'Existence is Bliss' is the sophomore album from London-based post-punk six-piece Deadletter. This album follows their critically acclaimed 2024 debut, 'Hysterical Strength'.

TRACK LISTING

1. Purity I
2. To The Brim
3. Songless Bird
4. It Comes Creeping
5. What The World Missed
6. Cheers!
7. Among Us
8. Focal Point
9. (Back To) The Scene Of The Crime
10. Frosted Glass
11. He, Himself, And Him
12. Meanwhile In A Parallel

'Night Flight' sees 7 artists reinterpreting 2024's top 5 album 'The Last Flight', taking it to appropriately darker and more electronic places. Remixes come from Gus alt-J, EERA, Hainbach and more, including 3 new versions from PSB leader J. Willgoose, Esq.'s own Late Night Final project.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Was Always Dreaming - Late Night Final Remix
2. Towards The Dawn - Alex Silva Remix
3. The Fun Of It - Gus Alt-J Remix
4. The South Atlantic - Peter Sandberg Remix
5. Electra - Late Night Final Remix
6. Arabian Flight - The KVB Remix
7. Monsoons - EERA Remix
8. A Different Kind Of Love - Hainbach Remix
9. Howland - Late Night Final Remix

Deaf Havana are back with their 7th studio album ‘We’re Never Getting Out’.

The songs that materialised for We’re Never Getting Out’ are, despite their shimmering disposition, devastatingly sad. Every anxiety, every step back, every wrench of the heart that comes with realising the life you thought you had built is crumbling around you is on display in vivid colour. And that’s because most of them were written whilst James was in his marital home, penning break-up ballads before the break-up had even occurred. From the confused limbo of ‘Carousel’, detailing the dizziness that comes with this cycle of sadness and self-medicating he was stuck in, to the tear-stained ‘Frida, 1939’, where the concern of who he would be away from this massive part of his life comes to the forefront, through to the intent to not settling for the ordinary at the centre of ‘Lawn Tennis’ or the fear of being the one to make the all-important move surrounding ‘Car Crash’ it’s heavy going, heart-breaking and spine-tinglingly
honest in equal measure.

In embracing the rough with the smooth and taking the steps he never thought he was going to, James has found a balance that probably wasn’t possible to locate in the past. And ‘We’re Never Getting Out’, as a title defines that feeling perfectly and reflects even more in how he is looking to the future. There are things we will never truly escape. The life we have lived so far, no matter how much of a success or failure we see it being, is committed to the echelons of history. The scars will remain, and the remnants of our past lives will constantly flow through our bloodstream. But in using that to their advantage, Deaf Havana has never felt more prominent or powerful.

“It’s excitement I feel now and not dread, I feel like this is a true fresh start.”

TRACK LISTING

A1. Life In Forward Motion
A2. Carousel
A3. Break
A4. Lawn Tennis
A5. Car Crash
A6. Hurts To Be Lonely
B1. Frida 1939
B2. Dog
B3. Cigarettes & Hotel Beds
B4. We’re Never Getting Out
B5. Tracing Lines
B6. I’ll Be Around

Blu Ray film of ‘This Search For Meaning’ documentary including ‘Never Let Me Go’ CD incl. bonus track ‘Shout’ (Tears For Fears cover).

An intimate exploration of Placebo's evolution, charting their journey through lyrics and songs that delve into the human experience.

Placebo’s second feature-length documentary called 'This Search For Meaning'. This intimate and enlightening film explores the ideas that inhabit the lyrics and subject matter of Placebo’s songs, whilst charting their evolution as a group and as human beings. It is a fearless, truthful and forthright exploration of the creative process and the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, along with its inevitable consequences.

Since emerging from obscurity in the 1990s with provocative songs such as 'Nancy Boy' and 'Bruise Pristine', Placebo forged a decidedly unfashionable path through the brazenly macho ‘Britpop’ scene to explore subjects such as the body politic and the continued erosion of our human rights and our individuality, the ever growing epidemic of apathy in society and the hubris and corruption of those in power. Placebo seemed to be asking the questions no one else dared to, then dared the individual to find their own answers.

Rather than present a conventional origin story, Scottish award-winning filmmaker Oscar Sansom, known for his trailblazing work in music films, charts the band’s ongoing impact and legacy through a visual meditation on contemporary themes such as surveillance, culture and scrutiny, sexuality and gender identity, addiction and trauma as well as the climate crisis. These significant and weighty themes are explored in both an informal and personally authored manner through brand new interviews with Brian and Stefan. Both reflective and revealing, these interviews also underline placebo’s ongoing socio-cultural curiosity and musical journey – a quest that continues in their chart-topping albums and sold-out live arena performances worldwide today.

