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.

"The Sevens" a series of four 7-inch vinyl records that unveil a treasure trove of previously unreleased tracks from A Place To Bury Strangers' critically acclaimed 6th album, "See Through You"

Renowned for their visceral sonic assault and immersive live performances, A Place To Bury Strangers has cemented the end-all-be-all space for over-the-top post- punk / shoegaze destruction. With this special vinyl collection, the band invites listeners to delve deeper into their sonic universe, exploring uncharted territories and hidden gems. Don't Turn The Radio / This Is All For You is the third release.

"When looking back at the recordings that were done around the time of See Through You there were a bunch of great tracks that just captured life back then and really had something incredible going on. Even though they are a bit raw and a bit personal, I thought it would be a mistake if they didn't come out. I thought it would be best to go back to my roots and put out a series of 7"s the way A Place To Bury Strangers started. That strange weird format where the tracks each speak for themselves, no album context to muddy the water. These tracks are such a contrast to the way I am feeling now and the current songs we've been working on so slip back into this moment in time." says APTBS' Oliver Ackermann.

TRACK LISTING

Don't Turn The Radio
This Is All For You

Bartees Strange has been one of the most significant indie artists to break out in the post-Pandemic era. He debuted with ‘Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy’, an album length collection of The National songs released in March 2020, on the cusp of the Pandemic. Later that year came his first LP, ‘Mustang’, which was named in endless year-end Best Of lists, including those from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Rolling Stone and NPR Music. He quickly signed to 4AD, and his debut for the label, ‘Farm To Table’, turned him into a club headliner and an arena-sized opening act with genre-defining artists such as The National, boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers and Courtney Barnett.

The vinyl-exclusive release, ‘Magic Boy’, represents the Bartees story before this story began -33 1/2 minutes of recordings created before he entered the public eye, with eight out of ten never previously released. It finds his ever-malleable sound touching on genres like coffee house folk (‘IDK’, ‘Best Of You’, ‘You’re Here’), emo troubadour (‘Count It Back’, ‘Little Brother’), and wigged-out experimentation (‘Eat Your Heart Out’). Appended with two tracks previously available only as digital Bsides from ‘Say Goodbye’ (‘HAGS’, ‘Going Going’), ‘Magic Boy’ reads as a kind of ‘lost’ album for someone shaping up to be a major voice in indie music.

Bartees’ story is a fairy tale of independent community and a triumph of efforts to diversify what the word ‘indie rock’ even means, reclaiming it for Black artists. The ‘Magic Boy’ LP is a fine way to celebrate Bartees Strange’s explosive trajectory, especially following his run of dates opening for The National at arenas across Europe in Autumn 2023.

TRACK LISTING

1. IDK
2. Going Going
3. HAGS
4. Best Of You
5. Eat Your Heart Out
6. You’re Here (Feat. Project Diem)
7. Count It Back
8. Get Over It (Feat. Lizzie No)
9. Little Brother
10. Going Going (Reprise)

Record Store Edition: Signed hardback + exclusive CD.

The accompanying 'Strange Things Are Happening' CD is a career spanning compilation which includes tracks from the seminal 'Jack The Tab' 1988 acid compilation, to The Grid's 'Floatation', through to later tracks as Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve with Erol Alkan, and a host of classic remixes and exclusive new tracks.

A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty

Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.

Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.

Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.

“It seems like the sky’s the limit with him. He’s got big things ahead...” - Bryce Dessner, The National

Bartees Strange has been one of the most significant indie artists to break out in the post-Pandemic era. His 2020 album, ‘Mustang’, was named to countless year-end best lists. He quickly signed to 4AD and his debut for the label Farm To Table turned him into a club headliner and an arena-sized opening act with genre-defining artists such as The National, boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers and Courtney Barnett.

‘Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy’ is where Bartees’ story began - a full-length cover album of songs by indie rock kingmakers The National. Quietly released in March 2020 - the day before lockdowns shut the world down - it instantly sold out its 300-copy pressing. Now back in print to celebrate his explosive trajectory and a run of dates opening for The National at arenas across Europe in Autumn, 2023.

A kind of fairy tale story of independent community and the effort to diversify what the term ‘indie rock’ even means, reclaiming the phrase for Black artists. ‘Say Goodbye’ also happens to touch upon Bartees’ incredibly broad palette of musical influences, with a sound ranging from garage rock (‘Mr. November’) to emotional R&B chill (‘About Today’ and ‘The Geese of Beverly Road’) to house music (‘Looking for Astronauts’). Members of The National have called Bartees’ hard riffing, emo-pop-rock rendition of ‘Lemonworld’ the definitive version of the song.

For fans of L’Rain, The National, Kara Jackson, boygenius, The Beths, TV on the Radio, Alvvays.

TRACK LISTING

About Today
All The Wine
Mr. November
A Reasonable Man (I Don’t Mind)
Lemonworld
The Geese Of Beverly Road
Looking For Astronauts
Lemonworld (Live At Studio 4)

A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty

Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.

Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.

Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.

Introducing "The Sevens" - A Sonic Revelation from A Place To Bury Strangers - Prepare to embark on a transcendent auditory journey with "The Sevens" a series of four 7-inch vinyl records that unveil a treasure trove of previously unreleased tracks from A Place To Bury Strangers' critically acclaimed 6th album, "See Through You". Renowned for their visceral sonic assault and immersive live performances, A Place To Bury Strangers has cemented the end-all-be-all space for over-the-top post-punk / shoegaze destruction. With this special vinyl collection, the band invites listeners to delve deeper into their sonic universe, exploring uncharted territories and hidden gems. Change Your God/Is It Time is the first release coming February 23.


"When looking back at the recordings that were done around the time of See Through You there were a bunch of great tracks that just captured life back then and really had something incredible going on. Even though they are a bit raw and a bit personal, I thought it would be a mistake if they didn't come out. I thought it would be best to go back to my roots and put out a series of 7"s the way A Place To Bury Strangers started. That strange weird format where the tracks each speak for themselves, no album context to muddy the water. These tracks are such a contrast to the way I am feeling now and the current songs we've been working on so slip back into this moment in time." says APTBS' Oliver Ackermann.

Arriving monthly at a record store near you

TRACK LISTING

A1. Change Your God
B1. Is It Time

Saturday night and Sunday morning; the sacred and the profane. These are the creative spaces of electronic pop duo Strange Boy. Disillusioned with the elitist hierarchies of classical singing, Kieran Brunt turned his attention to the songwriting world, drawing on his love of storytellers such as Anohni, The Magnetic Fields and Rufus Wainwright. With Brunt weaving a choral narrative on top of collaborator Matt Huxley’s atmospheric soundscapes, Strange Boy create a world rich with symbolism, grandeur and communion.

The London-based duo are releasing their debut album, ‘Love Remains’, via Groenland Records. The eleven songs that make up the album have formed gradually years of collaborating since they first met on a night out while wandering through Glastonbury in 2011. After moving to London together to pursue music seriously, Strange Boy’s sound has matured alongside Brunt and Huxley’s notable collaborations with the likes of Terry Riley, Nils Frahm, Clark, Squid, Aurora and artist Jeremy Deller.

