP (in two days.) It was the first time we'd all been together in about 30 years, and it felt like yesterday - just laughing and joking about how rubbish we were and generally having fun. It was like no time had passed at all. Love the sleeve picture for this 7”! A lot of people miss the humour in your work, does that frustrate you? I’m not frustrated but surprised that the British seem to have lost their sense of humour somewhat - they’ve been pretty po-faced since 1978, I think. I was brought up on Pete and Dud when I was a kid. Interestingly a lot of comedians seem to like what we do. Stewart Lee has always been a fan and he said there are others of his ilk. If something can’t be mocked or laughed at, I’m not that interested in it

A re-issue of the very first Headcoats album that originally came out on Hangman Records in 1989. Features 12 tracks including "Young Blood" and "You're Looking Fine".

Reissue of classic album originally released by Sub Pop Records in 1990! Now with new artwork + two extra tracks (‘Girl From ’62’ was originally released as the A-side of a single on Regal Select Records, USA 1991 / ‘Troubled Times’ – was the B-side of a single on Dog Meat Records, Australia 1990). 

Q&A with Billy Childish (September 2023)

What’s the story behind the album title?

“Heavens to Murgatroyd, even!” is a term of surprise by Snagglepuss, a bright pink lion, who starred in his very own Hanna-Barbera cartoon. The term was famously employed by The Downliners Sect on the intro to their top tune ‘Leader of The Sect’.

This album originally came out on Sub Pop Records in 1990. The label was known for US grunge at the time, how come they ended up working with a Medway garage ‘n’ racket group?

We prefer the term “Maximum Drums and Racket”. It all came about because a young Steve Turner, of Mudhoney fame, when a young lad visiting England with his father, happened across Thee Mighty Caesars playing at The Cricketers Public House at the Oval. Fast forward five years and he is telling the Seattle Grunge mob all about how great we are. We were then invited to play with Mudhoney on their first Sub Pop jaunt in the UK. Bruce Pavitt, the Sub Pop visionary, saw our mass appeal and asked if we'd knock out an LP for Sub Pop. He also asked me to sign a contract. I replied - “what’s a contract, can you eat it?” By this good chance we still owned the LP.

You recorded the album at Red Studios in Wouldham, near Rochester in Kent. What are your memories of recording there?

It was all fine and dandy, I won’t go into details as I don’t want to embarrass Red Rodders, the engineer. Let’s just say there was a lot of marsh gas down Wouldham way.

Some of the tracks were recorded with Ollie Dolot (The Squares) on bass and backing vocals. How long was he in the band and why did he end up leaving?

Ollie was in for a good few months. Ron (Bruce) roped him in. Then whilst helping out The Cramps with their show at the Town and Country Club (formerly the home of British Fascism) we ran into Tub and knowing him from when he was guitarist with Mike Spenser and The Cannibals we asked if he'd like to twang the onion twine. Ron then told Ollie he was out the band sunshine and that it was me who had thrown him out. Which was not the case, it was Ron. I also think Ollie may have been absent due to being nicked for house breaking, or something. Strange but true.

This new edition is expanded with two non-album tracks and has brand new artwork. What made you want to release it with a different cover?

Sub Pop did the cover without asking - a bit of a shocker! This cover is near to what we would have done ourselves. The two extra tracks would have been on the original LP, but they got swiped as 45s by small labels desperate to get a bit of gold.

Are there any songs on the album that you’re particularly proud of?

They are all pretty top notch but ‘We're Gone’ and ‘Rusty Hook’ sit nicely with ‘Troubled Mind’ and ‘Girl From ‘62’.

Along with the 13 Childish-penned tracks is a cover of ‘Stewball’, a song made famous by Leadbelly and later covered by several artists in the 1960s. What made you want to record your own version?

I just love Leadbelly. I believe we even brought him to the mind of that young fellow-me-lad Kurt Cobain.

