"Volume One" introduces a boy and girl choir making music the old-fashioned way: by hand and with as few machines as humanly possible. The She & Him story begins when in 2006 when renowned one man band M. Ward, recorded a duet with a girl named Zooey Deschanel. A delightful recording session, the experience led to a dialogue between the two about collaborating further. This, in turn, led to Deschanel admitting to secretly making dozens of home demos and hoarding them like acorns for the winter. Realising that if songs were acorns then this was indeed her wintertime, Deschanel sent the recordings to Ward and the demos became the basis for their first record, entitled "Volume One". Aiming to achieve the warmth and charm of pop and country records from the early and mid twentieth century, Ward, who also produced the record, and Deschanel, who wrote most of the music, called upon the help of a number of extraordinary musicians including: Rachel Blumberg, Adam Selzer, Mike Coykendall, Tom Hagerman, Peter Broderick, Mike Mogis, and Paul Brainerd.

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.

Experience the rebirth Of Jim Spencer’s musical vision through Piya Malik’s captivating rendition in say she she’s limited 45 rpm edition of ‘Wrap Myself Up’. Malik’s artistry infuses fierce elegance into the original tune, honoring spencer’s legacy, with spencer himself featured on the B-side.

TRACK LISTING

1. Say She She - Wrap Myself Up In Your Love
2. Jim Spencer - Wrap Myself Up In Your Love

"She and Me Fall Together in Free Death" is probably the most approachable, largely "musical" album that NWW has released since Rock N' Roll Station . It's also one of his strangest concepts, a marriage of trance inducing Krautrock grooves with a traditional jazz standard and some jarringly atonal musique concrete. Side A is the 20- minute title track: a slow-motion jam reminiscent of of one of Can's sidelong tracks on Tago Mago or the more avant-garde grooves of Tony Conrad and Faust's Outside the Dream Syndicate. The propulsive Jaki Liebezeit drumbeat is the foundation for a long jam session with what sounds like a dijderidoo and layers of guitar feedback. It's a massive, heavy sound, the kind that Julian Cope would devote a whole chapter to in his "Kratrocksampler". Side B is one long piece with three distinct movements. Beginning with those familiar, World Serpent-trademark windchimes, the listener is quickly ushered into Staple- ton's singing debut (!) in a rendition of the oft- covered traditional jazz ballad " Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair " This was a favorite of the recently deceased Nina Simone, and also of the avant- jazz screamer Patty Waters. Nurse With Wound's version is backed by cello drones, repetitive guitar strums and tambourine, sounding very much like The Velvet Un- derground's " Venus in Furs ". It's such a treat to hear Steven Stapleton's multitracked vocals cover this classic song, and this eerie version rates as one of my favorites. This song and the title track prove to the naysayers that Nurse With Wound is equally adept at rock n' roll songcraft as he is at demented sound collages. The creepy jazz cover seques into "Chicken Con- cret (For Missy E)", a truly warped tape-edit job that juxtaposes chicken squawks and sythesized birdcalls with random bleeps, speaker hiccups and gongs.

Could this be Steven Stapleton 's tribute to Timbaland and Missy Elliott's incomparable use of musique concrete techniques on their major label hip- hop anthems? Hard to say, but I like to think so. Side B ends with the hyper-sexualized "Gusset Typing", in which a mutated woman's voice describes her masturbation and orgasm in in- timate, anatomical detail. Her monologue is set against an intense rhythmic throbbing that builds as she reaches her climax. At the end, she blows her load and the record ends. This certainly qualifies as an active listening experience, and it's also a great make-out rec

TRACK LISTING

1. She And Me Fall Together Like Free Death
2. Black Is The Color Of My True Loves Hair
3. Chicken Concret 
4. Gusset Typing
5.She And Me Fall Together Like Free Death (Phosphorous Mix) 
6. Chicken Korma
7. Fine Writin'
8. She And Me Fall Together In Free Death (Funereal Mix)
9. Yellowed
10. Seeting Red
11. Black

Recent years brought about for Julia Holter an existential focus on human connection, amid the staggering change that came with the death of loved ones (including her young nephew, to whom the album is dedicated) and the birth of her daughter. On Something in the Room She Moves, Holter vividly processes the complexity, gravity, and awe of this confluence of experience. She calls the music “sensual,” “flowing,” and “nocturnal” - a testament to how love, with all of its challenges, “reroutes neural pathways.” The cover art by Holter’s childhood friend, artist Christina Quarles, highlights the multiplicity of intimate connection: are the figures embracing or in battle?

The title Something in the Room She Moves came to Holter spontaneously as she was naming the Logic project file for an early demo of what would become the album’s title track on her computer for the first time. Coincidentally, a few months later, she found herself mesmerized by the eight-hour Beatles documentary Get Back in 2021. Her titular phrase flips the gaze of the Beatles lyrics (“Something in the way she moves…”); the woman is no longer passively observed, but actively augmenting space. Holter has loved the Beatles since childhood, but sees the title less as a tribute than as a semi-surreal bit of automatic writing from her subconscious. (She had been singing Beatles tunes to her daughter at night.)

After a string of dream pop albums that established her searching voice in independent music—from 2012 breakthrough Ekstasis to Loud City Song and Have You in My Wilderness—Holter released the sprawling and thrillingly experimental Aviary in 2018. Since then, she has scored films like Never Rarely Sometimes Always, performed a commissioned live score for The Passion of Joan of Arc with the Chorus of Opera North, and collaborated with her partner, the musician Tashi Wada, who plays synth and bagpipes on her new album. Something in the Room She Moves is a remarkable progression in Holter’s oeuvre, synthesizing her free, improvisatory energy with her signature eloquence.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'Have You In My Wilderness' was the shop's favourite album all the way back in 2015, and she's even moved on significantly since that, to her bafflingly complex but melodically rich new album. Organic instrumental swells and glitched reverb tails ensconce her enduringly gorgeous vocal direction, while the scattered glitch and ambient wooze of new perfectly suit her dreamy composition style.

