Documenting the early days of The Clash, working with Bob Marley, managing The Slits, colliding genres with Big Audio Dynamite: Don Letts appears to have done it all. But there’s one thing he hasn’t done… until now. That changes as Don Letts releases his debut solo album.

A heady cocktail of dub rhythms, island vibes, spoken word and his own sweetly melodic topline, ‘Outta Sync’ is exactly what you’d anticipate a Don Letts artist project to sound like. It’s also notable as one of a few songs that can introduce such a storied life within a single verse: “Now, because of my duality, raised on pop and bass, didn't really bother me, ’cause it's all about the taste, I’m the vinyl generation, and that’s how I got my start, combining clothes and music, and turn it into art.”

The irony is that Letts hadn’t really intended to make music of his own. But then lockdown hit and his old friend, producer extraordinaire, fellow dub aficionado and Killing Joke bassist Youth encouraged him to give it a go, even sending him some basslines to work from The pair ended up working together for nine months, navigating both lockdown and Letts’ arkestral vision. The result is Letts’ debut solo album, which is set to emerge next year. The guest vocalists.

Terry Hall appears on two tracks, and the final track is sung by Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne. They’re also joined by Hollie Cook, who Letts knows via her time in The Slits and her dad, Paul, the ex-Pistols drummer. Zoe Devlin Love, the co-vocalist with whom he wrote Situationist – a song Letts describes appreciatively “as a lifesaver on the record, delivering that oomph when it needs it”.

Last but not least is Honor Letts, aka Letts’ second youngest daughter.

So concluded (sort of) Don Letts at the end (nearly) of last year’s best selling autobiography, There and Black Again. The musician (Big Audio Dynamite kind) DJ (party kind), film director (Grammy winning kind), radio broadcaster (BBC 6Music kind) is finally getting round to the one creative endeavour he’s not yet pursued.

TRACK LISTING

1. Outta Sync
2. ‘Something Coming Off’ (feat. Hollie Cook)
3. ‘The Universe Knows What You've Done’ (ft. John Cusack)
4. ‘Touch’ (ft GAUDI)
5. ‘Crooked Face’
6. ‘Yes’
7. ‘Situationist’ (ft. Zoe Devlin Love)
8. ‘The Doorman’
9. ‘No Fooling Me’ (ft. Hollie Cook)
10. ‘Wrong’
11. ‘Civilization’ (ft. Honor Letts)
12. ‘Present Dilemmas’ (ft. Wayne Coyne)

In 2005, teenage trio The Subways made a phenomenal breakthrough with their Gold certified debut album ‘Young For Eternity’. It set them on the road to an endless succession of highlights, including their iconic ‘Rock & Roll Queen’ becoming a mainstay of rock radio and streaming playlists (with 100 million+ streams to date) extensive global headline tours, particularly in the UK and Germany, where they’ve played more than 500 gigs. They have also played shows as guests to everyone from Oasis to Foo Fighters via AC/DC, and hit seemingly ever major festival around, from Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage and main stage sets at Reading and Leeds in the UK to major international events such as Rock Am Ring / Rock Im Park, Lollapalooza and Sziget. Twenty years on, and now five albums deep into their career, The Subways celebrate their 20th anniversary with the career-spanning collection ‘When I’m With You’.

TRACK LISTING

1. Oh Yeah
2. Black Wax
3. We Don’t Need Money To Have A Good Time
4. Taking All The Blame
5. Mary
6. Alright
7. Kalifornia
8. Popdeath
9. Just Like Jude
10. Uncertain Joys
11. I Need To Feel You Closer
12. With You
13. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
14. At 1 AM
15. Good Times
16. I Won’t Let You Down
17. Passenger’s Side
18. I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say
19. You Kill My Cool
20. My Heart Is Pumping To A Brand New Beat
21. It’s A Party
22. Love Waiting On You
23. Girls & Boys
24. Rock & Roll Queen

37 years after the release of her multi-million selling debut album ‘Ancient Heart’ Tanita Tikaram will release the sequel entitled ‘LIAR (Love Isn’t A Right)’. The long-awaited new album reveals the emotional and societal differences between the woman Tanita was at just 18 when she made ‘Ancient Heart’ to the woman she is today, taking in four decades of life experience. ‘LIAR (Love Isn’t A Right)’ is released on 10 October 2025 via Cooking Vinyl. Her first album in almost a decade, ‘LIAR (Love Isn’t A Right)’ is an album of haunting beauty and exquisite musicianship underplaying her unique voice that tells a masterful story of emotional, political and personal truths. When it was released in 1988, the multi-million selling ‘Ancient Heart’ was the story of an uncertain 18-year-old brown gay woman living in middle England feeling like a stranger in her own home.

Almost 40 years later that same woman, now feeling like a stranger in her own country as politics and society become more divisive. ‘LIAR (Love Is A Right)’ is a full circle moment: a comment on community and its importance for all our futures and the perfect accompaniment to her classic breakthrough. Celebrated as a maverick music icon Tanita Tikaram was recently featured in the Venice Biennale exhibition by Sonia Boyce OBE RA and previously in the National Portrait Gallery captured by David Bennett. She returned to play at Glastonbury Festival in 2024 and as well as her acclaimed musical output over the years, Tanita has also developed a popular voice on social media, capturing the mood and zeitgeist of our times. Tanita Tikaram continued, “You never set out to make a sequel album but this just felt right. I see myself both now and then, frustrated, alienated and in part fearful of the future, they just manifested in different ways.” Tanita Tikaram shot to fame at just 18 years old with a unique string of hit songs that showcased her remarkable voice and reflected the independence of the late 1980’s/early 90’s, defying previous female music stereotypes and defining her in the eyes of music history. Twist In My Sobriety has racked up over 73 million streams.

TRACK LISTING

1. Turn The Lights Down Low
2. Fais Moi La Solitude
3. This Perfect Friend
4. I See A Morning
5. Fear And Chills
6. Love Isn't A Right
7. Lover Don't Come Around
8. Sweet Feather & The Storm
9. Wild Is The Wind
10. Sailboats

With seven top 40 singles, six top 40 albums and over a million record sales worldwide, Turin Brakes return with a brand-new record - 'Spacehopper'.

Produced by the band alongside Grammy-winning Guy Massey (with credits such as Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran and Spiritualized), 'Spacehopper' is their first new music in over three years and marks the 10th studio album from Turin Brakes, a big milestone for a band who released their debut album over 24 years ago - The Mercury Prize nominated 'The Optimist' LP which catapulted them into the mainstream and achieved Gold status in the UK. They are a band that understands the art of longevity and Spacehopper promises to be a worthy edition to a rich and sonically diverse catalogue of albums, finding the South London 4-piece in a reflective mood...

“We deliberately went back to Konk Studios where we made 'The Optimist' LP, having stayed away for 25 years,” says Olly Knights. “In some ways to connect to the source but also to be who we are now in that amazing room. It felt like some deep invisible forces were being moved around. The new record is totally its own thing; there are little nods to the debut, but it’s a different beast. It can never be as simple and perfect as the debut, so we didn’t try; we backed ourselves.”

“We honestly don’t normally get self-reflective but the whole album 10 thing definitely made us want to play with everything that throws up. The dreams, what worked out, what didn’t, the regrets, the nice surprises... It just seemed like a good moment to admit we’re in on our own legacy in a way.”

TRACK LISTING

1. The Message
2. Pays To Be Paranoid
3. Spacehopper
4. Almost
5. Lullaby
6. Today
7. Horizon
8. Old Habits
9. Silence And Sirens
10. Lazy Bones
11. What's Underneath

'Flying With Angels' is Suzanne Vega's first studio album of new songs in eleven years. Bearing the stamp of a masterful storyteller who “observes the world with a clinically poetic eye” (The New York Times), Vega’s new songs find her returning to observations on city life, ordinary people, and real-world subjects

TRACK LISTING

1. Speakers' Corner
2. Flying With Angels
3. Witch
4. Chambermaid
5. Love Thief
6. Lucinda
7. Last Train From Mariupol
8. Alley
9. Rats
10. Galway

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 12TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 14th.

Celebrate a decade of The Rifles’ classic album 'None The Wiser' in style, this anniversary release dives deeper into the record that cemented the band’s reputation as torchbearers of sharp, modern indie rock. The 10th Anniversary Edition includes 11 bonus tracks, featuring unreleased studio cuts, raw demos, and stripped-back acoustic versions, giving fans a new angle on fan favourites like “Heebie Jeebies” and “Minute Mile.” Praised on release by the likes of UNCUT and Rocksound, None The Wiser still holds up as one of the standout records of its era. From the anthemic swagger of “Go Lucky” to the heartfelt storytelling of “You Win Some,” it’s an album that deserves to be heard on vinyl. Reconnect with a modern indie classic, reimagined with fans in mind. With only a limited run of this collector’s item, snap up your copy before it’s gone. Pre-order now and celebrate 10 years of None The Wiser in style.

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Minute Mile
2. Heebie Jeebies
3. Go Lucky
4. All I Need
5. You Win Some
6. Catch Her In The Rye
7. The Hardest Place To Find Me
8. Shoot From The Lip
9. Eclectic Eccentric
10. Under And Over
11. On Top Of The World (2014 Bonus Track)

Disc: 2
1. Carry Me Home (Unreleased Studio Recording)
2. Drown My Fear (Unreleased Studio Recording)
3. Minute Mile (desk Mix)
4. Hardest Place To Find Me (desk Mix)
5. Young Hearts (unreleased Demo)
6. Go Lucky (Acoustic)
7. All I Need (Acoustic)
8. Eclectic Eccentric (Demo)
9. Under And Over (Demo)
10. You Win Some (Demo)

The Darkness's upcoming album 'Dreams On Toast' marks a bold new chapter for the band. With their signature blend of flamboyant rock anthems and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, this album cements their place at the pinnacle of British rock. Expect soaring guitar riffs, infectious hooks, and a nostalgic yet fresh take on the genre that will resonate with longtime fans and new listeners alike.