Combining a bold narrative thrust with grandiose symbolism, Strange Boy have created a suite of impressionistic songs that exist in atmospheric soundworlds. The first single, ‘Boston Blue Period’, sets out the stall as a lush-but-unsettling piece, building over an extended intro then falling away to reveal a tender tale about letting go.

Following single ‘Sofia’ opens with a bouncing solo synth; the propulsive pattern ebbs and flows through the song, swelling with the outline of Brunt's beautiful, bittersweet address to the titular ‘Sofia’, who he explains “was the first child to come into my life as a grown-up. She brought with her such a fun and fresh energy at a time when I was grappling with early adulthood and despairing at what was happening in the world around me.”

‘Follow The News’ is the lead single from the album and draws upon Brunt’s personal experiences with ‘medication and self-medication’. Serious themes of mental illness are brought to the fore across the record, and treated with a mixture of irony, humour and catharsis.

Elsewhere on the album, the band lean further into this intimate, reflective mode of storytelling than ever before. ‘November Skies’ combines lo-fi vocal production with the lush strings and guest vocal of Nico Muhly and Anna B. Savage respectively, while Side A closer Whipping Boy’s softly crooned vocals and up-close piano recall the early works of James Blake and Anohni and the Johnsons. Brunt signposts his love for The Magnetic Fields with a cover of cult classic ‘100,000 Fireflies’, recorded in one take over layers of found tape played backwards at half-speed.

The album closes with the eponymous ‘Love Remains’, a song written early in the band’s formative years and honed gradually over their time together in live performances. The song swells in intensity as Brunt’s choral-inspired vocal soars over Huxley’s organ drones, industrial layers and experimental string textures, meditating on life and death in a swooping narrative of deep self-introspection.

The writing and recording of the album was as dramatic as it’s subject matter: while developing material Brunt was forced to leave his studio space at very short notice and ended up moving into the crypt of a Victorian church in London. The space - beautiful , spooky and very atmospheric - had a grand impact on the sonic imprint of the music, which was completed in Yorkshire alongside producer and mixer Richard Formby.

Working with rising star Jack Warne on the artwork, the band decided to make church objects and surroundings integral to the imagery of the album.

Ultimately, as the amorphous presence of Strange Boy, Brunt and Huxley have built a sonic world that inspires communion – with ourselves and with something more ethereal. Their debut album is a visceral storytelling experience not to be missed.

TRACK LISTING

Boston Blue Period
Follow The News
Oscar’s Song
Drunk In Iceland
Whipping Boy
(I Count The Fleeing
Hours)
Annunciation
Sofia
November Skies
100,000 Fireflies
Love Remains

East Los Angeles quartet Levitation Room’s floaty, cosmic songs are always a trip. Since forming nearly a decade ago, they’ve self-produced dizzying, otherworldly music that’s connected with fellow travelers in the hallucinogenic world of outré rock music.

Led by singer and guitarist Julian Porte along with founding members Gabriel Fernandez (lead guitar) and Johnathan Martin (percussion), the band has enchanted live audiences at Desert Daze and on tour with like-minded groups Post Animal and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. The band’s vivid sound has found them placed on popular playlists like Modern Psychedelia and the legendary superproducer’s Danger Mouse Jukebox. Their 2015 debut, “Friends,” has surpassed 18 million streams. Joined by new member Kevin Perez (bass) in 2021, Levitation Room have continued to expand their colorful, unearthly sound, a process that has culminated with the vibrant new album Strange Weather.

Collaborating with former Brian Jonestown Massacre keyboardist Rob Campanella, Jason Kick (Mild High Club), and Black Crowes’ Joel Robinow, Levitation Room take a new step in their story and vision with Strange Weather. The record’s lyrical narratives—about love in the park, life in the city, and the fact that “The world today is such an illusion”—are appropriately steeped in ’60s sonics and a dreamy, lo-fi atmosphere. It’s spacey, celestial guitar music for escaping into, and “it feels just like heaven.” Join Levitation Room on their new voyage.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A brilliantly widescreen fusion of heady psychedelic rock, perfectly manicured breakdowns and crisp, rhythmic percussion. Strange Weather have the pace and groove of the best electronic indie forebears with the carefree aura of the most exploratory free-psych of the 70's. Lovely stuff.

TRACK LISTING

1. Heaven
2. Strange Weather
3. Cool It, Baby
4. Expectations
5. Immortal Love
6. Scene For An Exit
7. Pintura
8. Morning Star
9. Revelations
10. The Other Side

Kula Shaker's new album 'Natural Magick' finds the band harnessing the power to cast their most potent spell yet, incorporating blazing psychedelic sermons, raga rave-ups, stardust-coated pop pearls and mood-enhancing mantras.

TRACK LISTING

1. Gaslighting
2. Waves
3. Natural Magick
4. Indian Record Player
5. Chura Liya (You Stole My Heart)
6. Something Dangerous
7. Stay With Me Tonight
8. Happy Birthday
9. IDONTWANNAPAYMYTAXES
10. F- Bombs
11. Whistle And I Will Come
12. Kalifornia Blues
13. Give Me Tomorrow

Nation of Language announce the release of their new album, Strange Disciple. Out September 15th on Play It Again Sam, following performances at Primavera Sound, Pitchfork Festival, Outside Lands and dozens more of their biggest headline shows to date, the Brooklyn band’s third LP is one that is meant to invoke wandering, wondrous walks through city streets both foreign and familiar. In the three short years since their acclaimed debut, 2020’s Introduction, Presence, Nation of Language have sustained an increasing ascent from small, hyperlocal scenes to international stages and late-night television, while their musical evolution has embodied three distinct modes of moving through the world: lead singer and songwriter Ian Devaney imagines the band’s first album, Introduction, Presence, as taking place in a car, whereas second album A Way Forward occurred on and as a locomotive, influenced by the chugging sound of krautrock. Now, as their first record to be fully created and released outside the confines of a pandemic-instilled lockdown, Strange Disciple is centred around groove-driven songs and bouncing basslines that feel ambulatory and wayfaring, informed by the excitement of exploring new places the band never thought they would see on tour.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's easy to hear a lot of influence here, the echoic vocals of Tears For Fears, or the percussive skitter of OMD, but all rendered in Nation Of Language's own unique indie-rock palette. Arm-raising balladry and slowly building walls of sound, pieced together arp by arp.

TRACK LISTING

Weak In Your Light
Sole Obsession
Surely I Can't Wait
Swimming In The Shallow Sea
Too Much, Enough
Spare Me The Decision
Sightseer
Stumbling Still
A New Goodbye
I Will Never Learn

Mysterious Dutch outfit Doxa Sinistra have been operating on the fringes of the industrial-experimental and sound collage tape scenes since the very early 1980s. Their output has long been coveted by fans of DIY and left-field music since their earliest transmissions, and this featured 1983 recording 'The Other Stranger' might well be one of their most known. A truly strange offering, the track is a cascading acidic and minimal stripped piece, bathed in disparate resonant sample sources that could possibly have been recorded straight from the TV set. Nobody really knows what it all means, but it doesn't matter as the end result is an engaging mesmerising hypnagogic masterpiece of sampling and rhythmic free sound. A true classic from the outer reaches of electronic music.