TRACK LISTING

1. Sun Girl
2. These Morning
3. Something In The Room She Moves
4. Materia
5. Meyou
6. Spinning
7. Ocean
8. Evening Mood
9. Talking To The Whisper
10. Who Brings Me

This is the first re-release on 7 inch vinyl single of the early Reggae classic “She Caught The Train” by Ray Martell released in 1970 on the Trojan sublabel Joe in the UK and later covered by UB40 in 1983. This original song, a huge hit, has featured on many compilations but has never been repressed as a single, until now… It was initially released with the track “Tea House From Emperor Roscoe” by Dice The Boss on the B side. On this release, Harlem Shuffle chose to showcase a super rare Ray Martell song, the gorgeous “Cora” initially released on Attack in 1970.

TRACK LISTING

She Caught The Train
Cora

Chelsea Wolfe’s latest album, She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, is a rebirth in process. It’s about how such a moment connects to our past, our present, and our future. It’s a powerfully cathartic statement about cutting ties, as well as an important reminder that healing is cyclical and circular, and not a simple linear process. As Wolfe explains, “It’s a record about the past self reaching out to the present self reaching out to the future self to summon change, growth, and guidance. It’s a story of setting yourself free from situations and patterns that are holding you back, in order to become self-empowered. It’s an invitation to step into your authenticity.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: I've always been a fan of Chelsea Wolfe's music, stumbling across her 'Prayer For The Unborn' release on my scour of the Latitudes collection. It goes without saying that since that admittedly brilliant mashing of neo-folk, psychedelic and art-rock she's increased the scope of her writing and production tenfold. 'She Reaches Out...' is a mind-blowingly complex, but effortlessly smooth tapestry of chamber pop, gothic rock and electronic drone music.

TRACK LISTING

01. Whispers In The Echo Chamber
02. House Of Self Undoing
03. Everything Turns Blue
04. Tunnel Lights
05. The Liminal
06. Eyes Like Nightshade
07. Salt
08. Unseen World
09. Place In The Sun
10. Dusk 

The long awaited official reissue of ‘She Wants’, one of the first UK street soul singles originally released in 1985 by The NM Band.

The NM Band was an alias for UK lovers' rock band Natural Mystic, responsible for a number of hits in the late 70’s and early 80’s most notably ‘Runaway Love’ and ‘Groove Rocking’. They released a string of acclaimed reggae LPs and toured extensively throughout the UK, but by 1985 wanted to try something away from their trademark roots reggae sound. Influenced by the availability of affordable hardware the band set about fusing reggae and soul using an Akai drum machine, Yamaha DX7 and Roland sound module. ‘She Wants’ is one of the forebearers of UK street soul, raw machine drums paired with an incredibly soulful vocal from Ashley Sommers. The band created their own imprint Mixdown to release the single, but it slipped under the radar, despite strong radio play from Choice FM and the then pirate station Kiss. The 12” is backed with dub version ‘She Wants (More)'.

A 140gram pressing in 3mm spine black disco sleeve with metallic sticker designed by Bradley Pinkerton.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Phwwoooarr! Isle Of Jura really know how to treat us. Unearthing and repressing this absolute GEM of a street soul jam from The NM Band. Rich with the duo's reggae heritage but exercising those (then modern) drum machines and FM synths with all the excitement that new equipment brings! A true holy grail.

TRACK LISTING

She Wants
She Wants More

For Fans Of... Clairo, Khruangbin, Lady Wray, Thee Sacred Souls, Chicano Batman, El Michels Affair, Lee Fields and the Expressions.

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”), release their sophomore album ‘Silver’ on the heels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day.

The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and former backing singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York tale of friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through the Lower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem.

‘Silver’ was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen their sound described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early '80s NYC” (The Guardian).

Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of the soul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writing with confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femmeforward sensibility.

Ultimately, ‘Silver’ oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She's fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A stunning mix of funky NY soul, snappy disco and woozy Balearic here from the cleverly named Say She She, channelling the spirit of Chic with a wealth of influence drawn from all over the musical spectrum. Brilliantly paced and endlessly funky.

TRACK LISTING

Side 1
1. Reeling
2. Don't You Dare Stop
3. Astral Plane
4. C'est Si Bon
Side 2
1. Entry Level
2. Passing Time
3. Think About It
4. Questions
Side 3
1. Forget Me Not
2. Never Say Never
3. The Water
4. Echo In The Chamber
Side 4
1. Bleeding Heart
2. Find A Way
3. NORMA
4. Silver

A slice of seriously sought after US disco from La She Ba on Heavenly Star Records that has been a firm favourite of master selector Hunee and trades hands for £125+ on the secondhand market, gets a fresh reissue and remaster for a new generation of listeners.

Formed of Catherine Miller on vocals, produced and written by Harvey Miller and arranged by the mighty Patrick Adams, La She Ba – You've Been Hunchin' hits in all the right spots. Exquisite instrumentation with swooning strings, enchanting chords and tight drums laying the foundation for Miller’s celestial vocals to be the star of the show. Heavenly by name, heavenly by nature this is a must have 12 inch for any collection.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Heavenly Star Records bottom out the market resale value of this Harvey Miller & Patrick Adam's indebted masterpiece by offering us an affordable, officially licensed reissue. How commendable.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Vocal
B1. Edit

Meaning can come from surprising places. In 2020 the Irish guitarist Cian Nugent moved back into his family home in Dublin to care for his mother, Kathy, who was then recovering from a stroke and experiencing aphasia (di­culty with speech). She began saying: “she brings me back to the land of the living” seemingly out of nowhere and with little knowledge of its origin or meaning. "It stuck with me," says Cian, who at the time was working on songs for what would become his 4th album, and felt it would make an apt title for that record. "The songs here act as a way of processing change and accepting new futures." Kathy also provides the cover art, a painting she made while still in the hospital.

Seven years since Nugent's previous album, She Brings Me Back To The Land Of The Living merges the previously explored styles across Night Fiction (2016), the expansive Born With The Caul (2014) and his enigmatic debut Doubles (2011). Extensive touring across North America and Europe, including work as a guitarist with Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker and Nap Eyes, provided Nugent with a greater understanding of his musicianship and a clarity of purpose all of which contributed to the making of his finest album to date.