TRACK LISTING

Thee Headcoats - Troubled Times
Thee Headcoats - Mantrap
Thee Headcoats - No Way Out
Thee Headcoats - Reindeer Are Wild
Thee Headcoats - Hand To Hand
Thee Headcoats - Headcoat Man
Thee Headcoats - Girl Of Matches
Thee Headcoats - Girl From '62
Thee Headcoats - I Don't Like The Man I Am
Thee Headcoats - Pocahontas Was Her Name
Thee Headcoats - We're Gone
Thee Headcoats - Stewball
Thee Headcoats - I Ain't About To Give You My Name
Thee Headcoats - Rusty Hook

The undisputed kings of garage rock are back! It’s been 22 years since the last Headcoats album, but now Billy, Bruce, and Johnny return with a brand-new studio album! Recorded last year at Ranscombe Studios in Rochester. Billy, Bruce, and Johnny kindly answered some pertinent questions…You got back together recently as Thee Headcoats Sect to make the ‘Tribute to Don Craine’ EP.

What was it like working with each other again after all this time? BILLY: It was 'fab' and 'gear.' BRUCE: The weirdest thing for me was how weird it wasn't. It was like time compressed, but to the 'good old days', early on. I was wary that it 'wouldn't be like Thee Headcoats', but it was. JOHNNY: I'm with Bruce and Billy on that one. I think we were all surprised how it all just worked. If I remember correctly, we kicked off role playing like we detested each other. Then we got started and well, you can hear the result. What were the first songs you ran through when you got in the studio? BILLY: That’s a very good question. No idea. BRUCE: I can't remember. They all sound the same to me. JOHNNY: Bill had stuff on his phone that went “KSSHHCCCKSSHHHH”! So, we did that first. You’ve also paid tribute to Don with a track on the Irregularis album – ‘Oh Leader We Do Dig Thee’. He was, along with the other members of Downliners Sect, a big inspiration to Thee Headcoats. When did you first become aware of his music and what was he like to work with? BRUCE: We were given (or possibly lent) a reissue of the Sect's first LP around 1977, marketed as 'Punk From The Vaults', which certainly floated our boats and definitely popped our corks, due to the somewhat aggressive yet carefree nature of the tunes and sound in general. Ollie, our old bassist, found an ad in a trade magazine for them with a contact number for a Michael O'Donnell, which I excitedly called almost immediately. T'was none other than Don his'self and we managed to convince him into venturing down to Rochester to record some tunes with us which became the first Headcoat Sect EP. We were fairly starstruck and presented him with a brand new 'dearstalker' (or 'Headcoat', as they were now known). He was very accommodating and a great laugh and spent the evening with us, regaling us with tales of yore. I recorded a lot of it on cassette, which I may still have somewhere. Gawd bless Don.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Baker Street Irregulars
2. Full Time Plagiarist
3. The Ballad Of Malcolm Laphroaig
4. Cops And Robbers
5. Mr H Headcoat
6. Thee Headcoatitude
7. Tubs Help Out
8. The Leader Of The Sect
9. Oh Leader We Do Dig Thee
10. One Ugly Child
11. 7% Solution
12. The Kids Are All Square

Thee Headcoats are arguably the most famous and influential of the many group incarnations that Billy Childish has formed or performed in since 1977. Cited in the New York Times - back in the day - as 'the undisputed kings of garage rock', Thee Headcoats rule (1989 - 2000) saw them as Childish's most prolific group - up until that time - releasing upwards of eighteen albums and over 45 singles. Thee Headcoats performed their last gig in 2000.

With a 'break' of twenty-two years, Thee Headcoats got together over a weekend earlier this year and recorded a brand new LP, a 45 and an EP. These being released through Damaged Goods Records.

Here, Spinout Nuggets comes into the picture. Having the ear of mister Childish, our executives convinced the Dearstalking Man to allow us access to the original tapes and can now proudly present a 45 from that same great session, allowing the listener an earhole of a 'Bona' alternative version of 'Leader Of The Sect', - complete with 'Round The Horns Sandy and Julian' on the intro (also listen out for Thee Headcoatees on backing vocals).

This is coupled with an unreleased rendition of 'Paralysed By The Mountains'. Our advice: don't hang about if you want this classic piece of wax spinning on your turntable, as Thee Headcoats' 45s don't go stale on the shelf. The Kids might be all Square, but this is HIP!

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Leader Of The Sect 'Bona!' (2:32)
Side B
Paralysed By The Mountains (3:31)
The Lynx (4:01)

The new album features 11 uncompromising slabs of punk rock fury with lead tracks "Control" and "Gravy Train" addressing the regular Headcount topics of religion, politics and social commentary. Headcount are never shy of covering controversial subjects, but there are one or two surprises here also, as the songs reflect the development in the band's maturity. "To The Point" was recorded and produced by Headcount in their own studios, surviving monsoons, gas explosions and roof collapses. All in a day's work for these boys!