Midnight Drive label owner Brian Not Brian featured 'The Other Stranger' on his now infamous 'Holywell Session' cassette tape for the sadly missed Blackest Ever Black ever label in 2014, and the track was also a highlight of Boards Of Canada's cult 'Societas X Tape' for NTS in 2019. This special 7" vinyl only edition also features the more stripped back rhythm track version entitled 'Strange' on the b-side that is a slightly longer mix with a different arrangement and no samples, letting the minimalist acid and drum machine workout unfurl at its own steady woozy pace. This is the first time both versions have been remastered and have appeared together as a single and it is presented here with the blessing and involvement of Doxa Sinistra.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Batshit genius from these mythical Dutch industrialists. Cultishly coveted by those who know it; I can't think of any other record quite like it.

TRACK LISTING

A. The Other Stranger
B. Strange 

‘Strange Men’ is the debut EP from the new and bold Leeds based artist, Lois. A body of work that re-tells interactions between Lois and different ‘strange’ men, from pain and dissociation of self to falling in love, healing and searching for mental clarity, Lois speaks of the experiences that made her who she is today.

TRACK LISTING

1. Strong
2. Strange Men
3. Running
4. Interlude
5. The Way You Are
6. Twist In The Wind

In celebration of Strange Pleasures turning 10, Still Corners have released a very special remastered 10-year anniversary edition on transparent green vinyl. The album has been remastered by John Davis at Metropolis London, described by Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) as ‘a master of his craft’. The anniversary edition includes all the album’s lyrics (for the first time) on a gatefold album sleeve, Strange Pleasures poster, digital download, including a bonus download ‘We Have the Future on Tape’. Originally released on Sub Pop, Strange Pleasures has developed cult status since its release in 2013. Opening song, ‘The Trip’, captured people’s hearts with one YouTube video acting as a virtual community for like-minded fans around the world. ‘Fireflies’ (Pitchfork, Best New Track), ‘Strange Pleasures’, ‘Beginning to Blue’ and ‘The Trip’ have been used across film and television since the album’s release.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Trip
2. Beginning To Blue
3. I Can’t Sleep
4. All I Know
5. Fireflies
6. Berlin Lovers
7. Future Age
8. Going Back To Strange
9. Beatcity
10. Midnight Drive
11. We Killed The Moonlight
12. Strange Pleasures

Strange Pilgrim is the self-titled debut album from singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Josh Barnhart. Drawing on themes of dislocation and featuring dreamlike imagery, Strange Pilgrim is an exploration of life in an increasingly unfamiliar world. Much of the lyrical content focuses on the social and political uncertainty of these times; on connecting with nature and yearning for some form of freedom from the often monotonous grind of modern life.

Equally inspired by the bucolic folk-rock of Fleetwood Mac’s Future Games, the hazy psychedelia of Dungen, and the soundscapes of Brian Eno, their harmony-drenched psych-pop sound is centered on the experience of venturing toward some unknown horizon, come what may. Highly anticipated debut album from Strange Pilgrim.

“Rich in West Coast psych-pop vibes and lush harmonies, while Strange Pilgrim may have its roots in existential angst, a product of unsettled times, ultimately, it seeks to fly on wings of hope.” - Folk Radio UK. 

TRACK LISTING

1. More Than I Did
2. Staring At The Sky
3. Brighter Horizon
4. Salt And Seagulls
5. Embers
6. Blue Light
7. Survive The Summer
8. Dance With Me
9. The Mirror
10. No Relief

The popularity of Brazilian music from the 60s, 70s and 80s has experienced quite the renaissance; artists such as Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Arthur Verocai, Joyce et al, have become household names to an international audience passionate about global sounds.

However, even for die- hard fans and collectors of Brazilian music of the past, discovering contemporary Brazilian artists is not always easy, nor accessible. But, if you know where to look, you will see that there is a resurgence well underway that can be epitomised by an exciting new wave of Brazilian artists beginning to break through and gather momentum overseas. It's with thanks to Sound and Colours, a website devoted to promoting Latin American music and culture, that we can help shine a light on one particular collective, bursting with creativity and camaraderie.

'Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro' is compiled by Joe Osborne (founder of specialist Brazilian music platform Brazilian Wax) and Russ Slater (editor at large of Sounds and Colours). Focusing solely on the 'Rio Scene', rather than taking on the mammoth task of tackling Brazil as a whole, this collection presents 20-plus ground-breaking artists selected from Rio's resurgent music scene. By presenting a snapshot into the pulse of the city and the vibrant musicians that live in it, 'Hidden Waters' collates tracks from a wide spectrum of musical genres from the avant-garde edge to bossa nova, samba, Candomblé, lofi rock, jazz and funk.

'Hidden Waters' showcases musicians such as iconic Rio mainstays Negro Leo & Ava Rocha, Brazilian jazz upstart Antônio Neves, critically lauded Avant- pop trailblazer Thiago Nassif, breakthrough artists Ana Frango Elétrico and Letrux, lofi psych rocker Lê Almeida, plus the Latin Grammy-winning Bala Desejo who are set to explode onto the world stage. The music featured on 'Hidden Waters' is unequivocally Brazilian, swelling with samba, bossa nova, funk, and jazz. But it's within the album's blend; from sunny psychedelia to dusky synth- pop via experimental electronics, that marks the compilation as the sound of modern, multicultural Rio.

This comprehensive compilation comes with album artwork designed by Rio music's leading album artwork designer, Caio Paiva. It features essays by professor and music critic Bernardo Oliveira and music journalist Leonardo Lichote, plus extensive notes on each track by the artists themselves.

Featuring ground-breaking artists from Rio's resurgent music scene, intent on bringing an avant-garde edge to bossa nova, samba, jazz and funk.

TRACK LISTING

Ana Frango Elétrico - Saudade
Pedro Fonte - Clichê
Bala Desejo - Lua Comanche
Ava Rocha - Boca Do Céu
Exército De Bebês - Avós Da Experiência
Thiago Nassif - Soar Estranho (feat. Arto Lindsay, Vinicius Cantuária & Gabriela Riley)
Negro Leo - Mulato
Mari Romano - Amélie
Rosabege - Sigo Num Site Mármore
Dora Morelenbaum - Vento De Beirada
Cadu Tenório & Juçara Marçal - Candombe - La Cacundê Iauê
Jonas Sa - Gigolô
Troá - Bandeide
Marcelo Callado - Simbora (feat. Silvia Machete)
Ovo Ou Bicho - Moços
Lê Almeida - Apreço Antigo
Vovô Bebê - Briga De Família (feat. Ana Frango)
Joana Queiroz - Dois Litorais
Raquel Dimantas - Flecha Azul
António Neves & Thiaguinho Silva - Das Neves
Letrux - Dorme Com Essa
Os Ritmistas - Sambolero

Hard on the heels of their critically-acclaimed singles “Don’t Panic England” and “A DFFRNT WRLD”. TV Smith, frontman of The Adverts and Richard Strange, frontman of Doctors of Madness release “A DFFRNT WRLD”, a DOUBLE CD set of songs for the Digital Age. A collection of fist-pumping, toe-tapping rants by two of Britain’s finest songwriters. The two met in 1976 and were firm fans of each other’s bands. They started writing together in 1977, and Record Store Day 2021 saw the release of their sell-out vinyl album 1978, a collection of songs written by the two when their respective bands hit the buffers in that year. Encouraged by the success of the vinyl release, the two discussed the possibility of re-imagining and re-recording the songs in a world that has changed beyond recognition since 1978. When the two musicians first met in 1977, there was no internet, no mobile phones, no wi-fi, no samplers, no digital recording, no Instagram, no Facebook, no TikTok, no Starbucks, no Covid …it is, and was, A DFFRNT WRLD.