“You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create? Yeah, makes me giggle too. But you can’t resist. God might not be the power she once was, but say what you like about her, she knows damn well that what the world needs now, is rock sweet rock. And who are we, mere mortals of extraordinary ability, to argue with the divine? So we knuckled down and thought really hard about the best of the best, the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages. Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch. And these bangers we present to you here, wallowing in an aromatic aural ragu, served atop the charred remains of our envious contemporaries… ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dreams on Toast. Close your eyes, loosen your cummerbund, and enjoy….” - Justin Hawkins

TRACK LISTING

1. Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
2. I Hate Myself
3. Hot On My Tail
4. Mortal Dread
5. Don’t Need Sunshine
6. The Longest Kiss
7. The Battle For Gadget Land
8. Cold Hearted Woman
9. Walking Through Fire
10. Weekend In Rome

Step back into the raw, atmospheric roots of Cowboy Junkies with this reissue of their 1986 debut album, 'Whites Off Earth Now!!'. Captured live to tape using a single ambisonic microphone, this collection of haunting blues covers and moody originals introduced the band’s signature sound, with Margo Timmins’ ethereal vocals gliding over Michael Timmins’ guitar work. Cut at half-speed by John Webber at Air Studios this edition brings out every nuance of the original recordings. Featuring standout tracks like 'Shining Moon' and 'Baby Please Don’t Go', A must-have for fans of roots rock, blues, and alt-country, 'Whites Off Earth Now!!' is where Cowboy Junkies’ journey began.

TRACK LISTING

1. Shining Moon
2. State Trooper
3. Me And The Devil
4. Decoration Day
5. Baby Please Don't Go
6. I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive
7. Take Me
8. Forgive Me
9. Crossroads 

Commenting on the reissue Isobel Campbell says: “I have such fond and special memories of writing and producing this album. 'Ballad of The Broken Seas' is so very dear to my heart and Mark is very much missed.” Originally released in 2006, 'Ballad Of The Broken Seas' has remained a touchstone for fans of folk and Americana, revered for its haunting melodies, rich storytelling, and the captivating interplay between Campbell's ethereal vocals and Lanegan's gravelly baritone. The album was the first in a celebrated trilogy of albums that Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan recorded together, being followed by 'Sunday at Devil Dirt' in 2008 and 'Hawk' in 2010. The album garnered widespread acclaim, with the duo being hailed as a modern day Nancy & Lee, and went on to be shortlisted for the Mercury Prize. From the brooding opener 'Deus Ibi Est' to the melancholic 'The False Husband' and the poignant title track, 'Ballad Of The Broken Seas' resonates as powerfully today as it did upon its initial release

TRACK LISTING

1. Deus Ibi Est
2. Black Mountain
3. The False Husband
4. Ballad Of The Broken Seas
5. Revolver
6. Ramblin' Man
7. (Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me?
8. Saturday's Gone
9. It's Hard To Kill A Bad Thing
10. Honey Child What Can I Do?
11. Dusty Wreath
12. The Circus Is Leaving Town

Dive back into the raw, infectious sound, now available in a special limited edition vinyl reissue. Originally released in 2012, The View's Cheeky for a Reason is the fourth studio album from the Dundee quartet. Often described by the band as "Fleetwood Mac's Rumours done by The Clash," and it's easy to see why. The album is filled with infectious hooks and sing-along choruses, capturing the carefree spirit of The View while also showcasing a band that had matured. Tracks like "How Long" and "The Clock" balance the band's signature playful energy with introspective lyrics, creating a listening experience that is both fun and meaningful. Cheeky for a Reason made a strong impact on the charts, peaking at #9 on the UK Albums Chart and debuting at #1 on the UK Indie Chart, solidifying The View’s reputation as one of the UK’s most beloved indie rock bands. The album was met with positive reviews, with critics praising the album's catchy tunes and the band’s evolving sound. NME highlighted the album’s “unapologetic, feel-good vibe,” while The Guardian commended its “upbeat and infectious nature,” describing it as a perfect summer soundtrack. The album’s lead single, "How Long," became a fan favorite and received extensive airplay, contributing to the album's enduring appeal. The album enjoyed strong sales in its initial run, selling over 50,000 copies in the UK alone. The View's loyal fan base and their reputation for raucous live performances have kept the album in demand, leading to this eagerly awaited vinyl reissue. “The subdued ‘Tacky Tattoo’, finds Falconer at an electric piano and in uncharacteristically soulful voice - it is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever recorded.” –NME

TRACK LISTING

1. How Long
2. AB (We Need Treatment)
3. Hold On Now
4. Anfield Row
5. Bullet
6. Bunker (Solid Ground)
7. The Clock
8. Piano Interlude
9. Hole In The Bed
10. Sour Little Sweetie
11. Lean On My World
12. Tacky Tattoo

A career-spanning collection including new and rare mixes, compiled by Dr. Alex Paterson.

‘Orboretum: The Orb Collection’ goes way back, but also focusses on recent highlights from albums such as ‘Abolition Of The Royal Familia’ (2020) and ‘Prism’ (2023) – which were cited by the media as some of their greatest work – up there with the bonafide gold of yesteryear.

The limited edition 4lp set is uniquely packaged in a beautiful octagon-shaped set, which folds out into a huge flower. Each disc will be pressed on a different colour, green, lilac, orange and blue, with sleeve notes by Kris Needs. Each side of vinyl is grouped by Alex to represent the 4 seasons, hence its botanical title. The comp’s “roots and more recent shoots” traverses their work for Universal across discs A and B, whilst discs C and D explore their music for indie labels Cooking Vinyl, Kompakt, Malicious Damage, and Liquid Sound Design. In addition, ‘Orboretum’ will also be available on a 6 panel 2CD with 24 page booklet.

“I don’t want The Orb to end up milking it like Roxy Music, who were always cranking out another best-of, although we did release the ‘History Of The Future’ best-of in 2013, and its part 2 in 2015 to be fair. We have such a gigantic catalogue though, that sometimes even I need a reminder of what I’ve done, especially these days. This is a sort of director’s cut, reframing our output, making new neuro pathways, and new juxtapositions. Some of these tracks are 30 years apart, but there are clear through lines, a continuum.” Alex Paterson

TRACK LISTING

A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Ultraworld (Orbital Dance Mix)
Little Fluffy Clouds (Ambient Mix )
Perpetual Dawn (2024 Version)
Blue Room (7" Radio Mix)
Pomme Fritz (Meat 'N Veg)
Asylum (7" Edit)
Oxbow Lakes (Sabres No. Mix)
Once More (Scourge Of The Earth Long Mix)
Toxygene
Gee Strings
Aftermath (LP Version)
Lunik (Komplott E.P. Version)
Dilmun
Captain Korma
From A Distance (Blast Master V The Corpral)
Appletree In My Back Yard (Abakus Remix)
Ghostdancing (Version)
Vuja De (Gaudi Remix)
DDD (Dirty Disco Dub) (Belka & Strelka Remix)
Golden Clouds (feat. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry)
Fussball (feat. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry)
Metallic Spheres In Colour - Round Side (2024 Edit) [with David Gilmour]
Alpine Morning
Doughnuts Forever
Rush Hill Road
Pillow Fight @ Shag Mountain (Radio Edit)
Wish I Had A Pretty Dog
Daze In Dub (9
7 Kiss FM Mix)
Hawk Kings (Oseberg Buddhas Buttonhole)
Say Cheese (Siberian Tiger Cookie Mix)
AAA (Violeta Vicci Remix Hung, Drawn & Quartered)
Why Can You Be In Two Places At Once, When You Can’t Be Anywhere At All
H.O.M.E. (High Orbs Mini Earth

Waters says ‘when we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to to me that The Dark Side Of The Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. I discussed it with Gus and Sean, and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be ****ing mad’ at one another we decided to take it on. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.’

As founding member, lyricist, and principal composer of Pink Floyd during the band’s most influential and creative period, Roger Waters has achieved global success and global renown.

Waters co-founded Pink Floyd in the mid-1960s. Under Waters’ guidance, Pink Floyd made a series of best-selling albums during the 1970s, of which the most successful and iconic were The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and is now one of the most successful solo artists in the world.

TRACK LISTING

1. Speak To Me
2. Breathe
3. On The Run
4. Time
5. Great Gig In The Sky
6. Money
7. Us And Them
8. Any Colour You Like
9. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse

Razorlight were at the forefront of the indie-rock resurgence of the early 2000s, their biggest moments - ‘Golden Touch’, ‘Somewhere Else’, ‘In The Morning’, ‘America’ and ‘Wire To Wire’ - driving three Top 5 albums, nine Platinum album certifications, an NME Award, and live highlights including headlining the Reading Festival and performing at Live 8.

After reuniting for live shows in 2021, the classic line-up - Johnny Borrell (vocals/guitar), Björn Ågren (guitar), Carl Dalemo (bass) and Andy Burrows (drums) - will release the new album ‘Planet Nowhere’, their first together since 2008. Since reuniting, Razorlight have sold-out a headline tour which included a London show at the Eventim Apollo, and played shows as guests to Muse, Kaiser Chiefs and James. But as the ever ambitious Johnny challenged himself, “Who wants to be a greatest hits band?” So he hatched a plan, and late in 2023 booked a five-day session with the legendary producer Youth (The Verve, James) at his Space Mountain studio in Spain.

