Some artists don’t ask permission; they just land in your gut and stay there. Some records arrive polished and pristine. Others bleed the moment you press play. On their debut album ‘Put A Smile On For Me’, the fast-rising London four-piece Keo choose the latter. Raw, bruised, and unflinchingly self-aware, their first full-length release captures the emotional fallout of love, guilt, shame, and self-destruction with a clarity that feels almost confrontational. The record captures a band documenting themselves in real time, preserving every fracture, ugly thought and moment of collapse without compromise.

Blending grunge intensity, shoegaze textures and confessional songwriting, the record draws on the charged candour of artists including Led Zeppelin, Sun Kil Moon and Smashing Pumpkins, while carrying the lyrical directness and storytelling instinct of artists like Radiohead. Across its 11 tracks, Keo move between moments of towering vulnerability and total collapse, pairing brooding atmospheres with melodies that feel built to be screamed back in over-spilling rooms.

“The next big guitar band." - The London Standard.
“A sound that has given UK guitar its biggest kick up the fretboard in years.” Rolling Stone UK.
“Keo are already that band." - DORK.
“There’s something undeniably compelling about Keo’s willingness to lay everything bare.” -Kerrang!
"Indie-rock’s most promising new proposition” - DIY.

The Dinked Edition of ‘Put A Smile On For Me’ comes in an exclusive collector’s format featuring alternative artwork and a limited yellow marbled vinyl pressing. It includes a heavyweight outer sleeve with alternate artwork, a printed inner sleeve, transparent outer sticker and exclusive fold-out poster. 

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Be Happy
That’s Me
Fly
Best I Can Do
Bird On The Wire

Side B
Pistol
Loser
Black Dress
Blue Song
Spent On You

In an age of algorithms, Westside Cowboy are pure-spirited proof of the magic that can only come from human connection. Just three years on from forming in Manchester, starting a band for the fun of it without so much as a plan to even play a gig, the quartet - Jimmy Bradbury (vocals, guitar), Reuben Haycocks (vocals, guitar), Aoife Anson O'Connell (vocals, bass) and Paddy Murphy (drums) - have crafted perhaps the year’s most exciting debut by simply figuring out what feels good, and following it into the horizon.

There’s no computer that could make 'It Goes On'. No formula to creating the joyous whack of emotion that comes from these four mates pooling their ideas and watching them fly. “If you go in with a preconceived notion of what you're doing, it’s sort of destined to fail because you’re not truly being yourself,” suggests Aoife. “So because we didn’t think we were gonna [do any of this] at the beginning, all we were thinking was: ‘What’s going to be the most enjoyable thing to play right now?’"

Aoife, Reuben and Paddy all knew each other from the Royal Northern College of Music; Jimmy and Paddy had played in a band together a few years previously. When they decided to sit in a practice room as a quartet for the first time, there was only one rule for what would follow. “We just wanted to make simple music. I think the reason there was such chemistry - and when we look back, even after two weeks we were really working well together - is because it was such a simple statement of intent,” recalls Reuben. “Any time we’d disagree on something - which was very rare - we’d just consult the original mission statement: if you’ve got too many chords in it, you’re wrong.”

A purposeful reaction against the “more abstract” styles they’d individually been dallying with before, Westside Cowboy swiftly became a place for concise, straight-hitting ideas influenced by “early rock’n’roll: Lonnie Donegan, The Beatles and The Velvet Underground,” says Paddy. Jimmy remembers spending the bulk of 2023 playing the first five songs of an Elvis Presley album on repeat. “When we started the band, people would ask who was in it and we’d be like, ‘We got this guy who works in a guitar shop, only listens to Elvis and dresses like Marty McFly - you know, that guy!’” Aoife laughs.

If these were the solid early seeds of Westside Cowboy, then the biggest thing that’s shaped them into the exploratory, melodically robust band they are now, has been their own journey. When they did start playing gigs (their first two shows were at a coffee shop, and for an animal rights charity), they found that their songs were being stretched and pushed forward in real time. Paddy notes that the true crux of It Goes On’s propulsive, heady opening track ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ is “as much about how we made it as the lyrics”.

“We loved the way it felt to play, but we thought we couldn’t record it like that or people would think we wanted to be a stadium rock band,” Aoife jokes. Instead, they translated it through their own lens, using a live recording of The Velvet Underground’s ‘What Goes On’ as their primary reference point. “We always thought, if we can pull this off it could be really fun,” Paddy grins. “Taking this mad, ‘70s rock thing but then having it played by a bunch of scrawny kids.” Since those first shows, Westside Cowboy have found themselves notching up an increasingly wild list of live milestones. Last year, they won Glastonbury’s prestigious Emerging Talent Competition, leading them to an opening slot on the televised Woodsies Stage. Since then, they’ve toured with Black Country, New Road and Geese while, later this year, they’ll play their biggest headline gigs to date, including stop offs at London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum and Manchester’s Albert Hall. Winning the Glastonbury slot, says Reuben, felt like “the first moment that we realised we really were a band”. Now, with the making of 'It Goes On', Westside Cowboy have underlined exactly what kind of band they want to be.

Recorded with producer Loren Humphrey (Geese, Cameron Winter, Wunderhorse) at Greenmount Studios in Leeds over a period that saw them thinking on their feet and remodelling their production into an even more directly energetic new form, there’s an urgency of feeling to 'It Goes On' that could only ever really happen with a young group’s debut record. “First albums are often my favourites because you can tell there’s a point to prove. You’re firing on all cylinders because you know that this may never happen again,” says Paddy. “You’re trying to create these big feelings, but all you have with you to string it together is a pencil and a Pritt Stick.”

Big feelings are at the heart of the matter: these are songs that aim to distill the confusion, desperation and blind hope of youth into eleven tracks that hit you in the chest. Westside Cowboy describe it as ‘the yank’. “There’s a major key, triumphant sound to some music - like the first Arcade Fire album, or ‘Someone Great’ by LCD Soundsystem - where there’s a persistence that’s contemporary and energetic, but also a simplicity,” Paddy continues. “It’s as though someone is shoving emotion into it in a way that feels like it’s reverberating,” Aoife nods. The lyrics across Westside Cowboy’s debut might often be up for interpretation, but the emotion that pours out of them is clear. On ‘Well Done Kid, You Did It’ they address the confusion of trying to make your way in a broken and terrifying world with the same cathartic forward motion of its central idea: that sometimes, all you can do is try your best. The rousing ‘Pin Up Boys’, explains Reuben, became “heavier and more aggro” every time they played it live; a mirror to its preoccupations with the struggles of self control. Meanwhile, though ‘Worried Age’ might wear its fears in its title, there’s a sense of defiance and resistance to its steadily escalating sonic scale that feels like strength. By the track’s raucous, screaming crescendo, the only answer is to come together and dance it out.

In a time of terrifying division and conflict, Westside Cowboy always try to focus on what unites us. Early on in the group’s life, they co-created No Band Is An Island: a Manchester-based collective putting on fundraising nights to spotlight both local artists and important issues via speakers from charities and direct action groups.I think we wanted to engage with politics in a way that felt more impactful beyond the music,” notes Aoife. In their current video for ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’, they called upon the skills of FC United: a splinter team that started when Man United were sold to an American corporation. “They’re very community minded and they have a similar atmosphere to what we want to be,” says Reuben. “Their ethos is ‘making friends not millionaires’.”

'It Goes On' ends with ‘You Could Have Died There On The Dancefloor’: a track that the quartet purposefully wanted to leave as the record’s parting note. It’s a wide-eyed, open-hearted ellipsis that cuts to the core of everything that’s come before; the final air punch in the name of hope. “The final lyric is ‘I am everything but perfect / But I’m trying, so please keep me around,” smiles Reuben. “And that’s the spirit of Westside Cowboy.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Kick Stones (The Boys)
2. Paper Chains
3. Dobro
4. Well Done Kid, You Did It
5. Worried Age
6. Big Wheels
7. Pin Up Boys
8. Coyote
9. Patchwork
10. Take My Leaving As I Love You
11. You Could Have Died There On The Dancefloor

Ariana Grande returns with a new studio album 'Petal', the follow-up to 'Eternal Sunshine', is executive produced and co-written by Grande and Ilya, reuniting her with the 'Problem' hitmaker.

Grande describes 'Petal' as “something that is full of life and growing through the cracks of something cold and hard and challenging.” The album marks her return to music after a period of blockbuster screen success, notably in the Wicked franchise. 

TRACK LISTING

TBA

Since their beginning, breaking through as a smart, witty new force within the British guitar music landscape back in the dark days of the pandemic, Yard Act have been wrangling with the knotty complexities of the human condition.

Their Mercury Prize-nominated 2022 debut The Overload span wry, winking tales of capitalism and the strive for success, wrapped in the sort of propulsive, serrated riffs that quickly saw them labelled as post-punk’s new darlings. With its Top Five-placing 2024 follow-up Where’s My Utopia?, the band - vocalist James Smith, bassist Ryan Needham, guitarist Sam Shipstone and drummer Jay Russell - blasted both of those conceits apart, creating a musically-exploratory and diverse record that worked to unpick and examine the very notion of ambition and fulfillment; of ‘what happens next’.

The journey of Smith’s lyrics across each of their albums, Shipstone muses, has always been quite Faustian: “It’s someone who’s seeking a goal, and then makes a pact with the devil to get the goods they want, but when they get them they’re corrupted so they get the rewards but also this bitterness too.” “And how does Faust end?” questions Needham. “Oh, not well…” If this sounds like a macabre place to root the objectively excellent third album from one of the country’s most celebrated bands of the last decade, then it’s also crucial to understanding Yard Act’s newest - and best - record yet, You’re Gonna Need A Little Music. Simultaneously the most dynamic, collaborative, energised work they’ve laid to tape, but also containing some of the darkest, most cynical and truly questioning moments they’ve concocted too, it picks up their tale and examines the findings more unsparingly than ever.

It feels appropriate that, in order to interrogate these existential subjects, the writing and recording of You’re Gonna Need A Little Music involved the four musicians coming together and strengthening their own core unit more than ever. Weirdly, for a band so associated with incendiary live shows and constant touring, their third LP marks the first time that the quartet have ever made an album together, as a live band in the same room. “The first two records were both laptop records essentially,” says Smith. The Overload was written alongside Needham before the band had fully formed; its follow-up was carved out in snatches of time on tour buses and hotel rooms, amongst a relentless schedule of “slinging [all our gear] in the rehearsal space, going back home, and then a week later piling it back into a van again.”

If their last record was created like a game of Exquisite Corpse, each member taking the track and adding their part in turn (“I always thought that was a really over the top name for a piece of folded down paper…” Needham notes), then this time they laid down roots and gave themselves time. Russell kitted out their new studio in Leeds with everything they required to track the band live at the same time throughout the writing process, including an old piano passed down from Smith’s late aunt that would become integral to the process. For the first time in a long time, Yard Act were able to settle into an “uninterrupted five month period” of creativity, crafting “40 or 50 songs” and allowing themselves to follow their ideas with no external pressure. “It felt like freedom,” says Smith. “It felt like everything I’d wanted from being in a band - to be able to make enough money to be left alone.

The results speak for themselves. Recorded between Leeds and Glendale, Los Angeles with producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Nine Inch Nails, Beck, St. Vincent), You’re Gonna Need A Little Music rings with the chemistry and energy of a band absolutely locked in. Each track has its own distinct character, whether in the ominous, guttural ferocity of ‘Redeemer’, the sleazy disco odyssey of its title track, the fizzing indie smarts of ‘Cherophobe Rock’ or the loose, cerebral meditations of ‘Janey Said’. It stems from a time of experimentation and exploration - ask Shipstone about “The Code” and he’ll give you a technical explanation as to why these songs are able to constantly veer into unexpected places whilst never undermining their melodic clout. The sense is of a band hitting a purple patch, where all the efforts of the last half-decade come together and create magic. “I think most bands’ best stuff comes around the 3rd or 4th album where they really outgrow their influences and become their own thing,” muses Smith as Needham chips in: “I keep saying, it’s like Blur. This is Parklife. The first album they were doing the genre-y thing; the second one was a kick against that but they didn’t really know what they were doing, and then they made Parklife, which was the perfect distillation of it all.” You’re Gonna Need A Little Music, however, is no whimsical walk through suburban England. From the opening self-analytical sprawl of ‘Empty Pledges’ - a track that begins with juddering deep breaths at the top of a skyscraper and freefalls into a torrent of thoughts about purpose, pride and the feeling of punching your way out of a prison of your own making - Yard Act’s third seeks to work through some of the most complicated facets of life.

In some ways, and on purpose, it is a step away from Smith’s venerated vignettes and character studies; a move towards something more “impressionistic” and up for interpretation. “I felt like I’d taken it to its logical extreme on ‘Blackpool Illuminations’ [on the last record], and I didn’t want to tread old ground,” he says. And yet the feeling still pours through, perhaps more than ever. There is a journey, should you want to trace it, from the fictional Isle of Balamory to the fantasy/ reality of San Francisco Bay. Tread the path with him and you’ll keep running into Janey - a mirror to Smith’s own psyche; a person but, y’know, not exactly. “I think the album is about multiple realities and how individualism has led us, in the modern world, to question if there even is a shared reality anymore because everyone just believes what they want now, this is the price we've paid for pursuing neoliberalism ultimately” Smith suggests.