Produced by Strange and with some tracks mixed by Martyn Ware and Tom Gillieron, A DFFRNT WRLD flexes its musical and lyrical muscles like a digital-age superhero, and speaks loud and clear to all generations. The Adverts and Doctors of Madness were two seminal bands of the mid 70s.TV Smith wrote three of the most iconic songs of the punk era…One Chord Wonders, Bored Teenagers and the hit single Gary Gilmore’s Eyes, and has released 14 albums to date. His live shows are legendary for the fervour and the almost religious zeal of his fans. Richard “Kid” Strange went on to work with artists as varied as Tom Waits, Frank Zappa, The Nightingales and Marianne Faithfull, as well as working as an actor in the films Batman, Robin Hood, Gangs of New York and Harry Potter. Their friendship dates back 45 years, through the unique journeys their lives have taken them on. 

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1:
1. The Big Break
2. Kings Of The Wreckage
3. Making Machines
4. Last Human Being In The World
5. Summer Fun
6. Some Kind Of War
7. Torpedo
8. Dance Of Death
Disc 2:
1. A Dffrnt Wrld
2. The Big Break
3. Making Machines
4. Some Kind Of War
5. Torpedo
6. Last Human Being In The World
7. Kings Of The Wreckage
8. Dance Of Death
9. Don’t Panic England 

Devon Church is a singer-songwriter hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba and based in New York City. He was, for many years, a multiinstrumentalist, co-writer and producer of the dreampop duo Exitmusic, whose album, Passage (Secretly Canadian), Pitchfork described as “insurgent, cinematic, and sometimes brilliant.” In 2018, the same year that Exitmusic released it’s swan song, The Recognitions (felte), Church released his solo debut, We Are Inextricable (felte), which employed the textural electronic elements he had harnessed during the Exitmusic years in the service of a songwriting style rooted in the folk rock tradition, with deep nods to Cohen and Dylan. The results, according to Allmusic, were both “affecting and musically inventive.” Having gigged throughout the US in 2019 (opening for the likes of Orville Peck, Adam Green, Kirin J Callinan and Black Marble) Church set to work recording his latest offering, Strange Strangers, while seeking refuge from the global pandemic in a barn in rural Pennsylvania.

The album’s opening track, “This is Paradise (But Not For Us),” is an ironic complaint sung by an itinerant Adam & Eve to their absent father, a kind of gnostic protest ballad in waltz time. It sounds as if Apollo-era Eno had wrested the controls (and the handgun) from Phil Spector halfway through the recording of Death of a Ladies Man. The atmospheric elements of Church’s past productions are sublimated throughout the album, put into the service of tape-saturated vocals, combo organs and guitars. His voice, grown more confident and understated since his debut, still ranges from a laconic Lee Hazelwood hangover to a smoky Tom Waits growl, but it smooths out nicely on tracks like the intensely melodic and propulsive ”Flash of Lightning in a Clear Blue Sky.” Angelic backing vocals by Church’s partner, the artist Ada Roth (who also co-directed two delightfully strange videos for the album) lend an aura of dreamlike lightness in contrast to the baritone of the album's world weary narrator. When, in hushed tones reminiscent of Hope Sandoval, Roth comes to the front of the mix to deliver a lyric like “We’re so bored of the apocalypse,” things take a subtly menacing turn toward pop surrealism.

A sense of cosmic black-humor has crept into Church’s lyrics, which deal with a sort of bewildered pilgrim’s progress through various spiritual and material Bardo states. "Jesus was a genius," sings the Adam character in This is Paradise, "but I prefer his early stuff." On ”What is Consciousness?/St Teresa,” a suite featuring arpeggiated analog synths and slide guitar by indie rock virtuoso Delicate Steve, Church answers the question, "What is consciousness?" with the wry formulation of the Tibetan crazy wisdom teacher Chögyam Trungpa: "Mostly your bad habits." And on the languidly psychedelic ”Slouching Toward Bethlehem,” in the midst of a string section and what sounds like a choir of monks, Church reflects lysergically on selfhood itself:

Slouching toward Bethlehem
Giving birth to myself again
Wondering where my body begins
And where the bacteria ends

Strange Strangers borrows its title from the eco-philosopher Timothy Morton: ‘The strangeness of strange strangers is itself strange, meaning the more we know about an entity the stranger it becomes.’ On Ephemera, Church seems to lament the mysterious unknowability of these objects of our deepest desires and fears, but he does so with defiant exuberance, his ecstatically strummed acoustic guitar threatening to go off the rails. “I was weary and you took me in your arms," he sings to the other (a lover, a god?). "I couldn’t see you, but you held me like the light holds the dark.”

RIYL: Mark Lanegan, Tom Waits, Crooked Fingers, The National, Lee Hazlewood, Atlas Sound, Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, Chad VanGaalen.

TRACK LISTING

01. Slouching Toward Bethlehem
02. This Is Paradise (But Not For Us)
03. Bored Of The Apocalypse
04. All Is Holy (A432)
05. Flash Of Lightning In A Clear Blue Sky
06. Ephemera
07. Winter’s Come
08. Since I Fell
09. Deer Park

When Philip Selway approached some of his favourite musicians to play on his third solo record he said he imagined it as a Carole King record if she collaborated with the pioneering electronic composer Daphne Oram and invited him to drum on it. Unsurprisingly they were all sold, and so began the bringing together of an extraordinary number of gifted people, including Hannah Peel, Adrian Utley, Quinta, Marta Salogni, Valentina Magaletti and Laura Moody.

Foregrounding this remarkable union of musical voices was 10 songs written by Selway at home on piano and guitar that show him at the height of his songwriting powers. As Strange Dance unfurls, it takes the listener through different weathers and seasons. Each song carries varied and diverse shades and textures of emotion. Lyrically, it is artful. Selway has a gift at writing heartfelt lyrics which could relate to any number of human experiences.

TRACK LISTING

LP / CD Tracklisting
1 Little Things
2 What Keeps You Awake At Night
3 Check For Signs Of Life
4 Picking Up Pieces
5 The Other Side
6 Strange Dance
7 Make It Go Away
8 The Heart Of It All
9 Salt Air
10 There’ll Be Better Days

Box Set Tracklisting
Side A
1 Little Things
2 What Keeps You Awake At Night
3 Check For Signs Of Life
4 Picking Up Pieces
5 The Other Side

Side B
1 Strange Dance
2 Make It Go Away
3 The Heart Of It All
4 Salt Air
5 There’ll Be Better Days

Side C
1 The Hills
2 Sea Longing
3 Lara
4 Munich
5 Expectant
6 Our Bloods
7 An Tri Numh

Side D
1 Recitation
2 Strange Broken Sleep
3 People Of The Sea
4 Pray Hard
5 Carmilla
6 Coutille
7 Let Me Go (Live For Eid Celebration)

Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell releases a new compilation album called Strange Loops & Outer Psych on February 10, 2023.

