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Akira Kosemura & Lawrence English

Selene

    The first collaboration from renowned artists and composers, Akira Kosemura (Japan) and Lawrence English (Australia).

    Atmosphere and gravity lean into each other. They are simultaneously expansive, and anchoring. They hold us, and lend a sense of perspective. They provide a stability and a knowingness which is essential in the absolute, and yet we can’t help but find ourselves gazing upward, outward and reaching towards that which sits outside those things and ways we know.

    Selene is a record about that this lingering desire for that which sits beyond.

    It is work that seeks new perspectives snatched from familiar vistas, and it meditates on that sense of anchor and perspective. The work is also a speculative hymn to the visions of the celestial zones that spill ever outward. These visions, once merely what we could perceive with the naked eye are now so much more. Our minds eye is fed in equal parts by radio telecopy, filmic dreams and fiction renders of a place most of us will never know first-hand. This recording ties into a linage that reaches back, while stretching forward. It is just one story of so many, told across places, across cultures, across generations. It sits in the in-between of before and after, and in that moment invites us to situate ourselves and lean into it.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Crescents (6:10)
    2. Crater (5:46)
    3. Thela (4:56)
    4. The Shadow Falling (5:29)
    5. Twilight Wave (4:14)
    6. Tint Of Ionosphere (6:30)
    7. Mirroring Feldspar (4:21)

    English Teacher

    Live At The Brudenell Social Club (RSD24 EDITION)

      THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

      IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.


      Vinyl of live audio taken form the band's homecoming headline show (in Leeds 2023)Side A 1. Intro (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 2. The Worldís Biggest Paving Slab (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 3. Albatross (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 4. A55 (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 5. Mastermind Specialism (Live BrudenellSocial Club)6. You Blister My Paint (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 7. Broken Biscuits (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 8. Nearly Daffodils (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 9. R&B (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 10. Albert Road (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 11. This Could Be Texas (Live at Brudenell Social Club) 12. Good Grief (Live at Brudenell Social Club)

      English Teacher

      This Could Be Texas

        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: There's some brilliant music coming out of the London art/noise/garage rock scene at the moment and while i'm a big fan of pretty much all of it, there's nothing there that hits my feels quite as much as Leeds' English Teacher. Jagged, energetic instrumentation and moments of placid, drifting ambience abound, this is a startlingly cohesive and wonderfully deep debut.

        Abba

        Honey Honey (English) / King Kong Song

          Honey Honey (English) 7″ picture disc incorporates classic band imagery from the original era and features a b-side companion track.

          TRACK LISTING

          Side A
          Honey, Honey
          Side B
          King Kong Song

          Loscil / Lawrence English

          Colours Of Air - 2024 Reissue

            The union of composers Lawrence English and loscil aka Scott Morgan is seamless, sublime, and long overdue.

            Born of a conversation centered on the notion of “rich sources” as a forge for electronic music, Colours Of Air is a collection of recordings of a century old pipe organ housed at the historic Old Museum in Brisbane, Australia, which were then processed, transformed, and elevated into eight majestic electro-acoustic threshold devotionals. The timbre of the instrument and spatial fluctuations of room tone infuse the music with a subdued, sacred feel, like vaulted light in a nave of stained glass. They describe the album as “an iterative project, a reduction and eventual expansion,” sifting the swells and drones of the organ for every shivering shade of radiance.

            The tracks are named for the hue each piece suggests – from the gauzy levitational miasma of “Yellow” to the pulsing melancholic mirage of “Violet” to the seething twilit sandstorm of “Magenta.” Morgan and English are both adept at conjuring moods of muted grandeur, like landscapes veiled in dusk, still looming and luminous. 


            TRACK LISTING

            1. Cyan
            2. Aqua
            3. Yellow
            4. Grey
            5. Black
            6. Pink
            7. Violet
            8. Gold
            9. Magenta

            Modern English

            1234

              Modern English is a paragon of consistency. Formed in Colchester, Essex, England, the band have maintained their same core lineup since 1977: vocalist Robbie Grey, guitarist Gary McDowell, bassist Mick Conroy, and keyboardist Stephen Walker. In recent years, Modern English have become widely respected as post-punk innovators, thanks to younger generations discovering their catalog and new artists citing the band as an influence. This increased popularity has translated to sold-out tours performing their early albums and a main stage appearance at the 2023 Cruel World Festival in front of more than 25,000 people.