TRACK LISTING

1. Empress
2. The Sound Of Rain
3. High Up Airplane
4. Siamese Sharks
5. I've Been Down
6. Dogs In The Morning
7. Pass The Time Away
8. How Time Passes

Under the moniker She Drew The Gun, songwriter Louisa Roach began by playing solo gigs around Liverpool, she quickly caught the attention of The Coral’s James Skelly who she began working with at Skeleton Key Records, recruiting band members along the way. At first glance Roach’s fuzzy psych-pop may suggest that the Wirral born songwriter is another ‘Cosmic Scouser’ but then you’re drawn into the spirit of rebellion, songs that rally against injustice and food banks and celebrate outsiderdom. Roach was late to music, releasing her first LP ‘Memories of the future’ after a decade of motherhood and studying at college.

TRACK LISTING

DISC 1 - Memories Of The Future:
SIDE A
Where I End You Begin
Since You Were Not Mine
If You Could See
Chains
Pebbles
SIDE B
What Will You Do
Poem
I'm Not Alone
Be Mine
Pit Pony
Or So I Thought

DISC 2 - Revolution Of Mind:
SIDE A
Resister
Something For The Pain
Arm Yourself
Between Stars
Wolf And Bird
SIDE B
Paradise
Ocean Song
Revolution Of Mind
Dopamine
Resister Reprise
Human

Limited edition deluxe vinyl version on Honey Golden vinyl of She Keeps Bees' 2008 album. Previously available only as tour-sale item.

“Guerrilla Girls!”, Ace Records’ much-anticipated first release of 2023, takes us on a thrilling ride from punk’s mid-70s origins, via the left-field post-punk groups, jangly female combos, grunge bands and vigilante Riot Grrrls of the 80s and 90s, to the she-punk bands of recent years – a five-decade alternative to the macho hegemony of rock.

The collection highlights songs that emerged out of a dynamic underculture of female creative expression. What unites the featured artists is a healthy disregard for the way the music industry ties up its female performers into pretty, neo-liberal packages. From Patti Smith, universal mother of the punk movement, to the Bags, Bikini Kill and Skinny Girl Diet, this music is anti-A&R. Including lesser-known names such as San Francisco street punk Mary Monday and London-based experimentalists pragVec, it shows that, rather than being a few novelty bands existing on the margins, these performers represent a stronger, more three-dimensional version of the female experience.

Glorious resistance was on display in the first wave of UK female-fronted punk bands. Poly Styrene’s charged vocals on X-Ray Spex’s ‘Iama Poseur’, for instance, were a deliberate refusal to be a pretty punkette. With 15 year-old Lora Logic on saxophone, X-Ray Spex epitomised a fearless, self-defined agency that was at odds with the pastel shades and flowery, submissive Laura Ashley version of 1970s girlhood. By the early 80s, there was a hugely vibrant scene propelled by the diverse rhythms and voices of post-punk feminism. Lora Logic had left X-Ray Spex to form the interweaving textures of Essential Logic, the Mo-dettes mangled ska and off-kilter pop, and Birmingham band Au Pairs sliced political rigour into their lyrics and funky guitar work.

Some female artists took that elemental energy into pop, creating pop-punk with a twist. We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It!! made a statement on music technology and female power with a cheeky play on words. Their song ‘Rules And Regulations’ shows that what Guerrilla Girls do well is debunking – taking genres of popular song and turning them inside out – like the way the Pandoras and the Pussywillows would amp up the driving beat and high vocals of the 60s girl group style, and subvert it with a DIY garage element.

In its fanzine culture, use of montage and DIY music, 90s Riot Grrrl bands such as Bikini Kill and Bratmobile drew direct inspiration from 70s punk, articulated through the prism of Third Wave feminism. Too often, Riot Grrrl gigs were invaded by men intent on heckling “the enemy”. Liz Naylor, manager of British Riot Grrrl band Huggy Bear, says that their concerts became war zones. From the US grunge and Riot Grrrl scenes emerged more female instrumentalists, with bands such as L7 and Babes In Toyland proving that it was possible to recruit cutting-edge drummers, bass players and guitarists. Lori Barbero, whose relentless power drumming is a major element of Babes In Toyland, took the one instrument that has been a staple of male rock’n’roll and made it her muse.

In the 2000s a new generation of girl-punk bands drew on the Riot Grrrl underculture to form their own sound. London trio the Tuts refashioned C86, Riot Grrrl and lush dream pop on songs like the ironically titled ‘Let Go Of The Past’, while the Regrettes injected shots of ska and doo wop into their explosive West Coast pop-punk. What began with Patti Smith and 70s punk has grown into a vast, spikey infrastructure of girl music. Many take inspiration from their foremothers, like Skinny Girl Diet whose vigilante feminism and punk distortion has been championed in return by Viv Albertine of the Slits. As long as these female artists stay aware of their musical vision and what they are trying to express – in a sense, A&R themselves – the underculture will continue to grow and flower. And this “Guerrilla Girls!” compilation is a celebration of that power.

The back sleeve of the release features a scene-setting introductory essay by Lucy O’Brien (author of She Bop: The Definitive History Of Women In Popular Music). Each of the two discs come in a swanky inner bag containing a track commentary by compiler Mick Patrick (Ace Records’ long-serving champion of female artists of all persuasions) and exclusive interviews with many of the featured artists by Vim Renault and Lene Cortina (founders of the Punk Girl Diaries webzine).