The release marks the end of the campaign for Andy’s second solo album Flicker, which came out to great acclaim in February 2022, and rounds up 16 tracks from his recent run of three EPs (I Am A Strange Loop, The Grounding Process and Untitled Film Stills) that were made up of remixes, acoustic versions and covers of songs that inspired the album.

The new CD release includes four tracks that weren’t included on the original limited-edition vinyl releases. It also includes his fuzzed-up cover of Yoko Ono’s song ‘Listen, The Snow Is Falling’ – which was recently given the official seal of approval when Yoko herself tweeted the video to her 4.5 million followers – and the majestic Maps remix of ‘It Gets Easier’, as heard on Lauren Laverne’s show on BBC Radio 6 Music. There are further remixes by David Holmes, Richard Norris, bdrmm, A Place To Bury Strangers and Claude Cooper, as well as covers of songs by The Kinks, Arthur Russell and Pentangle and five fragile acoustic takes on album tracks.

“Almost a year to the day since I released my second album Flicker, here is a technicolour companion piece that pulls together the tracks from the EPs to colour in the edges of the record,” says Andy. “Influences, stripped down acoustic reworks and remixes by my friends, comrades and heroes all hopefully help the listener see where my head was when I made Flicker, but also it stands up as a decent listen in its own right.”

The CD was mastered in New York by Heba Kadry and is sequenced like a mixtape, which makes for a proper listening experience. “Hatful Of Hollow is my favourite Smiths album, just saying,” explains Andy. “Thanks to everyone who supported my music in 2022, I appreciate you all, see you in 2023.”

STAFF COMMENTS

Liam says: Collating his three 10 inch releases from last year into a tasty little CD package, with a couple of extra remixes thrown in, 'Strange Loops & Outer Psyche' is the essential companion piece to Bell's fantastic 'Flicker'. With covers, acoustic versions and remixes, this one shouldn't be missed!

TRACK LISTING

1. The Sky Without You (David Holmes Radical Mycology Remix)
2. It Gets Easier (Maps Remix)
3. Our Last Night Together (Arthur Russell Cover)
4. The Way Love Used To Be (The Kinks Cover)
5. Something Like Love (Richard Norris Remix)
6. Listen, The Snow Is Falling (Yoko Ono Cover)
7. She Calls The Tune (Acoustic Version)
8. Love Is The Frequency (Acoustic Version)**
9. Light Flight (Pentangle Cover)
10. Lifeline (Acoustic Version)
11. World Of Echo (A Place To Bury Strangers Remix)**
12. Sidewinder (Claude Cooper Remix)**
13. Way Of The World (bdrmm Remix)
14. World Of Echo (Acoustic Version)
15. Something Like Love (Acoustic Version)
16. Something Like Love (Richard Norris Remix – Instrumental)**

The Chameleons (arguably the best band to come out of Manchester) with their critically acclaimed classic third album, ‘Strange Times’. Recorded on the legendary Geffen label, it sees the band’s atmospheric post punk anthems with soaring guitars and driving rhythms at their peak, and Mark Burgess’s compelling vocals coming together to form a wall of the most beautiful noise you’ve ever heard.

In a post on his Instagram account in 2018, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher cited ‘Strange Times’ as an early influence on his songwriting: “I’d forgotten how much this album meant to me. It came out in ‘86. I was 19!! I’ve been listening to it every day since and I have to say it’s blown my mind… again! It must have influenced my early years as a songwriter because I can hear ME in it everywhere!”

Burgess later said, “‘Strange Times’ is my favourite. Personally, I believe it was the best lyrical work I’d done with the band and some of the best vocal performances, and I think the Chameleons really began to mature and move forward with this album…”

‘Strange Times’ was praised by the critics. Ian Gittins of Melody Maker called it “a marvellous departure” from their previous work and “a wonderful record.” Robert Palmer of The New York Times described it as “the band’s most inventive and winning album yet, and as a fine a record as any pop-rock guitar band has made this year. it should delight just about anyone.”

The Chameleons have long been named as an influence on bands such as The Flaming Lips, The Killers, The Editors and Smashing Pumpkins.

The album has been mastered by Steve Hall, whose works include The Flaming Lips’ ‘The Soft Bulletin’, Janes Addiction’s ‘Nothing Shocking’, Tom Petty ‘Full Moon Fever’, Green Day ‘Nimrod’, Blondie ‘Parallel Lines’ and ‘No Exit’, Alice in Chains ‘Dirt’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’.

TRACK LISTING

Mad Jack
Caution
Tears
Soul In Isolation
Swamp Thing
Time/End Of Time
Seriocity
In Answer
Childhood
I’ll Remember
Tears (full Arrangement)
Ever After
Paradiso
Inside Out
John I’m Only Dancing
Tomorrow Never Knows

“It was so great to see what came back when I gave these tracks from Flicker to various comrades, friends and heroes to play with,” says Andy. “They’ve given them a new technicolour life.” “David Holmes requested the opening track as he had formed a bit of a connection with it, and what he came up with turns the song into an hallucinogenic beast, taking pride of place here as the opening track but in a whole different way to how Flicker opens. “James Chapman AKA Maps has taken ‘It Gets Easier’ to a bigger, brighter and shinier place, he’s given quite a downbeat track a euphoric and epic sheen. James is an absolute master of electronic production and he’s taken the same care and attention over this remix as he does with his own wonderful music. “I couldn’t put Richard Norris’ lovely widescreen take on ‘Something Like Love’ better than the man himself – in his own words he found the ‘hitherto undiscovered sweet spot between ‘Roscoe’ and ‘Outdoor Miner’’ and he tapped into the melancholy euphoria at the core of the song. “bdrmm’s remix of ‘Way Of The World’ is one for headphones. There are so many great moments to love, all held together by a bassline worthy of Jah Wobble (by way of Andrew Weatherall). Astonishing!”

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: 'I am a Strange Loop' is the first in the trio of Andy Bell recordings this week, seeing the hugely talented Ride legend Andy Bell reworked by a number of today's most renowned musicians. This time we get ambient legend Richard Norris as well as the brilliant bdrmm, Maps and David Holmes. Ace

TRACK LISTING

A1. The Sky Without You (David Holmes Radical Mycology Remix)
A2. It Gets Easier (Maps Remix)
B1. Something Like Love (Richard Norris Remix)
B2. Way Of The World (bdrmm Remix)

Born in Ipswich, England to a military father and opera-singer mother Bartees had a peripatetic early childhood before eventually settling in Mustang, Oklahoma. Later, Bartees cut his teeth playing in hardcore bands in Washington D.C. and Brooklyn whilst working in the Barack Obama administration and (eventually) the environmental movement. Since charting a path as a solo artist, Bartees Strange has released two records in quick succession: an EP reimagining songs by The National (Say Goodbye To Pretty Boy, 2020) and his debut album proper Live Forever (2020).