              Modern English’s new album, 1 2 3 4 – produced by Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails), mixed by Cenzo Townsend and mastered at Abbey Road – retains the intrinsic spirit of these early, post-punk days and is also a sterling sonic example of what Modern English have always done best. The album encompasses seething songs with punk bite.

              TRACK LISTING

              1. Long In The Tooth
              2. Not My Leader
              3. Not Fake
              4. Exploding
              5. Plastic
              6. Crazy Lovers
              7. I Know Your Soul
              8. Genius
              9. Out To Lunch
              10. Voices

              English Teacher

              The World's Biggest Paving Slab

                The World's Biggest Paving Slab' on limited press 7" vinyl. In words on Lily Fontaine, "“I wrote and recorded the demo in my bedroom in one day, during my final year of university in 2018. Moving to a city for university forced me to reflect on how my experience of growing up in and around Pendle, how witnessing the social, economic and political issues that exist around there in juxtaposition with the beauty of the landscape and the characters that live within in it, has shaped me into the artist and person that I am. These semi-rural stories leak into most of my writing; in particular, this song tackles delusions of grandeur and inferiority from the perspective of a small town’s local celebrities. It’s split into two halves."

                TRACK LISTING

                Side A: The World's Biggest Paving Slab
                Side B: The World's Biggest Paving Slab (Demo)

                Macintosh Plus

                Floral Shoppe - 2023 Reissue

                  Floral Shoppe (フローラルの専門店) is the cult studio album by the American electronic musician under the one-time alias Macintosh Plus, released on December 9, 2011. Since then, Floral Shoppe has been considered to be the defining album of the Vaporwave style and been heralded as one of the most significant albums in the early days of vaporwave.

                  In a retrospective review, Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic characterized the album as "constantly—and delightfully—unsettling" and "a beautiful record that's both warm and strange, nostalgic and futuristic, bizarre and totally simple." Writing for Pitchfork, Miles Bowe concluded, "Nothing could change or improve its sound which, even after thousands of soundalikes, has lost none of its perception-shattering power." Vice (Noisey) included Floral Shoppe on their ranking of the 100 best albums of the 2010s.

                  David Lance Callahan

                  English Primitive II

                    The follow-up to last year’s first volume, English Primitive II continues the themes introduced previously in a harder, more electric and psychedelic style.

                    The songs were mostly recorded during the same sessions but, if EP I showcased the ‘songs of innocence’, this new set comprises ‘songs of experience’. Callahan's lyrical themes here are frequently the sleaze and corruption of our ‘betters’, the intentional and unintentional brutality meted out on those weaker and the sometimes perverse ways in which this happens. There are moments of reflection among the broken mirrors, but they allow scant solace or reassurance. Dressed in another of Scottish artist Pinkie McClure’s witty and detailed stained glass creations and recorded at home and under a railway arch, EPII rises above its origins and invades the wider world, in all its colour, gritand glory. Each song serves as a monument to its internal tale – in fact, the whole LP is as much a collection of musical short stories as it is an album of songs. Opening with Invisible Man, the impression of a regular person with hidden grievances, biding his time and waiting to lash out is given. Waves of distant samples ebb and fall as the warped guitars swell and crash behind the main themes. We don’t know when this explosion will happen – we only know it will.