In 2013 Headland produced the LP sound/track to accompany a collection of 1970s surf film fragments site-specific to the northern coast of New South Wales: an album of guitar-based music seemingly poised between the open spaces of the landscape and the stylised rhythm of single-fin surfing.

This latest release, Cosy, maintains the essence of that project, providing five easy pieces that reflect on Australian surf-culture of the ‘70s and hint at an upcoming full-length release.

Headland’s main contributors are Murray Paterson, known elsewhere for his work with Tex Perkins & The Dark Horses, and Joel Silbersher, founding member of seminal Australian Rock bands God and Hoss.

Fans of the likes of Giant Sand / early Calexico / Scenic / Sun Kil Moon would be advised to take a dip.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Remain On Stop
A2. Milk Rain
B1. Bluebird
B2. Prettiest Of Things

The Headland soundtrack is a collection of 14 musical pieces composed and performed to accompany a collage of super8 footage shot around Lennox Head, New South Wales in the 1970s. The film gives us an on-the-rocks view of a particular way of surfing and some glimpses of a culture specific to that time and place. Not simply nostalgic, the music is sympathetic to the values and lived memories of small town surf-culture. Rather than describe, the compositions and performances reflect on anecdotal experiences and memories.

The recordings act as documents to those reflections. It’s a mixture of hi and lo-fi recording sessions held variously at Skritch’s Borough (Brisbane), Nashuaville (Nashua) and at Uralba (near Ballina) with Steve Law. There are a range of musical touchstones evident including Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, early JJ Cale, Meddle era Floyd and American Stars and Bars.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Created by a loose collective of musicians to soundtrack Super8 surf footage from the 70s; 'Sound/track' brings us delicious sun-dappled dreaminess that floats along with hints of Acetone, 'Meddle'-era Pink Floyd, and the hushed mellow delicacy of Bon Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago'. A late night beard stroking gem!

TRACK LISTING

01. Pulled At 4 Pins
02. Scrimshaw
03. The Hum Song
04. Evermast
05. Neska Polita
06. Halftide
07. Sevenmile
08. Head High
09. Seethrough
10. If You Want Me
11. Turtle Heads
12. Swallowtail
13. The Weight Of Water
14. Clear Black Morning

The Headland soundtrack is a collection of 14 musical pieces composed and performed to accompany a collage of super8 footage shot around Lennox Head, New South Wales in the 1970s. The film gives us an on-the-rocks view of a particular way of surfing and some glimpses of a culture specific to that time and place. Not simply nostalgic, the music is sympathetic to the values and lived memories of small town surf-culture. Rather than describe, the compositions and performances reflect on anecdotal experiences and memories.

The recordings act as documents to those reflections. It’s a mixture of hi and lo-fi recording sessions held variously at Skritch’s Borough (Brisbane), Nashuaville (Nashua) and at Uralba (near Ballina) with Steve Law. There are a range of musical touchstones evident including Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, early JJ Cale, Meddle era Floyd and American Stars and Bars.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Created by a loose collective of musicians to soundtrack Super8 surf footage from the 70s; 'Sound/track' brings us delicious sun-dappled dreaminess that floats along with hints of Acetone, 'Meddle'-era Pink Floyd, and the hushed mellow delicacy of Bon Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago'. A late night beard stroking gem!

TRACK LISTING

01. Pulled At 4 Pins
02. Scrimshaw
03. The Hum Song
04. Evermast
05. Neska Polita
06. Halftide
07. Sevenmile
08. Head High
09. Seethrough
10. If You Want Me
11. Turtle Heads
12. Swallowtail
13. The Weight Of Water
14. Clear Black Morning

Headland began in 2013 as a soundtrack to a gorgeous collection of found super8 film fragments depicting surfing and coastal culture in and around Lennox Head, Australia in the 1970s.

For this release, contemporary, High Definition slow-motion footage by award winning filmmaker Stephen Jones (El Mar Mi Alma) overscores each track of a full length LP. The film provides a discrete and personally emotive portrait of the Lennox coastline that builds upon traditional notions of landscape and seascape where each and every frame seems painted by hand. The instrumentation is lyrical, the compositions quaint and heartfelt. The combination is a personal insight into an emotional understanding of place.