Youth knew what they had to achieve, telling the band, “Razorlight’s quite simple isn’t it? Just a driving bassline, driving drums and a story.” For whatever reason, things weren’t that simple. After four days they had a stack of ideas, but nothing really worth pursuing. And then, as Johnny recalls, something remarkable emerged from out of nowhere. “I’d been down in the barranca, and came back up to find the studio empty. So I picked up this weird six-string bass/guitar hybrid I'd never seen before and wrote this thing. On our last night, I started playing it with the guys. The drums came in hard, the bass pounded. It sounded like shit. Absolute shit. But Youth was there, saying 'Can, Velvets, see where it takes you’ and 'Why don’t you try it like that?' But still the track just wouldn't budge, locked in its own inertia. Youth says, 'You're getting there, just one more' and almost instantly the song came out, from nothing to something, like a statue coming up out of marble.” That song was ‘Scared of Nothing’ and listening back to the finished track, it’s easy to see why it resparked Razorlight’s mojo. Exuding taut, spiky post-punk energy in a way that’s instantly infectious - the very traits that attracted highfalutin praise from NME back when they started out (“More tunes than Franz, more spirit than The Strokes, and more balls than nearly every band out there”). And as ever, Johnny demonstrates the swaggering, high intensity charisma that took him from being a figurehead of the Camden scene to rise to become a Vogue cover star. It was also the track which unlocked Razorlight’s creativity, leading the band to return to Spain with Youth for a second session earlier this year, during which they crafted an extensive catalogue of songs for the upcoming album. Other titles vying for inclusion include ‘Zombie Love’, ‘U Can Call Me’, ‘Dirty Luck’ and ‘Cool People’.

Since returning, Razorlight have also looked back on their initial achievements, first releasing ‘Razorwhat? The Best of Razorlight’ (complete with the new song ‘You Are Entering The Human Heart’) and then last month issuing the 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of their breakthrough debut album ‘Up All Night’. Never a dull moment. Writing a new ending for themselves, Razorlight are back to cast out the boring in your life.

TRACK LISTING

1. Zombie Love
2. U Can Call Me
3. Taylor Swift = US Soft Propaganda
4. Dirty Luck
5. Scared Of Nothing
6. F.O.B.F.
7. Empire Service
8. Cyclops
9. Cool People
10. April Ends

The Subways' Money & Celebrity, is now available in a limited edition red and white split vinyl. Originally released in 2011, the third studio album by the powerhouse trio is packed with adrenaline-pumping anthems that cemented their place in the UK indie rock scene. The album showcases the band’s ability to blend infectious melodies with biting social commentary, capturing the spirit of a generation. Recorded and produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, BLUR, Kaiser Chiefs) in London, Money & Celebrity is The Subways at their most dynamic, featuring hit singles like "We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time," which received widespread radio support, including heavy rotation on BBC Radio 1, and "It's a Party," which became a fan favourite after the band released it out of the blue via their website with no prior warning, crashing their server. The album stormed into the charts, peaking at #16 on the UK Albums Chart. The lead single "We Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time" was a radio favourite, climbing to #12 on the UK Indie Chart and #1 on the UK Physical Singles Chart. The album also enjoyed chart success across Europe, reaching the Top 20 in Germany and Austria.

TRACK LISTING

1. It's A Party
2. We Don't Need Money To Have A Good Time
3. Celebrity
4. I Wanna Dance With You
5. Popdeath
6. Like I Love You
7. Money
8. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
9. Down Our Street
10. Rumour
11. Friday
12. Leave My Side

Introducing Shed Seven's latest offering for 2024: Liquid Gold. A loving tribute to their 30- year journey as recording artists. This special album revisits iconic tracks from their past, reimagined with the addition of an orchestra, promising a nostalgic yet fresh sonic experience. Liquid Gold is completed by a brand new song which was written specifically for this project in the shape of ‘All Roads Lead To You’, adding to the band’s storied discography.

TRACK LISTING

1. Getting Better (Liquid Gold Version)
2. Speakeasy (Liquid Gold Version)
3. Devil In Your Shoes (Liquid Gold Version)
4. On Standby (Liquid Gold Version)
5. Going For Gold (Liquid Gold Version)
6. Waiting For The Catch (ft. Issy Ferris) (Liquid Gold Version)
7. Better Days (Liquid Gold Version)
8. Parallel Lines (Liquid Gold Version)
9. Disco Down (Liquid Gold Version)
10. Ocean Pie (Liquid Gold Version)
11. All Roads Lead To You
12. Chasing Rainbows (Liquid Gold Version)

It’s been over seven years since The Rifles released their previous record, but now the east Londoners are set to return with their new album ‘Love Your Neighbour’ on April 26 which they today preview with the new single ‘The Kids Won’t Stop’. Their previous two albums - ‘Big Life’ and ‘None The Wiser’ - achieved the highest chart positions of their career to date, while their cult-like popularity has continued in the intervening years with countless sold-out London shows at venues including the Roundhouse, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, O2 Kentish Forum, KOKO, Electric Ballroom and Electric Brixton. The triumphant reaction and electrifying energy of those shows inspired The Rifles as they sent about writing ‘Love Your Neighbour’. It’s a record which bursts with the traits that have inspired such devotion amongst fans: songs as gritty as they are anthemic, and full of lyrics which capture broadly relatable experiences and provide evocative snapshots of modern British life. The overriding message of the album is a plea to embrace the power of your local community

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though their sound is often cited as rock & roll, it reminds me pretty strongly of the early 00's ska-punk / skate punk scene, with bright melodies and crisply produced distorted guitars sitting beautifully behind the rousing vocals.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Released in the year of the 50th Anniversary of the original album, The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux, is Roger Waters homage to the masterpiece he created with Pink Floyd in 1973. Waters says of the album: "Dave, Rick, Nick, and I were so young when we made [the original], and when you look at the world around us, clearly the message hasn't stuck. That's why I started to consider what the wisdom of an 80 year old could bring to a reimagined version".

This is a limited edition 1LP picture disc of the album that will be individually numbered in a die-cut sleeve. Limited to 3000 copies worldwide.

‘A Matter of Time’ sees Shed Seven look back to their roots, drawing inspiration from the records and sounds that ignited their passion for songwriting over 35 years ago. Delivered with a renewed and youthful enthusiasm they have created without a doubt some of the very best songs of their career.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Featuring a few big-name collaborators and the classic Shed Seven lineup, 'A Matter Of Time' is the perfect return to form for a band who've been around for close to four decades. A wonderfully brazen, soaring selection of heavy-hitting melodies.

TRACK LISTING

1. Let's Go
2. Kissing California
3. Talk Of The Town
4. Let's Go Dancing
5. In Ecstasy (ft. Rowetta)
6. Tripping With You (ft. Laura McClure)
7. Let's Go (Again)
8. Real Love
9. F:K:H
10. Starlings
11. Ring The Changes
12. Throwaways (ft. Peter Doherty)

*Deluxe CD Tracklisting:
1. Let's Go
2. Kissing California
3. Talk Of The Town
4. Let's Go Dancing
5. In Ecstasy (ft. Rowetta)
6. Tripping With You (ft. Laura McClure)
7. Let's Go (Again)
8. Real Love
9. F:K:H
10. Starlings
11. Ring The Changes
12. Throwaways (ft. Peter Doherty)
13. Thrownaway
14. Watch Out World
15. Feels Like Heaven

2023 will see Billy Bragg and Cooking Vinyl celebrating forty years of music from the singer, songwriter, activist and author, with a selection of releases to appeal to casual admirers and die hard fans alike. 

TRACK LISTING

Standard Single Disc LP Tracklisting:
1. A New England
2. The Milkman Of Human Kindness
3. To Have And Have Not
4. The Man In The Iron Mask
5. St. Swithin's Day
6. The Saturday Boy
7. Between The Wars
8. The World Turned Upside Down
9. Which Side Are You On?
10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
11. Greetings To The New Brunette
12. There Is Power In A Union
13. Help Save The Youth Of America
14. She's Leaving Home - Billy Bragg, Cara Tivey
15. She's Got A New Spell
16. Must I Paint You A Picture

Deluxe LP / CD Tracklisting:
1. A New England
2. The Milkman Of Human Kindness
3. To Have And Have Not
4. The Man In The Iron Mask
5. St. Swithin's Day
6. The Saturday Boy
7. Between The Wars
8. The World Turned Upside Down
9. Which Side Are You On?
10. Levi Stubbs' Tears
11. Greetings To The New Brunette
12. There Is Power In A Union
13. Help Save The Youth Of America
14. She's Leaving Home - Billy Bragg, Cara Tivey
15. She's Got A New Spell
16. Must I Paint You A Picture
17. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards
18. The Internationale
19. Tank Park Salute
20. Sexuality
21. Accident Waiting To Happen (Red Star Version)
22. Upfield
23. The Boy Done Good
24. Walt Whitman's Niece - Billy Bragg, Wilco
25. Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key - Billy Bragg, Wilco
26. My Flying Saucer - Billy Bragg, Wilco
27. California Stars (Live October / November 1998) - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
28. Some Days I See The Point - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
29. England, Half English - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
30. Take Down The Union Jack (Band Version) - Billy Bragg, The Blokes
31. Old Clash Fan Fight Song
32. I Keep Faith
33. Bugeye Jim - Billy Bragg, Wilco
34. Never Buy The Sun
35. No One Knows Nothing Anymore
36. Handyman Blues
37. The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore - Billy Bragg, Joe Henry
38. King Tide And The Sunny Day Flood
39. Mid-Century Modern
40. I Will Be Your Shield

During their original run, Stornoway achieved immense critical acclaim, fan adoration and two Top 20 albums, one of which (their debut ‘Beachcomber’s Windowsill’) was certified Silver. But in 2016 they announced that they were ending on a high (2015’s ‘Bonxie’ being “their best album yet” according to The Guardian) with the following year’s farewell tour, although their rapturously received WOMAD set (“a magnificent farewell”, The Spectator) was delayed until 2022. They still earned new fans, however, when their version of ‘The Only Way Is Up’ exceeded 2 million streams after being used in an advert and in various TV shows. Vocalist/guitarist Brian Briggs stopped songwriting altogether and instead pursued a new career passion managing a wetland for water voles and lapwings.