                    A sleazy celebration of Britain’s position as the laundering capital of the world follows in the form of Beautiful Launderette. It’s good that we keep everything nice and clean for the whole planet, isn’t it? Business as usual, keeping the globe turning – that’s our role and we love it. The Parrot rocks like only a prolonged evisceration of governmental mouthpieces and their court stenographers can. It’s a thankless task making sure that the powers that be retain their authority in all things and patrolling the borders of what is allowed to be said and believed, but somebody’s got to do it. If you’re providing a service, you’ll need to present a united front against the grievances of the public, so you’ll need The Scapegoat. Mistakes and accidents can’t be the company’s fault, so you’ll need to pay someone to be publicly and repeatedly sacked to make it appear as if you’re solving problems and getting better. Lessons will be learned, going forward. The disturbing tale of Bear Factory begins side two and is the real-life story of the murder of one of the singer’s primary-school classmates in the 1970s, and true in every detail. The victim’s body was never found but the killer justifiably imprisoned for life. A more ancient scent of death pervades The Burnet Rose. This ground-hugging plant covers the graves of the victims in a seventeenth-century plague village on the Yorkshire coast to this day, commemorating their sacrifices when all around have forgotten. It’s this particular songwriter’s favourite flower. Orgy of the Ancients describes the intimate intricacies of ageing politicians and the press as they decide whether to go to war. In grotesque scenarios worthy of Caligula, they decide the fates of our children. And it’s not even half the truth. To finish, the songwriter looks back to an admired predecessor, when he sets William Blake’s famous poem London in a groovier setting than we’re used to – in the form of London by Blakelight. If London swings, it’s from the Tyburn tree. 

                    TRACK LISTING

                    Invisible Man
                    Beautiful Launderette
                    The Parrot
                    The Scapegoat
                    Bear Factory
                    The Burnet Rose
                    Orgy Of The Ancients
                    London By Blakelight

                    Violators Of The English Language

                    Violators Of The English Language

                      Emanating from a ‘prehistoric’ existence near the end of the last millennium, Andy Votel and his slightly older college mates were once best recognised in Mancunian clubs and bars as teenage vinyl nerds and bum-fluffed battle rappers under the collective name Violators Of The English Language (which in acronymic form explains Andy’s own exotic pen-name).

                      As steadfast supporters of the 1980s / 90s Brit-core rap scene coming out of London, the multicultural Violators’ Mancunian accents were perhaps a bridge-too-far to secure dream job contracts for humble labels like Kold Sweat and Music Of Life. An unlikely constructive meeting with Gang Starr’s DJ Premier (while Andy helped out at a radio station), plus playing warm up DJ sets for countless US rap heroes might have temporarily added inspirational fuel to the fire, but after an active period combining graffiti, rapping, scratching, obsessive record digging and beat making into their daily operations, adulthood eventually began to rear its unwelcome head.

                      A decade later, Andy Votel and his digging skills would begin to provide direct sample material for the likes of Madlib, Mos Def, Jay Z, Nas, Dr Dre, Ghostface Killa and Action Bronson, amongst others, and the Violators’ black book of breakbeats and catalogue numbers soon began to feed a same-butdifferent rap beast.

                      For a project that has taken thirty years, it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown Records a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

                      As well as Andy Votel taking care of both production and part of the microphone duties, some might recognise fellow MC and solo recording artist Figure Of Speech as a prominent voice here. The trio of Magnets (Rap Group) sees Andy also joined by local B-Girl legend Jeni Chan aka Penny Chew, and rapper and DJ Benjamin Hatton who has previously recorded with Kid Acne, The Mongrels and Sheffield’s Invisible Spies’ long-running squadron. Widely respected visual artist Rick Myers (now living in Massachusetts) also contributed scratches for many of these recordings via file sharing and custom dub-plates to keep the Violators’ authentic line-up intact, as well as galvanising the crew’s semi-reluctant art-school roots.

                      Extra production credits for the label also go to Sean Canty from Demdike Stare, and the late great Dan Dwayre aka Black Lodge (Mo Wax) who sadly passed away during the completion of these recordings. The members of Violators Of The English Language who you’ve not yet heard of will quickly make themselves known as the needle drops on this long-mooted debut vinyl release.

                      STAFF COMMENTS

                      Matt says: New material from this cult adored, quirky and singular northern English rap troupe featuring Andy Votel, Sean Canty and Dan Blacklodge (RIP) alongside a wealth of fresh collaborators.