With an almost distinct Australian fever to its pitch, “True Flowers” ebbs and flows like the proverbial tide it is “soundtracking”, the players of this collective have a long history in the underground/mainstream music scene in Australia, and with this record have created a similar cinematic/avant garde-pop as created by the likes of Calexico, Friends of Dean Martinez, Boxhead Ensemble, Lullaby for the Working Class, and even Pink Floyd and Neil Young, so immersive and far-reaching is their sound.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Following on from 2014’s delicate sun-dappled dreamy debut is this equally immersive album of beautifully cinematic and languid gems.

TRACK LISTING

01. Head And Bottle
02. The Second Marriage
03. Remain On Stop
04. Beneath The Eyes
05. This Painted World
06. Your Mouth Well Hid
07. Uncommonly Cruel
08. I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face
09. Song Of Three Children
10. Landfall Night
11. Lullaby For Pearl
12. Building Dwelling
13. Don’t Get Cosy

Headland is a collective of Australian musicians that compose, record and perform soundtrack music for surf films in various forms. The group leader is Murray Paterson, an old surfer himself, who in between wrangling two red-headed boys, finds time here and there to record bits and pieces of guitarbased music. Mostly he heads to Nashuaville where his longtime colleague from a previous life in arts education, Les Dorahy, has set up a small recording studio in the old Booyong General Store, situated in the Byron Bay Hinterland. Whenever friends visit their part of the world, they drop past and join in. Most of the music remains instrumental but this new album is a collection of songs. One of Murray’s comrades from his days with Tex Perkins and The Dark Horses is Joel Silbersher. Joel has been a longtime Headland collaborator–playing bass and guitar–but while recording material for the new album, vocal melodies kept finding their way into Murray’s instrumentals. Soon there seemed enough of a coherent lyrical theme to build an album around. There’s a song about installing a dishwasher. There’s one about a soccer ball filled with blood, and one from the point of view of a lizard. The topic of love among the elderly gets a look in, and there’s a drone called Face in the Sky, which is about a face in the sky.

There is some nice instrumentation touches here too with cello (Tahiti Jones), pedal steel (Danny Widdicombe), double bass (Melissa ‘Curly’ Hunt), violin/melotron (Amanda Brown – GO BETWEENS), percussion (Luke Peacock) and organ (Whitey White) fleshing out the core band of Paterson, Silbersher, accordionist Les Dorahy and drummer Brock Fitzgerald. During the recordings, a good friend of the band, Australian rock legend Spencer P. Jones sadly departed. One of his melodies and lyric was dovetailed to a Paterson instrumental and Ode to Death Trip became an emotional tribute to mark his passing. A couple of other covers appear on the album. There is a surprising, acoustic rendition of Motörhead’s Deaf Forever and a version of John Sebastian’s Darlin’ Be Home Soon. This last is a relic from 2007 when following a hard-drive meltdown at Nashuaville, the only remaining recording of a late night jam was an unedited headphone mix. It seems though, it was impossible to exclude this from the collection.

There’s still enough of the spacious Australian land- and seascapes to satisfy fans of the previous Headland albums (sound/track 2013, Cosy 2015, True Flowers from this Painted World 2017), journeys through a sonic architecture centred around the motion of the ocean and it’s meeting with the coastline. But a narrative of loss and longing sits on the surface here: Silbersher’s voicing is an emotive thread that breaches at all the right times. There are references to the likes of Alex Chilton, Nick Drake and Daniel Lanois but Christian Pyle (Prawn & Spanner Studio) brings a sensitivity to the mix so that any references float rather than reveal themselves in bold relief. What Rough Beast marks the development of an ensemble and documents a sense of meaning embedded with the tone of place.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beguiling mixture of Red House Painters style expansive morose rock and brittle, jazzy acoustic stuff. Flickering guitar and soaring ambience bring to mind expanses of land and weightless dreaming. Thoroughly lovely and always surprising.

TRACK LISTING

01. Let's Get On With It
02. I Will Fix This
03. Reverse Painting
04. Ode To Death Trip
05. O Tulip
06. Deaf Forever
07. Build A Good Bubble
08. Clattering Thing
09. Betrayal
10. Komodo
11. What Rough Beast
12. Face In The Sky
13. Darlin' Be Home Soon

2 tracks taken from the "Sweetie" LP by South-African group, The Headquarters. Originally released in 1977 and very hard to come by in it's original form. The album tracks are loudly pressed on one side each in it's original length.
"Real solid deep disco for the heads!"