TRACK LISTING

SIDE ONE
1. GLORIA: In Excelsis Deo / Gloria (Version) - Patti Smith
2. SURVIVE - The Bags
3. IAMA POSEUR - X-Ray Spex
4. I GAVE MY PUNK JACKET TO RICKIE - Mary Monday & The Bitches
5. I DIDN’T HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY NO - Blondie
6. YOU’RE A MILLION - The Raincoats
SIDE TWO
1. POPCORN BOY (WADDLE YA DO?) - Essential Logic
2. EXPERT - PragVEC
3. MY CHERRY IS IN SHERRY - Ludus
4. KRAY TWINS - Mo-Dettes
5. EARTHBEAT - The Slits
6. DAS AH RIOT - Bush Tetras
SIDE THREE
1. BITCHEN SUMMER (SPEEDWAY) - Bangles
2. SHAKEDOWN - Au Pairs
3. IT’S ABOUT TIME - The Pandoras
4. COME ON NOW - The Pussywillows
5. RULES AND REGULATIONS - We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It!!
6. HER JAZZ - Huggy Bear
7. BRUISE VIOLET - Babes In Toyland
SIDE FOUR
1. REBEL GIRL - Bikini Kill
2. PRETEND WE’RE DEAD - L7
3. WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU - Bratmobile
4. LET GO OF THE PAST - The Tuts
5. HOT - The Regrettes
6. SILVER SPOONS – Skinny Girl Diet

The British shoegaze band Chapterhouse released two albums during their existence, Whirlpool (1991) and Blood Music (1993). Blood Music spawned the single “She’s A Vision”, which was released during that same year and also appeared as a 12”, including three additional tracks. The 1993 EP She’s A Vision features two tracks from the album Blood Music, the title track and “Don’t Look Now”. In addition, the EP contains two mixes from that same album, including the mix of “Don’t Look Now” by The Drum Club, a popular dance duo based in the UK.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. She’s A Vision
2. Don’t Look Now

SIDE B
1. Don’t Look Now (Drum Club Sitar Trance Mix)
2. Deli (Dark Jester Mix)

The band consists of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, former 79.5 and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Parker Brown (former 79.5), and Sabrina Cunningham.

The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She, the all female discodelic soul band that will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves!

The band's sound is a hat tip to late 70’s girl groups with the three strong female lead voices of Piya Malik (featured in El Michels Affair, and backing singer for Chicano Batman), Nya Gazelle Brown, and Sabrina Cunningham - whose vocals soar through a set doused heavily with funky bass lines, rhythmic wah guitar, melodic synths and lilting bansuri flute lines, bursting into a seamless blend of dreamy harmonies and catchy hooks. A multicultural, multi-instrumental, collaborative melting pot, pulling sounds and styles from all corners of their record collections.

The largely self-produced debut album ‘Prism’ features contributions from Dap Kings Joey Crispiano & Victor Axelrod, Max Shrager (The Shacks) Bardo Martinez (Chicano Batman) Nikhil Yearwadekar (former Antibalas).

Andy Bauer (Twin Shadow) and Matty McDermot (NYPMH).

“The funkiest sh*t we’ve heard in a while” (KCRW)

“A glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO)

TRACK LISTING

1. Prism
2. Don't Wait
3. Pink Roses
4. Same Things
5. Fortune Teller
6. Apple Of My Eye
7. Believe
8. Better Man

'She Said' is the third album from Los Angeles Rock band, Starcrawler. Fronted by Arrow de Wilde, guitarist Henri Cash, bassist Tim Franco, pedal steel/guitar player Bill Cash and drummer Seth Carolina, Starcrawler have morphed into a modern day take on LA legends X, with a sprinkle of The Go-Go’s, a smattering of The Distillers and some Rolling Stones sleaze thrown in for good measure. Though defiantly not a record obsessed with the pandemic, the constraints of lockdown mean that ‘She Said’ is Starcrawler’s most considered release to date. These are anthems made for blaring out of car speakers on warm summer night drives with the windows down and the volume up.

“We wanted to make songs on this record for everyone,” explains Henri. “For people that weren't just into punk rock.” Starcrawler might have broadened their scope, but they’ve definitely not watered down their sound. Known for his work on action and horror movie soundtracks, including the John Wick films, Dawn of the Dead, 300 and Halloweens I and II, the album was produced by industry titan Tyler Bates. Starcrawer met Tyler when he was drafted in to work with them on Goodtime Girl, a stand-alone single for DC’s Dark Nights: Death Metal soundtrack, which the band appeared on alongside the likes of Idles, Mastodon and Chelsea Wolfe. “It just sounded so big,” says Arrow of the resulting track. “It made me think we should do the whole of the new record like a movie soundtrack.”

TRACK LISTING

1. Roadkill
2. She Said
3. Stranded
4. Thursday
5. Broken Angels
6. Jetblack
7. True
8. Midnight
9. Runaway
10. A Better Place

Since the historiography of punk is a male-dominated one, a "Revenge of the She-Punks" was long overdue. This feminist reckoning was written by none other than post-punk pioneer Vivien Goldman, who has an insider's perspective due to her work as a musician and one of Britain's first female music writers. Along four themes - Identity, Money, Love and Protest - the "punk professor" traces empowering moments that punk holds especially for women. This Compilation is inspired by the book, which was originally released by University of Texas Press in 2019.

Compiled and with liner notes by Vivien Goldman. “We're not talking a mean-spirited gotcha! revenge here. As both my book that inspired it and this recording prove, us She-Punks' revenge is about our complex survival in an all too often hostile environment.The book offers a template to finding a way through the patriarchal labyrinth of the music industry by telling the back- stories of thirty-eight songs by women from not only the Anglophone countries, but Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Eastern and Continental Europe. Together, they demonstrate how girls around the world, with no or few role models, found ways to thwart blockages and become self-expressive musicians, breaking traditions and expectations, setting new standards with every chord. Alas, for a raft of factors it was impossible to include them all; but herein lies a stirring and representative selection. Cumulatively, we hear how female artists everywhere are moved to sing about the common issues that I distilled down to be the core themes of the book: the bare-bones of living that connect us, wherever we are. We open with Identity featuring Fea, Big Joanie, The Raincoats, Blondie and Poly Styrene with X-Ray Spex. Then comes Money with Patti Smith, Shonen Knife, Malaria! and the Slits; followed by Love/Unlove: Crass, Cherry Vanilla, Grace Jones, Rhoda Dakar with the Special AKA, Alice Bag (The Bags), Tribe 8 and the Au Pairs, the Mo-dettes, Neneh Cherry from the UK/Sweden/US and this writer/musician. The closing chapter, Protest, features Sleater-Kinney, Jayne Cortez and the Firespitters Skinny Girl Diet, Vi Subversa and the Poison Girls, the Czech Republic's Zuby Nehty, Colombia's Fertil Miseria and Jamaica's Tanya Stephens. Many people have questioned how I arrived at those four themes (answer: thinking,) and so far, no-one has disagreed.However, in sequencing this compilation, the important thing was to sonically flow through the breadth of our creativity, led by the rhythms and sound, rather than the lyrics; they, I already knew, formed a compelling whole, an implacable critique. My perspective on punk is based on spirit rather than adherence to the venerated concept of the genre as only a frenetic full-frontal sonic attack (though that is also represented here). Having been involved with the movement at the start in mid-1970s London, as Features Editor of the punk rock weekly, Sounds, I understood it to be a front line, inclusionary genre, with DIY at its core, which is why it was the first genre to give anything approaching an equal platform to women musicians.