The questions are deep, but the spirit of You’re Gonna Need A Little Music is boundless - not for nothing does its title point to the power of art and creativity to rescue us from the mire. ‘Thrill of The Chase’, with its snarled, frenetic climax as close to rap as Smith has ever reached, is filled with venom but you can also picture it giddily going off in the mosh pit. ‘Redeemer’ might have thrown the kitchen sink - or at least its cookware - at the situation, with Meldal-Johnsen concocting a brittle, metallic soundscape out of a day of rattling pots and pans, but the result is direct, visceral and exciting.

It’s a balancing act that culminates, as all Yard Act albums do, with a final moment of optimism in ‘Over The Barrel’: a track that travels from rinky dink bar-room piano through a euphoric indie- rock chorus and out, finally, into that sought-after ocean. Perhaps it’s less certain than Smith has been in the past. “‘Over The Barrel’ [as a saying] can have multiple meanings. The choice is yours. But,” says the frontman, “personally, I still have a bit of hope in me for how it all works out.” The destination might still be unknown, but the journey is unequivocally Yard Act’s finest yet. Maybe Faust didn’t have the ending all worked out after all.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Empty Pledges
New Beginnings
Tall Tales
Fiction
You're Gonna Need A Little Music
Cherophobe Rock

Side B
Thrill Of The Chase
Janey Said
Redeemer
Talky Talky People
Over The Barrel

Nia Archives returns with 'Emotional Junglist', an album about love – but not just the shimmering romantic parts. Written throughout 2025 – a year that saw Nia fall in, and horrifically back out of, love – each track will encompass something of the experience.

Marking her biggest sonic leap to date, her alt-jungle sound honed alongside James Ford (Arctic Monkey’s, Blur), Ethan P. Flynn (FKA Twigs, David Byrne) and Julia Michaels (Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter), will see her flirt with everything from dewy-eyed indie pop and nineties electronica, underscored by the syncopated beats and thudding basslines of her jungle roots with a tracklist that features Jorja Smith and Sampha.

The motif for the album is a shell – tough on the outside, but through pressure, maturation and resilience, something precious is built within. Nodding to the female form, the spiral chamber also symbolizes growth and self-development.

TRACK LISTING

1. Feelingz Go Numb
2. Around Tha Bend
3. Danger
4. Vertical
5. This Could Be…
6. Dance With Me 2nite
7. Get Me Down (feat. Jorja Smith)
8. Train Of Thought
9. Superlust
10. There Goes Ma Head
11. Almost Always
12. Tender (feat. Sampha)
13. Tha Darkest Hour
14. Lovers Grief
15. Boys In Blue

Suki Waterhouse, the indie pop storyteller behind the critically acclaimed Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, is back with her third album 'Loveland'.

Featuring 14 new tracks and co-written with some of music's brightest luminaries including Amy Allen, Aaron Dessner, Joel Little, Dan Wilson, Jules Apollinaire, and Natalie Findlay, 'Loveland' charts the tender distance between who we were and who we are becoming — a meditation on identity, motherhood, and the quiet pull toward something truer. It is Suki's most intimate and fully realized work yet.

TRACK LISTING

TBC

Recorded live at their iconic run of shows in 2019 at Coventry Cathedral, ‘Live from the Cathedral’ will be the next and final release of music from The Specials. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Man at C&A
2. Rat Race
3. Vote for Me
4. Friday Night, Saturday Morning
5. Embarrassed by You
6. Blank Expression
7. It Doesn’t Make It Alright
8. The Lunatics
9. Do Nothing
10. Blam Blam Fever
11. A Message to You Rudy
12. Stereotype
13. 10 Commandments
14. Nite Klub
15. Do the Dog
16. Concrete Jungle
17. Monkey Man
18. Gangsters
19. Too Much Too Young
20. B.L.M.
21. We Sell Hope
22. Ghost Town
23. Breaking Point
24. You’re Wondering Now

'Be Sweet To Me', the debut album by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Violet Grohl, who is the daughter of Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl.

The Violet Grohl LP is a surprisingly assured debut that balances raw emotion with sharp musical instincts. Drawing from grunge, indie rock, and lo-fi pop influences, the record feels both nostalgic and refreshingly personal. Grohl’s vocals carry a natural vulnerability that gives the lyrics weight, especially on the quieter, introspective tracks. The production stays intentionally rough around the edges, which adds charm rather than distraction. While some songs blend together stylistically, the album’s sincerity keeps it engaging from start to finish. It’s not trying to reinvent rock music, but it captures the restless energy and honesty that make young artists exciting to watch.

TRACK LISTING

1. THUM
2. 595
3. Bug In The Cake
4. Last Day I Loved You
5. Big Memory
6. Mobile Star
7. Often Others
8. Applefish
9. Cool Buzz
10. Pool Of My Dreams
11. Plastic Couch

The complete 19-track collection combining both instalments of Yungblud’s GRAMMY® nominated album ‘Idols’, which adds 6 brand new songs and a re-imagined version of the GRAMMY® nominated single “Zombie” with The Smashing Pumpkins.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklisting:
1. I Need You (To Make The World Seem Fine)
2. The Postman
3. Zombie (feat. The Smashing Pumpkins)
4. Time
5. War Pt. II
6. Blueberry Hill
7. Suburban Requiem
Bonus CD (Idols):
1. Hello Heaven, Hello
2. Idols Pt. I
3. Lovesick Lullaby
4. Zombie
5. The Greatest Parade
6. Change
7. Monday Murder
8. Ghosts
9. Fire
10. War
11. Idols Pt. II
12. Supermoon

CD Tracklisting:
1. Hello Heaven, Hello
2. Idols Pt. I
3. Lovesick Lullaby
4. Zombie
5. The Greatest Parade
6. Change
7. Monday Murder
8. Ghosts
9. Fire
10. War
11. Idols Pt. II
12. Supermoon
13. I Need You (To Make The World Seem Fine)
14. The Postman
15. Zombie (feat. The Smashing Pumpkins)
16. Time
17. War Pt. II
18. Blueberry Hill
19. Suburban Requiem

'The Great Divide', the highly anticipated new album from 2x Grammy Nominee Noah Kahan.

A reflection on Noah’s past, his now-complicated relationship to family, friends, his native Vermont, as well as the disconnect and distance that silence and unspoken truths create between people.

Produced by 'Stick Season' collaborator Gabe Simon as well as new collaborator Aaron Dessner

TRACK LISTING

TBC

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

This limited-edition 7-inch vinyl captures The Last Dinner Party performing two standout tracks from their Live From The Pyre sessions recorded in New York. Pressed exclusively for Record Store Day 2026, the record features two stunningly recorded live versions of The Scythe & Second Best.

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2026 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 18TH 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 (BST) ON MONDAY APRIL 20th).

Mercury prize and BRIT nominated Kae Tempest re-imagines his fifth studio album Self Titled, once again teaming up with critically acclaimed producer Fraser T Smith. Pressed on exclusive transparent crystal black vinyl, the record features new, stripped back versions of every track from the album.

Jessie Ware returns with her new album ‘Superbloom’ – the crescendo of her latest era – out via Island EMI Records.

Superbloom’ erupts into a glittering rush of Studio 54-inflected groove-pop. Expanding Ware’s increasingly euphoric body of work as she explores our shared craving for touch, pleasure, intimacy and connection.

The album features recent single ‘I Could Get Used To This’, hailed as her “ultimate entry into divahood” and the first track to fully capture the record’s assured, expansive spirit, carried by cascading strings and a sense of full-bodied release.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Huge widescreen synth-pop forged from huge synth swells and saw-wave stabs, cavernous percussion and Ware's wonderfully evocative vocals. Though her work has moved deftly between the more serene pieces and the poppier outings during her career, this is definitely a lean more toward the dancefloor. All the better for it too.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Garden Prelude
2. I Could Get Used To This
3. Superbloom
4. Automatic
5. Chariots Of Love Interlude
6. Sauna
7. Mr. Valentine
8. Love You For
9. Ride
10. Don't You Know Who I Am?
11. 16 Summers
12. No Consequences
13. Mon Amour

Grammy and BRIT award winners, Mumford & Sons return with their 6th studio album, 'Prizefighter', co-produced by Mumford & Sons and Aaron Dessner, and featuring Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Gigi Perez, and Chris Stapleton. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Here (with Chris Stapleton)
2. Rubber Band Man (with Hozier)
3. The Banjo Song
4. Run Together
5. Conversation With My Son (Gangsters & Angels)
6. Alleycat
7. Prizefighter
8. Begin Again
9. Icarus (with Gigi Perez)
10. Stay
11. Badlands (with Gracie Abrams)
12. Shadow Of A Man
13. I’ll Tell You Everything
14. Clover

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' sparked a 21st-century cultural renaissance. The soundtrack, which is certified 8 times platinum by the RIAA, reintroduced traditional American roots music to the masses and brought genres like bluegrass, gospel, blues, country, and folk back to the mainstream. The album’s critical success took the world by surprise, and subsequently by storm, influencing the next wave of popular music, rooted in the American South.

TRACK LISTING

1. Po Lazarus
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain
3. You Are My Sunshine
4. Down To The River To Pray
5. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
6. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
7. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
8. Keep On The Sunny Side
9. I'll Fly Away
10. Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby
11. In The Highways
12. I Am Weary (Let Me Rest)
13. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
14. O Death
15. In The Jailhouse Now
16. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow
17. Indian War Whoop
18. Lonesome Valley
19. Angel Band

You can’t plan for everything. Reuben Haycocks, Paddy Murphy and Aoife Anson-O’Connell didn’t have anything specific in mind when Jimmy Bradbury asked them if they fancied starting a band called Westside Cowboy during his shift at a music shop. Yet a couple of years, a clutch of singles, a killer live reputation, and a record deal from Island Records imprint Adventure Recordings later, it seems like the idea’s got legs: whether they meant to or not, Westside Cowboy have become one of the most exciting new acts in the UK.

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Shop faves and local legends Westside Cowboy are back with their second EP and it's another belter. If you've been lucky enough to catch them live, then you'll know why we're all so excited - and boy does it live up to the hype! Burstin' with their homegrown brand of "Britainicana" that we've all come infatuated with, Westside are gonna be massive - so hop aboard YEEEEEHAWWWW!!!!!

TRACK LISTING

1. Strange Taxidermy
2. Can’t See
3. Don’t Throw Rocks
4. The Wahs
5. In The Morning

Remixes and reworks of the Mercury Prize winning album ‘This Could Be Texas’.

“So grateful that some of our favourite contemporary artists and friends were up for doing this with us x" - Lily Fontaine

TRACK LISTING

Albatross (Bug Teeth Remix)
The World’s Biggest Paving Slab (Daniel Avery Remix)
Broken Biscuits (Lewis Whiting Remix)
I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying (Water From Your Eyes Remix)
Mastermind Specialism (SHERELLE’s 160 Steps To Enlightenment Mix)
This Could Be Texas (Baxter Drury Remix)
Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space (Working Men’s Club Remix)
R&B (Max Cooper Remix)
Nearly Daffodils (Matt Maltese Rework)
The Best Tears Of Your Life (FDC DJs Remix)
You Blister My Paint (Silver Gore Remix)
Sideboob (TAAHLIAH Remix)
Albert Road (Blossom Caldarone Rework)

THIS IS A BLACK FRIDAY 2025 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28th FROM 10AM 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 8AM ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29th).

Two iconic pop hits first shared by Chappell Roan in live performances, 'The Subway' and 'The Giver' both display her soaring vocals and witty songwriting. With 'The Subway' an anthem for heartbreak, loss, and moving on was born. On the B-side, 'The Giver' serves camp and country, making clear Roan's ability to cover a multitude of genres with ease, authenticity, and individuality. It’ll make you want to cry on public transportation on the A-Side then line dance on the B-side while you sing along to both.

Following an iconic tribute performance at the VMAs, rock legends Aerosmith unite with rising force YUNGBLUD on ‘One More Time’, marking Aerosmith’s first new material in over a decade. The 5-track EP features vocals from Steven Tyler and YUNGBLUD throughout, including 4 new songs written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, YUNGBLUD, and Matt Schwartz, plus a reimagined version of the Aerosmith classic 'Back In the Saddle'.

TRACK LISTING

1. My Only Angel
2. Problems
3. Wild Woman
4. A Thousand Days
5. Back In The Saddle (2025 Mix)

'Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack', features performances by the stars of the emotional, electrifying conclusion to Universal Pictures’ global cinematic Wicked sensation, Wicked: For Good. 'Wicked: For Good – The Soundtrack' follows last year’s acclaimed, history-making release of 'Wicked: The Soundtrack', which marked the highest debut ever for a theatrical adaptation of a stage musical. With music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, the soundtrack includes two new original songs featured in the film: 'No Place Like Home' performed by 3x Academy Award® nominee, Grammy-winning Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, and 'The Girl In The Bubble' performed by Academy Award® nominee, Grammy-winning Ariana Grande as Glinda.

