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PARTISAN RECORDS

WITCH

SOGOLO

    Legendary yet ever-evolving, Zamrock pioneers WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) continue to push boundaries with their bold new record, 'SOGOLO'. After their remarkable resurgence and 2023's critically acclaimed 'Zango'–their first album in nearly 40 years–'SOGOLO' proves that their innovative spirit remains as strong as ever.

    Derived from the Zambian word for “future”, 'SOGOLO' weaves together strains of the garage-infused psych, funk, and rock that WITCH quite literally helped invent back in their 1970s heyday, all while embracing the experimental spirit of the moment. Recorded in Berlin during their whirlwind world tour, 'SOGOLO' brims with urgency, excitement, and discovery, propelled as always by the magnetic presence of frontman Emmanuel ‘Jagari’ Chanda.

    The full story of WITCH is almost too extraordinary to believe. Known as the "Zambian Beatles," they founded the Zamrock movement and released seven albums throughout the 1970s and early '80s. Tragically, the AIDS epidemic brought an end to the Zamrock era, claiming the lives of all original members except Jagari. Their music was reissued in 2012, sparking a global rediscovery that led to their triumphant return. Zango was met with rapturous acclaim, including a major New York Times profile, sold-out world tours, and an award-winning documentary that screened globally.

    With 'SOGOLO', WITCH reaffirm that their creative fire still burns bright, proving their legacy is far from finished.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Kamusale
    2. Nadi
    3. Queenless King
    4. Tiponde Madzi
    5. Bang Bang
    6. Set Free
    7. Mbangula Sesa
    8. (In Memory Of) John
    9. Dancer On A Trip
    10. Nibani
    11. Totally Devoted
    12. Machiriso

    Léa Sen

    LEVELS

      French singer, songwriter and producer Léa Sen’s debut album 'LEVELS', is a deeply immersive journey through memory, self-discovery, and emotional growth—imagined as a surreal, liminal hotel where each room holds a different chapter of her life.

      Created in collaboration with her brother, Florian Fourlin, and inspired by Léa's own coming-of-age, 'LEVELS' blends experimental pop with slinky R&B, woozy trip-hop, and warm, smudged guitars. The album plays with the tension between reality and dreamlike abstraction, examining the mysterious ups and downs of existence.

      Since moving from Paris to London following a personal loss in 2019, Léa has built a growing network of collaborators (Joy Orbison, Sampha, Don Toliver, Oscar Jerome, Speaker’s Corner Quartet and more). Through her intense work ethic and magnetic creative spirit Léa has settled into a reputation as an artist poised to break out, supported by the likes of the Fader, the Guardian, Crack, 6Music, Radio 1 and more.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Lvl 1 - HOME ALONE
      2. Lvl 2 - ALIENS
      3. Lvl 3 - EDGE OF THE MAP
      4. Lvl 4 - WATERSMOKE
      5. Lvl 5 - GHOSTWRITER
      6. Lvl 6 - VIDEO GAMES
      7. Lvl 7 - LAZY DAYS
      8. Lvl 8 - HOW?
      9. Lvl 9 - MORE THAN HAPPY
      10. Lvl 10 - LOBBY BOY

      Femi Kuti

      Journey Through Life

        Femi Kuti’s 'Journey Through Life' marks a deeply personal chapter in the Afrobeat legend’s career. Known for his sharp critiques of political corruption and social injustice, Femi balances his signature “sweet music with a bitter message” with introspective reflections on family, life, and personal growth. Revisiting old tracks with fresh perspectives and producing entirely on his own for the first time, the album captures Femi’s journey as an artist, activist, and father. Rooted in his Afrobeat legacy yet boldly charting new territory, 'Journey Through Life' is a testament to Femi’s enduring creativity and resilience.



        TRACK LISTING

        1. Journey Through Life
        2. Chop And Run
        3. After 24 Years
        4. Corruption Na Stealing
        5. Politics Don Expose Them
        6. Shotan
        7. Oga Doctor
        8. Last Mugu
        9. Work On Myself
        10. Think My People Think

        Blondshell

        If You Asked For A Picture

          'If You Asked For A Picture', the 2nd album from Sabrina Teitelbaum, aka Blondshell, is a no-skips, triumphant record that captures the unresolved process of figuring out who you are, too wise to suggest that it has a definitive answer. The album brims with an urgency, ambition, and devastating potency hinted at on 2023’s self-titled debut–the specificity, self-examination, and nonchalant humor of which turned her into one of the most lauded new artists in recent memory.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. Thumbtack
          2. T&A
          3. Arms
          4. What’s Fair
          5. Two Times
          6. Even Of A Fire
          7. 23’s A Baby
          8. Change
          9. Toy
          10. He Wants Me
          11. Man
          12. Model Rockets

          HONESTY

          U R HERE

            HONESTY is not a band in the traditional sense. With four core members - George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis and Imi Marston – and a rotating cast of collaborators which have included musicians and visual artists like Kosi Tydes, Softlizard, Rarelyalways, Florence Shaw, and Liam Bailey, the Leeds-based collective emerged as an exercise in doing things differently on a journey towards self-acceptance.

            With influences that range from Mount Kimbie and My Bloody Valentine to Björk and Burial, ‘U R HERE’ represents a renewed sense of creative expression amidst a world that can sometimes seem like it's crumbling apart.

            The songs on ‘U R HERE’ are a fluid, exhilarating, and uniquely introspective take on club music – sonically mapping the psychological impact of the modern age and harnessing the vitality and freedom that comes with new beginnings. 'U R HERE', right now, and that is all that matters.



            STAFF COMMENTS

            Barry says: A dynamic and fascinating fusion of propulsive club beats and churning modern bass beneath lysergic synth blips and shadowy, strained vocals. There are moments here that sound like Actress much like there are moments that could easily be on an LCD album, and all of them are faultlessly integrated and beautifully performed. Brilliant.

            TRACK LISTING

            1. NO RIGHT 2 LOVE
            2. WWWWW?
            3. U&I
            4. MEASURE ME
            5. U R HERE
            6. TORMENTOR
            7. NORTH
            8. EMPTY
            9. NIGHTWORLD
            10. PITY

            Ezra Collective

            Dance, No One's Watching

              Dance, No One's Watching is an ode to the sacred, yet joyous act of dancing, an album that musically guides you through a night out in the city, from the opening of possibilities as a new evening spans out ahead, to dawn’s final hours as the night comes to a close.

              Written during a blistering 2023 which saw Ezra Collective tour the world, and become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize, Dance, No One's Watching is a documentation of the many dance floors they encountered. From London to Chicago, Lagos to Sydney, dance and rhythm connect us. These songs are a testament to that spirit.

              The album was recorded at Abbey Road studios, where the band was surprised by a group of close friends and family, turning the sessions into a live communal celebration of love, music, and dancing.

              Dance, No One's Watching is a record that speaks to the unifying power of dance. Set for release in September 2024, it is a powerful and distinctive addition to a catalogue that continues to blaze a bold new trail in contemporary British music.

              STAFF COMMENTS

              Millie says: Ezra Collective created some big boots for themselves to fill with their sublime last album. We’ve collectively at the shop been huge fans since their first EP landed six years ago now. Watching them succeed and shape the direction of the jazz scene has been truly inspiring, they’ve honed their sound over the years with a self-assured confidence that we love to see.

              It’d be amiss of me not to mention the shining star on the album, Yazmin Lacey and her feel good vocals on ‘“God Gave Me Feet For Dancing”, surely everybody's favourite track?
              Elsewhere “Ajala” provides the quicker step and “Everybody” has the building optimism that hits you in the chest.