Mastered & cut by The Carvery.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Never heard this one out... a brilliantly obscure, funky disco number given a really nice refurbishment on heavy wax.

TRACK LISTING

Sweetie
Moshate

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2017 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Vinyl of this reissue went out of stock within 6 months of its re-release in 2012,, so now, in the Month of its 21st Anniversary (it was indeed, released in the midst of Britplop in April 1996), the band have repressed it on blue vinyl for RSD. In an attempt to keep it in print and not see it go for £50+ on nefarious auctioneering sites. Fresh cut by Shawn Joseph, incredible art redux from Johnny O, and with MP3 DL code / FLAC DL code. "Relaxing With?" is the first Heads album, its reissue, remastered and boosted with extras has been a long time coming: Rooster is mightily proud to announce its release at last.. The Heads had self-released a couple of 7"', and then Cargo Uk's inhouse label Headhunter UK got to release a further 7", and then the Debut album in 1996. Amidst a world suffocating in Britpop smarm, the Heads cut a timely swathe with their unkempt rock psychedelique. The album contained 10 tracks of guitar driven, amp destroying rock, with cues taken straight from the US underground, Stooges, MC5, Mudhoney, Pussy Galore, early Monster Magnet too but with a disitinctly British stamp, some of the drone and fuzz from Loop / Spacemen 3, some of the attitude of the Fall, Pink Fairies and Walking Seeds and overlaid with the spaced rock of early Hawkwind. It was obvious that the four members of the Heads were music obsessives. The debut album was recorded at Foel studios (owned by Dave Anderson from Hawkwind) and engineered by Corin Dingley, it was mastered by John Dent at LOUD. For this reissue, the album was remastered by Shawn Joseph, Theres the full 2CD complement on the DL codes / this time theres a FLAC version too.. A release that confirms the Heads status as " a national treasure".

Cardinal Fuzz / Rooster are pleased to bring to you the latest volume in the Reverberations series – 'The Heads – Reverberations Volume 2'. This time we dive into The Heads archives for the Reverberations Series to bring you The Heads recorded live at the Thekla (6th December 2001) as part of the ‘The Gnostic Bash: A Tribute to Kenneth Anger'. This was part of a tribute programme (which included a performance of John Zorn and others playing to Anger’s ‘Magick Lantern Cycle at the Anthology Film Archives in New York) to help raise money for Anger’s long- cherished ambition to make a film of Aleister Crowley's Gnostic Mass, and documentary film-maker Jon Ausbrooks' then work in progress documentary about Anger, ‘Inside the Eye of Scorpio Rising’.

Sean Cook was tasked with putting a bill of artists together in which bands played to a partial recreation of Anger’s ‘Equinox of the Gods’ a live film of The Magick Powerhouse Of Oz band who featured Bobby Beausoleil (later imprisoned for life for the Manson Family-related murder of Gary Hinman). The energy captured within these grooves here is extraordinary; for over 40 minutes (with no breaks to catch your breath and get your head together) you are treated to primo Heads in full flight.

This two track performance starts with an utterly mind destroying version of k.r.t that lasts for near on 30 minutes. Playing to a back drop of Anger screenings and a barrage of strobes and smoke The Heads create an effect akin to your head been sucked through time and space and turned inside out – and that is before we even get to the grande finale of ‘Spliff Riff’ – a relentless onslaught that has you picking your head off the floor only for it to be sucked straight back down again. Take a deep breath, dive in and grin.

**LONG OVERDUE CD REPRESS**

"Dead in The Water" is compilation carefully edited together by The Heads vocalist and guitar player Simon Price. It was originally released in a micro edition of 100 CD copies on the bands own Rooster label, these copies sold out overnight! The material consists of album outtakes, jams and rehearsal recordings, most of which are improvised. "Dead In The Water" is a lot more space rock than the previous Invada outtakes LP "33", it will appeal to fans of Bardo Pond, Acid Mothers Temple, Faust and Hawkwind!

Bristol's sike merchants the Heads have a 20 year anniversary to celebrate this week with their THIRD STUDIO album , "Under Sided", originally released in March 2002! . They've decided (!) to release a 4LP/plus boxset of that double album, with a double album of demos, their third peel session, and other such unreleased gems. Thats going to be released at the end of August /September. we'll send more details on that soon, once certain elements of that set are finished!