Nonetheless, Brian and bandmates Jon Ouin (keyboard) and Oli Steadman (bass) stayed in touch, and step-by-step they reconnected with the love of creating music that had first inspired them to start a band. With Brian writing in a makeshift studio on a remote coastal hilltop and Jon readying a series of ideas of his own, eventually an entirely unexpected fourth Stornoway album emerged - ‘Dig The Mountain!’

TRACK LISTING

1. ‘Trouble With The Green’
2. ‘Bag In The Wind’
3. ‘Anwen’
4. ‘Dig The Mountain!’
5. ‘It’s Not Up To You’
6. ‘The Fisherman’
7. ‘Sea Legs’
8. ‘The Navigator’
9. ‘The Manatee’
10. ‘Kicking The Stone’
11. ‘Excelsior’ 

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary year of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, Roger Waters releases his homage to the original, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux’

Waters says ‘when we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to to me that The Dark Side Of The Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. I discussed it with Gus and Sean, and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be ****ing mad’ at one another we decided to take it on. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.’

As founding member, lyricist, and principal composer of Pink Floyd during the band’s most influential and creative period, Roger Waters has achieved global success and global renown.

Waters co-founded Pink Floyd in the mid-1960s. Under Waters’ guidance, Pink Floyd made a series of best-selling albums during the 1970s, of which the most successful and iconic were The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and is now one of the most successful solo artists in the world.

TRACK LISTING

1. Speak To Me
2. Breathe
3. On The Run
4. Time
5. Great Gig In The Sky
6. Money
7. Us And Them
8. Any Colour You Like
9. Brain Damage
10. Eclipse

As part of The Roaring Forty (1983-2023) celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of Life's A Riot with Spy vs Spy, Cooking Vinyl has repressed the 30th Anniversary Edition of the album on black vinyl. Comprising the original album, plus a live solo version by Billy recorded as a unique encore at his London Union Chapel show on Wednesday 5 June 2013. Life's A Riot (30th Anniversary Edition) features a sleeve based on the original 1983 Barney Bubbles artwork in a vinyl card sleeve with inner sleeve.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Milkman Of Human Kindness
2. To Have And To Have Not
3. Richard
4. A New England
5. The Man In The Iron Mask
6. The Busy Girl Buys Beauty
7. Lovers Town Revisited
8. Intro (Live)
9. Lovers Town Revisited (Live)
10. To Have And To Have Not (Live)
11. The Busy Girl Buys Beauty (Live)
12. The Man In The Iron Mask (Live)
13. Richard (Live)
14. The Milkman Of Human Kindness (Live)
15. A New England (Live)

When The View reconvened last year after five years apart, the three old-friends realised just how much they have missed… well, everything about being in a band: the rush of seeing an audience react to their performances, the camaraderie of being together, a simple jam idea evolving into a fully-fledged song. A run of comeback gigs at Glasgow’s O2 Academy saw all 10,000 tickets sold in advance, the fan reaction was overwhelming and they were even joined on-stage by an old friend in the shape of ‘Line of Duty’ actor Martin Compston. After all that, how could you resist wanting more? Especially as their rehearsals for the shows saw the band conjure up a wealth of new song ideas just like they did back when they first started out. 

Frontman Kyle Falconer says, “Working with Youth on our third album 'Bread and Circuses' was one of the best experiences of my career so we jumped at the chance to revisit the opportunity with him in Spain. To be able to go into the studio again as a band with added experience was just magical."

Kyle and bandmates Kieran Webster (bass/vocals) and Pete Reilly (guitar) departed their homes in Scotland to record the record in the inspiring surroundings of Granada, Spain, with the assistance of a top tier producer in the shape of the Grammy Award winner Youth (The Verve, Jesus & Mary Chain, The Charlatans). They returned with ‘Exorcism of Youth’ in the bag, a record which combines the raucous energy of The View’s early work with some poignant slowburners drawn from personal experience, and Kyle’s gift for lyricism which is equal parts observational, witty and insightful.

The View launch the album by sharing its lead single ‘Feels Like’. The band’s fiery energy ignites the song in a blaze of melody before hitting the kind of instantly irresistible hook with which they’ve made their name. It’s a track perfectly built for upcoming shows too, with its breakdown sure to be an immensely atmospheric moment when they hit summer festivals.

Kyle adds, “This one felt anthemic from the get go. Even though under the surface it’s about somewhere everyone’s been in their life before: regret of losing someone amazing due to your inner demons and seeing them moving on with their life, when you’re stuck in a ‘nightmare not a dream.’ When I first sat down to write it I had Holden Caulfield from ‘Catcher in the Rye’ in mind. It’s playing out in his mind and it’s his own paranoia destroying him from the inside out when in reality she’s the perfect woman."

Elsewhere, the album darts from highlight-to-highlight, taking in a cocktail of ‘60s pop and punky punch on ‘The Wonder Of It All’, strutting and swaggering on ‘Neon Nights’, and channelling driving, anthemic rock like a trio of Scottish Springsteens on ‘Woman of the Year’. At times, though, it represents an evolution for the band too, with the sweeping strings of ‘Black Mirror’ and the darker alt-pop production of ‘Footprints In The Sand’. Ultimately ‘Exorcism of Youth’ is where The View should be at this stage in their lives: still burning with the passion of youth, but with the confidence and control that comes from having been around the block and, in the process, learned from the experience.

TRACK LISTING

1. ‘Exorcism Of Youth’
2. ‘Feels Like’
3. ‘The Wonder Of It All’
4. ‘Arctic Sun’
5. ‘Shovel In His Hands’
6. ‘Allergic To Mornings’
7. ‘Black Mirror’
8. ‘Neon Nights’
9. ‘Dixie’
10. ‘Woman Of The Year’
11. ‘Footprints In The Sand’
12. ‘Tangled’

Rowntree came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur, one of the most successful British bands of the last two decades. The drummer's first solo single, London Bridge was produced with Leo Abrahams (Wild Beasts/Brian Eno/Ghostpoet). It heralds the start of an exciting new project for Rowntree, over three decades since Blur formed back in 1989. London Bridge is an enticing opening statement. Deceptively bright and upbeat, with its staccato ‘la-la-la-la’ hook line, the music belies a lyrical sense of dread. As proficient with a synth or guitar as he is behind the drum-kit, Rowntree’s innate ear for a melody is given free-reign on this scuzzy but impactful, lo-fi number.

TRACK LISTING

1. Devil's Island
2. Downtown
3. London Bridge
4. 1000 Miles
5. HK
6. Tape Measure, Feat Juliyah
7. Machines Like Me
8. Black Sheep
9. Volcano
10. Who's Asking

Ladytron return with their highly anticipated 7th studio album ‘Time’s Arrow’. The scouse natives show off everything that hard earned fans can count on - crystalline melodies enveloped in icy textures and rippling arpeggios - with touches of indie pop, shoegaze, disco, and industrial music

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Ladytron return for their sleekest and most pristine offering yet, with euphoric synth sweeps and grand, 80's-tinged percussive rolls. It's a sound that's familiar in today's musical landscape but one that Ladytron have been doing for some time, and it shows. Perfectly produced synth-pop from one of the original and best.

TRACK LISTING

1. City Of Angels
2. Faces
3. Misery Remember Me
4. Flight From Angkor
5. We Never Went Away
6. The Night
7. The Dreamers
8. Sargasso Sea
9. California
10. Time’s Arrow

Thirty-five years since the release of their landmark debut album This Is The Story, and 34 since the release of Sunshine On Leith, the second album that made them international stars, The Proclaimers are back with their 12th studio album. And, at the ripe young age of 60, the fire and ire of Craig and Charlie Reid remain righteously undimmed. Dentures Out is a record of the times, for the times, the twins at their political, observational, satirical and fist-punchingly tuneful best. Dentures Out is 13 songs clocking in at a lean, tight, focused 34 minutes. Only one number, the closing What The Audience Knew, busts the 180-second mark. The rest are sub-three-minute miniatures of polemical pop perfection, recorded at Rockfield in Wales in three quick weeks in spring 2022, lent six-string wings by guest guitarist James Dean Bradfield and produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers), his third consecutive album with the Scotsmen.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dentures Out
2. The World That Was
3. Feast Your Eyes
4. Praise
5. News To Nietzsche
6. Things As They Are
7. Signs Of Love
8. Drop Dead Destiny
9. The Recent Past
10. Sundays By John Calvin
11. Draw Another Line
12. Play The Man
13. What The Audience Knew

In their first incarnation, Altered Images enjoyed an intense burst of success that made them the brightest emerging stars of the new wave scene as well as the Best New Act at the NME Awards. In just two years, they released three studio albums and a catalogue of Top 10 classics - ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘I Could Be Happy’ and ‘Don’t Talk To Me About Love’ - that are still being discovered today. Altered Images have been touring on-and-off for the past two decades, recently returning to arenas as guests of The Human League and playing UK summer festival shows - but new music was never on the cards… until now.

How does an artist approach writing and recording new music after 39 years away? For Altered Images, the process was as much about the here-and-now rather than pure nostalgia - drawing upon the things that fans adored the first time around, but also respecting just how much everyone has changed in the intervening years. Matched by lyrics which explore the highs and lows of life’s rich tapestry, it’s an approach which makes new album ‘Mascara Streakz’ such an intriguing prospect. Lead single ‘Mascara Streakz’ captures the essence of what Altered Images aimed to achieve with the album. Like their big hits and fan favourites, it is instantly immediate but its synth-pop melody and contemporary beats are an evolution from the band’s original spiky guitar pop style. The result respects everything that Altered Images were the first time around, but also sounds like a very organic next step and was produced by Clare’s husband, Altered Images alumni Stephen Lironi.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mascara Streakz
2. Red Startles The Sky
3. Colour Of My Dreams
4. Glitter Ball
5. Your Life Is Mine
6. Home
7. Beautiful Thing
8. Changing My Luck
9. Lost Of Love
10. Double Reflection
11. The Flame
12. Sleep

Wide Eyed Nowhere is Turin Brakes’ ninth full studio album, a set of new songs emerging 21 years after their seminal debut. It's no easy feat maintaining an optimistic attitude through the turbulence of the years, but the band found their own method down in deepest Tooting to produce this lean, bittersweet collection.