              ‘Dance, No One’s Watching’ gives us a reason to take the weight of the world off our shoulders momentarily to enjoy music, a thing that unites people, and just feel the joy in our bodies - and more importantly, dance!

              TRACK LISTING

              1. Intro
              2. The Herald
              3. Palm Wine
              4. God Gave Me Feet For Dancing (feat. Yazmin Lacey)
              5. Ajala
              6. The Traveller
              7. N29
              8. No One's Watching Me (feat. Olivia Dean)
              9. Hear My Cry
              10. Shaking Body
              11. Expensive
              12. Streets Is Calling (feat. M.anifest & Moonchild Sanelly)
              13. Why I Smile
              14. Have Patience
              15. Everybody

              Body Meat

              Starchris

                Starchris sees Body Meat (real name: Christopher Taylor) weaving his sugar-coated production wizardry with deeply soulful vocal performances and kaleidoscopic percussion. Across 13 tracks, he explores the roughest edges of r&b, IDM, club music, experimental pop, trap, footwork, and metal, only to soften them into something remarkably warm and welcoming, finding catharsis amongst chaos.

                With this record, Body Meat embarks on a multi-dimensional endeavor, partly influenced by the interwoven and complex world-building found in role playing video games. Taylor imagines each song as its own distinct ‘level,’ and himself as the avatar moving through an immersive storyline. In its totality, Starchris evokes both the exhilaration and the emotional challenges that are part of any long, transformative journey.

                This record follows a string of acclaimed EP releases, which earned Body Meat early profiles with Pitchfork, Clash, Fact Mag, Bandcamp + more.

                TRACK LISTING

                1. A Tone In The Dark
                2. The Mad Hatter
                3. High Beams
                4. Electrische
                5. Focus
                6. Right Here
                7. Crystalize
                8. North Side
                9. Starchris
                10. Im In Pieces
                11. Demons
                12. Ōbu No Seirei (Spirit Of An Orb)
                13. Paradise

                Angélica Garcia

                Gemelo

                  ‘Gemelo’ is the new album from songwriter and pop auteur Angélica Garcia. Its title is a reference to the twin self – the idea of a second, more intuitive self within. It’s a vibrant, prismatic hybrid-pop record that soundtracks a journey through the different stages and forms of grief. Angélica explores its inherent loneliness, beauty, and tension, eventually finding liberation. ‘Gemelo’ also expertly deconstructs facets of universal themes like religion, spirit, heritage, womanhood, and ancestral veneration.

                  Born in East LA with Mexican and Salvadoran lineage, Angélica embodies the essence of contemporary America, a cultural landscape continually evolving through its fusion with rich Hispanic influences. In a reflection of modern America itself, ‘Gemelo’ also marks Garcia’s first album sung almost entirely in Spanish, inviting listeners to reconsider what they think an American record can be.

                  ‘Gemelo’ was produced by Carlos Arévalo of LA-based rock band Chicano Batman, his first time working in such a role. Sequenced with extreme intent, the album progresses from a delicate, tender entry on Side A which serves almost like a meditation, to the visceral intensity of Side B, which immerses into the difficult, at times terrifying work of healing. With growth and exploration like wind behind her, Garcia arrives at her clearest and most fully realized vision of self on ‘Gemelo’.

                  ‘Gemelo’ is the anticipated follow-up to her 2020 breakthrough ‘Cha Cha Palace’, which featured on several year-end lists and brought Angélica to NPR’s Tiny Desk

                  TRACK LISTING

                  1. Reflexiones
                  2. Color De Dolor
                  3. Juanita
                  4. Ángel [eterna]
                  5. Mírame
                  6. Y Grito
                  7. El Que
                  8. Intuición
                  9. Gemini
                  10. Paloma

                  Idles

                  Tangk

                    TANGK is the righteous and vibrant fifth album from madcap truth-seekers, IDLES. Pronounced “tank” with a whiff of the “g” - an onomatopoeic reference to the lashing way the band imagined their guitars sounding that has since grown into a sigil for living in love - the record is the band’s most ambitious and striking work yet. Where IDLES were once set on taking the world’s piss, squaring off with strong jaws against the perennially entitled, and exercising personal trauma in real time, they have arrived in this new act to offer the fruits of such perseverance: love, joy, and indeed gratitude for the mere opportunity of existence.

                    A radical sense of defiant empowerment radiates from TANGK, co-produced by Nigel Godrich, Kenny Beats, and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen. Despite his reputation as an incendiary post-punk sparkplug, frontman Joe Talbot sings almost all the feelings inside these 10 songs with hard-earned soul, offering each lusty vow or solidarity plea as a bona fide pop song—that is, a thing for everyone to pass around and share, communal anthems intended for overcoming our grievance.

                    TANGK is a love album—open to anyone who requires something to shout out loud in order to fend off any encroaching sense of the void, now or forever.



                    STAFF COMMENTS

                    Barry says: Love them or hate them, the incendiary post-punk indebted offerings from Idles have rarely been less than wildly bombastic and this latest offering sees the Brighton pentet broaden their reach from the aforementioned fiery mayhem into gothic rock, minimal wave and electronic drone.

                    TRACK LISTING

                    1. IDEA 01
                    2. Gift Horse
                    3. POP POP POP
                    4. Roy
                    5. A Gospel
                    6. Dancer
                    7. Grace
                    8. Hall & Oates
                    9. Jungle
                    10. Gratitude
                    11. Monolith

                    DJ Rashad

                    Double Cup - 10th Anniversary Edition

                      10 year anniversary release 'Double Cup' of the seminal debut studio album from the late footwork pioneer DJ Rashad.

                      Released originally in 2013, it ended up on year-end lists from Pitchfork, The Guardian, Dazed, Resident Advisor, Crack Magazine, The Wire and Complex, as well as decade lists from Pitchfork, Noisey and SPIN. Rolling Stone described it as "somehow both weightless and brutally powerful" while Pitchfork said it as "unquestionably the strongest footwork-related LP" and NME said it was "unprecedented".

                      TRACK LISTING

                      1. Feelin (feat. DJ Spinn & Taso)
                      2. Show U How (feat. DJ Spinn)
                      3. Pass That Shit (feat. DJ Spinn & Taso)
                      4. She A Go (feat. DJ Spinn & Taso)
                      5. Only One (feat. DJ Spinn & Taso)
                      6. Everyday Of My Life (feat. DJ Phil)
                      7. I Don't Give A Fuck
                      8. Double Cup (feat. DJ Spinn)
                      9. Drank, Kush, Barz (feat. DJ Spinn)
                      10. Reggie
                      11. Acid Bit (feat. Addison Groove)
                      12. Leavin (feat. DJ Manny)
                      13. Let U No (feat. DJ Spinn)
                      14. I'm Too Hi (feat. DJ Earl)

                      Cymande

                      Second Time Round - 2023 Reissue

                        In 1973, with the release of ‘Second Time Round,’ Cymande solidified their place in music history. As children of the Windrush Generation, they were part of the first wave of innovators and originators of the fledgling Black British music scene. Taking influences from their Guyanese and Jamaican roots, the band fused reggae bass lines, Afro-tinged Nyabinghi percussion, psychedelic rock touches, and American style funk instrumentation into a unique sound they dubbed as “Nyah-rock.” Recorded while the band was fresh off a US tour with Al Green, ‘Second Time Around’ was the follow up to their self-titled debut and firmly planted the band in the ears of an adoring US audience. Their debut was the first UK soul album to land on the Billboard charts, and ‘Second Time Round’ placed them back on the US charts again.