Farm to Table, which also includes recent single ‘Heavy Heart’, is the second album from Washington D.C. resident Bartees Leon Cox Jr.. Where his 2020 debut record Live Forever introduced the experiences and places that shaped Bartees (Flagey Brussels, Mustang Oklahoma), Farm to Table zeros in on the people – specifically his family – and those closest to him on his journey so far. With his career firmly on the ascent, Farm to Table examines Bartees’ constantly shapeshifting relationship with life post-Live Forever. It also speaks to a deeper lore that says, don’t forget where you came from, and this album is why. Always remembering where he came from, across 10 songs Bartees is celebrating the past, moving towards the future, and fully appreciating the present.

An unapologetic and braggadocious indie-trap banger, new single ‘Cosigns’ celebrates Bartees’ peers, collaborators and friends; name-checking the likes of Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, Courtney Barnett, Lucy Dacus, through a genre-defying outpouring somewhere between swaggering hip hop and euphoric alt rock. The song ends on a poem he wrote in his early 20s, “I don’t know how to be full, it’s the hardest to know, I keep consuming I can’t give it up, It’s never enough.” ‘Cosigns’ is also a moment for Bartees to acknowledge himself, giving himself credence and unashamedly basking in that glow. Its accompanying official video was directed by Pooneh Ghana.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Heavy Heart
A2. Mulholland Dr.
A3. Wretched
A4. Cosigns
A5. Tours
B1. Hold The Line
B2. We Were Only Close For Like Two Weeks
B3. Escape This Circus
B4. Daily News (Vinyl Only Track)
B5. Black Gold
B6. Hennessy

Alabama's native son, Early James, will release his sophomore album, Strange Time To Be Alive, on July 29th, 2022. The lyrical wordsmith conjures the ghosts of great southern gothic writers from Eudora Welty to William Faulkner, while channeling the haunted spirits of Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt. The album evokes a timeless amalgam of forsaken blues, wistful folk, and Tin Pan Alley crooning, anchored by the singer’s unmistakable voice that sways from gravel-filled shouts to pained, forlorn whispers – and songs that tread in the waters of darkly themed broken hearts, with the wry humor of the sad clown.

On the road again since August 2021, Early James will continue touring consistently through 2022. Confirmed upcoming tour dates are with The Black Keys and The Ghost of Paul Revere. Previously, Early James has played Newport Folk and toured with The Lone Bellow, The Marcus King Band, Zachary Williams, and Shovels & Rope.

“Holy Scum”. Say it out loud. It’s a name that can’t help but be spat out viciously; a snarling exclamative that fits the bludgeoning sludge and feedback drenched improv rock that its progenitors unleash on their debut for Rocket Recordings, Strange Desires.Initially a Manchester-based collaboration between guitarist Peter J Taylor (formerly of Action Beat) GNOD co-founder Chris Haslam on bass and his bandmate Jon Perry on drums, the thick gauze of Holy Scum’s jams have been pulled apart in production by one of half of legendary hip-hop duo Dälek, Mike Mare (aka Mike Manteca). He also provides the growling, guttural vocals.“When Mike got involved it became another thing entirely to what we had originally perceived” notes Haslam “He added a whole new dimension to what we had been working on.”“He kept asking if it was okay to fuck what we sent him up and we kept asking him to fuck it up even more” adds Taylor. “I kept referencing My Bloody Valentine in terms of creating a wall of noise, but we wanted it to be heavy as fuck.” The resulting dystopian tumult of sound thus also finds itself somewhere above and beyond the sonic scorched earth inhabited by early Swans, Godflesh and Shit And Shine.“All of the lyrics revolve around the collapse of society, feeling numb watching it happen, what it’s like on the other side communicating with the dead and looking to other worlds for relief” reckons Mare” Indeed, Strange Desires is a record for the moment, and beyond. A howl amidst a world fallen off its axis. Holy Scum are unflinching in their confrontation, meeting fire with fire on this most stunning debut.

TRACK LISTING

01. Never Feeling Your Endless Breathing
02. Room Of Cruelty
03. Everybody Takes You Just Take More
04. A World About To Die
05. Light Chooses Mine
06. Drowned By Silence
07. Useless Wonderful Doubt
08. Pcgfhilthposhi

Inspiration can strike anyone at any time, and more often than not from somewhat peculiar quarters. Rarely more so than when Sam Grant - thus far best known as guitarist and producer of Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - finally set about work on a solo project that had been pursuing him for some years. “I want people to imagine that feeling of rubber - its physical memory, the unnatural vibe of it. It’s so tactile but alien. It’s an odd analogy, but that’s what this music is for me.”

A specific gravity is one more property that rubber has going for it, and that much is certainly true of Rubber Oh’s debut album ‘Strange Craft’, the result of his elasticated fixation, and his debut album of deliriously tuneful sci-fi tinged psychpop. It’s a unique soundworld in which an emphasis on beguiling melody marries a kaleidoscopic grandeur. Widescreen gems like the warped interstellar voyage that is Children Of Alchemy and the unshakeable earworm Hyperdrive Fantasyare all vibrant colour and celestial energy, setting their psychic stall out somewhere between the incandescent headspace of a ‘70s sci-fi TV show and the red-light-fever of the overheated ampstacks Grant has been historically more familiar with.

Ultimately, for Grant as well as everyone else, Rubber Oh amounts to one strange trip - “Many of the lyrics are about alchemy, journeying and vessels, as interchangeable metaphors for knowledge and wisdom” he says. “I wanted to mesh the land and sea, the cosmos and the psyche across the tracks as one single plane” Mission accomplished, in short. This Strange Craft is fuelled up and ready to accept all comers on a ride into extensions through dimensions

TRACK LISTING

01. Humans
02. Dust
03. Children Of Alchemy
04. Little Demon
05. Colour Orbit
06. Hyperdrive Fantasy
07. Arcade
08. To Be The Mariner
09. Nothing
10. You'll Feel Better In The Morning

The Loyal Seas are Tanya Donelly and Brian Sullivan. For the last decade, trailblazing alternative rock figurehead Tanya Donelly - co-founder of Belly, Throwing Muses and The Breeders - has pursued meaningful collaborations with favorite artists and friends. The resulting work is by turns poignant, delightful and entirely surprising, melding folk, rock, pop and orchestral sounds.

Her latest, The Loyal Seas, pairs Donelly with New England cult-favorite Brian Sullivan, who's worked under the moniker Dylan in the Movies since the mid '00s. A skilled singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Sullivan's debut, Feel the Pull (2005), and follow-up full-length, Sweet Rebel Thee (2014), are each teeming with a lush, discrete form of alt-pop, Sullivan's private mind garden translated as cinematic vignettes.

Donelly and Sullivan first met in the mid '90s at Fort Apache Studios, the famed New England recording studio that has produced legions of beloved albums. They were friends almost instantly and have collaborated over years, appearing on two of American Laundromat's most popular tribute compilations. The pair contributed a sparkling cover of "The Lovecats" for Just Like Heaven: A Tribute to The Cure (2009), where Donelly's honeyed rasp is brightened by the contrast of Sullivan's lower-register growls. Their take on "Shoplifters of the World Unite," from Please, Please, Please: A Tribute to the Smiths (2011), glimmers with melancholic wonder, Donelly's silken lead vocals textured by an orchestral scythe and Sullivan's backing anchor.