TRACK LISTING

1. When You're Around
2. Up For Grabs
3. World Like That
4. Into The Sun
5. The Ride
6. Isolation
7. This Love
8. Rain And Hurricanes
9. Solid Ground
10. Wide-Eyed Nowhere
11. No Rainbow

‘Watch Over Me (Early Works 2002 - 2009)’ is a collection of previously unreleased songs from Lissie’s archives which chronicle formative moments from the early years of her career until the release of her iconic debut album ‘Catching A Tiger’. The release has received press coverage from Louder Than War, The Line of Best Fit and Off The Record, among others.

“For the listener who has charted this journey alongside me, I hope you’ll get some insight into my life as you enjoy these songs” - Lissie

TRACK LISTING

1. Watch Over Me
2. Hey Boy
3. On My Chest
4. No Sense At All
5. All Be Okay
6. Call Out The Beast
7. It's The Alcohol
8. Wishing On A Star
9. Simple Woman

All Souls Hill is nine tracks of Waterboys brilliance, all mixed by Scott himself. Announced off the back of the band’s recent sold out UK tour and latest box set ‘The Magnificent Seven: The Waterboys' Fisherman’s Blues/Room To Roam Band, 1989-1990 ’, All Souls Hill is current, on the money social commentary, but with an air of hope.

"All Souls Hill is mysterious, otherworldly, tune-banging and emotional.” comments Mike. “I made it with Waterboys old and new and my co-producer, brilliant sonic guru Simon Dine. Its nine songs tell stories, explore dreamscapes, and cast a cold but hopeful eye on the human drama."

TRACK LISTING

1. All Souls Hill
2. The Liar
3. The Southern Moon
4. Blackberry Girl
5. Hollywood Blues
6. In My Dreams
7. Once Were Brothers
8. Here We Go Again
9. Passing Through

“Style wise, it’s incredibly different, going back to thinking about guitars and guitar sounds. Obviously you have to take into consideration things like percussive elements such as drums, which I haven’t been using in my other projects; but this is the mind set that makes up Loop.”

So says Robert Hampson, the indefatigable visionary behind inspirational sonic architects Loop, whose eagerly anticipated fourth LP Sonancy (Latin for “to create noise”) is the perfect document for these strange times. Dynamic, dystopian, righteously angry and unashamedly Loop-ian, it’s an album that marks a vital re-emergence for Hampson and co.

Formed in South London in the mid-1980s, Loop blazed a trail with their potent mix of motorik beats and heavy guitar riffs, recording a trio of brilliant albums that set the indie charts alight before imploding in 1990 after the release of album number three, A Gilded Eternity. As critics enthused at the time, Loop were the sound of Suicide jamming with the Stooges aboard a spaceship built by Hawkwind and piloted by CAN. They were post-psychedelic, pre-shoegaze figureheads in a world of anodyne pop jangle and baggy rhythms, and even their closest contemporaries like Spacemen 3 and My Bloody Valentine didn’t plough such a distinctive furrow as theirs.

After Loop’s demise, Hampson pivoted away from guitars with electronic project Main, before moving to France and hooking up with fabled experimental collective Groupe de Recherches Musical (GRM). Loop were a distant memory, one that Hampson seemed unwilling to revisit, so it was a delightful surprise when they remerged in 2013 to play and curate the All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) festival, followed by a performance personally requested by Robert Smith of The Cure at Meltdown Festival in 2018.

“Through that long period when I often said I wouldn’t reform Loop, I didn’t miss it, I didn’t feel the need to have it in my life,” Hampson explains. “It was working with people like Barry Hogan at ATP and the re-mastered reissues of our original albums coming out that sparked my interest again. It took me a few years to be comfortable to say, ‘Yes, we can do this again, we’re relevant’. I’m not someone who will do something for the sake of doing something.”

Along with the live shows, there also came new music in the shape of a 2015 EP called Array 1, the first in a planned trio of EPs of protracted tracks which Hampson eventually abandoned in favour of the more direct pleasures of their astounding new full length Sonancy.

“I dropped the idea of the EP series and went in an entirely different direction. I started writing songs that were much more immediate, tighter, dare I say more aggressive – although not aggressive in the old Loop way, but with a spikiness. It needed to sound more modern. When Main petered out, I started working with people like the GRM in France, so I went in the direction of electroacoustic musique concrète. Loop is completely removed from that, but there are parts of the Array EP and Sonancy that go towards the more experimental sounds. It’s not just guitar thrash.

“My motto has always been ‘Forward’ and I always try to do something new with each record. I always try to push different influences in there. Specifically for this record, I wanted to counter the idea of the Array EP, on which all the tracks were longer and drawn out. They still had the motorik element of bands like Neu! and CAN, but Loop’s always had that. With Sonancy I also wanted to take a post-punk sound, spin it on its head and mix it with a psych influence. A total gumbo. Which has always been Loop, this mash up of spicy rhythms.”

Indeed, with its rich mixture of styles and cadences, Sonancy is the sound of Loop in the 21st century, Hampson’s intense guitar work anchored by propulsive backing in service of songs with clinically dissociative titles such as ‘Eolian’, ‘Supra’, ‘Penumbra’ and ‘Fermion’.

“People who know my music well know that from the last Loop album onwards, my interest in chemistry, science and astronomy have come to the fore,” Hampson elaborates. “I use those titles but I use them in an abstract context. With the cutback, minimalist sound I wanted for this record, I wanted to do that with the lyrics and the titles as well. It’s very immediate. The songs are shorter in length, the lyrics more minimal than ever.

“I’m often asked to print the lyrics but I want people to approach our records with a sense of mystery, so you don’t necessarily know what’s going on. You may call it challenging. I’m influenced by J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick to a certain degree. Lyrically, if you listen to it intently, there’s this dystopian outlook. There’s a lot of anger in there. I don’t like seeing the wanton abuse of power, which is what we’re seeing right now and I’m disgusted by it. I wouldn’t say Sonancy is bleak though because I’m one of those people who believes there’s a chance for change. That may be naïve, but I always hope that people will come out of this coma they all seem to be in. I’ve imbued the lyrics with a little bit of hope.”

Hope is a powerful force, one perhaps needed more than ever today. Pandemic lockdowns stretched the making of Sonancy, recorded at long-term Loop soundman Joe Garcia’s Bristol-based studio Joe’s Garage, from an expected couple of weeks to almost a year. Still, if recording was elongated, the experience was made easier by the interplay between the members of what is the most enduring line-up of Loop to date.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been a LONG time since Loop fans got any new material. There was an EP some 7 years ago, but that could only hint at the fiery beats and immediately endearing maelstrom that 'Sonancy' provides. It's a wonderful return, and has every bit of the scathing industrial percussion and treble-heavy guitar walls we've come to know and love, a brilliant outing from a much-loved band and most importantly, a great LP on it's own merits.

TRACK LISTING

1. Interference
2. Eolian
3. Supra
4. Penumbra I
5. Isochrone
6. Halo
7. Fermion
8. Penumbra II
9. Axion
10. Aurora

Being in a band is like being in a marriage: sometimes it’s magical, sometimes it’s unbearably challenging. To reinvigorate that marriage, Deap Vally have made their third album a genrebending experiment with new collaborators and instrumentation that push the limits of what has previously defined the duo - Marriage is their musical Rumspringa, if you will.

The album sees Julie and Lindsey break free of the rigid creative constraints within which they previously existed (two members, two instruments, two voices) and invite in collaborators such as KT Tunstall, Peaches, Jennie Vee and jennylee, as well as a range of producers including Allen Salmon, Josiah Mazzaschi and Harvey Mason Jr.

TRACK LISTING

Perfuction
Billions
Magic Medicine
I Like Crime (ft Jennie Vee)
Phoenix
Give Me A Sign
Better Run
I’m The Master
High Horse (ft. Kt Tunstall, Peaches)
Where Do We Go
Tsunami
Look Away (ft. Jennylee)

Billy Bragg has been a fearless recording artist, tireless live performer and peerless political campaigner for over 30 years. Among the former Saturday boy’s albums are his punk charged debut Life’s a Riot With Spy Vs Spy, the more love-infused Workers Playtime, pop classic Don’t Try This At Home, the Queen’s Golden Jubilee-timed treatise on national identity England, Half-English, and his stripped-down tenth, Tooth & Nail, his most successful since the early 90s. The intervening three decades have been marked by a number one hit single, having a street named after him, being the subject of a South Bank Show, appearing onstage at Wembley Stadium, curating Left Field at Glastonbury, sharing spotted dick with a Cabinet minister in the House of Commons cafeteria, being mentioned in Bob Dylan’s memoir and meeting the Queen. At their best, Billy’s songs present ‘the perfect Venn diagram between the political and the personal’ (the Guardian).

TRACK LISTING

1. Should Have Seen It Coming
2. Mid-Century Modern
3. Lonesome Ocean
4. Good Days And Bad Days
5. Freedom Doesn’t Come For Free
6. Reflections On The Mirth Of Creativity
7. The Million Things That Never Happened
8. The Buck Doesn’t Stop Here No More
9. I Believe In You
10. Pass It On
11. I Will Be Your Shield
12. Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained

Magic, miracles, ghosts, world leaders; these days it seems there is little left to believe in. Lies outweigh truth and even truth can be dangerous. Raising everyone’s spirits Already Dead – the fourth album and the first for nine years from Willy Mason - explores honesty and deception, anonymity in the digital age, good intentions with unexpected consequences, freedom, colonialism, love, god, and purpose because, its storyteller says, now is the time to restore some much-needed faith.