In addition, 'The Wicked Witch of the East' is exclusively featured on the film soundtrack. It has never previously been released as part of the Original Broadway Cast Recording. The soundtrack also features fan-favorites 'Thank Goodness', 'As Long As You’re Mine', 'No Good Deed', and the title track 'For Good.'

TRACK LISTING

1. Every Day More Wicked – Wicked Movie Cast, Cynthia Erivo Ft. Michelle Yeoh, Ariana Grande
2. Thank Goodness / I Couldn’t Be Happier – Ariana Grande, Wicked Movie Cast Ft. Michelle Yeoh
3. No Place Like Home – Cynthia Erivo
4. The Wicked Witch Of The East – Marissa Bode, Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater
5. Wonderful – Jeff Goldblum, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo
6. I'm Not That Girl (Reprise) – Ariana Grande
7. As Long As You're Mine – Cynthia Erivo & Jonathan Bailey
8. No Good Deed – Cynthia Erivo
9. March Of The Witch Hunters – Wicked Movie Cast, Ethan Slater
10. The Girl In The Bubble – Ariana Grande
11. For Good – Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

The Weeknd's sophomore studio album 'Beauty Behind The Madness' was released in 2015 and features the #1 hits 'Can't Feel My Face' and 'The Hills'. 10th Anniversary Edition 2 LP set is pressed on standard weight transparent vinyl.

TRACK LISTING

1. Real Life
2. Losers Ft. Labrinth
3. Tell Your Friends
4. Often
5. The Hills
6. Acquainted
7. Can’t Feel My Face
8. Shameless
9. Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)
10. In The Night
11. As You Are
12. Dark Times Ft. Ed Sheeran
13. Prisoner Ft. Lana Del Rey
14. Angel

The Last Dinner Party on the new album: “This record is a collection of stories, and the concept of album-as-mythos binds them. ‘The Pyre’ itself is an allegorical place in which these tales originate, a place of violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light.

“The songs are character driven but still deeply personal, a commonplace life event pushed to pathological extreme. Being ghosted becomes a Western dance with a killer, and heartbreak laughs into the face of the apocalypse. Lyrics invoke rifles, scythes, sailors, saints, cowboys, floods, Mother Earth, Joan of Arc, and blazing infernos. We found this kind of evocative imagery to be the most honest and truthful way to discuss the way our experiences felt, giving each the emotional weight it deserves.”

“This record feels a little darker, more raw and more earthy; it takes place looking out at a sublime landscape rather than seated an opulent table. It also feels metatextual and cheeky in places, like a knowing look reflected back at ourselves.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Agnus Dei
2. Count The Ways
3. Second Best
4. This Is The Killer Speaking
5. Rifle
6. Woman Is A Tree
7. I Hold Your Anger
8. Sail Away
9. The Scythe
10. Inferno

Third studio album from viral TikTok popstar Lola Young. Following on from 2024's 'This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway', 'I'm Only F**king Myself' features lead singles 'One Thing' and 'Not Like That Anymore'.

TRACK LISTING

1. How Long Will It Take To Walk A Mile? (interlude)
2. F*CK EVERYONE
3. One Thing
4. D£aler
5. SPIDERS
6. Penny Out Of Nothing
7. Walk All Over You
8. Post Sex Clarity
9. SAD SOB STORY! :)
10. CAN WE IGNORE IT? :(
11. Why Do I Feel Better When I Hurt You?
12. Not Like That Anymore
13. Who Fucking Cares?
14. Ur An Absolute C Word (interlude)

Hickey is the bold new album from Australian duo Royel Otis—a cleaner, more confident evolution of their sun-soaked indie rock. With jangly guitars, sticky hooks, and sharp, direct storytelling, tracks like “moody,” “car,” and “say something” capture the thrill of youth and the chaos of growing up. Romantic, rebellious, and irresistibly catchy, Hickey is made to leave a mark.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Evocative, jangling hooks and rich vocals draped over the top in true Royel Otis tradition, but as ever the horizons of their sound are widening all the time, drifting into snappy motorik rock and woozy ambient. Brilliant.

‘The Slow Fire Of Sleep’ is the debut solo EP from L.Mayland. Written by Lizzie Mayland and produced by Imogen Williams and Will Lister with songwriting credits on the title track from Imogen Williams too. The front cover was hand painted by Lizzie and this format comes pressed on black vinyl with printed inners featuring EP lyrics with imagery from Cal McIntyre.

TRACK LISTING

1. Mother Mother
2. Homeward
3. From The Other Side Of The World I’d Hear You
4. Lighthouse
5. The Slow Fire Of Sleep

Hailed as “one of the most remarkable voices of their generation” (The Independent), Scotland’s Jacob Alon redefines contemporary folk with their debut album, ‘In Limerence’. Featuring the acclaimed singles’ Fairy In A Bottle’, ‘Confession’, and ‘Liquid Gold 25’, the Dan Carey-produced record weaves poetic storytelling with ghostly vocals and intricate guitar work. Alon’s deeply personal songwriting has earned praise from Clash, Billboard, and The Times, plus an appearance on Later… with Jools Holland and support from BBC 6 Music. A haunting yet hopeful debut, ‘In Limerence’ cements Alon as a singular new voice in British folk.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful wash of brittle, folky guitars and hushed vocals morph into powerful passages of reflective exuberance and celebratory praise. Though Alon's hushed vocals suggest timidity, the beautifully confident strokes of musicality and majestic changes juxtapose it beautifully. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

1. Glimmer
2. Of Amber
3. Don’t Fall Asleep
4. I Couldn’t Feed Her
5. Confession
6. Elijah
7. Liquid Gold 25
8. August Moon
9. Home Tapes
10. Zathura
11. Fairy In A Bottle
12. Sertraline

'Hurry Up Tomorrow' is the sixth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. The album contains guest appearances from Playboi Carti and Anitta. Production was handled by the Weeknd himself, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Pharrell Williams, Mike Dean, Ojivolta, Twisco, and Sean Solymar, among others. The album was supported by three singles: 'Dancing in the Flames', 'Timeless' (with Playboi Carti) and 'Sao Paulo' (featuring Anitta).

TRACK LISTING

1. Wake Me Up
2. Cry For Me
3. I Can't Fucking Sing
4. São Paulo
5. Until We're Skin & Bones
6. Baptized In Fear
7. Open Hearts
8. Opening Night
9. Reflections Laughing
10. Enjoy The Show
11. Given Up On Me
12. I Can't Wait To Get There
13. Timeless
14. Niagara Falls
15. Take Me Back To LA
16. Big Sleep
17. Give Me Mercy
18. Drive
19. The Abyss
20. Red Terror
21. Without A Warning
22. Hurry Up Tomorrow

Limited edition 7” vinyl featuring 'Conceited' on Side A and 'Crush' on Side B taken from the album 'This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway'. Pressed on a stunning limited-edition transparent vinyl, this collectible piece captures Lola’s raw emotion and artistry. Shrink-wrapped for lasting preservation, it’s a must-have for any fan.

TRACK LISTING

1. Conceited
2. Crush

Grammy nominated Noah Kahan celebrates an incredible season of accolades by releasing a live album of his high point thus far - selling out 2 nights at his New England hometown Fenway Park, which saw 70K+ fans in attendance, special guests Gracie Abrams, The Lumineers & more! . Noah debuts many songs on tour as he writes towards his next album, this live album sees 'Pain Is Cold Water' 1st release, since the song is so new Noah hasn't even recorded it yet.

TRACK LISTING

1. Dial Drunk
2. New Perspective
3. Everywhere, Everything (feat. Gracie Abrams)
4. Forever
5. Pain Is Cold Water
6. Maine
7. Paul Revere
8. All My Love
9. Your Needs, My Needs
10. You’re Gonna Go Far
11. Homesick
12. Growing Sideways
13. She Calls Me Back
14. Orange Juice
15. Northern Attitude
16. Mess
17. The View Between Villages
18. Stick Season

“Here is my first-born child, a fuck you to all my exes, and basically me just trying to figure out some shit openly and honestly on record. First of many and if you don't like it, then this wasn't meant for you anyway.” - Lola Young.

'This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway' marks a remarkable shift in Lola’s sound as an artist. Recorded in LA and produced by friend and collaborator Solomonophic (Remi Wolf, BROCKHAMPTON, Dominic Fike), 'This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway' is a multi-faceted, fearless concept. As irresistible as it is unexpected, Lola’s album is crackling with kinetic energy and lyrically fuelled by rage, passion, narrative flair and comedy derision. A contemporary break-up album, 'This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway' encapsulates the sound of what it means to be young and in constant romantic chaos. With exciting plans up Lola’s sleeve, her upcoming record will undoubtedly add to her musical trajectory. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A superb effort, moving between garage rock and punk-adjacent melodicism, soulful passages and grooves with cleverly wrought lyrics and ceaseless energy. Brilliantly written, incendiary lyrics and superb performances all round. Lola Young is one to keep an eye on.

TRACK LISTING

1. Good Books
2. Wish You Were Dead
3. Big Brown Eyes
4. Conceited
5. Messy
6. Walk On By
7. You Noticed
8. Crush
9. Fuck
10. Intrusive Thoughts
11. Outro

Off the back of winning the 2024 Mercury Award for their debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’;

Leeds’ finest band English Teacher release an exclusive limited edition 140g, 10” Crystal Clear vinyl of their Live from Maida Vale EP.

The EP includes 2 stunning covers of “Birds Of A Feather” by Billie Eilish and LCD Soundsystem’s “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down”.

TRACK LISTING

BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Live From BBC Maida Vale
This Could Be Texas – Live From BBC Maida Vale
You Blister My Paint – Live From BBC Maida Vale
The World’s Biggest Paving Slab – Live From BBC Maida Vale
New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down – Live From BBC Maida Vale

This edition features the critically acclaimed studio album plus curated acoustic versions and covers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: For those of you that missed the couldn't-keep-it-in-stock-for-long-enough-for-everyone-to-buy-it hit that was the original album, this version features that heavy hitter plus a load of great acoustic and liver versions on a whole second disc. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Prelude To Ecstasy
2. Burn Alive
3. Caesar On A TV Screen
4. The Feminine Urge
5. On Your Side
6. Beautiful Boy
7. Gjuha

SIDE B
8. Sinner
9. My Lady Of Mercy
10. Portrait Of A Dead Girl
11. Nothing Matters
12. Mirror

SIDE C
13. Ceaser On A TV Screen – Acoustic
14. Sinner – Acoustic
15. My Lady Of Mercy – Acoustic
16. Nothing Matters – Live From Studio Brussel
17. Mirror – Acoustic From The Brudenell Social Club (Leeds)

SIDE D
18. This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us
19. Up North – Live From Hebden Trades Club
20. Wicked Game – Live From Showbox Sodo (Seattle)
21. Army Dreamers – Live From Studio Brussel

Bold pop hooks, sex positivity, honest songwriting and a heavy dose of glitter make up the world of Chappell Roan, the next multi-faceted force in pop music. A technicolor celebration of self-discovery and transformation, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess tracks Chappell's cinematic journey of falling in queer love for the first time, while embracing all the messy and imperfect moments in-between. Penned by Amstutz alongside Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo).

It's official! Post Malone is finally releasing his long-awaited country album. This marks his concrete foray into country music. He ensures us this isn't just a few fleeting off-hand singles. Rather, he's doubling down on his excursion into Nashville. Includes the single ft. Morgan Wallen “I Had Some Help”.

A 9x diamond-certified GRAMMY® Award-nominated phenomenon, Dallas, TX artist Post Malone regularly rewrites history, blurs boundaries, and incites internet-breaking conversation with every move. 

TRACK LISTING

Wrong Ones (Feat. Tim McGraw)
Finer Things (Feat. Hank Williams, Jr.)
I Had Some Help (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Pour Me A Drink (Feat. Blake Shelton)
Have The Heart (Feat. Dolly Parton)
What Don't Belong To Me
Goes Without Saying (Feat. Brad Paisley)
Guy For That (Feat. Luke Combs)
Nosedive (Feat. Lainey Wilson)
Losers (Feat. Jelly Roll)
Devil I've Been (Feat. ERNEST)
Never Love You Again (Feat. Sierra Ferrell)
Missin’ You Like This (Feat. Luke Combs)
California Sober (Feat. Chris Stapleton)
Hide My Gun (Feat. HARDY)
Right About You
M-E-X-I-C-O (Feat. Billy Strings)
Yours

Leeds indie frontrunners English Teacher announce debut LP ‘This Could Be Texas’. Preceded by initial LP reveals ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, ‘Nearly Daffodils’ and ‘Mastermind Specialism’, which were all A-listed on the BBC 6 Music playlist, English Teacher’s remarkable ascent continues to reach new levels, having completed sold-out debut UK and US headline runs last autumn, following their thrilling debut appearance on Later With...Jools Holland. Announced as Independent Venue Week Artist Ambassador for 2024. Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths." In several songs, Fontaine reflects on growing up as a mixed-race individual in a place, she says, “where many didn’t have any tolerance towards people who are different” in a post-Brexit landscape.