Especially for the less conventional, all too often the path for women artists is still steeper than that of male peers. Despite the massive success of today's female superstars, there remains a quota perception in an industry that still largely lives in boystown (though always factor in that it's not the men, it's the mentality,) who are less receptive to forceful females; like the sort of bookers who say, Well, we've done our bit, we've booked our female artist - as if booking women were some grim post-MeToo duty.But as heard in these tracks, in all its forms, whether sounding strident or soft, punk is a music of resistance; women's punk specially so. We continue to rail at and use our music to shift a system which, in America as this release comes out - let alone in countries long known to be suppressive of women - our basic human agency is under attack on more than one front, notably where equal pay and abortion are concerned. Welcome to some very necessary and in many cases, too little heard voices of women whose creativity could not be stopped, and who managed to use music to mould their environment, create their own space, and live as self-actualized artists.”

TRACK LISTING

LP 1
A1) Tanya Stephens – Welcome To The Rebelution
A2) Au Pairs – It’s Obvious
A3) X-Ray Spex – Identity
A4) Fea – Mujer Moderna
A5) The Bags – Babylonian Gorgon
A6) Fértil Miseria – Visiones De La Muerte
A7) Crass – Smother Love
A8) Rhoda With The Special AKA – The Boiler
LP2
B9) Jayne Cortez And The Firespitters – Maintain Control
B10) Skinny Girl Diet – Silver Spoons
B11) Big Joanie – Dream No 9
B12) Malaria! – Geld
B13) The Slits – Spend, Spend, Spend
B14) Poison Girls – Persons Unknown
LP 3
C1) Bush Tetras – Too Many Creeps
C2) Grace Jones – My Jamaican Guy
C3) Patti Smith – Free Money
C4) Tribe 8 – Checking Out Your Babe
C5) Cherry Vanilla – The Punk
C6) Blondie – Rip Her To Shreds
C7) Sleater-Kinney – Little Babies
C8) The Selecter – On My Radio
LP4
D9) Mo-Dettes– White Mice
D10) Shonen Knife – It’s A New Find
D11) The Raincoats – No One’s Little Girl
D12) Vivien Goldman – Launderette
D13) Zuby Nehty – Sokol
D14) Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance

She & Him, the acclaimed twosome of M.Ward and Zooey Deschanel are known for the stylish arrangements, sophisticated interpretations, and sharply drawn originals they have perfected across their exceedingly fruitful six-album, 14-year collaboration. Now, with Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson, their seventh full-length release (and first for Fantasy), the duo has crafted a love letter to 60’s-era Southern California-inspired pop that stands on its own as a defining musical achievement.

Produced by M.Ward and mixed by Tom Schick (Wilco, Norah Jones, Iron and Wine), Melt Away: A Tribute to Brian Wilson is the pair’s first in six years and features an abundance of smartly chosen Wilson/Beach Boys compositions, some universally beloved and others a little less familiar. All of them though, whether ingrained in your soul or hearing for the first time, share a flair for the dramatic. Ward and Deschanel bring their uncanny communal musical instincts to these pop-noir confections and re-imagine them for these times.

The inviting, twangy album opener, Brian Wilson and Mike Love’s “Darlin’,” (from the Beach Boys 1967 album Wild Honey) sets a high bar that She & Him meets throughout. The duo’s devoted take on “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is especially revealing. Most wouldn’t consider touching the stone-cold classic, yet they lean into it with unabashed joy. Elsewhere, the band’s sublime version of Wilson’s mournful “Til I Die” is a three-minute and 22 second marvel. Deschanel’s spectacular vocal turn on the criminally overlooked Wilson solo cut “Melt Away” transforms the original’s lush, string-heavy treatment into a post-modern folk-pop gem. Other highlights include the surf-rock throwback “Do It Again,” featuring vocals from Brian Wilson himself (!) and the graceful “Please Let Me Wonder,” a long-treasured Wilson album cut. Finally, the Beach Boy’s timeless “Don’t Worry Baby” might be the album’s centerpiece and most affecting track. M.Ward’s earthy, laconic lead vocal layered over an exquisite arrangement feels organic and completely new – just like this album, a stunner in every way.

Genre: Indie Pop, Classic Rock, Covers, Twee Pop, 60’s Rock

Mood Descriptions: Summer Vibes, Upbeat, Beach, Feel Good, Roadtrip, Cloudgazing

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: She & Him (Zooey Deschanel & M Ward) bring their considerable talents to a beautiful tribute to Brian Wilson, one of the greatest songwriters of our time. Expect those woozy lounge-soul vocals from Deschanel and Ward's distinctive guitar style. A fittingly lovely endeavour.

TRACK LISTING

1. “Darlin’” – (Wilson-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1967 LP Wild Honey
2. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – (Wilson-Asher-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1966 LP Pet Sounds
3. “Til I Die” – (Brian Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1971 LP Surf’s Up
4. “Deidre” – (Johnson-Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
5. “Melt Away” – (Brian Wilson) – From Brian Wilson’s 1988 Self-titled Solo LP
6. “Good To My Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – From The 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
7. “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)” – (Wilson-Asher) - From The 1966 LP Pet Sounds
8. “Don’t Worry Baby” – (Wilson-Christian) – From The Beach Boys 1964 LP Shut Down Volume 2
9. “This Whole World” – (Wilson) – From The Beach Boys 1970 LP Sunflower
10. “Kiss Me, Baby” – (Wilson-Love) – From The 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
11. “Do It Again” Featuring Brian Wilson – (Wilson-Love) – From The Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends
12. "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose" – (Wilson-Usher) - From The Beach Boys 1962 LP Surfin’ Safari
13. “Please Let Me Wonder” – (Wilson-Love) - From 1965 LP The Beach Boys Today!
14. “Meant For You” – (Wilson-Love) - From The Beach Boys 1968 LP Friends

This holiday season, Merge will celebrate ten years of A Very She & Him Christmas, the wonderful collection of tunes from two of music’s most beloved artists, Zooey Deschanel (She) & M. Ward (Him)! Recorded and originally released in 2011, Deschanel and Ward let the songs speak for themselves, oftentimes recording them with only acoustic guitar and vocals.