Whilst trawling through the cassettes, CDrs, and ephemera in order to create the forthcoming "Under Sided" 20th anniversary reissue boxset.. the Heads found their cover of May Blitz's "For Mad Men Only", originally released as part of a 70s tribute comp LP on SMALL STONE Records. Also unearthead was their version of Hawkwind's "Born To Go" ..a full on 13 minute unedited version.. (a version of which appeared on the ROCKET Records 10" Out Demons Out. )

How about doing a limited 7" single to announce the boxset's impending release... ideal, once Born To Go was edited down (full version in the boxset, of course!) Simon Price came up with a suitable wraparound sleeve idea.. and the 2 tracks were pressed to vinyl.. 900 (450 of two colours!) have been made.

This is a full on, pedals set to stun, grooves set to vibrate sike assault, with the Heads at this point in time revelling in the peak of their psychedelic rock powers, and pretty much obliterating all around, then, and now. This aint no gentle-whimsy-psych indie rock this is the real brown-acid-gobbling mind-melting beast you were warned about..get on board!

Timely reissue of the first 3 releases The Heads put out on the ROCKET label, form their first split 7” release (with Lilydamwhite) in 1998 to their much lauded SESSIONS 2 freakout 12” from 2002… compiled here in their remastered glory, the Heads we quite prolific back in the late 90s / early 00’s, and in between the Everybody Knows We Got Nowhere album and Undersided album they released their jams and raw rehearsals via the burgeoning ROCKET Label..

Compiled here with extensive sleeve notes from Rocket founder Simon Healey, this limited 3LP (1000 copies) and 2CD (1000 copies) set captures the band at their most laconic and free… psychedelic sprawling morass or sound and aural distortion grooves akin drawing from their wide influences…also from simply plugging in and letting go…

TRACK LISTING

Side 1 Spliff Riff(conga'd Out)
Neu75!
Disappear Into Concrete And Meat (lp Edit)

Side 2 Filler
Jellystoned Loop

Side3 Planet Suite
Side4 Long Goner
Side5 Krt Pt1
Side6 Krt Pt2

Cd 1)spliff Riff(conga'd Out)
2) Neu75!
3) Disappear Into Concrete And Meat
4) Filler
5) Jellystoned Loop

Cd2 1) Planet Suite
2) Longest Gone
3) Krt (all Of It)

A deluxe, remastered, 20 year anniversary edition of the Heads’ third album proper, the under-rated gem in their canon that is “Under Sided”.

Originally released in 2002 on the Sweet Nothing label (SNLP/CD 11), Under Sided was recorded in 2001 at WhiteHouse Studios in Weston Super Mare, with Martin Nichols engineering. The band had previously recorded tracks for Mans Ruin 10” at these studios (also famous for Ripcord, Heresy, Slowdive, Hardskin, Decadence Within, Icehouse.. amongst many others!).

For the reissue, the original recordings were remastered for vinyl and CD by long time Heads Masterer (!) Shawn Joseph. The resultant 8 tracks, spread over 4 sides of vinyl are some of the best music the Heads have recorded, after a bit of a hiatus following their 2000 US tour / Peel session, the band regrouped and worked out the tracks for the album, relentless rehearsing for the recording. Very few shows happened in that 2001-2002 timeframe.. band members were busy, earning a living, getting on with life, but they still had some riffs/songs there.

Upon release in 2002 the album got great reviews in the press, from Kerrang and MOJO to the Sunday Times, all helping the Bristol fourpiece confirm their cult status, which has continued to current times..

The remastered album is being reissued as a 4LP + 2CD boxset. The extra 2LP features their Peel session from 2000, as well as a couple of compilation tracks (For Mad Men Only / Born To Go), and some unreleased demo versions, as well as nearly 150 minutes of Live recordings (mastered, but RAW!) from their gigs on the Thekla in Bristol in 2001-2002.

The boxset will also have a special slipmat, stickers, and a 24 page booklet of photos /writings, including recollections by each band member, and others including a 1000 word essay by Stewart Lee.

Undersided is a pounding sike-nightmare that shows the Heads at the peak of their powers, theres a flow throughout the album of melding psychedelic noise rock to battering rhythms and creating a bad trip for all listening.. even the gentle sooth of “Energy” is enveloped by a white noise fuiry.. the intensity of some of the tracks: the terror inducing Bedminster or False Heavy (a tour worn riffmonger from 2000) or the Magnet-esque Heavy Sea, showed the band as ferocious as any of the insurgent “stoner” genre of that time.