The debut album by Leeds frontrunners ‘This Could Be Texas’ will be released on 12th April 2023.

Lead singer Lily Fontaine explains, “I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space, and it turns out its almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about in-betweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths."

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It’s impossible to categorise ‘This Could Be Texas’ accurately, I mean, we’ll whack in in the indie section because in places, it does broadly fall under the sort of music you’d expect to find there. We’ve got distorted guitars, soaring synths and snappy percussion beneath Lily’s perfectly placed, athletically chameleonic vocals, but keep listening and there are hints of post-punk and art-rock, modern classical and even folk seeping through as things move further along.

For me, the perfect opening piece is the beautiful and mysterious ‘Albatross’ which is so melodically intricate and deftly delivered that while it gives you an idea of what thematically diverse delights are in store, it doesn’t show you quite how well the band manage to pull together the sometimes disparate sound worlds. There are playful, minimalistic growers like ‘Mastermind Specialism’ which could comfortably sit on an Explosions In The Sky album, or the vocoded rhythmic nu-jazz leanings of ‘Best Tears Of Your Life’. A particular highlight for me is the dreamlike lounge of ‘Blister My Paint’, which sounds like a touch of psychedelics in a smokey late night bar, or the acidic groove and wry vocals of the instantly recognisable ‘R&B’. While there are moments in ‘This Could Be Texas’ that feel like they stick out enough to not smoothly transition to the next phrase, the fear is never realised. A wonderfully forged, impeccably conceived album and a sure sign of what’s to come from English Teacher.

Nia Archives is not interested in being one fixed thing. Since emerging in 2020, the 24-year-old producer, DJ, singer and songwriter has been at the forefront of the latest era of jungle. The Bradford-born, Leeds-raised artist has garnered accolades including placing third in the prestigious BBC Sound Poll for 2023, alongside a nomination for the Brit Awards’ Rising Star prize, plus wins at the DJ Mag, NME, the MOBOs and Artist and Manager Awards. She has also toured the world – be it North America, Europe or Asia – and even opened a show in London as part of a little something called Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour. She’s renowned as a party-starter in her own right, too, with takeovers at Glastonbury, Warehouse Project and her own Bad Gyalz day event. She’s done official remixes for the likes of Jorja Smith, had a huge summer hit with her Yeah Yeah Yeahs rework ‘Off Wiv Ya Headz’, and worked with brands like Corteiz, Nike, Flannels, Burberry, FIFA and Apple. In just three years, it’s fair to say that Nia Archives has become a need-to-know name in dance music.

On Silence Is Loud, her much-anticipated debut album, Nia Archives sounds thrillingly free as she looks to make music for beyond the rave. Working with Ethan P. Flynn (known for his work with FKA twigs and David Byrne) Nia is intent that Silence Is Loud is taken in as a full body of work of something “more song-focussed, putting interesting sounds on jungle.” It means that this is a record which finds gloomy Britpop, warm Motown, soaring indie, a love for Kings of Leon’s Aha Shake Heartbreak, skittering IDM, Madchester, classic rock, old skool hardcore and more, woven and fused into her ragga and junglist tapestry, all layered with feeling, imbued with her songwriterly lyricism about loneliness, relationships, family, navigating her 20s, and the intense potential power of silence.

Sitting in the push and pull between melancholy and euphoria, Nia’s work is always a snapshot of where she’s at when she’s making it. This might not be the debut album you were expecting, but that’s what makes Silence Is Loud so special. Nia Archives has learned the rules of her sound, and is unafraid to break them, pushing jungle and herself into new, unchartered territories that, in turn, go some way to map the history of the greats of British dance music. More than that, it plants her firmly in that lineage.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Silence Is Loud' sees the brilliant Nia Archives flawlessly pulling together soul, jungle and synth-pop influences into a distinctly after-party flavoured groove thats both hugely enjoyable and undeniably skilled. A ground-breaking and hugely enjoyable debut from one of the biggest upcoming names in UK dance music.

TRACK LISTING

Silence Is Loud
Cards On The Table
Unfinished Business
Crowded Roomz
Forbidden Feelingz
Blind Devotion
Tell Me What It’s Like?
Nightmares
F.A.M.I.L.Y
Out Of Options
Silence Is Loud (Reprise)
Killjoy !
So Tell Me…

Where’s My Utopia CD Fanzine edition. The second editions of the Yard Act Fanzine, designed by us for you for no other reason than to tear down more trees.

Where’s My Utopia? is the follow up to the Leeds band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. The new album is a co-production between Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr. The brand new album out 1st March 2024 features lead single ‘Dream Job’, which is out now.

The zine if printed on 140gsm uncoated paper and house in a beautiful 350gm uncoated cover. Includes the CD album.

TRACK LISTING

1. An Illusion
2. We Make Hits
3. Down By The Stream
4. The Undertow
5. Dream Job
6. Fizzy Fish
7. Petroleum
8. When The Laughter Stops
9. Grifter’s Grief
10. Blackpool Illuminations
11. A Vineyard For The North

Where’s My Utopia? is the follow up to the Leeds band’s critically-acclaimed debut record The Overload which arrived in January 2022. The Overload was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize after a slew of positive reviews, national radio playlistings and a placing at #2 in the Official Charts. The new album is a co-production between Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr. 

Since first steering their golden Rover into swift public acclaim back in 2020, Leeds quartet Yard Act have become one of the great indie success stories of the decade so far. Along the way, they’ve ticked off milestones ranging from a Number Two chart placing and Mercury Prize nomination for debut album The Overload, to a co-sign from Elton John who joined the band to guest on a string-laden reworking of album closer ‘100% Endurance’.

Yet, whilst the band’s trajectory continuously shot upwards, vocalist James Smith and his wife had also welcomed in a son. And it’s this duelling sense of responsibility and ambition, guilt, love, drive and everything in between that forms the narrative backbone of brilliantly exploratory second album Where’s My Utopia?

Written in snapshots of time between a relentless touring schedule, and produced jointly by the band and Gorillaz’ Remi Kabaka Jr, the quartet’s second act is a giant leap forward into broad and playful new sonic waters. “The main reason that ‘post-punk’ was the vehicle for Album One was because it was really affordable to do, but we always liked so much other music and this time we've had the confidence to embrace it,” James explains. Across the record, influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Ennio Moricone via Spiller’s ‘00s pop smash ‘Groovejet’ make themselves known.

It’s a celebratory palette upon which Smith allowed himself to reach lyrically deeper into himself than ever. Gone, largely, are the outward-facing character studies of yore, replaced with a set of songs that stare fully into the headlights of life, wrangling with the frontman’s own fears and foibles to create a sort of Promethean narrative - but with jokes. “You can commit to the idea that we’re just animals who eat and fuck and then we die, and that’s fine,” he suggests. “But for me, creativity always seems to be the best way of articulating the absolute minefield of what human existence is.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: It’s not easy to write about Yard Act. You immediately want to find other wry social commentators to group them in with – Mark E Smith, Sleaford Mods, Mike Skinner, Jarvis Cocker - but James Smith is none of these people. Less vulgar and course than Mark or Jason, more poetic than Skinner, and without Cocker’s romantic filter; James Smith tells his tales with both wit and simplicity, highlighting humour in the mundane with incredibly fast and clever prose. “This Is My Utopia“ does however, have its more tender moments: “Down By The Stream” ends with him vehemently chastising school bullies and other abusers; while “Blackpool Illuminations” is a beautiful, personal, heartfelt message to his (recently born) son. They could well end here; but instead gift us one last hurrah via the arms-aloft anthem: “A Vineyard For The North” (which alongside “We Make Hits“ and “When The Laughter Stops“ comprises the album’s big indie-disco hits).

The band possess incredible depth and dimension. From jagged and jovial outbursts to lavish and luxurious orchestrations, sophisticated and structured arrangements seem to encompass more than they should, all with elegance and swagger. There’s sharp call-response vocal quips and jibes between Smith and his bandmates; while intricate, (sometimes) vocodered vocal harmonies, subtle dubs and plunderphonic sample usage a la Avalanches & DJ Shadow all contribute to a very ambitious album which pours out the contents of Yard Act’s hearts for us, the listener to digest and surmise: rock stars aren’t all that different to the rest of us.

TRACK LISTING

1. An Illusion
2. We Make Hits
3. Down By The Stream
4. The Undertow
5. Dream Job
6. Fizzy Fish
7. Petroleum
8. When The Laughter Stops
9. Grifter’s Grief
10. Blackpool Illuminations
11. A Vineyard For The North

At the turn of the year, The Last Dinner Party was little more than a new name being shared amongst those that had caught them live. Great songs, strong aesthetic. Having spent much of 2022 writing those songs, road-testing them, and then taking them into the studio, it wasn’t until April when the band released the instantly more-ish, dark guitar-pop of Nothing Matters that seemingly everyone had now formed an opinion on them. It was an introduction that took the online world by storm, and yet behind all the excitement and narrative was a fantastically confident indie-rock song by a band doing it the old-fashioned way, out on the road.

Following a heady first-on performance to a packed crowd at the new Woodsies tent at Glastonbury, The Last Dinner Party released Sinner, another gloriously infectious, leftfield pop song that fuelled the fully-formed zeitgeist and set the band up for a Summer that replicated that success of Glastonbury with uncomfortably packed tents ensuing at the likes of Green Man, Reading & Leeds, Latitude and End of the Road (interspersed with support slots to the likes of Florence & The Machine, Lana Del Rey and First Aid Kit). It was a breakthrough Summer for one of the most talked about new British acts in years, delivering on all that early promise emphatically.

Concentrating on their own headline shows, the band skipped confidentally from venue to venue, playing to bigger rooms and on wider stages. Shows sold out and shows were upgraded. In London alone, the band have moved from sell-out dates at Moth Club to Camden Assembly, Oslo to two nights at EartH, and now move on to the 3000 capacity Roundhouse on the eve of album release (remaining tickets on sale now). Crucially, it’s not just London where the band finds its early fans, but right across the UK and into America too, with all five debut shows selling out several weeks in advance.

The band often set a themed dress code for the shows, with many fans relishing the task of rising to the request and donning their finery for a night with their new heroes.

But this is no case of style over substance. With the release of their third single, My Lady Of Mercy, an almost gothic, haunting rock song, and the atmospheric and anthemic ballad, On Your Side, the band’s songwriting is testament to all the buzz and excitement already accumulated. As it should be. Rather than wilt under the spotlight, they’ve arguably become a tighter, stronger unit because of it.

Prelude To Ecstasy is both the closing of that introductory chapter and the opening of the next. The Last Dinner Party? Believe the hype. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A thrilling debut from The Last Dinner Party, channelling the spirit of PJ Harvey, the operatic intensity of Nick Cave and the soaring cinematic orchestral arrangements of Hans Zimmer or John Williams. A powerful, bold melting pot of perfectly manicured influences.

TRACK LISTING

1. Prelude To Ecstasy
2. Burn Alive
3. Caesar On A TV Screen
4. The Feminine Urge
5. On Your Side
6. Beautiful Boy
7. Gjuha
8. Sinner
9. My Lady Of Mercy
10. Portrait Of A Dead Girl
11. Nothing Matters
12. Mirror 

The Trench Coat Museum is  on limited edition black vinyl, signed by no one and definitely not numbered, hand printed, stamped, and comes with no bonus prints, stickers or postcard
      
All well and good, but, what does it actually sound like!? Basically  this brand new track feels like something of a step up for this superb band. More propulsive and percussive with dare I say a funkier feel, frontman  James Smith spins a typical yarn about, well......find out for yourselves!

The A side is a whopping 8 minuts long but flip it over and there's an Arthur Baker ( yes, THE!) remix which makes the whole 12 a most desirable package,, no hand print, poster, sticker or number notwithstanding !!!

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: A brilliant step forwards for one of our favourite bands Love it!

TRACK LISTING

A-Side – The Trench Coat Museum
B-Side – The Trench Coat Museum (Arthur Baker Remix) (!)

In March 2022, Ben Howard was sat in his garden when he found himself unable to think clearly, form sentences or speak for almost an hour. A month later, after the same thing happened again, the Ivor Novello Award-winning singer-songwriter learned he’d suffered two TIAs (transient ischemic attacks - known as mini-strokes). “It was out of the blue,” says the 35 year-old. “It was a confusing time.”

That June, after a month of inconclusive hospital tests Howard and his band returned to Le Manoir de Léon recording studio in south-west France, where they’d previously worked on his acclaimed third album ‘Noonday Dream’.