The result is an intimate holiday recording that deserves a place in your collection next to seminal Christmas albums by the likes of The Carpenters, Vince Guaraldi, The Beach Boys, and Elvis Presley.

To mark this joyous occasion, the limited-edition deluxe 10th anniversary reissue is pressed on tinsel silver vinyl and includes a brand-new 7”, also on silver vinyl, that features renditions of Madonna’s “Holiday” and Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” as well as a bonus download of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” The 7” can also be purchased separately on evergreen vinyl.

A portion of all proceeds from A Very She & Him Christmas are donated to 826 National, a non-profit for young people to ignite and channel their creativity, explore identity, advocate for themselves and their community, and achieve academic and professional success.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. The Christmas Waltz
2. Christmas Day
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
5. Christmas Wish
6. Sleigh Ride
SIDE B
7. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
8. Silver Bells
9. Baby, It’s Cold Outside
10. Blue Christmas
11. Little Saint Nick
12. The Christmas Song

7” SIDE A
1. Holiday
7” SIDE B
2. Last Christmas
NOTE: 7” Includes The Digital-only Bonus Track “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.

The follow-up to the critically acclaimed Revolution Of Mind, which was named among BBC 6 Music’s Albums Of The Year, is produced by Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, The Fall, The Kills, Working Men’s Club). 

Under the moniker She Drew The Gun, songwriter Louisa Roach began by playing solo gigs around Liverpool, she quickly caught the attention of The Coral’s James Skelly who she began working with at Skeleton Key Records, recruiting band members along the way. At first glance Roach’s fuzzy psych-pop may suggest that the Wirral born songwriter is another ‘Cosmic Scouser’ but then you’re drawn into the spirit of rebellion, songs that rally against injustice and food banks and celebrate outsiderdom.

Roach was late to music, releasing her first LP ‘Memories of the future’ after a decade of motherhood and studying at college. The second LP ‘ Revolution of Mind’, released October 2018, again produced by James Skelly, continued the fine work laid out on her 2016 debut. Announced in the top 10 albums of 2018 by BBCRadio6 Music, the record was one of the runaway indie successes of the year. In 2019 the band completed a sold out UK tour and played a string of UK festivals including main stage performances at Glastonbury and Blue Dot among others. In 2020 the band played virtual gigs to help raise money for Greenpeace and the Music Venue Trust among others and look forward to a proper return to live music.

TRACK LISTING

1. Origin Song
2. Next On The List
3. Behave Myself
4. Diamonds In Our Eyes
5. Cut Me Down
6. Class War
7. Innerspeak
8. Panopticon
9. All Roads To Nowhere
10. Roses Tale

Doug Payne is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of Music & Art (also known as FAME) in Manhattan NY, and Howard University in Washington D.C. He performed as a member of the Sister Sledge tour ("We are Family") has produced several recordings for quite a few East Coast acts and worked as the Music Director for The Dreamlovers, Eddie Holman, The Coasters and the house-band for the Atlantic City television show Chat-24.

We are happy to present two of his self released singles in full on one long 12". She Is On The Money is a A+ Boogie floor filler this previously unreleased in this full version massive 15 Mins long mix direct from master tape. On the flip we have Doug's first single "Holiday" which was previously 45 only and very hard to find, plus some other mixes of "She is On The Money" from a second tape, HEAT!

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Holidaaaaay! Ultimate boogie dancefloor filler right here for you folks, drenched in soul-disco-boogie goodness. ‘She Is On The Money’ you can’t not move to, it’s impulsive. An absolute must.

TRACK LISTING

1. She Is On The Money (Unreleased Full Version)
2. Holiday
3. She Is On The Money (Alternate Version)
4. She Is On The Money (7 Inch Mix)
5. She Is On The Money (Instrumental)

2015. Two boys with guitars on their chests, stretching songwriting muscles and finding, to their delight, new possibilities at every run up the neck. This means trading vocal parts mid-song, then trading back again, modulating madly through rhythm changes, looking for a note in the harmony they’d never played or sung before. All in the service of locating the feelgood pop alchemy in a song in which no parts are repeated. Laying it all down with a sweet solid state vibe.

“Whatever happened to ‘She’s a Beam’!?!” has been a question/passive-aggressive demand from Ty and Cory aficionados over the past few years. This is what happened. It went to Heaven and lived a beautiful life there. This is the sound of it. Guitars and harmonies. Helium-coated keyboards. A celestial, Steve Millerish synth transformation. Positivity. Lightness. Rock. Epic. Energetic. Happy, headbanging days.

‘Milk Bird Flyer’ is a perfect other ‘A’ to pair with ‘She’s a Beam’, hovering on a fade-in fanfare of gleaming guitar godness before shifting into a countryish tripper with cheerful Psilo-sci-fi-bin lyrics to bend and stretch the ecstatic shuffle of the beat. As with ‘She’s a Beam’, Ty and Cory are floating so tight in the harmony that we’re like “Who’s who?”

The pure sounds of yesterday are bright like a moment in time just waiting for its chance to exist, a nugget of potency landing right between the eyes in any era. Turn it up and smile, smile, smile.

TRACK LISTING

She’s A Beam
Milk Bird Flyer

A meditative and endlessly turning clutch of songs, She Keeps Bees' Kinship reasserts the band's elegant power in a stream of loss and regeneration. Death, birth, both personal and in reflection of Earth itself emerge through Jessica Larrabee's focused, empowered voice. With their first album in four years, She Keeps Bees peels away their distorted guitars and fills the void with hypnotic organ, keyboards, strings, a tight bed of drum grooves, and a direct lyricism full of with wisdom and intention.