                      TRACK LISTING

                      Ages
                      Brain Stimulated
                      Dragonwyck
                      Statues & Limitations
                      Battlescar Vernacular
                      Doper Dogfood
                      Kackaboom
                      Def Laid An Egg
                      Rewind
                      Plantocracy
                      Split Light Prism

                      Metronomy

                      The English Riviera (Instrumentals)

                        The Joseph Mount-fronted electronic pop collective Metronomy announce details of the forthcoming special vinyl release of the instrumental versions of their career-changing 2011 album The English Riviera, which is this year celebrating its ten year anniversary. The English Riviera (Instrumentals) are available to listen to online now and will be released on vinyl in November.

                        The Dinked vinyl edition of The English Riviera (Instrumentals) will be a cream coloured 12” vinyl with numbered sleeve, complete with transparent sticker sheets, A6 Postcard and Dinked sticker.

                        A love letter to the stretch of coast a stone's throw from where Joe Mount grew up, The English Riviera marked a breakout moment in the band’s history that would lead them to global success and see them constantly developing their sound for a decade to come. 


                        STAFF COMMENTS

                        Barry says: So, you know that perfect funky synth-pop powerhouse 'The English Rivera' by Metronomy?, yeah well imagine that but without vocals.. Oh, you can't? well if it's something you fancy then this, 'The English Rivera Instrumentals By Metronomy' might be exactly what you need. It's good, it's like the album but without the vocals.

                        TRACK LISTING

                        A Side:
                        The English Riviera
                        We Broke Free (Instrumental)
                        Everything Goes My Way (Instrumental)
                        The Look (Instrumental)
                        She Wants (Instrumental)
                        Trouble (Instrumental)

                        B Side:
                        The Bay (Instrumental)
                        Loving Arm (Instrumental)
                        Corinne (Instrumental)
                        Some Written (Instrumental)
                        Love Underlined (Instrumental)

                        David Lance Callahan

                        English Primitive I

                          Uniquely of the many acts which came to public awareness through the lauded C86 compilation, David Lance Callahan has pursued a career of consistent brilliance and stark originality. After a run of fine albums with The Wolfhounds, outstanding work with Moonshake and collaborations with members of Stereolab and PJ Harvey (among others), Callahan has outdone himself on this long-awaited solo album, the results of which merit the sort of deep dive best explained with with ample time and a quality turntable. Whether English Primitive I is a product of the past year's isolation or of a long-simmering brew only now ready for dissemination is something Callahan has yet to reveal. Whatever its origins, English Primitive I is the work of a massive talent.

                          Wolfhoundian riffage offered enough ramshackle charm to somewhat obscure Callahan's darker, more penetrating writing. Likewise, Moonshake's musically bi-polar approach disguised his underlying political impulse. Here Callahan's lyricism finally, indelibly, proves him to be among the finest British pop craftsmen. This is his masterwork, a mélange of what has been called "mutant Eastern, West African, folk, blues and post-punk influences" . . . an improbable cross-cultural gumbo, yet one which coalesced into a swirling, kaleidoscopic psychedelia of emotion unlike any other record in this era. As with any recording favouring the avant-garde –works like Balaklava, Brian Jones Presents The Pipes of Pan at Joujouka, and The Heart Of The Congos– one might expect that the impact of English Primitive I will be revealed slowly, over a much longer span of time than the the too-often workaday product of today's independent music scene. With this album, Callahan takes his place alongside cult heroes Robert Wyatt, Scott Walker and Cathal Coughlan as a prime example of seemingly limitless artistic expression.

                          TRACK LISTING

                          1. Born Of The Welfare State Was I 
                          2. Goatman 
                          3. Foxboy 
                          4. She's The King Of My Life 
                          5. She Passes Through The Night 
                          6. One Rainy September 
                          7. Always

                          Lawrence English

                          Observation Of Breath

                            Do you remember the last time you were breathing consciously? Either way, you are likely doing it now. On his new album Observation of Breath« for the Swiss-based Hallow Ground label, Lawrence English worked exclusively with an organ for four compositions that are exercises in »maximal minimalism,« as their creator himself notes in a nod to Charlemagne Palestine, who coined this term. While it seems somewhat fitting that those four pieces based on a steady flow of air were conceived and recorded in a situation of accelerated standstill caused by a respiratory disease, the Room40 founder is not so much concerned with capturing the zeitgeist than rather incorporating the spirit of time itself. »It is a record about presence and patience,« he explains.