The Loyal Seas' dynamic debut album, "Strange Mornings in the Garden" features 10 glorious originals written by Donelly and Sullivan, and showcases particular sides of their personalities with luxuriant, sweeping ballads to tightly-knit, kinetic alt-pop. It's a beautiful album from start to finish. Mastered by Sean Glonek (Matthew Sweet, Juliana Hatfield, Waxahatchee), with original art by Nicole Anguish (Nada Surf, Letters to Cleo, Lake Street Dive).

TRACK LISTING

1 (So Far From) Silverlake
2 Strange Mornings In The Garden
3 Early Light
4 Driving With A Ghost
5 Mary Magdalene In The Great Sky
6 Come Around Again
7 Milkweed
8 Last Of The Great Machines
9 You, Me, And The Sea
10 Swimmers In The Gold

Hologram is the follow up to their highly regarded fifth album, Pinned, and is a sonic return to A Place To Bury Strangers’ rawest, most unhinged sound. With songs addressing the decay of connections, friendships lost, and the trials and tribulations of these troubled times, Hologram serves as an abstract mirror to the moment we live in. Written and recorded during the on-going global pandemic and in the midst of the decline of civilization, Hologram is a sonic vaccine to the horrors of modern life.

Kings of the Valley are finally ready with their selftitled debut album! Three long years have passed since the band released their first EP. Norway’s friendliest band serves critically acclaimed retro prog and catchy stoner rock. Kings of the Valley plays music characterized by intense guitar riffs, melodic bass, pulsating drums and vocal harmonies. The band’s expression has strong common features with seventies rock, psychedelic rock, good old prog rock and stylish stoner rock. Like the EP from 2017, the album was mainly recorded in Brygga Studio in Trondheim by super technician and wonder producer Pål Brekkås and keyboardist and guitar hero Øystein Megård. The gorgeous album cover is designed by art legend Robert Høyem. In 2017, The Wilhelmsen said “Holy cow, these guys can play!”. Ida Jenshus recently stated that Kings of the Valley is “by far the most pleasant rock band in Norway!”, while the drummer’s mother says: “Nice music, but I think it’s a bit noisy.” The debut Kings of the Valley is comprised of a handful of shorter and several lengthy tracks which move thematically and genre-wise within 60s and 70s prog-rock, psychedelic rock and 90s stoner rock in the same vein as King Crimson, Sleep and Motorpsycho. Kings of the Valley is out September 18th on Wonderful & Strange Records and available in Europe from Stickman Records.

File Under: Deep Downtempo / Cosmic Throb / Sensitive Soft Rock

It’s a strange world we’re living in and these addictive cuts mirror it well.
Dancing all night in cheerful melancholy with two strictly limited edits.

The A-side renders gothic synth pop at cruising tempo, spinning a web of tape delay as your mind unravels. A bassline throbs, pistons hiss and a paranoia takes hold of an icy vocal. Lose yourself in the otherwhere.

We step into a pristine wilderness on the B-side, stately pads gliding over a supple rhythm section while tender chimes tug at your heartstrings. Emotion abounds on an instrumental which never was. Big boys do cry, and this dove’s weeping over broken wings…

101 was gone within 2 weeks. Just sayin’ ...

STAFF COMMENTS

Mine says: WDC101 was a staple on the shop player and I'm sure its successor will be a firm favourite of ours too. If side A is your perfect start to the night (I'm thinking slowly wobbling on to the (imaginative) dance floor...), side B is the perfect ending. Top marks again!

TRACK LISTING

A. Strange World 7:04 / 86 BPM
B. Purple Desire 4:52 / 86 BPM

Welsh musician Gwenifer Raymond’s 2018 debut album, You Never Were Much of a Dancer, introduced a new voice on acoustic guitar, receiving 5 stars in The Guardian, big spreads in MOJO and UNCUT, and airplay on multiple BBC programmes. This led to months of touring on the European festival circuit. Her latest, Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain, finds Raymond ranging into unexplored experimental territory, drawing from her Welsh roots.

In her own words : My new album, 'Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain', has eight songs in it. All were recorded in a basement flat in central Brighton, locked-down amidst a global pandemic. I recorded them myself and neither I, nor any of the songs saw said outbreak coming. Coronavirus may have dictated the circumstance under which the album was recorded but it did not otherwise inform any of the compositions that run through it; like I said, we didn't see it coming. Growing up in Wales was not a theme strongly present in my first record (perhaps not too surprising in an album of 'American Primitive'), but I feel as though my memories of that time have started to insinuate themselves in the tunes here.

In my opinion, landscape does a lot to shape a community's folk music; from my childhood I recall tall, spooky trees, black against the grey sky, breath misting in cold air, and I have tried to take something of Welsh folk horror to make my own 'Welsh Primitive'. Whilst this isn't the only theme present in the album, childhood memories do form the background for a couple of tracks: coal trains steaming along the foot of our garden, rattling the glasses on the kitchen table; and the titular 'Strange Lights...' dancing above the peak of the mountain which loomed over the house where I grew up. Dead men also feature prominently, as well as personal tragedies and the madness of touring. It's possible this album is leaning more into the left-field than the first - the songs are longer and more 'compositional' for lack of a better word, rather than deriving so heavily from the folk and blues traditions, though, they're still there - all of those dead men are hard to shake. Some parts go fast and others go slow. Sometimes I play more aggressively than I intend to and other times I play exactly as aggressively as I intend to. I still say it's punk music and I have no idea what key the last tune is in.For Erik Satie, Master Wilburn Burchette, and Ruben the dog.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: At points taut, but brilliantly emotive throughout, 'Strange Lights...' is an album full of rhythmic twists and unbelievably skilful and effecting performances.

TRACK LISTING

1. Incantation
2. Hell For Certain
3. Worn Out Blues
4. Marseilles Bunkhouse
5. Gwaed Am Gwaed
6. Ruben’s Song
7. Eulogy For Dead French Composer
8. Strange Lights Over Garth Mountain 

Dublin-based songwriter Paddy Hanna’s album The Hill features Girl Band’s Adam Faulkner and Daniel Fox on Drums & Double Bass, Daniel Fitzpatrick (Badhands, The Mighty Stef) on guitar & Keys and Jill Redmond on Vocals. The record was produced by Daniel Fox and the artwork was designed by Jill Redmond.

Paddy explains further about the album – “We lost ourselves on the Hill, Daniel, Daniel, Adam and I. a seemingly endless spell of isolation spent banging sheet metal, rusted hubcaps and blistering our fingers through non stop recording. The Hill is an internal musical about how the past and the present exist at the same time in our minds. It deals with the struggles of mental health, the sometimes difficult search for happiness and the moral conflict of growing up in Catholic Ireland.