They were never going to make their living out of touring , record sales …as Hugo mentions in his notes for the booklet, “.. we had less boundaries and felt we could experiment more and not worry about commerciality…” but they were able to make this album.

TRACK LISTING

LP TRACKLISTING: (Sides A,B,C,D)
Dissonaut
Il Ratto, La Ram, Il Gallo Ed Il Serpente
Trilogy Part 3
Bedminster #1
False Heavy
Vibrating Digit
Energy
Heavy Sea

2CD TRACKLISTING:
CD1
Dissonaut
Il Ratto, La Ram, Il Gallo Ed Il Serpente
Trilogy Part 3
Bedminster #1
False Heavy
Vibrating Digit
Energy
Heavy Sea
CD2
For Madmen Only
Born To Go
False Heavy (Peel)
You Took Me By Surprise (Peel)
Neu 75 (Peel)
Fuego (Peel)
Key Jam Short (Whitehouse Out-take)
Backwards (Whitehouse Out-take)
False Heavy (Band Demo)
Vibrating Digit (Band Demo)
Energy (Band Demo)
Heavy Sea (Band Demo)

BOX SET TRACKLISTING:
2LP 1 ( Sides A,B,C,D)
Dissonaut
Il Ratto, La Ram, Il Gallo Ed Il Serpente
Trilogy Part 3
Bedminster #1
False Heavy
Vibrating Digit
Energy
Heavy Sea

2LP2 (sides E,F,G,H)
For Madmen Only
Born To Go
False Heavy (Peel)
You Took Me By Surprise (Peel)
Neu 75 (Peel)
Fuego (Peel)
Key Jam Short (Whitehouse Out-take)
Backwards (Whitehouse Out-take)
False Heavy (Band Demo)
Vibrating Digit (Band Demo)
Energy (Band Demo)
Heavy Sea (Band Demo)

CD1
ROOSTER27BXCD1
1 Thekla 1
2 33 Min
CD2
ROOSTER27BXCD2
1 Thekla 2
2 Headsjam 2
3 Ital Prog

Trapped Animal is pleased to announce the return of 90's legends Headswim! We present a reissue of their seminal psych-grunge masterpiece, Flood. Pressed on 180G, Double Vinyl Gatefold with photo lyric insert all printed on uncoated card, this is an absolutely stunning package that truly matches the timeless quality of the songs it houses. Flood #Redux - Headswim's seminal 1994 Psych-Grunge masterpiece gets its first reissue since the original 1994 pressing. A highly sought after record and produced with mountains of love between label and artists. Previously unreleased BBC sessions, and material from the Flood era. 

Is Willie J Healey your favourite artists’ favourite artist? You better believe it. Alex Turner, Joe Talbot of IDLES, Jamie T and Orlando Weeks are among those who believe, most having come onboard following the Neil Young-meets-The Beatles-meets Elvis Costello charms of his 2020 album ‘Twin Heavy’. And while Willie has largely been the preserve of those in the know, that’s all about to change. When Florence Welch heard his upcoming album ‘Bunny’ via its producer, her friend Loren Humphrey, as well as through YALA! Records co-founder Felix White, she was sufficiently impressed to invite Willie and his band on this autumn’s Florence + The Machine arena tour.

If you’ve already discovered the album’s introductory track, ‘Tiger Woods’, you’ll have had a first taste of why Florence was so won over. It sees Willie dive headfirst into a style of music he has always loved, but that never previously found its way into his own songs. It’s a low-slung, sensual ‘70s-style jam which simultaneously calls to mind Sly and The Family Stone, Philly soul, ‘Midnite Vultures’-era Beck and a little OutKast.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Bunny' sees Willie J Healey continue his fusion of soul, jazz and classic rock into a uniquely cohesive and wonderfully accomplished whole. Hazy jazzy balladry and crispy funk all topped with Healey's vox. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
1. Woke Up Smiling
2. Dreams
3. Tiger Woods
4. Thank You
5. Bumble Bee
6. Black Camaro
Side B
1. Sure Feels Good
2. Chrome
3. Late Night Driving
4. Little Sister
5. Morning Teeth
6. Bumble Bee Reprise
7. Bluebird