                            Exploring the unique sonic affordances of a singular instrument,
                            »Observation of Breath« is not only devoted to the durability of sound but also to its density. That it marks his debut on Hallow Ground after having shaped its sound by mastering most of the label’s releases in recent years is just as fitting then as its release following albums by Kali Malone and FUJI|||||||||||TA, whose innovative work with organ instruments have facilitated a rediscovery of their possibilities.English’s compositions however are neither directly indebted nor responding to these musicians. His exploration of the organ’s many facets started a decade ago when the composer was given access to an instrument built in 1889 that is presently housed at The Old Museum in Brisbane.

                            After it had already played a crucial role on his seminal albums »Wilderness Of Mirrors« and »Cruel Optimism,« last year’s self-released »Lassitude« was the first record that English entirely composed and recorded with that instrument. »During the soft lockdowns, I spent many days playing to an empty concert hall, recording the pieces that became ›Lassitude‹ and then, this album,« says English in regards to an unfortunate situation that fortunately provided him with time and space—two major themes but also key qualities of the four new compositions. In this sense, he goes on, »Observation of Breath« resolves a number of the questions originally raised by »Lassitude.« 


                            TRACK LISTING

                            1) A Torso (10:01)
                            2) A Binding (06:05)
                            3) And A Twist (02:42)
                            4) Observation Of Breath (20:44) 

                            Milky Wimpshake

                            Confessions Of An English Marxist

                              Referred to by some as punk folk and twee skiffle, they're considered witty, satirical, and both irritating and utterly enjoyable, Newcastle Upon Tyne based cult indie-pop heroes Milky Wimpshake have released numerous singles and compilation tracks on assorted indie labels since forming in 1993.

                              This is their first album since 2015, first one for the Spanish label Bobo Integral. 'Confessions Of An English Marxist' will provide the usual brilliant lyrics, full of references to pop culture, class struggle, and love, plus infectious indie punk tunes. Welcome back, Milky Wimpshake!

                              "A slow birth! At least one song on this album was written when 'Dave' Cameron (remember him?) was prime minister, hence a nod to bestiality on one track. Oh yeah, and then bloody Brexit happened, blimey, that didn't escape anyone's attention did it? And now this album finalised at a time of global pandemic, ha! This predicament meant that a working title of 'The Wimps are Alright' had to be abandoned (possibly to be revived later). There's a few confessions on this album, but not enough confessions of guilt perhaps - I'll get there." - Pete Dale about 'Confessions Of An English Marxist'

                              Milky Wimpshake are a lo-fi indie punk threesome from Newcastle consisting of Emma Wigham (drums), Christine Rowe (bass), and frontman Pete Dale (vocals, guitar, songwriting), whose scene credits include running the Slampt label; FAST Connection fanzine, and the bands Avocado Baby, Pussycat Trash, Chronicity, and Red Monkey.

                              Milky Wimpshake began their under-the-radar run in the early '90s to investigate daydreamy sentiments and D.I.Y. takes on sociopolitical protest songs. Working at an extremely relaxed pace, Milky Wimpshake's discography exists in piecemeal compilation appearances, long out of print 7" singles, and a scant seven albums stretched out over the course of more than 25 years.

                              'Confessions Of An English Marxist' is one of their best albums to date, these are songs that say more about today's world than most of the written media. Fuck art, let's danse!

                              TRACK LISTING

                              SIDE A
                              A1. Capitalism Is A Perversion
                              A2. I Just Can't Escape From Myself
                              A3. You Make A Nice Piece Of Art
                              A4. Leicester Square (You Stopped My Time)
                              A5. Fuck Art, Let's Danse
                              A6. I Don't Wanna Work
                              A7. King Of Clubs

                              SIDE B
                              B1. Hospital Coffee
                              B2. Vignette
                              B3. Welcome To Fascist Britain
                              B4. Wanna Marry?
                              B5. No War (But The Class War)
                              B6. Chester Brown
                              B7. Written By Hand
                              B8. I Don't Wanna Go There

                              Metal Mirror

                              English Booze

                                Metal Mirror - ”English Booze”45 rpm single from 1980 reissued for the first time ever!! Metal Mirror came from the Midlands and their lone single originally released in '80 is a loud and heavy ode to english booze that will leave you headbanging and craving for more... Pour another pint or two of luke warm ale or stout and flip the single over for the insanely rough and previously never before reissued ”Rock’n’Roll Ain’t Never Gonna Leave You” and you’ll be in DIY-metal-punk-pub-heaven.