                        TRACK LISTING

                        1. Anthracite
                        2. Willy's Headache
                        3. Genevieve
                        4. Trevorgus
                        5. To You
                        6. For Baby Ooh
                        7. FUG
                        8. Crawshay
                        9. Bird
                        10. Them And Us

                        Fat Tony

                        Smart Ass Black Boy: Redux

                          ‘Smart Ass Black Boy: Redux’ is the 10th Anniversary remixed and remastered edition of Houston rapper Fat Tony's second studio album and first for Young One Records (an early Partisan imprint).

                          ‘Smart Ass Black Boy’ was one of the most acclaimed hip-hop records of 2013, ultimately becoming one of the most beloved Houston rap records of the 2010’s. The album landed on year-end lists at Complex and VICE, with Noisey and Pitchfork premiering the videos for "BKNY" and "Hood Party" respectively. It was featured in NPR’s First Listen series where they described it as "refreshing" and "promising," while Pitchfork said it "absolutely knocks." Robert Christgau gave the record an A- review (“homespun and imaginative”), and Rolling Stone called it a “thoroughly enjoyable batch of smart-ass raps.” Fat Tony has since released records with Don Giovanni and Carpark, most recently this year’s ‘I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy’.

                          'Smart Ass Black Boy: Redux' will be released digitally and on opaque red vinyl on December 1, 2023, on Partisan. The album features a never before released “BKNY (Remix),” featuring new verses from Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Melo-X, and GLDNEYE.

                          STAFF COMMENTS

                          Barry says: A rework of Fat Tony's 2013 LP, bringing to the fore FT's crisp lyrical timing and impeccably staggered groove. It's a worthy bunch of reworks too, with every one benefitting from the technological advancements since, and brought right up to date with ease. Fat tony remains one of the most singular rappers around.

                          TRACK LISTING

                          1. Smart Ass Black Boy (Redux)
                          2. Final Destination (Redux)
                          3. Creepin' (ft. Jahlil Nzinga) (Redux)
                          4. BKNY (ft. Old Money) (Redux)
                          5. I Shine (Redux)
                          6. Never Let You Go (ft. Shan) (Redux)
                          7. Hood Party (ft. Kool A.D. And Despot) (Redux)
                          8. Frenzy (ft. GLDNEYE) (Redux)
                          9. Father's Day (Redux)
                          10. Sleepover (ft. Shawn Neon) (Redux)
                          11. The More Things Change (The More They Stay The Same) (Redux)
                          12. BKNY [Remix] (feat. Mr. Muthafuckin' EXquire, Melo-X, And GLDNEYE) (Redux)

                          HONESTY

                          WHERE R U

                            The music of HONESTY emerged unexpectedly, instinctually, almost unconsciously out of informal weekly gatherings at a Leeds studio space called The Nave. It was here where the collective’s core members, George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis and Imi Holmes, were ripped back from the brink, compelled to create music by the sort of organic artistic spark that only comes with truly egoless collaboration.

                            Working with a cast of featured vocalists, they set out to survey the unconventional depths of contemporary electronic music, UK bass, garage, shoegaze, ambient and everything in between, never quite landing anywhere long enough to be boxed in.

                            ‘WHERE R U’ is available to independent retailers on white label LP with hand-printed jacket - every copy is unique.

                            TRACK LISTING

                            1. Nightworld
                            2. Mr Speaker
                            3. U&I
                            4. Tune In Tune Out
                            5. Seams

                            Various Artists

                            Red Hot + Fela - 10th Anniversary Edition

                              Fela Kuti lives on! This is the 10th Anniversary reissue of the classic tribute album pressed on opaque banana yellow and opaque red vinyl benefiting the Red Hot organization.

                              The album includes classic Fela anthems like “Lady” recorded by tUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo, and Akua Naru. “Who No Know Go No” by Childish Gambino and Just A Band; “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am” recorded by My Morning Jacket, Merrill Garbus (from tUnE-yArDs), and Brittany Howard (from Alabama Shakes); “Zombie” recorded by Spoek Mathambo, Cerebral Cortex, and Frown; and “Sorrow, Tears & Blood” reworked by the Kronos Quartet along with TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone and Tunde Adembimpe.

                              Since his death in 1997 from complications related to AIDS, Fela has grown from a West African household name and musician’s musician in Europe and the Americas, to a worldwide musical icon.

                              Red Hot is a not-for-profit dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. The 10th Anniversary Edition of Afrodisiac will be out on 27th October 2023 via Partisan Records.

                              TRACK LISTING

                              1. Africa – Baloji & L’Orchestre De La Katuba Featuring Kuku
                              2. Lady – TUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo + Akua Naru
                              3. Yellow Fever – Spoek Mathambo, +Zaki Ibrahim
                              4. No Buredi (No Bread) – Nneka, Sinkane, Amayo + Superhuman Happiness
                              5. Who No Know Go No Know – Just A Band + Childish Gambino
                              6. Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am – My Morning Jacket W/ Merrill Garbus + Brittany Howard
                              7. Sorrow Tears And Blood – Kyp Malone And Tunde Adebimpe, Kronos Quartet + Stuart Bogie
                              8. I.T.T. – Superhuman Happiness W/ Sahr Ngaujah, Abena Koomson + Rubblebucket
                              9. Afrodisco Beat 2013 – Tony Allen, M1 + Baloji
                              10. Gentleman – Just A Band, Bajah + Chance The Rapper
                              11. Highlife Time – Gender Infinity
                              12. Zombie – Spoek Mathambo + Cerebral Cortex + Frown
                              13. Go Slow – KING

                              Sam Burton

                              Dear Departed

                                Sam Burton’s upcoming second album, Dear Departed, was produced by Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty, Margo Price) at his Topanga Canyon studio with some of the best studio players in LA. Together, Wilson and Burton achieved a sound that doesn’t descend into retro pastiche, but rather becomes an evocative echo, a dream of the past. In scope, it finds Burton using a far bigger canvas than on his acclaimed 2020 debut I Can Go With You, giving the emotions therein a new sense of urgency and intensity. Burton has a knack for mining pure Laurel Canyon AM gold. Pastoral string arrangements bloom in the background of Sam’s striking honeyed vocals - like a modern-day Campbell, Orbison, or Nilsson.

                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                Barry says: Brittle acoustic guitar and swooning strings, hearty slo-mo country anthems and staggered lounge groove, all brought together with Burton's syrupy smooth vocals. A hugely evocative, expansive work that expands on his debut with aplomb. Lovely stuff.

                                TRACK LISTING

                                1. Pale Blue Night
                                2. I Don't Blame You
                                3. Long Way Around
                                4. Coming Down On Me
                                5. Empty Handed
                                6. Maria
                                7. I Go To Sleep
                                8. Looking Back Again
                                9. My Love
                                10. A Place To Stay

                                PJ Harvey

                                I Inside The Old Year Dying

                                  PJ Harvey's tenth studio album 'I Inside the Old Year Dying' marks her first release in seven years, following UK #1 album 'The Hope Six Demolition Project'.

                                  On this album, which was recorded with long-time creative collaborators John Parish and Flood, PJ Harvey builds a sonic universe somehow located in a space between life’s opposites, and between recent history and the ancient past. Scattered with biblical imagery and references to Shakespeare, all of these distinctions ultimately dissolve into something profoundly uplifting and redemptive.



                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                  Liam says: Blimey, it's a biggun! At this point, what's there left to say - IT'S PJ HARVEY!!! With all the exquisite melodies, intricate production and stellar lyrics we've all come to expect from her, there's so much to unpack here and there's no doubt the rewards will be vast!