“We went in and put down ten songs in ten days, then spent the rest of the year tinkering with them”. The record was produced by Bullion, known for his work on Westerman’s ‘Your Hero Is Not Dead’ and Orlando Weeks ‘Hop Up’. Howard says, “We worked through the heatwave, the air conditioning broke, after what had happened I was so tired in the afternoons that I slept a lot. We just played solidly and slept, they was no time for retrospection”.

The result is ‘Is It’, a lush, sonically splintered album which captures Howard working through those moments of seismic shift. “I found it impossible not to dwell on the absurdity of it, that with one tiny clot, one can lose all faculties. It really ate into the writing of the record”.

The songs range from the peaceful quotidian Days of Lantana, to cut up samples and driven beats of Walking Backwards, the formers’ pitched and warped Linda Thompson chorus reminiscent of Malcolm Mclaren´s ‘Madame Butterfly’.

Moonraker, a song about climbing in the Guadarrama mountains touches on the meditational, while in the cyclical Richmond Avenue Howard talks of shared childhood moments with his father.

There are colourful, left-field production choices throughout- a staple of Bullion - but with a twist

“We really bonded over records in the studio” he says. “Nathan has an incredible ear and catalogue of sampled beats and rhythms which quickly became the bedrock…There were contributing factors also. Our mainstay drummer Kyle lives in Seattle and as we made the record on the fly we just leaned into drum-machine world, and really left almost all of that side of things up to Nathan.”

“We also did a session at Real World Studios and put most of the record through an echoplex”.

That session featured additional instrumentation from Raven Bush (violin, viola) and Mick Mcgoldrick (flute, Eileen pipes) as well as Howards mainstay band of Mickey Smith (Bass, guitars, percussion) R.D. Thomas (synths, keys, harmonium) and Nat Wason (guitars).

“It’s actually mostly a guitar record, but there are some nice additions. We bought an old harmonium at the beginning of the trip which made its way onto most tracks. I was very much stuck in stuttered delay and synth led guitar patterns. Mick McGoldrick came in to play on Richmond Ave and straight away played Liam O´Flynn lines from the Mark Knopfler record ‘Cal’ which is a long favourite of mine and a big connection to my Dad who had it on tape. That was a beautiful moment, perhaps one of my favourites moments in the studio ever.”
“It was a refreshing way to record, unweighted by the past”

The change is evident on ‘Is It’ - an album which represents a further creative evolution from an artist known for never repeating himself throughout his already-storied career.

¨I was so aware of the overwhelming information coming from everything, almost like my brain couldn’t filter what was happening and had to start again. So we just pushed forward, lyrically it seems obvious to me in parts, It’s about sitting there wondering what the hell is going on.”

Yet with each listen it feels like more than that. A characteristically onion-layered record which rankles like a series of questions, or a series of vignettes throughout Howard´s life, perhaps best distilled in the whirling chorus on ´Spirit´.

‘What’s mine anyway?
My feelings seem to be arranged.
What´s mine anyway?
Spirit? Is it?´

‘Is It’ stands quite starkly on it’s own, buoyed by the circumstances of its creation. “Just to be playing music in the studio felt like a real privilege and a luxury,” says Howard. “It was probably the best studio session we’ve ever had.”

R.J

TRACK LISTING

1. Could Not Make It Up
2. Walking Backwards
3. Days Of Lantana
4. Life In The Time Of Captivity
5. Moonraker
6. Richmond Avenue
7. Interim Of Sense
8. Total Eclipse
9. Spirit
10. Little Plant

In March 2020, Jack reached out to Lee “Scratch" Perry to produce a dub remix album based on Jack’s most loved recordings. On 8/29/21 the project was brought to a halt as Scratch departed this physical world. In ‘22 Jack and Subatomic Sound System, Perry’s band of the last decade, connected directly and discovered they had all the pieces to bring Lee “Scratch” Perry’s 3 creations to completion. The LP also features dubs from Dennis Bovell, Scientist, Mad Professor, Nightmares on Wax & more.

'My Mind Wanders And Sometimes Leaves Completely', Lola's debut project, is a defining statement: a work of pain, heartbreak, and inner strength.

TRACK LISTING

1. Stream Of Consciousness
2. Revolve Around You
3. Annabel’s House
4. Semantic Satiation
5. Pretty In Pink
6. Money
7. What Is It About Me
8. Black Cab
9. Don’t Hate Me
10. Chill Out

The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte marks Sparks’ first release on the venerable Island Records label in close to five decades, following such classics as 1974’s landmark Kimono My House, highlighted of course by the indelible hit single ‘This Town Ain’t Big Enough For Both Of Us’. The new album is described by Ron and Russell Mael as a record that is “as bold and uncompromising as anything we did back then or, for that matter, anytime throughout our career.”

The album includes such instantly intriguing new musical vignettes as ‘Mona Lisa’s Packing, Leaving Late Tonight’ and ‘Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is’, songs which once again display Sparks’ seemingly ceaseless ability to craft complete, intricately detailed stories within perfect three-and-a-half minute pop masterpieces. Both characteristically timeless and unequivocally modern, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte once again affirms that, after more than a half century making such masterpieces, Sparks remain inimitable, ingenious and, as ever, utterly one of a kind. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The sound of Sparks is uniquely theirs, bold pop chorus' and snappy vocal hooks, blooming from subtle and minimalistic to grand and orchestral without batting an eyelid. The title track is particularly enjoyable, showing both innovative groove and classic, Sparks melodies.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte
2. Veronica Lake
3. Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is
4. Escalator
5. The Mona Lisa's Packing, Leaving Late Tonight
6. You Were Meant For Me
7. Not That Well-Defined
8. We Go Dancing
9. When You Leave
10. Take Me For A Ride
11. A Love Story
12. It's Sunny Today
13. It Doesn't Have To Be That Way
14. Gee, That Was Fun

Including ‘One’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’, & ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: I'm famously a massive fan of U2, and this epic collection sees them reworking (upcycling?) tons of their older tracks, but stripped back to a reasonably unadorned core instrumental skeleton. Once again, a clear sign of a band still in control of their craft.

Having lived their rollercoaster ride to the top of the charts and main stages inside just two years, The Lathums state their intentions to supercharge their continued rise with the release of 'Say My Name'.

TRACK LISTING

1. Struggle
2. Say My Name
3. I Know Pt. 1
4. Lucky Bean
5. Facets
6. Rise And Fall
7. Sad Face Baby
8. Turmoil
9. Land And Sky
10. Crying Out
11. Understanding

THIS IS A BLACK FRIDAY 2022 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25TH 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 8AM ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26TH).

Limited Edition Picture Disc of #2 Album 'The Overload' never been pressing on a Picture Disc before. 

Limited edition 12", only available for a limited time only. In addition to its title track, ‘Brexit At Tiffany’s’ also features a collaboration with grime artist MC Manga Saint Hilare titled ‘3 Minutes To Midnight’, and is closed out by a song called ‘Test of Time’.

The new EP marks Skinner’s second release as The Streets this year, after linking up with Master Peace for ‘Wrong Answers Only’ in January. Last year, he celebrated lockdown ending on the ‘Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)’, and remixed Greentea Peng‘s ‘Free My People’.'

TRACK LISTING

Brexit At Tiffany’s
3 Minutes To Midnight
Test Of Time

Second studio album via Island Records.

Signposting a bold and ambitious new era for the band, Sports Team explain that ‘R Entertainment’ explores “The packaging down of all human experience into entertainment, prompted by the infinite scroll through social feeds and the manic formlessness of the images we are hit with every day. Graphic news interrupted by ads for season 17 of The Bodyguard, news as a rubbernecking, passively waiting for the next drop of horror as we flick through recipes.”

Sports Team are Alex Rice (lead vocals), Rob Knaggs (rhythm guitar + vocals), Henry Young (lead guitar), Oli Dewdney (bass), Al Greenwood (drums) and Ben Mack (keyboard + percussion). Formed in 2016, the band released two EPs Winter Nets and Keep Walking! before sharing their debut album Deep Down Happy in June 2020 to widespread critical acclaim, praised by The Times for their “indomitable spirit and a refusal to take things too seriously” and The Guardian for their “sharply observational lyrics skewering the mores of suburbia”.

TRACK LISTING

The Game
Dig!
The Drop
Cool It Kid
Unstuck
R Entertainment
Kool Aid
Getting Better
Fingers
Light Industry

How Beautiful Life Can Be, recorded at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool. In the company of producers, James Skelly and Chris Taylor, pushes The Lathums’ remarkable story into the next, even more exciting phase. The Great Escape, having been previously self-released by the young band, emerges from the album sessions in sparkling, new form, whilst retaining the melodic stardust that caused the first rumblings of the social-media led stampede to their early gigs.

Kick-started by growing pains and life’s unlucky twists, fuelled by the simple salvation of six guitar strings and supercharged by the fans that found them slogging their gear into the north of England’s pubs and small venues, The Lathums story may turn out to be the perfect not-all-nice-guys-finish-last tale.

It was only in the summer 2019 that the band’s fuse was lit by Tim Burgess, who offering them a late slot at Kendal Calling where, inside 24 hours, social media chatter caused their audience to spill into the field beyond their tent. A year later they had achieved their first UK Album Chart Top 20 for vinyl-only EP compilation, The Memories We Make, recorded their debut appearance for Later… With Jools Holland and joined the BBC Sound Poll 2021 list of tipped acts at the end of a year that skidded on the black ice of a global pandemic but, somehow, left the band on their feet.

For a band whose singing songwriter had never been to a gig before playing his own, yet incomprehensibly carried a trunk load of sensitively-crafted, empathetic, sing-a-long anthems straight into their first rehearsal, The Lathums have flown at nosebleed speed to where they are now.

Hailing from Wigan on the overlooked fringes of Greater Manchester, The Lathums are Alex Moore, casting a new outline of the modern frontman, singing alongside student of the Marr-esque jangle guitar, Scott Concepcion, rapid-fire, wise-cracking bassist, Jonny Cunliffe (aka: Bass Mon Jon) and the steady, rhythmic, wise head, Ryan Durrans on drums. Pithily described by those closest as ‘like The Inbetweeners in a Shane Meadows film’, they are four bright, wild flowers growing between grey paving stones. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: This new LP is sure to continue the meteoric upwards trajectory of The Lathums, swimming with influences from The Smiths, The Coral and 90's Britpop into a wonderfully upbeat and undeniably melodic full-length. This Wigan quartet are definitely going places.

TRACK LISTING

1. Circles Of Faith
2. I’ll Get By
3. Fight On
4. How Beautiful Life Can Be
5. The Great Escape
6. I Won't Lie Side B
7. I See Your Ghost
8. Oh My Love
9. I’ll Never Forget The Time I Spent With You
10. I Know That Much
11. Artificial Screens
12. The Redemption Of Sonic Beauty

10 track collection of previously unreleased demos of all songs from the third studio album by PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love – from 1995. Includes demo versions of the singles ‘Down By The Water’, ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘Send His Love To Me’. Audio has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish. Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

Vinyl:
Side A
To Bring You My Love - Demo
Meet Ze Monsta - Demo
Working For The Man - Demo
C’mon Billy - Demo
Teclo - Demo

Side B
Long Snake Moan - Demo
Down By The Water - Demo
I Think I’m A Mother - Demo
Send His Love To Me - Demo
The Dancer - Demo

CD:
To Bring You My Love - Demo
Meet Ze Monsta - Demo
Working For The Man - Demo
C’mon Billy - Demo
Teclo - Demo
Long Snake Moan - Demo
Down By The Water - Demo
I Think I’m A Mother - Demo
Send His Love To Me - Demo
The Dancer - Demo

Reissue on vinyl of the third PJ Harvey studio album To Bring You My Love. Produced by PJ Harvey with Flood and John Parish, and originally released in February 1995, To Bring You My Love features the singles ‘Down By The Water’, ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘Send His Love To Me’. The album – which celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year – received wide critical acclaim on release, with nominations for Grammy Awards and the Mercury Music Prize.

Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering under the guidance of longtime PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
To Bring You My Love
Meet Ze Monsta
Working For The Man
C’mon Billy
Teclo

Side B
Long Snake Moan
Down By The Water
I Think I’m A Mother
Send His Love To Me
The Dancer

Vinyl reissue of 1993 collection of demos written and recorded at Polly Harvey’s home in 1991-1992.

It includes eight demos of songs from the album, Rid of Me, released earlier in that year along with six demos of additional songs.

Reissue is faithful to the original package, with vinyl cutting by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Rid Of Me 3:42
A2 Legs 3:47
A3 Reeling 2:59
A4 Snake 1:56
A5 Hook 4:31
A6 50FT Queenie 2:48
A7 Driving 2:38

B1 Ecstasy 2:56
B2 Hardly Wait 2:48
B3 Rub 'Til It Bleeds 5:10
B4 Easy 3:16
B5 M-Bike 2:43
B6 Yuri-G 3:53
B7 Goodnight 4:17

"Rid Of Me" was PJ Harvey's second album, circa 1993, but her first for Island Records.