                                The original artwork from 1980 is reproduced and the sound is carefully remastered.

                                File under: ”beyond essential listening for any rock’n’roll fan”.


                                Hazel English

                                Wake Up

                                  Wake UP! is the debut album from Californian-based singer songwriter Hazel English. It features the 60s psych-influenced single Shaking, written by Hazel and frequent collaborator Blake Stranathan (Lana Del Rey) as well as timeless dream-pop tunes Off My Mind and Five And Dime. The album was recorded over a two year period and made in LA with super-producer Justin Raisen (Sky Ferreira, Charli XCX, Angel Olsen) and in Atlanta with Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, M.I.A, Animal Collective).

                                  TRACK LISTING

                                  Born Like
                                  Shaking
                                  Wake UP!
                                  Off My Mind
                                  Combat
                                  Five And Dime
                                  Like A Drug
                                  Waiting
                                  Milk And Honey
                                  Work It Out

                                  Christine And The Queens

                                  Chris - English Version

                                    Christine and The Queens announces her eagerly anticipated second album. Titled Chris, the record will be released by Because Music in digital and physical formats, including double CD and vinyl versions, as well as limited edition boxset, There are two versions of the album; one sung exclusively in English and one sung exclusively in French.

                                    Chris was written, arranged and performed by Christine and the Queens. It is the follow up to her already-iconic debut record Chaleur Humaine, released to near-universal acclaim in France in 2014 and the UK in 2016, and selling more than 1.3 million copies to date.

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    Side A
                                    A1. Comme Si
                                    A2. Girlfriend Feat. Dâm-Funk
                                    A3. The Walker
                                    Side B
                                    B1. Doesn't Matter
                                    B2. 5 Dollars
                                    B3. Goya Soda
                                    Side C
                                    C1. Damn (what Must A Woman Do)
                                    C2. What's-her-face
                                    Side D
                                    D1. Feel So Good
                                    D2. Make Some Sense
                                    D3. The Stranger

                                    CD – English Version
                                    1. Comme Si
                                    2. Girlfriend Feat. Dâm-Funk
                                    3. The Walker
                                    4. Doesn't Matter
                                    5. 5 Dollars
                                    6. Goya Soda
                                    7. Damn (what Must A Woman Do)
                                    8. What's-her-face
                                    9. Feel So Good
                                    10. Make Some Sense
                                    11. The Stranger

                                    Ulrika Spacek

                                    Modern English Decoration

                                    The relatively short amount of time between their first and second albums is testament to the band’s self-contained creative environment and the productivity it encourages. There’s a tendency to label this degree of self-reliant creativity ‘DIY’ - and the band do certainly feel emboldened by that ethos - yet to consider Modern English Decoration solely in these terms is a disservice. Their craft is considered and purposeful, the means of its production reflecting the band’s overall vision rather than the value system of an often haphazard and accidental DIY culture. “We enjoy listening to music through the album format and want our records to reflect that”, says Rhys Edwards (guitars, vocals, synthesiser).

                                    Ulrika Spacek formed in Berlin in one night, when 14-year-long friends Rhys Edwards and Rhys Williams conceptualised ‘Ulrika Spacek’ and came up with The Album Paranoia as their debut album title. Moving back to London with the intention to record it, they were joined by Joseph Stone (guitars, organ, synths, violin), Ben White (bass) and Callum Brown (drums, percussion), ossifying into the five-piece they are now. The album was released soon after with little forewarning and was accompanied by a year long, near-monthly club night called Oysterland.