Wild Zeros are an indie punk band from Bordeaux, France. This 7" features their songs 'She Knows' and 'Nobody Can Tell Us'.

TRACK LISTING

A She Knows
B Nobody Can Tell Us

7" single featuring two brand new stone-cold Shook originals. Very limited numbers available for the UK. Fished from the creative well of the Years sessions, these previously unreleased Disarmers tunes continue the kissoff attitude and greasy chops of the band's most recent album. 

Right now, the world needs a warrior. Town by town and tour by tour, She Makes War has been widening her battle stance and soothing tortured souls with her no holds barred, peaceful protest music. Armed with songs to persuade and words that bite then linger with the sweetest aftertaste, She has a message – wake up world and Brace for Impact.

“People still live in fear of persecution and violence every day for the “crime” of being themselves,” attests the nom de plume of melodic visualiser, storyteller and creator Laura Kidd. “With everything that’s going on in the world, adopting a brace position to protect ourselves from external forces is more important than ever.”

From broken hearts to broken bones, Laura was given plenty of time for rumination when she broke her right foot moments before supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Tumbling off a darkened stage during soundcheck, adrenaline kicked in and, ever the fighter, the show went on. With barely enough time to visit A&E, a face full of glitter and steely resolve, she performed a slew of summer festival sets and a BBC 6Music Marc Riley session sporting a fetching knee crutch.

“Having my mobility stolen from me was exhausting and depressing. I’d come up with the album title while driving on tour, daydreaming about what it must be like to be in a high-speed car crash – I’d wondered whether there would be time to apologise to my passenger if we got in an accident…it was a bit dark”, she recalls. “After struggling through the summer with that phrase in my mind, then finding it written in the venue toilets at the end of a tour in Brighton, it just had to be the album title.”

TRACK LISTING

1. A1. Devastate Me
2. A2. London Bites
3. A3. Strong Enough
4. A4. Undone
5. A5. Then The Quiet Came
6. A6. Fortify
7. B1. Weary Bird
8. B2. Let Me Down
9. B3. Dear Heart
10. B4. Love This Body
11. B5. Hold On
12. B6. Miles Away

Bristol's Talisman here remixed by dub legends Dubkasm and taken from the killer new album "Don't Play With Fyah" (also available!). Coming correct with a sound system friendly version, Dubkasm push the dancehall flavour and propel the track through a hard steppers riddim. Sections of vocals are dubbed out and delayed while the mystic melodies circle overhead. Come with a powerful dub cut on side B, with militant snares and xxtra bass pressure. Top stuff.

Through primitive electronic gear, hypnotist vocals and an “amusement park of sounds,” duo She- Devils’ album constructs a fun-house world of beautiful chaos.

The music is built from original sonics inspired by everything from Iggy Pop to Madonna to T-Rex to Can, as well as the romantic longing of 60s yé-yé.

TRACK LISTING

Come
Hey Boy
Make You Pay
Darling
How Do You Feel
Blooming
You Do You Feel
Blooming
You Don’t Know
Never Let Me Go
Buffalo

Peaches has assembled a killer line-up of producers to remix her latest album, 'Rub'. 'Rub Remixed' features updates, reworks and club bangers from Maya Janes Coles Nocturnal Sunshine, Creep's Lauren Flax, Paula Temple, Planningtorock, Austra's Maya Postepski and more. This double vinyl edition strictly limited to 2000 copies worldwide, complete with download card.

Released on double vinyl, 'Rub Remixed' traverses acid techno, hard house, trap, deep electro, booty bass and future beats, bringing Peaches' original production and vocals front, centre and to dizzying new heights.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Close Up (Nocturnal Sunshine Remix)
A2. Dick In The Air (Evvol Remix)
A3. Light In Places (Kim Anh 'Stargasm' Remix)
B1. Dick In The Air (#Entertainment Remix)
B2. Rub (Paula Temple Remix)
B3. Dumb Fuck (Maya Postepski Remix)
C1. Sick In The Head (Simonne Jones Remix)
C2. Free Drink Ticket (Neven Remix)
C3. How You Like My Cut (Ziúr Remix)
C4. Vaginoplasty (Maya Postepski Remix)
D1. Vaginoplasty (Planningtorock 'Vagina' Rework)
D2. Pickles (Lauren Flax Acid Remix)
D3. I Mean Something

GØGGS is the brainchild of Chris Shaw (Ex-Cult) and Ty Segall. In the planning stages for a long time, the band finally came together in 2015 in Segall’s Los Angeles studio to record an album, which will be released next year.

Other participants in the project include Cory Hanson (Wand), Charles Moothart (Fuzz) and Mikal Cronin. This single features an original from the album on the A-side and an Iggy Pop cover on the B-side that’s exclusive to the 7-inch.

TRACK LISTING

1. She Got Harder
2. Billy Is A Runaway

Drew Lustman is currently one of the hottest new names in electronic music. ‘She Sleeps’ is the second single from his new album ‘Hardcourage’ and features a collaboration with Friendly Fires' vocalist Ed Macfarlane. The single is spread over two separate 12”s. The only vocal song on the full length, "She Sleeps" features a brilliant, haunting turn from Macfarlane. Mysterious, tender and reflective, his lyrics weave around the driving, purposeful percussion and a melody that's singularly exploratory and gentle. The single comes with a remix package that more than does justice to the quality of the original. Exuberant London broken beaters / boogie-ists 2000Black (Dennis 'Dego' McFarlane, Kaidi Tatham) have worked "She Sleeps" into a deep, hypnotic soulful groove (this 12” includes vocal, instrumental and acapella versions of their mix). Meanwhile, Holland's electronic pioneer Martyn has reworked the track into a writhing, muscular dancefloor stomp.

Van She are back! And indeed back with a bang as they invite you to enjoy their sophomore record, their 'Idea Of Happiness' out now on Modular Recordings.

So uplifting it’s practically levitational, 'Idea Of Happiness' is Van She’s most focused, joyous musical excursion to date. An album stirred by sunbaked travels and fleeting truths, and shaken with the sands of time, 'Idea Of Happiness' was recorded, engineered and produced by the band themselves in Kings Cross, Sydney.