The set features the same line-up as the "Dry" sessions (Polly doing vocals, guitar, violin, cello and organ, Stephen Vaughan on bass and Robert Ellis on drums, vocals and harmonium), but the extra money shows in the much slicker production to the album's predecessor. Recorded by Steve Albini, this forceful sophomore effort veers from hoarsely quiet to ferociously looming in one beat.

Reissue is faithful to the original recording and package, cutting by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering under the guidance of Steve Albini.

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Rid Of Me
Missed
Legs
Rub ‘Til It Bleeds
Hook
Man-Size Sextet

Side B
Highway ’61 Revisited
50ft Queenie
Yuri-G
Man-Size
Dry
Me-Jane
Snake
Ecstasy

11 track collection of demos of all songs from the debut studio album Dry by PJ Harvey, available for the first time since 1992, and previously unreleased as a standalone album.

Features brand new artwork with previously unseen photos by Maria Mochnacz.

TRACK LISTING

LP
Side A
Oh My Lover (Demo)
O Stella (Demo)
Dress (Demo)
Victory (Demo)
Happy And Bleeding (Demo)

Side B
Sheela-Na-Gig (Demo)
Hair (Demo)
Joe (Demo)
Plants And Rags (Demo)
Fountain (Demo)
Water (Demo)

TONGA, the balloon filled rap, grime and dubstep party by Mike Skinner and Murkage Dave, had been a series of shoobs to remember. Copenhagen to Manchester to Berlin. Brum to Brixton. Usually arriving with a coterie of legendary UK figureheads and gobby upcomers in tow, like Kano, Giggs, Jammer or Jaykae, the pulsating essence of the nights needed to be immortalised. The original plan had been to release a TONGA album. But as night moved to day, and day moved along to night, it… just didn’t happen. Instead, a new mixtape titled None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive steps up to take its place. Recorded between work on his film and accompanying solo The Streets album, it is the unpredictable sonic continuation of those parties. Taking in UK Funky and twilight zone UK rap, and with guest spots ranging from Grammy nominated psychedelia sovereign Tame Impala to cult south London rapper Jesse James, as well as 2019’s key-fiend-friendly drum’n’bass collab with Chris Lorenzo, None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is the most eclectic and highly collaborative collection of songs from The Streets yet. Or as Mike puts it with characteristic distinction: “it’s really just a rap duets album.”

Every track has one if not two guests, who, though underpinned by Mike’s distinctive lyrical flair, usually perform atop a genre or sound not previously explored within the realm of The Streets. “You know that thing where if you wore it the first time round, don’t wear it the second time round? I would never put on Aquascutum at this point in my life. It would be stupid, a pastiche of what I did twenty years ago. For all of us. Whereas now I’m going back and I’m picking things that I didn’t pick before.” The inclusion of, say, Mercury Prize nominated punk group IDLES (who perform what Mike describes as a sea-shanty tinged track inspired by an overnight ferry to Dover) and teenage wünderkind Jimothy Lacoste help ground things firmly in the here and now.

But there are familiar faces of the past too. Birmingham legend, Dapz On The Map, pops up on merky rap track “Phone Is Always In My Hand”. While Rob Harvey, previously of The Music and Skinner collaboration The D.O.T, tunes into pensieve penultimate track “Conspiracy Theory Freestyle”. “The guests had to be into me, as much as I was into them,” jokes Mike, of the featured artist selection process. Really, though seemingly disparate on paper, the acts on the record are connected by their singular talent for “talking about normal stuff.” “All the different things I’ve tried to do, they’re who is doing that now.” “But instead of talking about abstract emotions on this record, I’m talking about things and objects and details.” Couched in those UK and Euro wide experiences with TONGA, this results in tales of hardly partying, but partying hard. The path to excess.

The morning trying to climb in under the curtains as you’re busy putting the world to rights. Like anything that happens between the nightclub and the bus home, there’s as much connection as disconnection in this world; as many new relationships forged as there are trails left behind from the ghosts of previous companionships past. Communication, or lack thereof, plays a huge part in this present-day experience. “One thing I’ve ended up doing is talking about being on my phone,” says Mike. “It was very easy on my first album to say, well: where am I? I’m in a pub. I’m at home. I’m in a betting shop. I’m getting a kebab. It felt fairly straightforward and no one had really written about it. Whereas when making this record, everything now basically happens on your phone.” These dual themes of nightclub and connection land the record in the simple yet eternally complicated prism of human interaction. “You’re ignoring me but you’re watching my stories”, on “Phone Is Always In My Hand”, is a black comedy mantra of our times. Same goes for “every girl has a dude in her inbox talking to himself” on the Oscar #WorldPeace featuring “The Poison I Take Hoping You Will Suffer”. References abound to missed calls (on opening track “Waiting For It To Stop”, Kevin Parker sings, trance like, about neglecting to call someone back) and “five minute” journeys (the kind where you lie about leaving the house).

Despite its humble mixtape beginnings,  None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive is a precise and very human body of work from a modern UK music pioneer. Emotionally poignant, full of one liners, club ready. More than anything, it’s exciting – a call back to those fun and responsibility free evenings at TONGA. Yet “the result is much more than I thought it would be. It’s become a real album,” says Mike. And so, as the new decade begins, so too does a new era for The Streets...

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's been a few years since the last Streets album proper, but even though 'None Of Us...' is technically a 'Mixtape' (I still don't particularly understand that when it's neither mixed, nor on a tape), it has all of the cohesive drive and thematic intensity you'd expect from a fully formed and sequenced LP. Not to mention the host of superb guests sprinkling the credits, or the superb songwriting and groove we've come to expect from Skinner. A triumph.

TRACK LISTING

1 Call My Phone Thinking I'm Doing Nothing Better With Tame Impala
2 None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive
3 I Wish You Loved Me As Much As You Love Him
4 You Can't Afford Me
5 I Know Something You Did 
6 Eskimo Ice
7 Phone Is Always In My Hand
8 The Poison I Take Hoping You Will Suffer
9 Same Direction
10 Falling Down
11 Conspiracy Theory Freestyle
12 Take Me As I Am

Here’s the thing…Sports Team are a band of six singular characters who have been variously described as one of the most raucous, electrifying and chaotic acts in the UK. Today the band announce their debut album Deep Down Happy. The highly anticipated record, out on 3rd April, follows the acclaimed EPs, Winter Nets and Keep Walking!, and is their first release on the legendary Island Records label.

Sports Team came up on the back of word of mouth live hype, drawing round the block queues to chaotic early gigs at The Five Bells and Moth Club before releasing any music. Recording their first EP (Winter Nets) in a converted Timberyard in Hammersmith, the band have consistently set themselves apart from the acts they came up playing with, showing an intoxicating ambition, and their debut album Deep Down Happy, looks set to deliver on all bold claims, and confirm their place at the head of a group of young guitar acts.

Talking about the record charismatic frontman Alex Rice says: “I don’t think we were conscious of doing it but the album maps the journey of moving in together in Harlesden, moving back to home towns to sleep on floors for 18 months, then coming back to London, weighing up whether being in a band with your mates, being young in London is still the best thing in the world. I think it probably is.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Ace raucous indie-pop, London based six-piece Sports Team finally release their debut album after a plethora of singles, and it doesn't disappoint. Spiky indie guitars, furious driving rhythms and off-kilter melodies.

TRACK LISTING

Lander
Here It Comes Again
Going Soft
Camel Crew
Long Hot Summer
Feels Like Fun
Here’s The Thing
The Races
Born Sugar
Fishing
Kutcher
Stations Of The Cross

Stealing time out from a promotional photo shoot, Van McCann glances out into an unforgiving English North Sea, battling the coastal breeze to light a cigarette. In a few, short weeks and 10,000 miles from here, the singer and songwriter of Catfish and The Bottlemen will look from the stage and see the mid-summer paradise of Tasmania’s South Pacific coastline, trading isolation and brooding cloud for the thunder of another jet-set, live performance in searing heat. The signs weren’t there for Catfish and The Bottlemen to be a band of extremes, yet they seem to throw that precise silhouette, almost without intention.

Tumbling into 2019 by headlining festival stages on the other side of the world, McCann (vocals, guitars), Johnny Bond (guitars), Robert ‘Bob’ Hall (drums) and Benji Blakeway (bass) take a huge gulp of air before their homecoming and the start of another new chapter. Catfish and The Bottlemen’s 2019 new album release follows 2014’s platinum-certified debut, The Balcony and 2016’s gold, number one follow-up, The Ride. Companion to the release of their third album is the anticipation, if not vocal impatience, of their waiting fans and the knowledge within the band that it represents a likely escalation of the successes of the last three years. Three years in which they’ve seen sales of one million albums and, in 2018 alone, nearly a quarter of a million UK fans experiencing them play live.

Practically of no fixed abode, the band has toured constantly since their formation, now over a decade ago. Hotel rooms, tour buses, airport lounges and live venues are home, with the band’s roots seemingly indeterminable. McCann is extensively quoted saying that his band’s isolation in the fast lane of emotive, youthful alternative rock is thanks to their conscious plot to ‘think inside the box’. While typical chaos swirls around an in-demand, arena-filling rock band, that uncharacteristically strategic starting point for the journey remains their pivot. When judged fairly from distance, Catfish and The Bottlemen are a natural reaction to an age of perpetual identity-crises, fruitless cravings for elusive individuality and the ‘curation’ of everything from shoes to breakfast cereals. They’ve proved that simplicity isn’t, as it turns out, a sin or the safest route to take.

Freed from opinion and expectation, young music fans flock in their tens of thousands to see and hear the band in concert, exercising joyful release, in communion, as the rest of the world appears to fight with itself on the outside. Four years on, a new Catfish and The Bottlemen record could never sound like The Balcony. The band's activities supporting their debut album quickly brought festival main stages and US late night television appearances. The Ride propelled them further into UK sell-outs at Don Valley Stadium, Wembley Arena, Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park and Cardiff Castle. Significantly, it also invited more quality time with global fans on tours to the USA, South America, Australia and Japan. Some of McCann’s youthful restlessness on record, a distinct and endearing awkwardness as he approached relationships with friends and lovers, was destined to evolve with each, giant step.

The first snapshot of a new album, ‘Fluctuate’, performed throughout summer 2018, teased out a lean, refreshed version of everything Catfish fans find so easy so to love. McCann performed what sounded like a personal diary entry and he sang it to them, about them, for them and with them. They, typically, soon started to sing every word back. What had changed, subtly, was the cool, open air in which the song was allowed to hang, McCann’s rhythmic delivery in each verse pinned to the bass and drums, saving the collective push for a supercharged chorus. It’s a progression that remains satisfyingly inside the box.

Catfish and The Bottlemen went it alone for near to a decade, before their guerrilla tactics (throwing demos on numerous stages and jamming them under car windscreen wipers) and relentless gigging paid off. “We’ve still been unsigned for longer than we’ve been signed,” says McCann, seemingly never allowing himself to forget the self-initiated activity of their formative years, despite living in the new reality of being a platinum-selling, arena-filling young front man. In person, he’s a character of kind humility, contrasting the magnetic image of the hip-swinging, black-clad front man that makes thousands of fans sway effortlessly to his every, energetic move. You get the feeling that he’d do it all again, no matter how long it took, to get Catfish and The Bottlemen to where they are now.

There are no red carpets for the band (they tried desperately to delay their arrival at the 2016 Brit Awards to avoid the frenzy), no tabloid-stirring relationships or ostentatious shows of excess. It’s not restraint; it’s the private life of four friends getting on with the jobs their fans have afforded them the privilege to get done. As McCann stares out into the endless sea on a windswept promenade he’s far from the voracious desire of his audience, one which easily finds affinity with him and reaches out for personal connection. Yet the scene is dramatically poised. It’s the very definition of the calm before the storm.

TRACK LISTING

Longshot
Fluctuate
2All
Conversation
Sidetrack
Encore
Basically
Intermission
Mission
Coincide
Overlap

The sprawling 25-track affair features unreleased Michael Jackson vocals on the track "Don't Matter To Me," a song which appears to be built around previously unreleased music: Paul Anka is listed as a co-writer on the track. Scorpion also included appearances from Static Major, TY Dollah $ign and Jay Z. On "That's How You Feel," Drake samples Nicki Minaj's song "Boss Ass Bitch" and Future appears on "Blue Tint." No I.D., DJ Premier, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Tay Keith, Boi-1da, and Murda Beatz are among the producers credited on the album.

Spring King’s second album. A Better Life is both a stunning evolution from their 2016 debut, Tell Me If You Like To, and a primal, joyous, generational demand for no less than a better world. For the first time in their six-year existence, the Manchester four-piece have fully collaborated, a band no longer looking to the talismanic Tarek Musa (vocals/drums) for the central sound. A thundering procession of party-hard anthems from the newly invigorated, sonic northern powerhouse!

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's a pretty good week for the punk revival isn't it? First with Idles' second outing and now this sleek thumper from Macc's own Spring King. Snapping snare drums and roaring overdrive pedals overlaid with two-part harmonies bound to get even the most staunch of heads bobbing. Brimming with attitude and the skills to back it up.