                                    Given the lyrics often favour abstraction and the vocals can be more impressionistic than declarative, the album title itself offers perhaps the most telling entry point to the record. In part, it’s a self-effacing play on an interior design cliché that references the meticulous creative processes the band adheres to. There’s also a nod towards the environment in which it was created – a Victorian house turned art gallery turned home studio

                                    Unsurprisingly given the context of its creation, Modern English Decoration might be considered a companion piece of sorts to The Album Paranoia.But there are crucial differences. Most notably, this isn’t the work of the Ulrika Spacek conceptualised by Edwards and Williams in Berlin – Modern English Decoration is the band as five rather than two people, and it shows. Those who have witnessed the intensity of their live show will instantly recognise the merits in this. The bass and drums provide a versatile anchor, at once soft, then aggressive, while the vocals drift woozily in and out, like druggy hindsight or skewed premonition. With three guitarists in the band guitars were always going to be central to the music, but what is less expected is the dynamic interplay between the trio that suggests a three-headed version of the Verlaine-Lloyd axis at the heart of Television. What’s more, the absence of reverb is integral, in part attributable to the ambience of the studio, but also a conscious decision in order to add focus. And focus is the abiding term: this is an album designed to be just so - a 45 minute commitment, a surrender.

                                    TRACK LISTING

                                    1. Mimi Pretend
                                    2. Silvertonic
                                    3. Dead Museum
                                    4. Ziggy
                                    5. Everything, All The Time
                                    6. Modern English Decoration
                                    7. Full Of Men
                                    8. Saw A Habit Forming
                                    9. Victorian Acid
                                    10. Protestant Work Slump

                                    Hazel English

                                    Just Give In / Never Going Home

                                      Hazel English is a 25-year-old Oakland-based artist who makes beautifully blurry indie-pop music powered by transcendent melodies and caked in layers of Californian sunshine and redolent reverb.

                                      She finds herself something of a scene queen amidst the burgeoning jangling happenings of the Bay Area, which count the likes of her producer Jackson Philips aka Day Wave amongst it ranks, as well as kindred spirits like Craft Spells and Hot Flash Heat Wave, to name but a few. Despite the fun being had locally, Hazel describes her music as, “Transportive. It makes you feel like you’re in a different place”.

                                      A very literal example is the title track, which charters the bittersweet abandon of her runaway journey from her native Australia to her new adopted home in an near-cinematic narrative. She’s drawn comparisons to everyone from Alvvays and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart to touring partners Ride, while her soaring, hypnotic, vocal arrangements have been likened to everyone from Grimes to Diiv.

                                      The album was recorded at Steve Mackey’s (Pulp) West Heath Garage studios in London. Jason Williamson discusses ‘English Tapas’: "Andrew walked into some random pub and saw "English Tapas" scrawled on the menu board. Underneath this beautiful coupling of words were it's components, half a scotch egg, cup of chips, pickle and a mini pork pie" It says everything about this fucking place. It's comedy, it’s make do, it's ignorant and above all, it's shit"

                                      STAFF COMMENTS

                                      Barry says: Sleaford Mods hit us hard with another voracious and aggressive commentary on modern life with their trademark combination of wit and vitriol, backed by a thumping but decidedly downplayed backline. Snarling, punky spoken word passages and gritty dusty drum machines. If you like the Mods, this one won't change your mind. If you don't, it just might.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      1. ARMY NIGHTS
                                      2. JUST LIKE WE DO
                                      3. MOPTOP
                                      4. MESSY ANYWHERE
                                      5. TIME SANDS
                                      6. SNOUT
                                      7. DRAYTON MANORED
                                      8. CARLTON TOUTS
                                      9. CUDDLY
                                      10. DULL
                                      11. BHS
                                      12. I FEEL DO WRONG

                                      Constant Bop is the debut album from Bop English, the recording name of White Denim frontman James Petralli. There’s a ton to unwrap on Constant Bop, a record that jumps from vocoder use on a ‘60s-jazz influenced jam to sampled 808-kicks on country numbers. It’s a rich and diverse record that’s teeming with pop classicism and zippy rock ‘n’ roll. It’s all there, and it’s all distinctly James Petralli. These 10 tracks demonstrate timeless songwriting, revisiting everything from Bob Dylan and Jeff Lyne to LL Cool J and Santana for inspiration.