                                  TRACK LISTING

                                  1. Prayer At The Gate
                                  2. Autumn Term
                                  3. Lwonesome Tonight
                                  4. Seem An I
                                  5. The Nether-edge
                                  6. I Inside The Old Year Dying
                                  7. All Souls
                                  8. A Child's Question, August
                                  9. I Inside The Old I Dying
                                  10. August
                                  11. A Child's Question, July
                                  12. A Noiseless Noise

                                  Middle Brother

                                  Middle Brother

                                    The lead singers of Deer Tick, Dawes and Delta Spirit now come together to form the ground-breaking musical project, Middle Brother. 

                                    McCauley, Goldsmith, Vasquez - three songwriters with an amazing sense of purpose, balancing themes of their own playful self-indulgence with humbler notes of heartbreak and hope. Alt-country folk mixed with soulful rock & roll. 

                                    ‘Middle Brother’ is the master collaborative event finally risen out of the roots of their genre; a moment we’ve been waiting for.

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    1. Daydreaming
                                    2. Blue Eyes
                                    3. Thanks For Nothing
                                    4. Middle Brother
                                    5. Theatre
                                    6. Portland
                                    7. Wilderness
                                    8. Me Me Me
                                    9. Someday
                                    10. Blood And Guts
                                    11. Mom And Dad
                                    12. Million Dollar Bill 

                                    Skinny Pelembe

                                    Hardly The Same Snake

                                      Visceral yet inherently soulful, 'Hardly The Same Snake' is the sound of the Johannesburg-born, Doncaster-raised artist Doya Beardmore finally finding his voice – both literally and figuratively. In practical terms, that involved finding the courage to foreground his gravelly baritone in these gloriously genre-agnostic productions. But it also meant branching out beyond his safety net to figure out the artist he truly wanted to be.

                                      As Skinny puts it today, “This album is what I would have created the first time round had I rated my own voice.” The idea of forging your own path – and shedding skin, so to speak – is integral to 'Hardly The Same Snake'. Begun pre-pandemic and completed in the spring of 2021, it’s a defiantly outward-looking record contemplating family, religion and major life milestones, from parenthood to death. Where previously Skinny relied on dream diaries as his primary lyrical resource, this time he took notes at design exhibitions, using these unfiltered observations as a jumping off point for songs. If this superb second album proves anything, it’s that it doesn’t matter how much Skinny errs on the side of self-deprecation – he remains one of the UK’s most fearlessly original voices.

                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                      Barry says: Skinny Pelembe's latest opus takes the perfectly manicured multi-genre mashup of 2019's brilliant 'Dreaming Is Dead Now' and pushes even further outwards into euphoric neo-soul, jazz and synthwave. It's a heady mix, and one that could only be so perfectly executed by a talent like Skinny.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      Side A
                                      1. Same Eye Colour
                                      2. Hardly The Same Snake
                                      3. Deadman Deadman Deadman
                                      4. Don't Be Another

                                      Side B
                                      5. Oh, Silly George
                                      6. Charabanc
                                      7. Like A Heart Won't Beat
                                      8. Well, There's A First
                                      9. Secret Hiding Place

                                      Just Mustard

                                      Heart Under (Deluxe Edition)

                                        Heart Under, Just Mustard’s second album and first for Partisan Records, is an album that asks you to forget what you know. At every turn, this remarkable record reconfigures and stretches the ideas and ambition of a rock band, and turns a year of lockdown and personal struggles into a breathtaking artistic statement.

                                        Across its 10 tracks, the album presents a coherent style and ethos – those scything guitars, Katie’s magical vocals – but still incorporates a wide and untethered vision. There are brooding, atmospheric rock songs ("Still", "In Shade") and others that apply a lighter, dreamier touch ("Sore", "Mirrors"), all tied together with impeccable instrumentation and a united vision. On Wednesday, the band played with dreamier soundscapes and production techniques, and Heart Under serves as the next stage of this development, with every instrument brilliantly pushed to its limit and every boundary of the band stretched.

                                        TRACK LISTING

                                        A1 23
                                        A2 Still
                                        A3 I Am You
                                        B1 Seed
                                        B2 Blue Chalk
                                        C1 Early
                                        C2 Sore
                                        C3 Mirrors
                                        D1 In Shade
                                        D2 Rivers

                                        Aoife Nessa Frances

                                        Protector

                                          In spring of 2020, Aoife Nessa Frances moved out of the city for the first time in her life. After packing up her things in Dublin, she moved to rural County Clare on the west coast of Ireland, and there, amidst the stillness, she worked on the songs that would become her second album, Protector. The resulting body of work deftly juxtaposes golden hours and arguments, affection and alienation, and above all marks a crucial period of her life that was transformative and left her wiser.

                                          "I might have been running away from my problems," she admits. "I was disconnected from myself and from nature, but I found peace far away from the city, where there were no distractions. I isolated myself with nothing to do but make music.” Writing Protector provided Frances an essential sounding board for this journey. "I felt a growing inner strength that guided me through the making of this album. It was like sculpting with my eyes closed, this intense sense of self-preservation leading me and growing with each song I wrote. When I started, I didn't recognise myself. With each song, I became more human.”

                                          Aoife spent that summer with her dad and two sisters. “It was a very special time for my family as we had never been that tight knit before,” she says, “and we all became very close…driving the country roads and swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and lakes of Clare. I had one CD in my car: Jim Sullivan’s UFO and we listened to it over and over again.” Like many people in their late twenties shaking off youthful rebelliousness, Frances experienced a solidification of familial ties like never before, and felt the formation of a protective, impenetrable shell. “For me, Protector acknowledges the part of myself that steers me towards a brighter path. The almost psychotropic power of nature gave me a connection I never felt before. As the countryside seeped into me and lines of communication opened up with my family, I developed an ability to perceive myself and my choices within an expanded world.”

                                          Protector builds pastoral landscapes through light flourishes and open spaces. Songs float along effortlessly, remaining anchored by Frances’ deep voice. Contemplative tempos tug along atmospheric synths, minimal bass, and shimmering guitar notes, conveying a serenity like early morning. Frances found that the noiselessness allowed her, at long last, to listen to herself. “I got up every day before sunrise and took my guitar to a place where nobody could hear me,” she discloses. “These songs were written in the magic hour before the world wakes up.”

                                          Recording took place in a small house in County Kerry, at the foothills of the Annascaul, along with Brendan Jenkinson (producer, keys, bass, synth, clarinet) and Brendan Doherty (drums). “We’d wake up early every day and swim at Inch Beach before making music,” Frances describes. “This ritual was crucial for our process. There was an unexplainable joy happening between the three of us.” The arrangements grew with later contributions from Ailbhe Nic Oiroictaigh (strings), Meabh McKenna (harp), and Conor O’Brien (horns). No matter how it expanded in scope and involvement, Frances never let it stray from a central focus on deep truths. “I wanted my voice to be as up front and dry as possible, to create a sense of raw and powerful vulnerability, like Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Histoire de Melody Nelson’ where the voice feels right in front of you.”

                                          Across eight songs, Frances found innovative ways to project her intentions. “Emptiness Follows” carries a striking sense of grace, the playfulness of the track’s instrumentation contrast lyrics about friends drifting apart (“the weight of the water, it holds you and tortures time away from you”). “Soft Lines,” spans weightless and brooding, the shimmer of the musical backdrop like a low-settled fog obscuring one’s way, as Frances sings of the illusion of idealized love (“All that I’d give for a life by your side”). “Chariot” is at the core of the record, a powerful testament to the strength and bonds of family and friendships.