“Already Dead is a spiritual state to aspire to; it is freedom from the trappings and inhibitions of one’s ego, culture, and mythology. It is freedom and love and freedom to love in the face of death,” tells Willy of the philosophy behind the writing. “It’s about the necessary destruction of one’s mythology; mythology of species, sex, race, nation, self. It’s about the pain and tragedy that comes with such destruction, but also about the freedom, possibility and opportunity for reconciliation; reconciliation with the natural world and with each other.”

Already Dead arrives at a time when certain words must be said. It is a quest for love in a society which fears and discourages it; for truth and justice in a society which prioritises convenience and profit. “I ended up diving so deeply into this record because it felt at the time, like the only way I could hope to do some good for somebody,” Willy says. “All the concern and care I have for people, fear, frustration and sadness, all came pouring out."

Sparkling opener ‘Youth On A Spit’ is one of Willy’s heaviest tracks to date; “I feel no pain I’ve already bled / You can’t kill me I’m already dead,” he taunts, through double-sided declaration of invincibility before embarking upon a biting, bold, and caring tour through the purgatory of life in 21st century North America; reaching for Heaven “The Truth is Love/The Truth is Life/The Truth is Sowing Paradise'', whilst preparing for Hell, “Things we’d do to each other/I’m worried to discover” (Gilded Lie). All the while pleading and appealing to one’s nation as if to a wayward lover; “oh my country/you were born/as a branch from a tree of thorns/of poison apple poison tree/you’ve fallen far but roots run deep” (Oh My Country). Even those considering themselves above suspicion cannot hide: “Wilfully ignorant/a false equivalence/smitten with shame/a pawn in the game” (One Of The Good Ones).

Voyaging across the cracks of a bleak and crumbling landscape, beauty begins to blossom as Already Dead casts new shades of meaning when applied to a society and culture teetering on the edge between reinvention and dissolution. Hope, without promise, develops into its own suspended resolution with ripping album closer ‘Worth It’ and looks towards reaching a definitive destination after the soldiering on of early LPs Carry On (2012) and If the Ocean Gets Rough (2007); “The seed and the sowing/the need and the growing/the hope and the hatred/the faith and the sacred/the thief and the servant/the fazed and the fervent/I Know It’s Worth It”.

After seeing the world on countless tours and supporting independent music communities, Willy’s next move looks to be even greater. “Already Dead captures the feeling of these times and I’m trying to give people encouragement, whatever that may be or look like,” he says. Here lies unquestionable truth; life might be uncertain, but to be Already Dead is just the beginning.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been a long wait since the last Willy Mason LP but 'Already Dead' perfectly epitomises what we've come to know and love from Willy. Brimming with folky restraint, but imbued with a cinematic intensity, these are cleverly written and brilliantly played earworms.

TRACK LISTING

1. Youth On A Spit
2. You’d Like To Be Free
3. Gilded Lie
4. Reservation
5. Oh My Country
6. Slowslide
7. One Of The Good Ones
8. Outwit The Devil
9. If There’s A Heart
10. Worth It

Following excellent reviews for her recent solo album, 'There Is No Other...', released earlier this year, Isobel Campbell will reissue her third and fourth solo albums, Amorino and Milkwhite Sheets via Cooking Vinyl.

'Amorino' is the third solo album from the former Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell. Obsessed with French New Wave, chanson, vintage European cinema, the beat girls and boys of the 1960’s, White Horses by Jacky, Peter Sellers and the bossa nova of Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, Campbell, alongside fellow maverick composer and Scottish national treasure Bill Wells set about making their homage to such things. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Amorino
2. The Breeze Whispered Your Name
3. Monologue For An Old True Love
4. October's Sky
5. The Cat's Pyjamas
6. Why Does My Head Hurt So?
7. Johnny Come Home
8. Poor Butterfly
9. Love For Tomorrow
10. There Is No Greater Gold
11. This Land Flows With Milk
12. Song For Baby
13. Time Is Just The Same

Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka”, certainly the only hit song ever written from the perspective of an abused boy, “Marlene on the Wall”, a surprise hit in the UK and “Tom’s Diner”, a strange little a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo “DNA” and became a major club hit. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, the follow up, Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies. WHAT IS THIS ALBUM ? Produced by Gerry Leonard (Guitar player with David Bowie, played with Roger Waters, Laurie Anderson) mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Kevin Killen and mastered by Grammy Award winner, Bob Ludwig. On An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, Vega revisits some of her most New York-centric repertoire in a stunning live recording on which she is backed by longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen and keyboardist Jamie Edwards. Recorded at New York City’s famed Café Carlyle in early 2019, the album includes both familiar songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” and deep cuts from her catalog like “Frank and Ava” and “Ludlow Street”. The mix of repertoire also features “New York Is My Destination” from Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, Vega’s one-woman play about the Southern gothic novelist Carson McCullers, and a cover of her late friend Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.

TRACK LISTING

1. Marlene On The Wall
2. Luka
3. 'So How Many People Are Here From Out Of Town?'
4. New York Is A Woman
5. 'This Next Song Takes Place On 59th Street...'
6. Frank And Eva
7. 'So I Myself Came To New York City When I Was 2 ½ Years Old'
8. Gypsy
9. Freeze Tag
10. Pornographer's Dream
11. 'This Next Song Is Called New York Is My Destination'
12. New York Is My Destination
13. 'The First Time I Saw Lou Reed...'
14. Walk On The Wild Side
15. Ludlow Street
16. Cracking
17. 'And Now We've Got A Song About Those Times...'
18. Some Journey
19. 'I'm Gonna Close With This Song...'
20. Tom's Diner
21. 'Would You Like Another One?'
22. Anniversary
23. Tombstone
24. Thin Man

The Waterboys, one of the most creative, loved and literate bands of the last four decades, return this summer with their 14th studio album Good Luck, Seeker.

Comprising dramatic spoken-word over wild, relentless genre-busting music (is it psychedelic soul? Is it trance? punk?), My Wanderings In The Weary Land might just be the greatest rock’n’roll record ever made – and one that is darkly appropriate to our weird, wired times. 

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1
1. The Soul Singer
2. (You've Got To) Kiss A Frog Or Two
3. Low Down In The Broom
4. Dennis Hopper
5. Freak Street
6. Sticky Fingers
7. Why Should I Love You?
8. The Golden Work
9. My Wanderings In The Weary Land
10. Postcard From The Celtic Dreamtime
11. Good Luck, Seeker
12. Beauty In Repetition
13. Everchanging
14. The Land Of Sunset

DISC 2 (COOKCD768X Version Only)
1. The Soul Singer (inst)
2. (You’ve Got To) Kiss A Frog Or Two (inst)
3. Low Down In The Broom (gtr/vocal)
4. Dennis Hopper (Demo)
5. Why Should I Love You? (inst)
6. My Wanderings In The Weary Land (vocal)
7. Postcard From The Celtic Dreamtime (inst)
8. Beauty In Repetition (inst)
9. The Soul Singer (demo)
10. The Land Of Sunset (inst)

Highly influential post punk stars, The Psychedelic Furs release their new album, their first in nearly 30 years. From its exhilarating opening bars, Made Of Rain - sounds like The Psychedelic Furs and them alone. It’s a joy to hear again, fresher than ever. Their peerless permutations of art, aggression and ambience drive the dynamics, and it’s always been this originality which has set them apart, a cut above. The album was produced by Richard Fortus, whilst mixing duties were handled by Tim Palmer (David Bowie, U2, Robert Plant). 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: From the outset, this absolutely sounds like a Psychedelic Furs album and after 30 years of not recording, that's quite an achievement. Walls of distortion and chorused guitar solos all behind Butler's instantly recognisable vocals.

TRACK LISTING

The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll
Don’t Believe
You’ll Be Mine
Wrong Train
This’ll Never Be Like Love
Ash Wednesday
Come All Ye Faithful
No-One
Tiny Hands
Hide The Medicine
Turn Your Back On Me
Stars

The Orb (Alex Paterson and Michael Rendall) return with a new album that features Youth (Killing Joke), Steve Hillage (Gong, System 7), Roger Eno (co-creator of the Apollo album with Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois) & Jah Wobble (PiL, Primal Scream Orb, Invaders of the Heart). Really The Orb should need no introduction by now, but in essence they’re a rotating cast of members helmed by Paterson that began in 1988 and still thrives to this day. They were there since UK acid house day one, providing a unique ambient take on the musical milieu and soon rising to chart-topping, huge-venue-headlining prominence. They’ve released 19 albums plus EPs, singles, compilations and live recordings, influencing countless other musicians along the way.

TRACK LISTING

1. Daze - Missing & Messed Up Mix
2. House Of Narcotics - Opium Wars Mix
3. Hawk Kings - Oseberg Buddhas Buttonhole
4. Honey Moonies - Brain Washed At Area 49 Mix
5. Pervitin - Empire Culling & The Hemlock Stone Version
6. Afros, Afghans And Angels - Helgö Treasure Chest
7. Shape Shifters (in Two Parts) - Coffee & Ghost Train Mix
8. Say Cheese - Siberian Tiger Cookie Mix
9. Ital Orb - Too Blessed To Be Stressed Mix
10. The Queen Of Hearts - Princess Of Clubs Mix
11. The Weekend It Rained Forever - Oseberg Buddha Mix (The Ravens Have Left The Tower)
12. Slave Till U Die No Matter What U Buy - L’anse Aux Meadows Mix

Long awaited new solo album from Isobel Campbell. 