TRACK LISTING

1. Static - Intro
2. Animal
3. Ready For War
4. Let's Drink
5. Paranoid
6. The Hum
7. Lightning - Interlude
8. Us Vs. Them
9. Echo Chamber
10. No More
11. Radioactive!
12. Have You Ever Looked Up Into The Sky?
13. Thicker Skin
14. Thunder

The Fragile is the third studio album by Nine Inch nails originally released on September 21, 1999. The music on the album spans almost 104 minutes, and in some ways, resembles a Greatest Hits album, incorporating the varying styles of Reznor's earlier work with new ideas and instrumentations. The Day the World Went Away utilizes the brooding wounded vocals and heavy contrast found in songs like Hurt, but with even sharper changes in volume. The Marilyn Manson-like power chords and skittery drums on Starfuckers, inc. evoke memories of the tremendous Broken EP. Tori Amos influence is inherent in short transition track, The Frail, and shades of God Lives Under Water show up in Just Like You Imagined.

The definitive 2LP version of The Downward Spiral, meticulously prepared by Trent Reznor.

The Downward Spiral is a visceral, haunting concept album, telling the story of a mans descent into despair and depravity, modeled on Trent Reznor, the sole member of Nine Inch Nails. This despair is evident from the beginning, with the album opening with Mr Self Destruct, a song that displays Reznors trademark whisper / scream vocal dynamic throughout, before segueing into the bass-heavy piggy, with an almost chant like refrain of "nothing can stop me now / cause i don't care anymore". The bleakness of life that the Downward Spiral presents is shown through tales of self-loathing and sexual deviancy, subjects that have fueled many of Nine Inch Nails greatest songs, Including the infamous Closer. An MTV hit that has become greatly misconstrued as a song simply about sex, it is the embodiment of the escapism and nihilistic tendencies that are present in every second of this album. The textured soundscapes that Reznor creates help to form an experience that every listener longs for with an album; the music sounds insurmountably huge, with the vocals emerging from layers of distorted sounds and blank noise ambience, shown most prominently on eraser. While the album may be almost entirely desolate, the way Reznor crafts the songs with unflinching honesty and sonic precision make it such a pleasure to hear. On multiple listens, a new sound is picked up each time, or a lyric might have a different meaning than what you first thought.

Enter, Aquilo.

The duo Tom Higham and Ben Fletcher share their debut album 'Silhouettes'. From the outset, the title track is a resplendent and delicate balance of bass, strings and angelic sweeps, constructing harmonic monoliths before breaking them down into their constituent parts. It is this sort of constructive insight that changes the tracks from their individually stunning building blocks into a breathing lenticular construction, layered, deep and multi-dimensional. 

'Almost Over' begins with a stunning organic synth swell, before being joined by pitch perfect vocals and a softly tickled piano riff, adding weight to the airy and inauspicious beginnings before blooming into a full-force orchestral odyssey. 

'Never Seen You Get So Low' beginning with the words 'Slow Down' is perhaps the most apropriate beginning for a piece wholly constructed from 80bpm beats, gloriously emotive Rhodes and two-part harmonies. A graceful and triumphantly constructed slice of hopeful melancholic writing, and following this with the stunning  'Low Light' ; Shining delayed guitars and throbbing bass, topped with heavenly vocal refrains and soaring arepggios. 

As the album moves on, it becomes clear that Higham and Fletcher have a delicate and unique sound, mournfully visceral, triumphantly hopeful and resolutely beautiful. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A beautiful collection of delicately balanced instrumentation, mournful but hopeful vocals and heart-wrenching orchestral interludes. A brilliant introduction, and a band to watch out for.

Life as and RnB revelation, hip hop saviour and meme sensation can get pretty tough, and our man Aubrey isn't afraid to admit that. His fourth album finds him in peerless form, switching effortlessly between the lovelorn balladeer, blinged up hustler and laid back superstar. Laying his smooth, soulful and ever so slightly robotic flow over production from 40, Nineteen85, Maneesh Bidaye, Kanye West and Jordan Ullman, Drake topped the chart for the majority of the year, working his way into everyone's ears with the Timmy Thomas sampling "Hotline Bling". 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Keep The Family Close
A2. 9
A3. U With Me?
A4. Feel No Ways
A5. Hype
B1. Weston Road Flows
B2. Redemption
B3. With You FT. Partynextdoor
B4. Faithful Ft. Pimp C & DVSN
B5. Still Here
C1. Controlla
C2. One Dance Ft. Wizkid & Kyla
C3. Grammys Ft Future
C4. Childs Play
C5. Pop Style
D1. Too Good Ft. Rihanna
D2. Summers Over Interlude
D3. Fire & Desire
D4. Views
D5. Hotline Bling (Bonus)

Beach Baby will release their much-anticipated debut album, 'No Mind No Money', on September 2nd. The band will be supporting Beaty Heart around the US in September, before playing their own series of headline dates across Europe Additional festival slots are still to come at Reading & Leeds and Festival Number 6, with across-the-board support at Radio 1, 6Music, Radio X and Spotify. Captured vividly across ‘No Mind No Money’, London four-piece Beach Baby have built up a tightly-sealed, vaguely surreal world of their own. Beach Baby’s touchstones have now evolved to include seminal acts on both sides of the Atlantic –from Parquet Courts and Mac DeMarco to Ariel Pink and cult lo-fi artist Cleaners From Venus. They each supported themselves throughout this creatively-intense period with make-ends-meet jobs, which included working in burger joints, ‘charity muggers', and - in perhaps the oddest of odd jobs - working as a script reader for production companies like Icon.

The aptly-titled ‘No Mind No Money’ touches frequently on those less-glamorous uncertainties of post-campus life: apathy, escapism, and the distance between your own future and the iconic bands or movies you grew up on. “One of the best new bands in Britain” Sunday Times Breaking Act. “Make no mistake, Beach Baby have every means of triumphing in the big leagues” DIY. “Captures the best of several genres – post-punk, baggy, shoe gaze, grunge –without sounding like a mess” Guardian. “That aching, inexplicable magic of college innocence is all here” Stereogum. “You’ll fall for this London foursome” i-D

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Whipping up a frenetic, fun-filled brew of surf pop and garage rock, this Manchester quartet have been creating quite a stir with a handful of great 7" singles and high octane live shows over the last few months.

"Tell Me If You Like To", is their debut album and it's choc full of garage-punk gems (including their three 7" single tracks) as you'd expect - think The Ramones covering The Beach Boys, OD-ing on Haribo's!
"the most promising band of 2016" (NME)

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Rousing and anthemic rock from the sunny shores of Manchester. Gnarly hooks and 3-part harmonies permeate the churning rhythm section. Pounding, triumphant punk-tinged rock and roll. A superb outing from Spring King, and if only an insight into what's to come, a bright future is ahead. Great stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. City
2. Detroit
3. Who Are You?
4. It's So Dark
5. Take Me Away
6. Demons
7. Rectifier
8. Tell Me If You Like To
9. The Summer
10. Heaven

Bonus Tracks - Deluxe CD Only
11. Let's Ride
12. Better Man
13. Mumma
14. They're Coming After You
15. Let's Ride - Live At Maida Vale

Catfish & the Bottlemen’s second album The Ride, mostly produced in LA by Dave Sardy is a collection of bold and riffing pop songs that verge on the anthemic.

“I feel like the last album was the support band, or even the soundcheck and this one’s the headliner,” says charismatic frontman Van McCann.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Glistening pop-rock anthems a plenty on this newest release from Wales' Catfish and The Bottlemen. Driving and heartfelt odes to love and loss underpinned by shimmering production and emotive instrumental performances, impeccable vocal harmonies float atop the main vocal lines before the distortion kicks in, and breaks it all down into pulsing, grooving rock territory. Everything you'd come to expect, and more.

TRACK LISTING

1 7
2 Twice 
3 Soundcheck
4 Postpone
5 Anything
6 Glasgow
7 Oxygen
8 Emily
9 Red
10 Heathrow
11 Outside

The masterpiece that is Bob Marley’s ‘Exodus’ was originally released on Friday 3rd June 1977. He recorded the ‘Exodus’ album in exile in the UK, having escaped an assassination attempt in Jamaica.

‘Exodus’ transformed Marley’s career. A recording of extraordinary creative maturity, the album resonated with audiences around the world. In the UK alone in stayed on the chart for 56 consecutive weeks and included three massive hit singles. Bob Marley was established as the Third World’s first superstar, a legacy that survives thirty years after the album’s release.

TRACK LISTING

1. Natural Mystic 3:28
2. So Much Things To Say 3:08
3. Guiltiness 3:19
4. The Heathen 2:32
5. Exodus 7:40
6. Jamming 3:31
7. Waiting In Vain 4:16
8. Turn Your Lights Down Low 3:39
9. Three Little Birds 3:00
10. One Love / People Get Ready 2:52

'Catch A Fire' was the major label debut for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and it was an international success upon its release in 1973. Although Bob Marley may have been the main voice, every member of the Wailers made valuable contributions and they were never more united in their vision and sound. All the songs were originals, and the instrumentation was minimalistic in order to bring out the passionate, often politically charged lyrics. Much of the appeal of the album lies in its sincerity and sense of purpose - these are streetwise yet disarmingly idealistic young men who look around themselves and believe they might help change the world through music. Marley sings about the current state of urban poverty ("Concrete Jungle") and connects the present to past injustices ("Slave Driver"), but he is a not a one-trick pony. He is a versatile songwriter who also excels at singing love songs such as his classic "Stir It Up." Peter Tosh sings the lead vocal on two of his own compositions - his powerful presence and immense talent hint that he would eventually leave for his own successful solo career. More than anything else, however, this marks the emergence of Bob Marley and the international debut of reggae music. Marley would continue to achieve great critical and commercial success during the 1970s, but 'Catch a Fire' is one of the finest reggae albums ever. This album is essential for any music collection.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Concrete Jungle 4:12
A2 Slave Driver 2:53
A3 400 Years 2:45
A4 Stop That Train 3:55
A5 Baby We've Got A Date (Rock It Baby) 3:56
B1 Stir It Up 5:32
B2 Kinky Reggae 3:36
B3 No More Trouble 3:51
B4 Midnight Ravers 5:09

Years before Amy Winehouse garnered international attention with 'Back To Black', the sassy soul singer put herself on the UK music map with her 2003 debut, 'Frank'. Nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, the record glides along on the subtly jazzy production of Salaam Remi, which allows Winehouse's expressive voice, strongly influenced by Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, to shine, particularly on the downbeat 'Stronger Than Me', "Take The Box" (which made it onto Gilles' "Worldwide 2" compilation), the powerful 'You Sent Me Flying', and the sultry 'I Heard Love Is Blind'. It's an impressive debut, fusing soul with jazz, hip hop, reggae and Latin flavas, all topped off with her distinctive soul-jazz vocals. 

TRACK LISTING

A1. Stronger Than Me 3:54
A2.1 You Sent Me Flying 6:50
A2.2. Cherry
A3. Know You Now 3:03
A4. Fuck Me Pumps 3:20
A5. I Heard Love Is Blind 2:10
A6.1 Moody's Mood For Love 3:28
A6..2 Teo Licks
A7. (There Is) No Greater Love 2:08
A8. In My Bed 5:17
B1. Take The Box 3:20
B2. October Song 3:24
B3. What Is It About Men? 3:29
B4. Help Yourself 5:01
B5.1  Amy Amy Amy 13:16
B5.2  Outro
B5.3  Brother
B5.4  Mr Magic (Through The Smoke) 

HOW BIG
For Florence Welch, the success of her first two Florence + the Machine albums Lungs (2009 – Album of the year, Brit Awards 2010) and Ceremonials (2011) meant five years of back-to-back recording, promoting and touring. Lungs ran straight into the making, promoting and touring of the Grammy-nominated Ceremonials, an album written while on the road and recorded straight after coming off tour. The shows were getting bigger, the hair redder, the success wider and wilder.

HOW BLUE
A pop star at 21, with two international hit albums behind her, Florence discovered that in giving seven years to her music, some elements of real life had been left by the wayside. Coming back from tour and moving out of her mother’s Camberwell home, Florence re-engaged with normal life: going out, falling in and out of love, and simply trying to learn how to look after herself outside of the hermetic bubble of life of the road. And so the new Florence, and her songs, started to swim into focus.

HOW BEAUTIFUL
The result is 'How Big How Blue How Beautiful', a collection of songs, written and recorded over the course of 2014. Produced by Markus Dravs (Björk, Arcade Fire, Coldplay) with contributions from Paul Epworth, Kid Harpoon and John Hill, the third album by Florence + The Machine is live-sounding, tune-rich, unhinged in all the right places and powerful in all the best ways. In voice and, ultimately, outlook Florence has never sounded better.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ship To Wreck
2. What Kind Of Man
3. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
4. Queen Of Peace
5. Various Storms & Saints
6.Delilah
7. Long & Lost
8. Caught
9. Third Eye
10. St Jude
11. Mother

From Llandudno, North Wales, this four piece is fronted by outspoken and charismatic frontman Van McCann, release their debut ‘The Balcony’ on Island Records / Communion.