                                          With Protector, Frances has delivered a glowing act of restoration, informed by the power of connection. The songs find the resonance in the hum of life, trapping glimpses of light and crystalizing them into new modes of being. Each track is a nuanced take on a different subject. “Writing and recording this album was a spiritual experience. I experienced love for my family on a level I didn’t know existed, while slowly putting myself back together and watching the ‘protector’ in me grow much bigger.”


                                          TRACK LISTING

                                          Side A
                                          A1 Way To Say Goodbye
                                          A2 This Still Life
                                          A3 Emptiness Follows
                                          A4 Only Child
                                          Side B
                                          B1 Chariot
                                          B2 Back To Earth
                                          B3 Soft Lines
                                          B4 Day Out Of Time

                                          Just Mustard

                                          Heart Under

                                            ‘Heart Under’, Just Mustard’s second album and first for Partisan Records, is an album that asks you to forget what you know. At every turn, this remarkable record reconfigures and stretches the ideas and ambition of a rock band, and turns a year of lockdown and personal struggles into a breathtaking artistic statement.

                                            The music the five friends from Dundalk, Ireland make is strikingly untraditional. Though to look at them, it appears that the band are a five-piece with uniform make-up of a vocalist, two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, not a single one of them utilizes their instrument in a confined or regular fashion. Guitarists David Noonan and Mete Kalyoncuoglu make their six-strings shriek and wail, the sounds produced sounding like everything from whirring machinery to horror movie monsters. On the introduction to the dark and dangerous ‘Seed’, it’s half-way to being a techno beat. On a great deal of the album, this harshness is juxtaposed by watery, swelling guitar chords that add a dreamy texture to the record alongside the more aggressive, industrial tones. “This is just a piece of wood with some metal strings attached – you can do whatever you want with it,” Mete says of his approach to his instrument.

                                            Behind them, drummer Shane Maguire uses the rim of his drums almost as much as the skins, providing a clattering, metallic backbeat. “I wanted to reinforce the clangy soundscapes of the songs,” he says of his approach to his instrument, and the record includes Shane whacking a metal staircase with a stick in the studio. Most of the melodies on offer poke through from Rob Clarke’s inventive, nodding basslines, which have nods to The Cure, who Just Mustard supported at a Dublin show in 2019. Rob’s sub bass also plays a pivotal role in the sound, creating a sound that feels like an anchor at the bottom of the sea and adding extra emotional weight to the record. “It leaves open the space that a normal bass guitar would normally occupy,” he explains, “and it’s leaving a lot of room in the mid frequencies for vocals and guitars.”

                                            Then there’s Katie on vocals. On the roaring climax to single ‘I Am You’ and the melodic and rhythmic verses in the sprightly ‘Mirrors’, she becomes the transfixing focal point of the band, where past material has seen her voice drop back to within the rest of the band, become an extra texture in the soundscapes.

                                            Since the release of debut album ‘Wednesday’ in mid-2018, the band have undergone a subtle but firm transition, through propulsive 2019 single ‘Frank’ and the gargantuan ‘Seven’ from later that year. While ‘Wednesday’ and subsequent singles pushed Just Mustard away from fitting snugly into the shoegaze category they once occupied, ‘Heart Under’ makes them stand alone as a band that sound like no other.

                                            Across its 10 tracks, the album presents a coherent style and ethos – those scything guitars, Katie’s magical vocals – but still incorporates a wide and untethered vision. There are brooding, atmospheric rock songs (‘Still’, ‘In Shade’) and others that apply a lighter, dreamier touch (‘Sore’, ‘Mirrors’), all tied together with impeccable instrumentation and a united vision. On ‘Wednesday’, the band played with dreamier soundscapes and production techniques, and ‘Heart Under’ serves as the next stage of this development, with every instrument brilliantly pushed to its limit and every boundary of the band stretched.

                                            “This album felt very blue to us,” Katie says of the overarching vision behind ‘Heart Under’. “There was sadness and sorrow in the album, and it felt like being underwater and under something very heavy. We let that influence the music, but it wasn’t a decision – it just naturally happened that way.” Flowing through every part of the album, which unpacks the grief and sorrow that Katie was experiencing at the time of its creation, the theme of water also stretches to its majestic artwork. Commissioned by the band and painted by British artist Graham Dean, it shows a subject up to their chest in water. “His paintings lined up with the emotions in the songs,” Katie says.

                                            The title, ‘Heart Under’, comes from the lyric “the heart under its foot” from the song ‘Sore’, and throughout the recording, the band discussed the idea of wanting the listener to feel like they’re on a train going through a tunnel. In every facet of the album is a physical and emotional intensity, with each note of dissonant guitar, thwack of a drum or piercing lyric hitting you right in the chest, just as intended.

                                            Primary recording took place in Attica Studios in rural Donegal, with additional recording and post-production then completed at home, and this extra time they gave themselves results in an even richer and more intricately composed record. Katie’s vocals were also recorded at home, with extra time and space that allowed her to give a more emotional and honest performance. “The emotion in the vocals is really important to me, and I could really zoom in and take my time when recording at home,” she reflects.

                                            After the band had finished recording and producing the album, ‘Heart Under’ was pushed even further into singular territory when the band worked with mixer David Wrench, whose previous collaborators include Frank Ocean, Let’s Eat Grandma, Jamie xx, FKA twigs and beyond. “We wanted someone who had done pop and electronic records and didn’t just work within rock music,” Katie says, with David adding: “I learned so much from what he did with the record. He put the spotlight on some things in the mix that we had no idea about, and he created so much extra space.”

                                            Though written in the depths of 2020, ‘Heart Under’ is a personal document of a time that doesn’t comment on realities of the outside world. “I always write about what’s going on inside my head rather than anyone else’s,” Katie says. “We all use music to escape, and it’s good to have a break from life with music.”

                                            An album not categorisable by genre or era, ‘Heart Under’ is a guitar album with guitars that don’t sound like guitars, an album that stretches traditional frameworks to make a thrillingly unique sound, and an album like little else you'll ever hear.


                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                            Laura says: With brooding basslines, distorted guitar shards and pummelling drums Just Mustard plough their own very unique path through the buoyant Irish guitar scene. Katie Balls vocals go from gentle, almost whispered melody to wailing banshee like howls as their sound veers between propulsive intensity and haunting soundscapes. It's a stunning, inventive album that while sounding completely unique, wouldn't sound out of place among early 4AD releases.

                                            TRACK LISTING

                                            Side A
                                            A1 23
                                            A2 Still
                                            A3 I Am You
                                            A4 Seed
                                            A5 Blue Chalk
                                            Side B
                                            B1 Early
                                            B2 Sore
                                            B3 Mirrors
                                            B4 In Shade
                                            B5 Rivers

                                            2020’s A Hero’s Death saw Fontaines D.C. land a #2 album in the UK, receive nominations at the GRAMMYs, BRITs and Ivor Novello Awards, and sell out London’s iconic Alexandra Palace.

                                            Now the band return with their third record in as many years: Skinty Fia. Used colloquially as an expletive, the title roughly translates from the Irish language into English as “the damnation of the deer”; the spelling crassly anglicized, and its meaning diluted through generations. Part bittersweet romance, part darkly political triumph - the songs ultimately form a long-distance love letter, one that laments an increasingly privatized culture in danger of going the way of the extinct Irish giant deer.


                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                            Barry says: Fontaines D.C are back! The incendiary Irish quintet bring us another slab of scathing post-punk, snapping percussion and wry, political lyricism. This time sees the band draw in elements of psychedelic electronica and gothic pop while still retaining the quintessential melodic grit that made their previous outings so adored.