In and around the band’s presence, we see contributions from other significant figures within the arts that either admire or have been inspired by Placebo. these entertaining and often emotive discussions are presented as a single, yet multi-faceted, overheard conversation – and include the likes of Shirley Manson (Garbage), Robbie Williams, Yungblud, Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem), Joe Talbot (Idles) as well as contemporary artist Stuart Semple. The result is honest and rewarding – capturing the sense that we are all just trying to figure out our place in this world; and hopefully making some sense of it too.

The film’s overall narrative is structured around incredible and completely new performances of Placebo’s latest songs – taken from ‘Never Let Me Go’ – captured at Britain’s legendary Twickenham Film Studios, where The Beatles can be seen composing a new album in Peter Jackson’s “Get Back”, as well as intercut with archive footage of the band, and exclusive, never-before-seen, material that spans across their entire career, including their creative and personal collaboration with David Bowie and his enduring influence.

A resonant journey through myth, trance and time.

With ‘Echo’, MY BABY dive deeper into the hypnotic soundscapes that characterise their signature roots-driven delta trance.

This album is an exploration of echoes - both literal and figurative - based on ancient myths, female archetypes and the endless echoes of time.

Inspired by the heroine’s journey, ‘Echo’ weaves pulsating rhythms, swirling guitars and ethereal vocals into a story that feels both timeless and urgent.

From the dub-soaked grooves of New Zealand to the psychedelic dancefloors of The Netherlands, the album bridges the past and the future, combining the raw power of blues and funk with the transcendence of electronic dance music.

Each track pulses like a ritual, transporting a listener into a dream state where echoes of forgotten stories merge with the energy of the present.

TRACK LISTING

Ain't No Turnin' Back
Siren Song
R U 4 Real
Trying Again
Agree 2 Disagree
We Agree
Less Is More
Smiley Virus
Queens Lament
Lightning

The journey Big Special have been on is one of the key stories told by their second album, National Average. And trust Big Special to invest those stories with wisdom, insight and the most absolute humanity. And these might be their stories, but the lessons speak to us all.

And so National Average reflects the world as it is, as Big Special have seen it while grinding around the nation and screaming their poetry at the people. The album also registers how their own lives, their own world has changed, and what that means.

With characteristic Big Special flair, the darkness is leavened by more than a ladle-full of the blackest humour.

But the upbeats are easily matched by the album’s downbeats, the album’s emotional shifts more crafted than on the debut. “The first half of the album is about ambition – you can hear the confidence of it, even a little bit of sleaze,” says Hicklin. “The second half is about reflecting on what’s happened, how everything’s changed. You’ve got to be honest with the darkness.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Wry, political spoken word pieces that are nicely produced and perfectly constructed, some a little louder and some a little less but all superb.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. THE MESS.
2. GOD SAVE THE PONY.
3. HUG A BASTARD.
4. SHOP MUSIC.
5. PIGS PUDDIN.
6. PROFESSIONALS.
7. GET BACK SAFE.
8. YESBOSS.

SIDE B
9. DOMESTIC BLISS.
10. JUDAS SONG.
11. THE BEAST.
12. I ONCE HAD A KESTREL.
13. THIN HORSES.

Words are not to be taken for granted. Especially when they’re being bellowed, full blast, by a broad-shouldered poet with the brimstone fire of a preacher and the honesty and wisdom of a layman, over ground-shaking live beats and between anthemic blasts of melody and rousing riffage.

Words matter. History matters. People matter. And BIG SPECIAL matter.

For BIG SPECIAL - Joe Hicklin (vocals) and Callum Moloney (drums) - their sound is one that comes from vital, frustrated young working-class voices that don’t always get heard on the scale they should do. It’s a frustration that comes to the fore through a voice that is at times coarse and raw, but sensitive, desperate and soulful at others. Hicklin's brimstone-fired voice marches from guttural punk barks and serrated spoken word to soaring soul and back again, arriving siphoned from their forebears, crushed under the weight of history, and retooled for a new generation. It’s wrought, raw and angry at a world lacking options, the thinning of the common understanding between the social classes of England, exasperation at repeating cycles, and the feeling that you’re watching your own life unfold from the outside.

These are songs that channel that voice you hear when you look in the mirror and see your true self – fight songs for a world gone wrong.