Includes the singles ‘Fallout’, ‘Kathleen’ and ‘Cocoon’. Produced by Jim Abbiss, the man behind critically acclaimed releases by Arctic Monkeys, Adele and Kasabian.

The waist-coat loving quartet are back with their second studio album.

TRACK LISTING

1. Babel
2. Whispers In The Dark
3. I Will Wait
4. Holland Road
5. Ghosts That We Knew
6. Lover Of The Light
7. Lovers Eyes
8. Reminder
9. Hopeless Wanderer
10. Broken Crown
11. Below My Feet
12. Not With Haste

Of Monsters and Men began as the solo project of Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir however it quickly grew with the additions of friends Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson (co-singer/guitarist), Brynjar Leifsson (guitarist), Arnar Rósenkranz Hilmarsson (drummer), Árni Guðjónsson (piano/accordion player) and Kristján Páll Kristjánsson (bassist)

Crafting epic songs inspired by their amazing homeland, fairy tales and personal history, the band went from battle of the bands winners to the breakthrough act at this year’s Iceland Airwaves and SXSW festival. The bands self-released, first single ‘Little Talks’ to date has sold an impressive 400,000 copies and received 3 million views on YouTube.

Of Monsters and Men continue to make waves among fans and tastemakers alike. ‘My Head is an Animal’ has already enjoyed huge success in Iceland and Europe. Mirroring that feat in America ‘My Head is an Animal’ entered the iTunes alternative chart at #1 and album chart at #2 however went on to top the album charts one week later. And in Germany the album debuted at #4 on their official album chart.

Along with a penchant for crafting rising epic pop numbers ‘My Head is an Animal’ has beautifully delicate moments and signal a fully-fledged band destined to win the hearts of musical lovers worldwide.

STAFF COMMENTS

Ryan says: A stern bit of icelandic pop right here, it's a bit folky but they manage to turn humble folk into a collection of sing-out-loud anthems. It's brilliant!

TRACK LISTING

1. Dirty Paws
2. King And Lionheart
3.Mountain Sound
Slow And Steady
5.From Finner
6. Little Talks
7. Six Weeks
8. Love Love Love
9. Your Bones
10. Sloom
11. Lakehouse
12. Yellow Light

Love her or hate her, you can't deny that La Roux has come up with some super-catchy electro-pop tunes this year. "Quicksand" is another one that's sure to make a run up the charts. With snapping 80s electro-dance beats, a dirty bassline and a big hooky chorus, this has 'hit' written all over it.

Originally released in 1981, "Nightclubbing" was actually Grace Jones fifth studio album, but the first that really saw her crossover from club-friendly disco diva to full-blown pop sensation. Sly & Robbie's Compass Point electro-reggae and disco-not-disco backing tracks (not to mention the odd Argentinian tango!) and Jean-Paul Goude's new androgynous image for Jones proved to be a winning combination, with "Nightclubbing" considered a classic of the post-punk, post-disco era. Includes a great set of covers, from the Bowie and Iggy title track, via Flash And The Pan's "Walking In The Rain", The Police's "Demolition Man" (which Sting wrote especially for Jones) and Ástor Piazzolla's "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)", plus originals like the massive "Pull Up To The Bumper". An essential album!

TRACK LISTING

Tracklisting
1. Walking In The Rain
2. Pull Up To The Bumper
3. Use Me
4. Nightclubbing
5. Art Groupie
6. I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
7. Feel Up
8. Demolition Man
10. I've Done It Again

The Tavistock five piece return with their second album, recorded and produced in New York by none other than Mark Ronson. "Welcome To The Walk Alone" shows the Rumble Strips in a much more widescreen light than their previous offering with parping brass toned down and the FILMharmonic orchestra of Prague drafted in by Owen Pallet (The Arcade Fire, Final Fantasy) to fill this album with incredible cineramic textures and epic arrangements.

Taken from The Rumble Strips forthcoming album "Welcome To The Walk Alone". This song has been a staple of the band's live sets over the last 12 months. Produced by Mark Ronson and arranged by Owen Pallet.

Hot on the heels of 1997's "Portishead" album, "Third" has a lot to prove in order to reclaim fans of "Dummy" 14 years down the line. The last 10 years seems to have been well spent amassing a whole new trove of influences to draw upon, making sense of their choice of acts at the All Tomorrow's Parties weekend. Boris, Ladytron, Kling Klang and Om have replaced valium-slow Isaac Hayes samples and vinyl scratching as reference points this time around, while primitive synthesizers and Adrian Utleys' take on the US drone rock movement dominate on many tracks. Lead single, "Machine Gun" is something of a curveball, taking no prisoners with its' juddering avant-electro update of "Blue Monday"'s drum pattern before the mood settles with the introduction of chanteuse Beth Gibbons. For those who enjoyed the Beth Gibbons "Out Of Season" album from 2002, there are similar forays into chilly nu-folk. While there's little point in wondering whether this will have the same impact as either of its predecessors, one thing is for certain, they haven't let the grass grow under their feet.

TRACK LISTING

Silence 5:01
Hunter 3:59
Nylon Smile 3:20
The Rip 4:31
Plastic 3:31
We Carry On 6:28
Deep Water 1:33
Machine Gun 4:46
Small 6:47
Magic Doors 3:32
Threads 5:48

Scooping glorious chunks out of their own 'Bay Area' harmonies with addictively wilful grooves of chiming guitar, bass and drums, Rogue Wave lay down the blueprint for forthcoming album "Asleep At Heaven's Gate", on this 7" single.

"Rid Of Me" was PJ Harvey's second album, circa 1993, but her first for major label Island. The set features the same line-up as the "Dry" sessions (Polly doing vocals, guitar, violin, cello and organ, Stephen Vaughan on bass and Robert Ellis on drums, vocals and harmonium), but the extra money shows in the much slicker production to the album's predecessor. Recorded by Steve Albini, this forceful sophomore effort veers from hoarsely quiet to ferociously looming in one beat.

New single from the Manchester based rockers Nine Black Alps. Taken from their forthcoming album "Love Hate"; "Bitter End" is a powerful yet melodic three-minute pop song drawing influences from the likes of The Lemonheads, Nirvana and Blind Melon.

After self-releasing several well-received singles, Tindersticks became darlings of the mainstream British and alternative American press with the 1993 release of their eponymously titled debut album. Moving from classically-tinged ballads, chaotic rockers with plenty of cacophonous dissonance, and simple, yet captivating pop gems, the band proved that an album with twenty songs could maintain a consistent vision without becoming repetitive. Where their contemporaries were often direct and to the point, Tindersticks were obtuse and leisurely, crafting dense, difficult songs layered with literary lyrics, intertwining melodies, mumbling vocals, and gently melancholy orchestrations. Essentially, the group filtered the dark romanticism of Leonard Cohen, Ian Curtis, and Scott Walker as filtered through the bizarre pop songcraft of Lee Hazlewood and the aesthetics of indie rock and with each successive record, the band upped the orchestral ante without compromising melody, subtlety or mood. This double CD contains 25 of their BBC In Session recordings made between 1993-1997, selected by the band. The artwork was designed by Stuart Staples and sleeve notes written by David Boulter.

Three years on from her debut "Frank" and all the acclaim she got back then, 2006 sees Amy Winehouse back at the centre of media attention with its follow up, and especially inspirational new single "Rehab" which kicks things off here too. Bracketed in with the nu-soul singers back then, Amy always had more of a jazz edge to her songs, and especially her voice which sounded like it should be coming from a 50-year-old black American singer, not a skinny white Londoner. With "Back To Black" she takes a trawl through the sound of 60s soul, girl group pop and the kind of laid back torch song crooning favoured by the mafioso of old, all given a totally modern twist by her smart confessional lyrics. This all comes backed by The Dap-Kings and features lush orchestration too, with production by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi. ESSENTIAL!!!

TRACK LISTING

Rehab 3:34
You Know I'm No Good 4:17
Me And Mr Jones 2:33
Just Friends 3:13
Back To Black 4:01
Love Is A Losing Game 2:35
Tears Dry On Their Own 3:06
Wake Up Alone 3:42
Some Unholy War 2:22
He Can Only Hold Her 2:46
Addicted 2:45

Debut UK release from Australian singer-songwriter Josh Pyke. "Middle Of The Hill" is a rather lovely rambling pop song, with an endless stream of cute, funny story-telling lyrics about his childhood, that Josh reels of hardly pausing for breath.

Whether or not you believe he was raised by pheasants following his birth in 1904 as his Myspace page purports, a glimpse of the refined, debonair and charismatic Luke Toms leads you to think he may just believe it himself. Equally influenced by Hercule Poirot (moustache, pre war fascination) as Freddy Mercury (moustache, consummate showman) and with a Bowie-esque performance on this hazily rich new single "Peace By Myself", Toms really is quite unlike any other singer songwriter in the UK today.

Another stunning single taken from the album of the same name. Delicate guitars and a gorgeous voice that's part Jeff Buckley, part John Martyn and part Elliott Smith.

The twelve tracks featured here were chosen by Polly herself, and span her career from early versions of songs from "Dry" to songs from her seventh album "Uh Uh Her" which was released in 2004.

Called "The Outsider" beccause he has never fitted into any particular clique, DJ Shadow's new album is eclectic as ever. There's songs with samples and songs with no samples. There's very dark stuff and very light stuff. Fast and slow. Simple and complicated. Vocal and instrumental. Hip hop, blues, crunk, soul, hardcore punk, psyche, breaks - it's all here, making for another satisfying stew of sounds. Guest vocalists include Kasabian's Sergio Pizzorno & Christopher Karloff, Q-Tip & Lateef The Truth Speaker, The Heliocentrics (Malcolm Catto and pals), Chris James (Stateless), David Banner, Christina Carter (Charalambides), Phonte Coleman (Little Brother) and many more.

The first single to be taken from their "Under The Iron Sea" LP.

John's debut solo album from 1967 has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes and now comes complete with the previously unreleased bonus track "She Moved Through The Fair". The enhanced booklet also contains sleevenotes by John Hillarby.

Nine Black Alps release at last their hugely anticipated debut album. The product of their LA recording sessions with Beck and Elliot Smith producer Rob Schnapf, "Everything Is" includes their long deleted debut single "Cosmopolitan" along with recent singles "Shot Down" and "Not Everyone".

Digitally remastered with bonus tracks, "Farewell To A Poor Man's Son" and "Breakfast In Mayfair", enhanced packaging and extra sleeve notes.

His third and final studio album is a fittingly stark and sombre collection of songs, featuring just guitar and voice (bar a piano on one track). Shorn of the usual lavish arrangements, the songs lose none of their lustre, instead the songs themselves are pushed to the fore. A magnificent swansong.

TRACK LISTING

Pink Moon
Place To Be
Road
Which Will
Horn
Things Behind The Sun
Know
Parasite
Free Ride
Harvest Breed
From The Morning

This album is a new, updated version of the 'extras' CD which was previously available only as part of the "Fruit Tree" box-set. Long since deleted, a new generation of fans can finally get their hands on these different versions and out-takes from his three proper LPs, and more importantly: the last four songs Nick cut before he died. Except, hooray, they've discovered one brand new song! "Tow the Line" isn't up there with his best, but it does provide some much needed yin to "Black Dog"'s yang. It suggests Nick wasn't going to succumb to depression, as the desperate "Black Dog" would have you believe; he was going to play the game...get on with things. In short: not top himself! There's a bit of a Beatles' Anthology going on with two other tracks, as Nick's college buddy and original arranger - Robert Kirby - scores new strings for old songs. Both "Magic" and "Time of No Reply" now sound as intended. They're beautiful. And Kirby weighs in again, with two previously unreleased recordings of "River Man" and "Mayfair", from his room at Cambridge and before Nick even had a record deal. There's also a new, longer version of "Three Hours" that's not been out before. This release is evocatively packaged and a must for completists. For all music lovers, infact.

This 1970 debut is surely one of the most accomplished in pop history, marking the young singer songwriter out as more than another folkie. Jazzy instrumentation and sweeping string arrangements give the record a sumptuous feel that is undermined by the brooding melancholy of "Fruit Tree", "Way To Blue" and the haunting, magisterial "River Man". A classic that has reached such disparate souls as Elliott Smith, Paul Weller, Terry Callier and Gilles Peterson.

TRACK LISTING

Time Has Told Me 3:56
River Man 4:28
Three Hours 6:01
Day Is Done 2:22
Way To Blue 3:05
'Cello Song 3:58
The Thoughts Of Mary Jane 3:12
Man In A Shed 3:49
Fruit Tree 4:42
Saturday Sun 4:00

The classic 60s group Nirvana get the remastered treatment with bonus material and enhanced packaging.

First time on CD, this classic 60s group's rare third album is remastered with enhanced packaging.