It's been 10 years (yes really) since her last album, "Hawk", which was her third collaboration with Mark Lanegan and 14 since her last solo album, but it's been worth the wait. 

Drawing on everything from the twee indie pop of Belle & Sebastian, 60s pop, and the dark Americana of her Lanegan collaborations, this is an absolute gem of a record.

TRACK LISTING

1. City Of Angels
2. Runnin’ Down A Dream
3. Vultures
4. Ant Life
5. Rainbow
6. The Heart Of It All
7. Hey World
8. The National Bird Of India
9. Just For Today
10. See Your Face Again
11. Boulevard
12. Counting Fireflies
13. Below Zero

Maximo Park release this live album spanning their six albums to date. "Get High (No, I Don’t)" and "What Equals Love?" appear from latest album "Risk To Exist", as does Top 20 single "Books From Boxes", and the beloved "Going Missing" B-Side "A19". Much-loved on record, the band are famed for reaching new levels of dynamism, energy and excitement in a live environment. Many fan-favourites are given such life in this new release. Mixed by Adrian Bushby, he captures the band at the peak of their powers, showcasing what has made them such a popular live act over the last 14 years.

TRACK LISTING

1. Get High (No, I Don’t)(Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
2. I Want You To Stay (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
3. Girls Who Play Guitars (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
4. Questing, Not Coasting (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
5. The National Health (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
6. A19 (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
7. What Equals Love? (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
8. Limassol (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
9. Midnight On The Hill (Recorded Live At Vada Studios)
10. Books From Boxes (Recorded Live At Vada Studios) 

After an impressive 17 years together, seven studio albums and over a million records sold worldwide, they might be excused a bit of downtime. But no… the London 4-piece Turin Brakes have announced their eighth studio album ‘Invisible Storm’ coming in January 2018 on Cooking Vinyl, followed by a major UK tour. 2016 saw them back lighting up the airwaves with national radio playlisting for three singles from critically acclaimed album ‘Lost Property’ coupled with a packed schedule of touring. Yet all along the way new material kept bubbling through. New songs kept popping up, in soundchecks. Light-bulb moments materialised in midnight sessions in hotel rooms or in any spare moments found. Invisible Storm is big-picture music played on a small screen, refracted through lyrics that embrace the personal and the universal, without offering the comfort of easy answers. Formed in Balham South London, Turin Brakes released their Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album The Optimist in 2001 followed by Ether Song in 2003 which featured the top 5 hit single Pain Killer (Summer Rain). One of the finest indie bands of the last decade with 7 top 40 hits to their name Turin Brakes are a band that’s weathered many Invisible Storms, that are sure of who they are and what they’ve set out to do, and know that there’s always a story left to tell…

TRACK LISTING

1. Would You Be Mine
2. Wait
3. Always
4. Lost In The Woods
5. Deep Sea Diver
6. Life Forms
7. Invisible Storm
8. Everything All At Once
9. Tomorrow
10. Smoke And Mirrors
11. Don’t Know Much

Life comes at you real fast these days. What’s a singer-songwriter to do when events keep challenging the way that we see the world? Before we’ve had a chance to digest one startling development, along comes another to throw us off balance again. I’ve been grubbing up songs for the past 12 months, but without the space to get an album together due to other projects, so I’ve decided to start dropping tracks, one a month between now and the end of the year. As always, they’re my way of trying to make some sense of what’s going on. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters is the name of an etching created in 1799 by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. The title struck a chord with me when trying to understand the events of last year. The lies and hubris of the Leave campaign in our EU referendum was echoed and amplified by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Only by restoring empathy and reason can we hope to defeat the monstrous forces of nationalism and untruth.

Reverend & The Makers release their sixth album, ‘The Death Of A King’, through Cooking Vinyl. Reverend & The Makers played a storming set at Wirral Live (May 20th) where Jon McClure proudly welcomed Jeremy Corbyn to the stage, to make what many commentators agree his most impassioned speech of the 2017 campaign to date. 

Starsailor burst onto the scene in 2001 when their single Fever earned them the title of "Britain's best new band". The band was formed at Wigan and Leigh Music College by music students James Walsh (vocals/guitar), James Stelfox (bass), and Ben Byrne (drums). Later saw the arrival of keyboardist Barry Westhead, who cemented their sound. In April 2000, after seeing their first London show (at the Heavenly Social) the NME wrote: "One live encounter was enough to convince many sceptics that here was a band who were genuinely special, blessed with a singer whose voice thrummed like an emotional telegraph wire, that swerved the pitfalls of indie melancholia and were clearly in love with rock 'n' roll and all its possibilities." Their debut album Love Is Here featuring the Top 10 single Alcoholic, reached Number Two in the UK Album Charts in October 2001, after receiving great critical acclaim and went on to sell over half a million copies in the UK alone.

Phil Spector was originally appointed to produce the band's second album, Silence Is Easy. The resulting recording sessions at London's Abbey Road were short-lived. Their collaboration proved to be frustrating, with Spector and the band butting heads on several issues. Only two tracks that Spector produced made the album, Silence Is Easy (another Top 10 single for the band) and White Dove. Starsailor co-produced seven of the other tracks with former Elbow and Doves producer, Danton Supple. John Leckie (The Stone Roses & Radiohead) also produced Shark Food. Silence Is Easy reached Number Two in the UK Album Chart and soon went Gold. The band have enjoyed more than their fair share of prestigious gigs, supporting the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Police, The Killers, and U2, and have sold over 3 million albums worldwide. They decided to take a break in 2009 to explore other projects and now return in 2017 sounding re-energised and with an outstanding new studio album - their fifth ‘All This Life’. The band played a packed Big Top at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival to an ecstatic crowd and debuted a new track from the forthcoming album. They are also confirmed shows at British Summer Time at Hyde Park alongside Phil Collins, Blondie, New Power Generation and more as well as Hope & Glory Festival in Liverpool.

TRACK LISTING

1. Listen To Your Heart
2. All This Life
3. Take A Little Time
4. Caught In The Middle
5. Sunday Best
6. Blood
7. Best Of Me
8. Break The Cycle
9. Fallout
10. FIA (Fuck It All)
11. No One Else

Recorded in London in 2016, the record is an infectious mix of ska punk and social commentary. “The initial idea was just to sit down and do something incredibly honest”, reveals Itch. “I wanted to write about the journey that I’ve been on over the past 12 months. This record is about cleaning up and seeing what I can do to improve myself and make myself happier.” The King Blues have always been a band that writes from the heart, but with The Gospel Truth Itch left no intimate detail uncovered. It was a process he found incredibly cathartic. “We had a lot of fun making this record”, declares Itch. “Even though we were dealing with some emotional topics and doing a lot of soul searching and going deep, it was a really enjoyable, therapeutic and creative experience.”

The Gospel Truth is also unique in that fans were invited to be a part of the process: people from all over the country shared their individual stories with Itch via audio diaries, which pop up at various stages throughout the album, underscoring his own personal struggles with depression. As the singer explains: “The more personal and honest they got with me, it seemed like we were all going through the same struggles and our stories were starting to relate to each other. And it was a strange thing because it was a shared experience of isolation. So many people felt this same sense of anxiety and disconnection.” The songs on The Gospel Truth switch from sardonic (America Don’t Want Me / Not Another Love Song) and satirical (The Bullingdon Boys / New Gods) to downright dark (The Truth Comes Out), but the theme remains constant throughout: truth.

In March 2016 Billy Bragg and Joe Henry, guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles-bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired. Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the pair recorded classic railroad songs in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers.

Deap Vally, the Los Angeles duo comprising of Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards, return with their new album 'Femejism' Produced by Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, it features tracks ranging from experimental prog and kraut-rock to good old- fashioned heart-melters and ball-busters.

Deap Vally recently completed major North American tours with Peaches and with Wolfmother during which they aired a number of new songs from the upcoming album live for the first time. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Riding the same line as one of shop favourites Courtney Barnett, Deap Vally form raucous but anthemic rock anthems. Huge raging drum lines and snarling vocals, distorted walls of pummeling riffage and shout-along anthems are the order of the day. That's not to say there isn't a softer side, 'Critic' could easily be Hole's best ever single, had they written it instead. A fantastic return to the fore by Deap Vally, and one that will no doubt keep on giving.

TRACK LISTING

1: Royal Jelly
2: Julian
3: Gonnawanna
4: Little Baby Beauty Queen
5: Smile More
6: Critic
7: Post Funk
8: Two Seat Bike
9: Bubble Baby
10: Teenage Queen
11: Grunge Bond
12: Turn It Off
13: Heart Is An Animal

Delving into Mexico’s unlikely obsession for all-things-Morrissey, Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara, founder of the electronic music project Mexican Institute of Sound (M.I.S.), together with bandleader Sergio Mendoza (Orkesta Mendoza/Calexico) has assembled a super-group of Mexico’s leading contemporary musicians, paying homage to the iconic Smiths frontman.

Through M.I.S., Lara has developed a reputation for blending traditional music with more modern sounds and with this project he explores the relationship between Mexico and Morrissey, reinventing his work with brass, accordion and other Mexican elements. His songs of love, loss and longing, with powerful imagery and metaphors have found a huge audience and chimed with generations raised on rancheras and mariachis.

The Cult release the tenth studio album of their stellar career, the epic ‘Hidden City’, produced by Bob Rock and written by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy. It’s the final part of a trilogy that has witnessed the rebirth of the band, beginning with ‘Born Into This’ (2007), which evolved into ‘Choice of Weapon’ (2012), and arrived fully formed, kicking and screaming with the seductive ‘Hidden City’

The sonic assault of ‘Dark Energy’ is the perfect intro to this startling new album. Peel away the layers of this 12 track master class in space and time, and you will discover a band in their absolute prime. Which comes as no surprise, as the Cult have existed in the shadows and wild spaces since their inception.