TRACK LISTING

01. BLACK COUNTRY GOTHIC
02. I MOCK JOGGERS
03. DESPERATE BREAKFAST
04. SHITHOUSE
05. THIS HERE AIN’T WATER
06. MY SHAPE (BLOCKING THE LIGHT)
07. BLACK DOG / WHITE HORSE
08. BROADCAST: TIME AWAY
09. ILL.
10. MONGREL
11. BUTCHER’S BIN
12. DUST OFF / START AGAIN
13. TREES
14. FOR THE BIRDS
15. DiG!

The Last Flight is our version of the story of Amelia Earhart's final, ill-fated journey in 1937. Having successfully navigated over 20,000 miles and 5 continents on her round-the-world trip, her aircraft, the Electra, vanished without trace near Howland Island. Her whereabouts, and those of her navigator, Fred Noonan, remain a lingering mystery to this day.

Rather than focus exclusively on the flight itself, the record is as much an examination of Earhart's remarkable character. She was an extremely rare blend of grace, composure, technical aptitude and a fortitude that the rest of us mere mortals can barely dream of, all enveloped by the soul of a poet. She was possessed of a seemingly unquenchable thirst for life - in her words, 'to find beauty in living... to know the answer to why I’m alive... and feel its excitement every moment'. That thirst for the abundance of life, the sheer joy and privilege of living, long outlasts her disappearance and death. It should serve as an inspiration, almost an instruction, to the rest of us; this record is our attempt to translate that inspiration into music.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Though I'm sure nobody planned it, PSB's 'The Last Flight' is the second album in the past couple months to have come out dedicated to famed aerial badass, Amelia Earhart. Good job then that while Laurie Anderson's outing is indeed a beauty, it's a completely different beast to the unfathomably epic instrumental drive and euphoric, filmic bliss of 'The Last Flight'. If you know PSB already, you know how good they are when they're in full flow, and this is it.

TRACK LISTING

1. I Was Always Dreaming
2. Towards The Dawn
3. The Fun Of It
4. The South Atlantic
5. Electra
6. Arabian Flight
7. Monsoons
8. A Different Kind Of Love
9. Howland

Deadletter were one of the most talked about band's of 2023, with their critically acclaimed debut EP 'Heat!' gaining nods from tastemakers including NME, CLASH, DIY, DORK and The Guardian, 2024 brings in the band's debut album, Hysterical Strength.

Having played together in groups prior, Deadletter was formed at the start of 2020, days before the pandemic struck. After some lineup experimentation, the addition of Will King (Guitar), Sam Jones (Guitar) and Poppy Richler (Saxophone) completed the group. Bound together by a recognition of frenetic energy and rhythm and leaving any wider ideological goal open to interpretation by the listener, it’s clear the release of their debut album heralds the next level for Deadletter.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Jagged guitars, frenetic percussive bursts and screaming saxophone work away beneath the snarling post-punk vocals and playful call-and-response melodic phrases. It's brilliantly done, and wonderfully written, resulting in something that could easily come across as a little untethered if it wasn't for Deadletter's impeccable rhythmic backbone.

TRACK LISTING

1. Credit To Treason
2. More Heat!
3. Mother
4. Bygones
5. A Haunting
6. It Flies
7. Hysterical Strength
8. Relieved
9. Deus Ex Machina
10. Practise Whilst You Preach
11. Mere Mortal
12. Auntie Christ 

“Writing this album, I opened up my closet, and a skeleton came out.” In a café just around the corner from his Edinburgh flat, Hamish Hawk is contemplating his extraordinary new record, A Firmer Hand. “The thing that links all of the songs is a sense of the unsaid, whether out of guilt, shame, repression, embarrassment, coyness, whatever it might have been. I realised: I am going to say these things, and not all of them are going to make me look good. The album made so many demands, and I just gave myself over to it.”

At this stage, where only a handful of close associates have heard the finished album, Hawk is still unsure of what the reaction might be from fans, critics, even family. He jokes that A Firmer Hand is the first of his records that his parents might not enjoy. “But the fact that it makes me nervous tells me it was the right thing to do.”

It takes only a couple of listens to be sure that it was a risk worth taking. And just a couple more to determine that A Firmer Hand is the best and boldest record Hamish Hawk has delivered to date. “It’s a bit of a coming of age record,” he says. And a record for the ages.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Bold swathes of melody, bracing melodic hooks and Hawk's incandescent vocals come together into a soaring marriage of style and substance. While Heavy Elevator and Angel Numbers both showed that Hawk was a skilled, passionate songwriter, the breadth of his undeniable talent has never been so clear as on 'A Firmer Hand'. A stylistically diverse, soaring collection of warmly delivered tales and beautifully written instrumentals.