                                            TRACK LISTING

                                            1 In ár GCroíthe Go Deo
                                            2 Big Shot
                                            3 How Cold Love Is
                                            4 Jackie Down The Line
                                            5 Bloomsday
                                            6 Roman Holiday
                                            7 The Couple Across The Way
                                            8 Skinty Fia
                                            9 I Love You
                                            10 Nabokov

                                            Maple Glider

                                            To Enjoy Is The Only Thing

                                              Maple Glider is Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Tori Zietsch. On debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing, Zietsch's vocals melt into layers of plucked acoustic guitar and lulling piano, drawing on the sombre styles of folk contemporaries with a stark tenderness and introspection that assumes the listener is inside her bedroom as she plays for herself. Striking emotionality is at the centre of this performance, leaning into an intimacy that is achieved by way of deeply personal reflections and velvety melodic compositions.

                                              In Tori's words: "To me, To Enjoy is the Only Thing feels like walking past tinsel-covered trees in mid-September, swimming along the calanques in the south of France, frost on the hood of a car, darkness at 4pm, lightness until 10pm, Sibylle Baier’s Colour Green, Devendra Banhart’s Ma, Adrianne Lenker’s a-sides, a muted feeling, the perpetual grey fog that swallows the Silver Coast in Portugal, an ugly green dress, the color red, red wine, red blood, red lips, the red of a cardinal’s robe, Switzerland, my mother’s diaries, a coroner’s report, the sun on my face, the end of love."

                                              STAFF COMMENTS

                                              Barry says: 'To Enjoy...' absolutely swims with a wealth of influences from tender 60's folk and country to more exuberant soulful moments that wouldn't feel out of place in a dimly lit club, smoke rising from the tables. It's evocative and brimming with beauty, a wonderfully realised gem.

                                              TRACK LISTING

                                              Side A
                                              1 As Tradition
                                              2 Swimming
                                              3 View From This Side
                                              4 Friend
                                              5 Be Mean, It's Kinder Than Crying

                                              Side B
                                              6 Good Thing
                                              7 Baby Tiger
                                              8 Performer
                                              9 Mama It's Christmas


                                              Aerial East

                                              Try Harder

                                                Aerial East’s music explores the space between the conscious and unconscious mind, between what was and what will be. She dives into what she has known - adolescence, heartbreak, coming into a new social consciousness, and managing a perpetual unanchored-ness - in order to find a most surprising place to rest inside: the unknowable.

                                                As the daughter of a military family, East spent her late childhood in Europe and teenage years in Abilene, Texas. After dropping out of community college, she moved to New York City where she’d meet a group of musicians whom she would come to befriend and collaborate with (including Okay Kaya, Kelsey Lu, Wet + more). She hopes to tell stories we don’t hear often. “I want to tell stories about people in Texas,” she says, “I want to humanize different characters.”

                                                ‘Try Harder’ is a tight yet eclectic record, both sonically and emotionally. “I didn’t want to hear any drums,” East says. “I was going through a period of high anxiety,” she explains, adding that she listened to a lot of solo-piano to calm down during moments of ungroundedness. “I wanted to make a record to be soothing in the same way [as the piano was for her].” So, much to the initial skepticism of her collaborators, East decided against adding drums to her songs. “I just wanted it to be healing and calm, something you can listen to even if the world is ending,” a feeling we can all relate to. The end result is a beautiful ode to those of us who feel like life sometimes is a little bit harder, that we don’t quite fit in, that our edges are rough – an album-length anthem for sitting in our own discomfort and groundlessness and finding a specific peace with it. 

                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                A1 Try Harder
                                                A2 The Things We Build
                                                A3 Katharine
                                                A4 Doin Somethin
                                                A5 I Love Dick
                                                A6 San Angelo
                                                B1 Blue
                                                B2 Angry Man
                                                B3 Ryan
                                                B4 Jonas Said
                                                B5 Brennen
                                                B6 Be Leavin

                                                Legendary activist and Afrobeat originator, Fela Kuti, used his music to lament social injustices and political corruption in his native Nigeria. Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk, hip-hop, rock, and beyond. While this impact can be felt in Nigeria and the entire world, it also greatly affected Fela’s son Femi and his son Made, both of whom carry his legacy as torchbearers for change. Now Partisan Records release two albums from Femi and Made, packaged together and appropriately titled ‘Legacy +’.

                                                Both albums that make up ‘Legacy +’ are steeped in the tradition of Afrobeat invented by Fela, but each also offers their own unique vision. Femi’s 'Stop The Hate' honors Fela in a traditionally fun, sharply political, and affirming way. Meanwhile Made’s ‘For(e)ward’ is a modern and progressive freedom manifesto, pushing boundaries of the subgenre even further. Made also performs every instrument on his album. Both albums also feature portraits of Femi and Made, done by Brooklyn-based artist Delphine Desane, whose work was recently featured on the cover of Vogue Italia. 

                                                STAFF COMMENTS

                                                Matt says: Kuti's lineage continues to inspire new generations as well as keeping the hips of dancers thru the ages shaking. Made follows in his grandfather and fathers footsteps; rightly pairing politically-leaning lyrics to the inferno of Afro-beat that the family are famous for.

                                                TRACK LISTING

                                                Femi Kuti - Stop The Hate

                                                1. Pà Pá Pà
                                                2. As We Struggle Everyday
                                                3. Stop The Hate
                                                4. Land Grab
                                                5. Na Bigmanism Spoil Government
                                                6. You Can't Fight Corruption With Corruption
                                                7. Show Of Shame
                                                8. Privatisation
                                                9. Set Your Minds And Souls Free

                                                Made Kuti - For(e)ward

                                                1. Free Your Mind
                                                2. Your Enemy
                                                3. Blood
                                                4. Different Streets
                                                5. Higher You'll Find
                                                6. Hymn
                                                7. Young Lady
                                                8. We Are Strong

                                                Fontaines D.C.

                                                A Hero's Death

                                                  Barely a year after the release of their hugely acclaimed debut album 'Dogrel', which earned a Mercury Prize nomination and Album of the Year 2019 at both BBC 6Music and Rough Trade record store, Dublin’s Fontaines D.C. have returned with an intensely confident, patient, and complex follow up album. 'A Hero's Death' arrives battered and bruised, albeit beautiful - a heady and philosophical take on the modern world, and its great uncertainty. 

                                                  STAFF COMMENTS

                                                  Martin says: Following the moody brilliance of the universally lauded ‘Dogrel’ was never going to be easy. Such a weight of expectation! Add to that a relentless schedule that goes with maintaining the momentum of success and a lifestyle that stretches minds and bodies to the limit (all too often beyond) and Fontaines D.C. could well be forgiven for buckling under the pressure. They certainly weren’t immune. Instead of blunting their creativity however, they channelled the world weariness and cynicism into their music, giving darker breadth and depth to the snarl and vigour of their debut. Grian Chatten is as poetic and articulate as ever, his wry observations irreplaceable, but here they are shot through with defiant nihilism and a wish for independence, from everything and everyone.

                                                  They cite the Beach Boys as an influence on this album, but, while their chopping, post punk growl certainly has added harmony and changes of pace for sure, this ain't surfing weather. Where they do throw in a ballad, the gorgeous drunken drawl of “No” that closes the record, it's under leaden Dublin skies. The glorious, rolling sneer of “Televised Mind” and the tortured glam of the title track are perhaps other standouts, but then this album is full of them. All killer, certainly that.

                                                  ‘A Hero's Death’ is absolutely and identifiably Fontaines D.C., it couldn't be anyone else, but it’s a leaner, more layered and brooding upgrade. If ‘Dogrel’ was a victory, ‘A Hero's Death’ is a reflection on the cost. It’s just magnificent.