When the Cult played Coachella last year, Rolling Stone hailed their performance as “the messianic moment of Coachella” This year they’ve played a handful of visceral shows that promises much for next year’s touring. For the Cult, ‘Hidden City’, became the perfect metaphor for the revolt between the self and soul and provided the framework for the new album.

“I find today’s gurus are trying to peddle some cure, product or insight as if it’s a new phenomenon,” says Ian Astbury. “My place is to respond, not react, to observe, participate and share through words and music. There is no higher authority than the heart.”

The Cult have cut their own career path. From the iconic ‘Love’ album to the dystopian ‘Beyond Good & Evil’ (2001) to the current biting truth of ‘Hidden City’, the band live their art. As The future unfolds The Cult will respond. It’s what they do.

TRACK LISTING

1: Dark Energy
2: No Love Lost
3: Dance The Night
4: In Blood
5: Birds Of Paradise
6: Hinterland
7: G O A T
8: Deeply Ordered Chaos
9: Avalanche Of Light
10: Lilies
11: Heathens
12: Sound And Fury

Though their latest top 20 album, Bonxie, was their most electronic release to date Stornoway are best known (and possibly best loved) for their compelling acoustic performances. Magic is conjured by their use of traditional instrumentation, the Steadman brothers' sibling harmonies; making up the four parts with Jon Ouin and the clear, true, spell of lead singer Brian Briggs' voice.

The band's love for wildlife, the outdoors and of course Brian's PhD in Ornithology are at the forefront of their message, underlined by their recent tour of RSPB nature reserves: The Shags and Ducks and Rock 'n' Roll Tour. Combined with Stornoway's passion for playing unplugged shows, it seems completely natural, in every sense of the word, for them to produce a study of Bonxie that takes the listener back to its evolutionary beginnings.

The Unplucked EP presents acoustic versions of five songs from Bonxie: Between the Salt Marsh and the Sea, Get Low, Man On Wire, The Road You Didn't Take, Lost Youth and a cover of Yazz's 1988 hit The Only Way Is Up. The songs are stripped of their plumage and their unadorned, skeletal simplicity is revealed. As the band extolled on one of their first ever releases The Battery Human, we need to unplug and "Fix our loose connection out in the natural world wide web". So tune in, turn on and drop out with Unplucked by Stornoway

TRACK LISTING

1: Between The Saltmarsh And The Sea (Acoustic)
2: Get Low (Acoustic)
3: Man On Wire (Acoustic)
4: The Road You Didn't Take (Acoustic)
5: Lost Youth (Acoustic)
6: The Only Way Is Up (Acoustic) 

Indie-folk ensemble Stornoway return with third album Bonxie. For the first time the band enlisted a producer to captain the ship and the man in charge was none other than Gil Norton. Noted for his work with Pixies, Foo Fighters, Twin Atlantic, etc. Gil certainly rocked Stornoway’s world and shook them out of their comfort zones; helping them cut to the chase, sizing up the new songs and shaping them with raptor precision. Joining Gil and Stornoway in the studio was none other than Craig Potter (Elbow) who mixed the track Man on Wire.

Whilst Stornoway’s second album ‘Tales From Terra Firma’ was concerned with very personal stories: life’s (and death’s) big questions, Bonxie is far more outward looking. It is infused with a humanistic ideal; a sense of humility and wonderment for the forces of nature, a desire and need for mutual regard and for a respect towards each other and the environment. Each song on Bonxie is a facet of the album which opens up like an origami bird. It is a construction of nature by humans but each song unfolds as a unique species, shape and call.

TRACK LISTING

1: Between The Saltmarsh And The Sea
2: Get Low
3: Man On Wire
4: The Road You Didn't Take
5: Lost Youth
6: Sing With Our Senses
7: We Were Giants
8: When You're Feeling Gentle
9: Heart Of The Great Alone
10: Josephine
11: Love Song Of The Beta Male

Carl Barât & his new band The Jackals announce the release of their debut album Let It Reign through Cooking Vinyl Records on Monday 16th February.

Let It Reign was recorded in LA and London and was produced by Joby J. Ford (The Bronx) and features guest musicians, such as Beastie Boys percussionist Alfredo Ortiz on Glory Days. "I actually started making this record solo, but the long and short of it is I just didn’t like my own company," says Carl, adding that he soon realised that he wanted to get a new band together.

Rather than call up some old mates to recruit for The Jackals, Carl decided to post a few ads online asking if there were any likeminded souls out there who wanted to try their luck at playing with him. The response was overwhelming, with thousands of people replying. Carl adds "I was lucky, because I found a bunch of people who genuinely fit together as a gang."


TRACK LISTING

1: Glory Days
2: Victory Gin
3: Summer In The Trenches
4: A Storm Is Coming
5: Beginning To See
6: March Of The Idle
7: We Want More
8: War Of The Roses
9: The Gears
10: Let It Rain

On Wednesday 5 June 2013 Billy Bragg played a very special show at The Union Chapel in London, featuring songs from his acclaimed March 2013 album ‘Tooth & Nail’ as well as classics from his back catalogue.

This unique DVD/CD souvenir of that performance, which includes bonus features and extras, is released on Cooking Vinyl. The package will also include a set of 5 postcards, comprising 4 live shots from the Union Chapel show and 1 from Wembley Arena in 2012, all taken by Pete Dunwell.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of his seminal 1983 debut recording ‘Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy’, Billy Bragg releases a special edition comprising the original album re-mastered, plus a new, live solo version by Billy recorded as a unique encore at his London Union Chapel show on Wednesday 5 June 2013.

Billy says “Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy has a very special place in my heart, being the first step on a 30 year journey that has seen me travel to places that I could never have imagined back in ’83. Also, as it’s only 17 minutes long, I can knock the whole album out as an encore if the fancy takes me - no need to book the Royal Albert Hall and the London Symphony Orchestra”

We Were Here, the bands sixth album, was recorded at Rockfield Studios and engineered and mixed by Ali Staton (Rufus Wainwright / Madonna / Tricky) and produced by Turin Brakes and Ali Staton.

Tooth & Nail was recorded over a whirlwind five-day session with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry (whose impeccable production credits include Solomon Burke, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint) in his South Pasadena studio. Working with a small band of musicians whose talents had recently appeared on records by the likes of Bon Iver, Lana del Rey and Regina Spektor, the performances have a wonderfully spontaneous feel. The results are, according to Billy, a return to the rootsy sound of 1998’s Mermaid Avenue sessions he recorded with Wilco - drawing on soul, country and folk music influences to explore the ups and downs of relationships that have stood the test of time.

"In 2011, I took a long, hard look at who I am and what I do. This album is the result." Billy Bragg January 2013

TRACK LISTING

1. January Song
2. No One Knows Nothing Any More
3. Handyman Blues
4. I Ain’t Got No Home
5. Swallow My Pride
6. Do Unto Others
7. Over You
8. Goodbye, Goodbye
9. There Will Be A Reckoning
10. Chasing Rainbows
11. Your Name On My Tongue
12. Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better Day

The limited special edition 14cm x 29cm hardback book style 'bookpack' version includes the CD, a 36 page booklet containing exclusive photos and a collection of columns written by Billy originally published in Q magazine between 2008 and 2011, plus a DVD of 10 promotional videos that Billy made for his singles between 1986 - 2002.

Tooth & Nail was recorded over a whirlwind five-day session with Grammy Award winning producer Joe Henry (whose impeccable production credits include Solomon Burke, Aimee Mann, Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint) in his South Pasadena studio. Working with a small band of musicians whose talents had recently appeared on records by the likes of Bon Iver, Lana del Rey and Regina Spektor, the performances have a wonderfully spontaneous feel. The results are, according to Billy, a return to the rootsy sound of 1998’s Mermaid Avenue sessions he recorded with Wilco - drawing on soul, country and folk music influences to explore the ups and downs of relationships that have stood the test of time.

"In 2011, I took a long, hard look at who I am and what I do. This album is the result." Billy Bragg January 2013

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
1. January Song
2. No One Knows Nothing Any More
3. Handyman Blues
4. I Ain’t Got No Home
5. Swallow My Pride
6. Do Unto Others
7. Over You
8. Goodbye, Goodbye
9. There Will Be A Reckoning
10. Chasing Rainbows
11. Your Name On My Tongue
12. Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better Day

Disc 2
1. Levi Stubbs Tears - 1986
2. Greetings To The New Brunette - 1986
3. She's Leaving Home - 1988
4. Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards - 1988
5. Sexuality - 1991
6. You Woke Up My Neighbourhood - 1991
7. Accident Waiting To Happen - 1992
8. Upfield - 1996
9. Boy Done Good - 1997
10. Take Down The Union Jack –2002

It makes sense that the new album from The Lemonheads sounds like a mix tape slipped to you by a music-obsessed friend anxious to turn you on to something new. In fact, the idea for the band's new covers record was inspired by Gibby Haynes, ringmaster of the Butthole Surfers, who for years has made mixes for his longtime friend Evan Dando. 'Making a good mix is an art, and Gibby has it down,' says Dando. 'I thought it would be fun to share these songs with other people like he shared them with me. So I picked the 'greatest hits' from his mixes and covered them, along with a few other songs I always wanted to play.'

TRACK LISTING

1. "I Just Can't Take It Anymore" (Gram Parsons) 
2. "Fragile" (Wire) 
3. "Layin' Up With Linda" (G.G. Allin) 
4. "Waiting Around To Die" (Townes Van Zandt) 
5. "Green Fuz" (Randy Alvey & Green Fuz) 
6. "Yesterlove" (Sam Gopal) 
7. "Dirty Robot" V/ Kate Moss (Arling & Cameron) 
8. "Dandelion Seeds" (July) 
9."Mexico" (Fuckemos) 
10."Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye" F/ Liv Tyler (Leonard Cohen) 
11. "Beautiful" (Linda Perry)