TRACK LISTING

1. Juliet As Epithet
2. Machiavelli’s Room
3. Big Cat Tattoos
4. Nancy Dearest
5. Autobiography Of Spy
6. You Can Film Me
7. Christopher St.
8. Men Like Wire
9. Questionable Hit
10. Disingenuous
11. Milk An Ending
12. The Hard Won

'Dancing On The Frontline' is the companion record to Enter Shikari's UK #1 album 'A Kiss for the Whole World'. The new record brings together remixes, non-album singles (featuring the likes of Wargasm, Cody Frost, AViVA and Fever 333’s Jason Aalon Butler), plus live recordings from the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show and Future Sounds shows.

'Dancing On The Frontline' also comes with a Blu-ray of the band's headline performances at Slam Dunk Festival 2023 and Germany's Vainstream Festival. Their much-lauded live show has since been all around the world, covering the USA, Australia, Europe, UK, Ireland and more. Audiences in the UK also witnessed the band's biggest ever headline tour to date of the country's arenas, an audio-visual spectacular that The Guardian awarded four stars and heralded as "the beginning of Enter Shikari’s greatest chapter."

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A rare collection of non-album singles and remixes from Enter Shikari's huge 'A Kiss For The Whole World', with more than a hint of their incendiary live show coming through in the Radio 1 sessions. A great document of a mighty live band, and a great companion to the LP.

TRACK LISTING

1. Goldfish (Shikari Sound System Remix)
2. Bloodshot (Shikari Sound System Remix)
3. The Void Stares Back
4. Bull
5. STRANGERS
6. Losing My Grip
7. It Hurts (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
8. Bull Feat. Cody Frost (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
9. 2 Be Loved (BBC Radio One Future Sounds Session Version)
10. (pls) Set Me On Fire (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)
11. A Kiss For The Whole World (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)
12. Bloodshot (BBC Radio One Rock Show Session Version)

It's been almost 20 years since Seasick Steve's celebrated appearance on Jools Holland's Hootenanny launched the unknown American singer-songwriter to worldwide fame, and his beat-up three-string Japanese guitar and old wooden stompbox made musical history. The overwhelming response surprised nobody more than Steve himself, and was like a lightning strike; the impact of which is still being felt close to two decades later, as he has gone onto play almost every major festival in the World, rack up over 2 million album sales, and release three UK Top 10 albums.

His new record A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees is a record he proudly says is his favourite to date. Steve says: “This album was made by mistake, as the title suggests we just tripped and stumbled into it, and it became my favourite album ever and the piece of work I’m most proud of to date. There’s not a week goes by that I don’t thank my lucky stars for that night on the Hootenanny which has brought us here to this record”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Martin says: Another slab of gritty southern blues and dusty rock and / or roll from Seasick Steve, with catchy slides, rolling bass licks Steve's evocative syrupy vocal drawl laid over the top.

TRACK LISTING

1. Move To The Country
2. Internet Cowboys
3. San Francisco Sound '67
4. A Trip And A Stumble (For Leya)
5. This Way
6. Backbone Slip
7. Let The Music Talk
8. Funky Music
9. Cryin' Out Loud
10. Elisabeth

Tradition, community and the rugged ways of the island life: it all soaks into Hold Fast by Colin Macleod, his first album for SO Recordings. From the plangent, spacious Americana of the string laden opener Queen of the Highlands to his heartfelt love letter to home This Old Place, Hold Fast tells the tale of a man returning to the island where he was born after trying to make it in the world. Contrasting parts — Springsteen-style widescreen rock on The Long Road and Sleep, introspective acoustic folk on Made of Stone and 33 (one of two tracks on the album featuring Sheryl Crow) — contribute to a poignant whole.

And although it may sound like a story culled from Macleod’s own experience, being a singer songwriter who indeed left his tight-knit island community in search of glory, it is a work of fiction. It just happens to be fiction embedded in truth. "The stories in this album are a culmination of a mis-spent youth. Although the tales are fictional, there not a million miles from the truth, or from my own story, but hopefully more of a cautionary tale. What goes on in the shadows of an island? what happens when the summer light is replaced by long winters? Beautiful places often have a sorry tale to tell, but also a community to help pick you up if you fall by the roadside. This album is the story of one such journey. " - Colin Macleod

TRACK LISTING

1. Queen Of The Highlands
2. The Long Road
3. Warning Signs
4. Old Soul*
5. Sleep
6. Made Of Stone
7. 33*
8. Runaway
9. Looking For God
10. This Old Place