                                                  TRACK LISTING

                                                  A1 I Don't Belong
                                                  A2 Love Is The Main Thing
                                                  A3 Televised Mind
                                                  A4 A Lucid Dream
                                                  A5 You Said
                                                  A6 Oh Such A Spring
                                                  B1 A Hero's Death
                                                  B2 Living In America
                                                  B3 I Was Not Born
                                                  B4 Sunny
                                                  B5 No

                                                  Pottery

                                                  Welcome To Bobby's Motel

                                                    Who is “Bobby,” you ask?

                                                    Enter Pottery. Enter Paul Jacobs, Jacob Shepansky, Austin Boylan, Tom Gould, and Peter Baylis. Enter the smells, the cigarettes, the noise, their van Mary, their friend Luke, toilet drawings, Northern California, Beatles accents, Taco Bell, the Great Plains, and hot dogs. Enter love and hate, angst and happiness, and everything in between. Beginning as an inside joke between the band members, Bobby and his “motel” have grown into so much more. They’ve become the all-encompassing alt-reality that the band built themselves, for everyone else. So, in essence, Bobby is Pottery and his motel is wherever they are.

                                                    But really, Bobby is a pilot, a lumberjack, a stay at home dad, and a disco dancer that never rips his pants. He's a punching bag filled with comic relief. He laughs in the face of day-to-day ambiguity, as worrying isn’t worth it to Bobby. There’s a piece of him in everyone, there to remind us that things are probably going to work out, maybe. He’s you. He’s him. He’s her. He’s them. Bobby is always there, painted in the corner, urging you to relax and forget about your useless worries. And his motel? Well, the motel is life. It might not be clean, and the curtains might not shut all the way. The air conditioner might be broken, and the floors might be stained. But that’s okay, because you don’t go to Bobby’s Motel for the glamour and a good night’s sleep, the minibar, or the full-service sauna. You go to Bobby’s Motel to feel, to escape, to remember, to distract. You go for the late nights and early mornings, good times and the bad. You might spend your entire life looking for Bobby’s Motel and just when you think you will never find it, you realize you’ve been there all along. It’s filthy and amazing and you dance, and you love it.

                                                    The 11 songs on ‘Welcome to Bobby’s Motel’ don’t just invite you to move your body; they command you to. Fusing reckless, manic energy with painstaking precision, the record is part post-punk, part art-pop, and part dance floor acid trip, hinting at everything from Devo to Gang of Four as it boldly careens through genres and decades. The music is driven by explosive drums and off-kilter guitar riffs that drill themselves into your brain, accented with deep, funky grooves and rousing gang vocals. The production is similarly raw and wild, suggesting an air of anarchy that belies the music’s careful architecture and meticulous construction. The result is an album full of ambitious, complex performances that exude joy and mayhem in equal measure, a collection that’s alternately virtuosic, chaotic, and pure fun." 

                                                    TRACK LISTING

                                                    01 Welcome To Bobby's Motel
                                                    02 Hot Heater
                                                    03 Under The Wires
                                                    04 Bobby's Forecast
                                                    05 Down In The Dumps
                                                    06 Reflection
                                                    07 Texas Drums Pt I & II
                                                    08 NY Inn
                                                    09 What's In Fashion?
                                                    10 Take Your Time
                                                    11 Hot Like Jungle

                                                    Ultraísta

                                                    Sister

                                                      Ultraísta are releasing their first new album since 2012's self-titled debut. "Tin King" is a collection that defies easy categorization, and one that proves that Ultraísta — Grammy-winning producer/engineer/musician Nigel Godrich, best known for his two decades helming Radiohead’s groundbreaking studio output; celebrated drummer Joey Waronker, who’s toured and recorded with everyone from R.E.M. and Beck to Roger Waters and Elliott Smith; and singer Laura Bettinson, an acclaimed solo artist whose work combines synth-driven electropop and dreamy vocal looping — is far more than just the sum of its remarkable parts.

                                                      TRACK LISTING

                                                      1. Tin King
                                                      2. Harmony
                                                      3. Anybody
                                                      4. Save It ’til Later
                                                      5. Ordinary Boy
                                                      6. Mariella
                                                      7. Water In My Veins
                                                      8. Bumblebees
                                                      9. The Moon And Mercury

                                                      IDLES

                                                      A Beautiful Thing: IDLES Live At Le Bataclan

                                                        ‘A Beautiful Thing: IDLES Live at Le Bataclan’ was recorded at Le Bataclan in Paris on 3rd December 2018, at the close of a 90 date world tour. The album celebrates the band’s success over the previouse two years, featuring songs from ‘Brutalism’ and ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’, and highlights their overall message of unity, and of healing through community.

                                                        “Our show at Bataclan was the end of a very long journey for us. On that tour we learnt so much about ourselves, each other and the audiences we have grown with over the past 10 years. That show was nothing short of catharsis and nothing more than love. We love what we do and the people who have carried us here, there was no hiding that at Bataclan and we are so very grateful that the moment was captured in all its glory, love and fatigue. Long live the open minded and long live the moment.” - Joe Talbot


                                                        STAFF COMMENTS

                                                        Barry says: A beautiful thing indeed, Idles bring all of their vitriol and political fire to the legendary Bataclan, and it couldn't be more perfect a performance. Rawkous, huge and scathing, a live album not to be missed.

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        VINYL TRACKLISTING:
                                                        SIDE A
                                                        1 Colossus (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Never Fight A Man With A Perm (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 Mother (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Faith In The City (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        5 I’m Scum (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        SIDE B
                                                        1 Danny Nedelko (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Divide & Conquer (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 1049 Gotho (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Samaritans (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        5 Television (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        SIDE C
                                                        1 Great (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Love Song (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 White Privilege (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Gram Rock (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        5 Benzocaine (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        SIDE D
                                                        1 Exeter (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Cry To Me (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 Well Done (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Rottweiler (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        CD TRACKLISTING:
                                                        DISC 1
                                                        1 Colossus (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Never Fight A Man With A Perm (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 Mother (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Faith In The City (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        5 I’m Scum (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        6 Danny Nedelko (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        7 Divide & Conquer (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        8 1049 Gotho (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        9 Samaritans (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        10 Television (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        DISC 2
                                                        1 Great (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        2 Love Song (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        3 White Privilege (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        4 Gram Rock (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        5 Benzocaine (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        6 Exeter (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        7 Cry To Me (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        8 Well Done (Live At Le Bataclan)
                                                        9 Rottweiler (Live At Le Bataclan)

                                                        Cigarettes After Sex return with their anticipated sophomore album. Recorded during night time sessions in a mansion on the Spanish island of Mallorca, the album is a lush, cinematic meditation on the many complex facets of love - meeting, wanting, needing, losing...sometimes all at once. The album was self-produced and engineered by Greg Gonzalez, and mixed by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs).

                                                        TRACK LISTING

                                                        1. Don't Let Me Go
                                                        2. Kiss It Off Me
                                                        3. Heavenly
                                                        4. You're The Only Good Thing In My Life
                                                        5. Touch
                                                        6. Hentai
                                                        7. Cry
                                                        8. Falling In Love
                                                        9. Pure

                                                        Erika Wennerstrom

                                                        Sweet Unknown

                                                          There's something somewhat frightening, yet utterly freeing when leaving the confines of a successful band to venture solo — especially a band whose latest record was called "effortlessly brilliant" by critics. But, such is the case with Erika Wennerstrom who is taking a brief vacation from her Cincinnati-based rock band, Heartless Bastards, to deliver her solo debut Sweet Unknown.