Their self-sufficient approach to the record allowed them the time and space to not only fine tune to the nth degree each cymbal splash and crashing wave sample, but also left them free to give ideas the time and space to hang loose. They may have walked a slow, deliberate path to realising album #2 but the result is all the better for it.

The record was mixed in Los Angeles with Tony Hoffer, the perfect man for the job with a resume that includes work with Beck, Air, Phoenix and M83.

TRACK LISTING

1. Idea Of Happiness
2. Calypso
3. Jamaica
4. Sarah
5. Radio Waves I
6. You're My Rescue
7. Tears
8. Coconuts
9. Beat Of The Drum
10. Radio Waves II
11. We Move On

While it's a cliché to tag every new band with the 'one to watch' tag, She's Hit can't be discussed without stating the glaringly obvious - they are one of the most exciting bands to have emerged from the UK in years. Turning up amps, reverb and two fingers to fey in their hometown known for Belle and Sebastian's indie-folk, She's Hit's "blistering live outings" (Drowned in Sound) earned them a devoted following and a much justified buzz, long before their first release.

Recalling some of the greatest bands in history: The Fall, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Cramps - She's Hit's debut album 'Pleasure' is nothing short of a classic. Spanning a wide musical spectrum, from the psychedelic droner Velvet Underground-esque opener 'Forfeit to Despair' and 'Lustless' with its dreamy distortion and stoner vocals akin to My Bloody Valentine or The Big Pink, to 'Miriam Hollow' with an instrumental opener as powerful as Joy Divisions 'Digital'. Then there's the singles, 'RE:PEATER' where pounding drums and frenzied organ riffs a heart-speeding audio assault as startlingly brilliant as any offering from The Cramps and the sleazed-up slinky forthcoming single 'Shimmer Shimmer' recalling Iggy Pop and the Stooges. All laced with She's Hit's distinctive snarled out vocals sounding like a brittle, punk-rock Mark E Smith.

'Pleasure' was recorded at The Green Door Studio with Sam Smith (Alasdair Roberts, Remember Remember, Sons & Daughters) and mastered by Iain Cook of Unwinding Hours / Aereogramme. All nine album tracks have been remixed by Errors, The Blessings (LuckyMe), The Unwinding Hours, Remember Remember, Auntie Flo, Fox Gut Daata, Dam Mantle, Green Door & Frog Pocket with the remixes being included as a bonus disc with both the CD and LP.

She's Hit are: David Wilson - Vocals Michael Hanson - Guitar Phil McLellan - Guitar Fraser McFadzean - Bass Cammy Wilson - Drums.

'I used to have a girlfriend…..but she’s six feet underground'.

Describing their sound as 'A kick in the teeth…..with a load of reverb', Speak & The Spells formed somewhere deep inside their collective vinyl collection. And now they’re adding to yours with their debut single.

The ominous surf-rock opening riff of "She’s Dead" sets the tone for a b-movie style tale of grief and grave digging. Scratchy guitars and screams provide the perfect soundtrack for singer Joe Eakin’s lament. Front man Joe is joined by Benjamin Craven (Bass) and Alex Felstead (Drums) to complete a stripped back, bare essentials line-up that’s a million miles from the gadget heavy electro of 2009 but just as thrilling.

The equally enthralling b-side "Brianna" show’s a spiced up more punk side to the band, while "Caleb Pink" finds the band in a more experimental mood with a 4.5 minute instrumental.

Initially bonding at school through a shared love of Garage, Psych and Freak-Beat, the 3-piece outfit was conceived in a West London storeroom playing covers of 60s teenage garage heroes like The Downliners Sect and Tintern Abbey before developing their own unique and exciting style.

Straight out of school, the band created "Ricky Ticks" in a Soho basement, a bi-monthly clubnight where they could play their records and hone their live act. They quickly caught the attention of fellow London promoters, which led to them supporting one of their personal idols; Billy Childish and being invited by The Horrors to play their own night ‘The Cave Club’. They’ve also played alongside the likes of The Guillotines, Bo Ningen and The Vinyl Stitches.

"She’s Dead" is one of those records destined to accompany the sound of needle hitting wax but perfectly at home on your ipod as well as in your pile of prized 45’s.

This dark and dreamy psychedelic band pairs former Rain Parade and Opal guitarist Dave Roback with vocalist Hope Sandoval. Drawing primarily from the swirling, textured drone of such 60s groups as The Velvet Underground and The Doors, Mazzy Star also incorporates blues, country, and pulsing acoustic folk elements, creating a highly textured and luminous amalgam. The band's auspicious debut, "She Hangs Brightly" is a rich, atmospheric bag of tricks. Such songs as "Halah", "Ride It On", and "Be My Angel" emphasise the duo's folk-pop origins but add layers of effect-drenched guitar and intimate, pristine production to achieve gorgeously ethereal results. The title track and "Ghost Highway" are more blues-based and recall the simmering and evocative ethic of heavy acid-rock. Sandoval's languid, earthy vocals are the perfect foil for Roback's lysergic explorations, and "She Hangs Brightly" is undoubtedly the band's finest moment.

With all things digital taking over the western world, Manchester outfit Shmoo draw our attention to the beauty of old school analogue sounds on their debut 7". On "She Machine" they pile up layers of electronic beats, live drums and synths, packing the song with Moog-laden filters and gorgeous pads for a retro sounding future electrock'n'roll anthem. Less electro, more rock'n'roll is B-side track "Every Second" that comes across like Muse but with a punkier edge - no wonder it's a big live favourite!

From the Roger Dean style sleeve onwards, "Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian" heads down a progressive route. Unlike Yes however, Guillermo Scott Herren goes for micro, not sprawling, and delivers a double album wrapping beats around psychedelia to create a 49 minute aural odyssey through avant-rock, hiptronica, hip hop, beats wonky grooves and beyond. Instructed by the process and purity of analogue recording, this album is a seminal work, a flowing body of work segmented into 29 tracks, powerful instrumentation and gentle psychedelia. Don't be fooled by the cover; this is a fantastic LP!

10 track CDR album from this Yorkshire trio, who play dark indie guitar songs with influences of Radiohead and Muse.