                                      A widely collaborative project and the result of 4 years of work, having been created in the same period of time that it took Petralli to finish two White Denim records. It is an album born of real studio magic; dozens of musicians contribute to its ten tracks including White Denim’s drummer Josh Block, guitarist Austin Jenkins and bass player Steve Terebecki, as well as former Shearwater bassist Kevin Schneider.

                                      The biggest difference between Constant Bop and any White Denim record is the amount of time James spent working on it by himself. “The musicians on this record still influenced and shaped the record significantly though,” he says. There are over one hundred days of studio time preciously invested in Constant Bop, which ultimately reflects in its sheer quality.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      1. Dani’s Blues (It Was Beyond Our
                                      Control)
                                      2. Struck Matches
                                      3. Trying
                                      4. Have I Got It Wrong
                                      5. Fake Dog
                                      6. Willy Spends An Evening
                                      7. Sentimental Wilderness
                                      8. Falling At Your Feet
                                      9. The Hardest Way
                                      10. Long Distance Runner

                                      Drive-By Truckers release their new album ‘English Oceans’ through ATO Records.

                                      ‘English Oceans’, the band’s 12th release, is an elegantly balanced and deeply engaged new effort that finds the group refreshed and firing on all cylinders. “It can go from this chainsaw rock ‘n’ roll to this very delicate, pretty-sounding stuff,” says singer and guitarist Mike Cooley.

                                      ‘English Oceans’ was recorded over 13 days at Chase Park Transduction Studios in Athens, GA with the band’s longtime producer David Barbe.

                                      TRACK LISTING

                                      Sh*t Shots Count
                                      When He’s Gone
                                      Primer Coat
                                      Pauline Hawkins
                                      Made Up English Oceans
                                      The Part Of Him
                                      Hearing Jimmy Loud
                                      Til He’s Dead Or Rises
                                      Hanging On
                                      Natural Light
                                      When Walter Went Crazy
                                      First Air Of Autumn
                                      Grand Canyon

                                      Victorian English Gentlemens Club

                                      Love On An Oil Rig

                                      Since the release of their first album, The Victorian English Gentlemens Club toured for too long, then locked themselves away. They wrote 100 songs, disposed of 88 humanely, and have now laid out the remaining dozen on a 3" silver platter, for your dirty soul to revel in. Their previous opus was based on a severe lack of musical understanding. Their eponymous debut saw them groping their instruments like over-anxious teenagers, fast, furious and lots of fun. Their second is full of confidence and somewhat brutally, demands your respect. "Love On An Oil Rig" takes triple distortion, the most obscure of harmonies and refracts them through the prism of pop. Where the first record wore its influences on its sleeve, this one stands alone. The stripped down primal ideas are defined and sharp, retaining their well-developed Art school sensibilities of the absurd, the outrageous and the other. Since the recording, a new drummer and fourth club member has been recruited to enhance the ferocity of their sound, taking the noise to the next level with offset guitars, shouts and wails.

                                      International One

                                      Moonshine And Roses

                                        'Inertia is working, it's like Manchester desperately needs to spit out another great band, and this time it looks highly likely that International One could be that choice. Coming from the street side of town, the lads simply write brilliant tunes that make you feel good.'

                                        Dizzee Rascal

                                        Maths & English

                                          Dizzee Rascal returns with new album "Maths & English". On the one hand it's easily his most accessible record to date. On the other, it's as brutally honest and confrontational as anything he's done to date. Check out first single "Sirens" – with its Korn-inspired metal guitars. Or the Lyn Collins-sampling "Pussyole", which is the straightest hip hop track he's ever done. The album also features a host of special guests, including the vivacious backchat of Lily Allen on "Wanna Be", the Shy FX-produced "Da' Feelin", and the gangster rap anthem "Where's Da G's" with US legends Bun B and Pimp C (UGK). Then there's the reggae infused "Temptation" which samples Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys. While "Maths & English" may have been inspired by a huge number of different styles and influences, the album retains its distinctively British identity and only goes to enhance that Dizzee Rascal really is one of the country's best musical talents.


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