                                                          But fans of Heartless Bastards need not worry. The band has not broken up. "We'd been going for so long and everyone in the band was just ready for a little break. But I had songs in me that needed to come out. I didn't think it was fair to push them to keep going and I didn't want to do it without them under the band name," explains Wennerstrom, who enlisted the help of HB's Jesse Ebaugh to play bass on 8 of the 9 tracks on Sweet Unknown.

                                                          While Wennerstrom has always been honest the Heartless Bastards songs she's written, the 9 tracks that make up Sweet Unknown are even more personal and reflective, and for her, quite transformative as well.

                                                          The album kicks off with the feel-good roadtrip vibes of "Twisted Highway," which Wennerstrom says sums up her musical journey on Sweet Unknown. On the somber psych-rocker "Staring Out the Window," the artist digs even deeper into the inner workings of her mind. The upbeat and optimistic "Letting Go" epitomizes that experience. "Good To Be Alone" is just one sonic outcome of a formative trip to Big Bend taken soon after the band decided to go on hiatus.

                                                          With Sweet Unknown, Erika Wennerstrom bravely invites the listener in to experience her trials and tribulations of life amist a cozy soundscape of deeply emotive vocals and melodies to what is ultimately the soundtrack to her soul.



                                                          Americana mainstays Deer Tick return to form with not one but two albums in 2017.

                                                          ‘Vol. 1’ is quiet, ‘Vol. 2’ is loud - Deer Tick’s dual personalities, finally channelled onto two distinct and equally brilliant records.

                                                          Die cut covers that resemble picture frames with retractable disco jacket.

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          ‘Vol. 1’
                                                          Sea Of Clouds
                                                          Card House
                                                          Doomed From The Start
                                                          Hope Is Big
                                                          Only Love
                                                          Cocktail
                                                          Me And My Man
                                                          End Of The World
                                                          Limp Right Back
                                                          Rejection

                                                          Americana mainstays Deer Tick return to form with not one but two albums in 2017.

                                                          ‘Vol. 1’ is quiet, ‘Vol. 2’ is loud - Deer Tick’s dual personalities, finally channelled onto two distinct and equally brilliant records.

                                                          Die cut covers that resemble picture frames with retractable disco jacket.

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          ‘Vol. 2’
                                                          Don’t Hurt
                                                          Jumpstarting
                                                          Look How Clean I Am
                                                          It’s A Whale
                                                          Tiny Fortunes
                                                          Sloppy
                                                          Wants / Needs
                                                          S.M.F.
                                                          Pulse
                                                          Mr. Nothing Gets Worse

                                                          Cigarettes After Sex frontman Greg Gonzalez had a clear vision for his band’s gorgeously cinematic debut album. After the phenomenal online break-out success of “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby”, from the band’s debut EP 1, the Brooklyn transplant (originally from El Paso) wanted to project his worldview on to a bigger screen, a broader canvas. As Greg explains, “This is like the novel or feature-length version of Cigarettes. I wanted it to feel like a complete work, where some of the imagery repeats – like it’s all in the same world. It’s very much a fulfilment of the feelings in the short works.”

                                                          That sense of fulfilment is richly felt on Cigarettes After Sex, which unspools like the most achingly romantic of movies: immersive, cohesive and transporting. Swooning in the spirit of influences such as Mazzy Star and Red House Painters, its sumptuous songs of love elevate Cigarettes to the ranks of those acts who create worlds of their own, exciting the most devoted kind of following.

                                                          Alongside keyboardist Phillip Tubbs, bassist Randy Miller and drummer Jacob Tomsky, the ability of Gonzalez and his band to set a scene and sustain a mood reels you in deeply. On album opener ‘K’, a tale of blossoming love etched in tiny details luxuriates over chiming guitars; on the hymn to romantic compulsion of ‘Each Time You Fall in Love’, the suspended animation of Angelo Badalamenti’s heart-stopping Twin Peaks music is echoed. ‘Sunsetz’ and the gently lilting ‘Sweet’, meanwhile, showcase Gonzalez’s ability to weave impressionistic snapshots of romance into melodies that haunt like memories of past loves, all coalescing around his melting vocals.

                                                          STAFF COMMENTS

                                                          Andy says: Gorgeous, slow-mo, late night heart-breakers drift by with classic chords, beautiful vocals and not one bad song in sight.

                                                          TRACK LISTING

                                                          1. K.
                                                          2. Each Time You Fall In Love
                                                          3. Sunsetz
                                                          4. Apocalypse
                                                          5. Flash
                                                          6. Sweet
                                                          7. Opera House
                                                          8. Truly
                                                          9. John Wayne
                                                          10. Young & Dumb

                                                          Cigarettes After Sex

                                                          EP I.

                                                            Cigarettes After Sex are an ambient pop group based out of Brooklyn, NY, inspired by the likes of The Cocteau Twins, Red House Painters and Mazzy Star. Since their formation the band have become a word-of-mouth phenomenon, generating over 75 million views on YouTube, all without the support of a label.

                                                            Having sold out shows around the world throughout 2016, Cigarettes After Sex recently released the single ‘K.’, their first new material in twelve months and are now reissuing 2012’s ‘EP I.’ ahead of their debut album, due summer 2017 on Partisan Records.

                                                            “A recent upswell of millions of YouTube hits have rained on this romantic, wistful Brooklyn band that plays at a heartbroken crawl. Many of them originated from recommendations via the video platform and a fanbase of pleasantly surprised listeners.” - Rolling Stone.

                                                            “Cigarettes After Sex’s sound is elemental, hazy, and romantic, but with a noir edge underneath Gonzalez’s androgynous voice. As the band’s name suggests, it’s reminiscent of lying in bed, but its ambient qualities don’t prevent it from being music you can dance to.” – Noisey.

                                                            STAFF COMMENTS

                                                            Andy says: Massive shoegaze, slow-mo, heartbreakers roll by like a blend of Mazzy Star and Slowdive. This hits and it hurts. So good!

                                                            Barry says: Stargazing indie-rock, haunting vocal musings and brilliantly constructed slow-mo balladry. From the longing optimism of 'Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby' to the dreamy lullaby that is the aching 'Starry Eyes', this is a wistful and beautiful outing.

                                                            Partisan Records present ‘Ullages’, the second album from Leeds-based band Eagulls.

                                                            ‘Ullages’ is an altogether different record from the heady fuzz of Eagulls’ 2014 self-titled debut: the drawn out textured melodies recall the shimmering opulence of The Cocteau Twins and the melancholic majesty of The Cure.

                                                            Highlights of the last campaign included taking both ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ and ‘The Late Show With David Letterman’ in the US by storm, sharing stages with the likes of Arcade Fire and Pharrell, scooping a major NME Award and playing at some of the world’s most renowned festivals including Coachella, Latitude, Field Day and Reading / Leeds.

                                                            The artwork is a collaboration with British cult photographer Peter Mitchell.

                                                            “A title this sour never sounded so sweet” - SPIN (on ‘Lemontrees’)

                                                            “Their new work is brave, lyrically challenging and accomplished” - Loud & Quiet

                                                            “There’s always been more to Eagulls than just fire and brimstone. With ‘Ullages’ those widescreen ambitions finally look set to be fully realised.” - DIY

                                                            “A sparkling sonic environment situated somewhere between The Smiths, Shins and Stone Roses. It’s a lovely development.” - Stereogum

                                                            TRACK LISTING

                                                            1. Heads Or Tails
                                                            2. Euphoria
                                                            3. My Life In Rewind
                                                            4. Harpstrings
                                                            5. Velvet
                                                            6. Psalms
                                                            7. Blume
                                                            8. Skipping
                                                            9. Lemontrees
                                                            10. Aisles
                                                            11. White Lie Lullabies


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