As a listener I want you to take a seat inside my head, to smell the west cork air, to feel the gravel under your feet. In order to get this we set up ambient mics outside our makeshift studio to capture the natural landscape, we wandered boatyards and an abandoned train station recording old bits of metal we would clang, to give the album a sense of place. Sonically we also wanted to step away from the String sections used on Leafy Stiletto, opting instead to create melodies and tones using vocals and synthesisers. Most importantly however, I just wanted to put the past behind me on this record, I wanted to leave it on the hill. I hope you enjoy my therapy”. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Loss Of Their Kind
2. Cannibals
3. A Strange Request
4. Nameless
5. My Ladybird
6. Sinatra
7. Howling At The Duke Of York
8. My Wise Addiction
9. The Hill
10. Jog On Shall We?
11. Colosseum

Gorillaz started the year with Episode 1 - ‘Momentary Bliss ft. slowthai and Slaves’ - of Song Machine, a whole new concept from one of the most innovative bands around. Now, six episodes in, Noodle, 2D, Murdoc and Russel have visited Morocco and Paris, London and Lake Como, as well as travelling all the way to the moon, and Gorillaz is ready to bring you the full collection titled Song Machine: Season One - Strange Timez, out on 23rd October 2020.

Song Machine is the ongoing and ever-evolving process which has seen Gorillaz joined by an expanding roster of collaborators captured live in Kong Studios and beyond. The result is an expansive collection of tracks embracing a myriad of sounds, styles, genres and attitudes from a breath-taking line-up of guest artists including Beck, Elton John, Fatoumata Diawara, Georgia, Kano, Leee John, Octavian, Peter Hook, Robert Smith, Roxani Arias, ScHoolboy Q, Slaves, Slowthai, St Vincent and 6LACK.
To date the project has seen over 100million streams on all tracks already and the band’s biggest period of sustained growth across both listenership and fanbase growth. All this before the album has even been announced!

Virtual band Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs. Created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, their acclaimed eponymous debut album was released in 2001. The BRIT and Grammy Award winning band’s subsequent albums are Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (2011), Humanz (2017) and The Now Now (2018). A truly global phenomenon, Gorillaz have achieved success in entirely ground-breaking ways, touring the world from San Diego to Syria, winning numerous awards including the coveted Jim Henson Creativity Honor.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: You will have heard a few of these already, but it's nice to finally have all of the disparate releases compiled into one handy to pop-on collection. The deluxe CD has even more of these fruitful collaborations with some of the most recognisable names in modern music. It's a diverse and entertaining selection, and one that will have fans keen for a follow-up.

TRACK LISTING

1. Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith)
2. The Valley Of The Pagans (feat. Beck)
3. The Lost Chord (feat. Leee John)
4. Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
5. Chalk Tablet Towers (feat. St Vincent)
6. The Pink Phantom (feat. Elton John And 6LACK)
7. Aries (feat. Peter Hook And Georgia)
8. Friday 13th (feat. Octavian)
9. Dead Butterflies (feat. Kano And Roxani Arias)
10. Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) [Extended Version]
11. Momentary Bliss (feat. Slowthai And Slaves)

Deluxe CD And Deluxe Vinyl Box Set Tracklist:
Disc 1
1. Strange Timez (feat. Robert Smith)
2. The Valley Of The Pagans (feat. Beck)
3. The Lost Chord (feat. Leee John)
4. Pac-Man (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
5. Chalk Tablet Towers (feat. St Vincent)
6. The Pink Phantom (feat. Elton John And 6LACK)
7. Aries (feat. Peter Hook And Georgia)
8. Friday 13th (feat. Octavian)
9. Dead Butterflies (feat. Kano And Roxani Arias)
10. Désolé (feat. Fatoumata Diawara) [Extended Version]
11. Momentary Bliss (feat. Slowthai And Slaves)

Disc 2
12. Opium (feat. EARTHGANG)
13. Simplicity (feat. Joan As Police Woman)
14. Severed Head (feat. Goldlink And Unknown Mortal Orchestra)
15. With Love To An Ex (feat Moonchild Sanelly)
16. MLS (feat. JPEGMAFIA And CHAI)
17. How Far? (feat. Tony Allen And Skepta)

The casual prose of pop history is full of backhanded compliments, and The Monochrome Set have received a few, ranging from "should have been massive" to "influential", numbering the likes of Morrissey and Marr, Blur's Graham Coxon and Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos among their celebrity admirers. . Released in February 1980, their first album Strange Boutique, featuring the band's percussion-heavy theme song (predating Adam & The Ants's "Kings of the Wild Frontier" by months) and the Johnny Marr-anticipating "Love Goes Down The Drain", caught the Monochrome Set in full flight, quickly followed by the equally taut, funny and adventurously dynamic Love Zombies. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The Monochrome Set (I Presume)
2. The Lighter Side Of Dating
3. Expresso
4. The Puerto Rican Fence Climber
5. Tomorrow Will Be Too Long
6. Martians Go Home
7. Love Goes Down The Drain
8. Ici Les Enfants
9. The Etcetera Stroll
10. Goodbye Joe
11. The Strange Boutique

Remastered, repackaged reissue celebrating the 20th anniversary of Explosions In The Sky. First time ever available on vinyl at retail stores. First time on vinyl since 2004. Packaged in a full-color heavyweight triple gatefold jacket w/ matte varnish, full color heavyweight insert, and custom vinyl etching.

The members of Explosions In The Sky played their first show, at the University of Texas’ student radio station, on July 4, 1999, under the short-lived moniker, Breaker Morant. A year later, they recorded their first album, How Strange, Innocence, over the course of two days, and made 300 CD-R copies to sell at shows and give to friends in their hometown of Austin, TX. In 2001, they signed to Temporary Residence Ltd., and released their breakthrough second album, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever, leaving the legend of How Strange, Innocence to proliferate on file-sharing and tape trading sites in a pre-iTunes and YouTube era. Following their third album, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, the band released a single vinyl pressing of How Strange, Innocence as the debut release on a friend’s short-lived local imprint, Ruined Potential Records. Sold exclusively on a 2004 North American tour, the sole pressing of 300 sold out immediately, quickly becoming an urban legend for fans. Now, in honor of the band’s 20th anniversary, we are delighted to bring this treasured document of Explosions In The Sky’s humble beginnings back into the world. How Strange, Innocence – Anniversary Edition has been beautifully remastered by Heba Kadry – with vinyl lacquers cut by Bob Weston – and packaged in an incredible full-color, heavyweight triple-gatefold jacket with matte varnish, heavyweight full-color insert, and custom vinyl etching containing the charming story of How Strange, Innocence in the band’s own words. This is the definitive sound, look, and feel of the album that started one of the most inspiring and unique careers in modern underground music.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Song For Our Fathers (5:44)
2. Snow And Lights (8:18)
3. Magic Hours (8:33)
4. Look Into The Air (5:25)
5. Glittering Blackness (5:28)
6. Time Stops (9:55)
7. Remember Me As A Time Of Day (5:18)

French outfit You Said Strange are the latest to join the Fuzz Club Session ranks alongside the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, The Myrrors, Night Beats, Heaters, The Entrance Band, Holy Wave, Heaters and many more. When last in the UK in support of their debut LP, Salvation Prayer, the four-piece took to London’s Lovebuzz Studios to lay down a live session comprising four tracks of warm, jangly psychedelic bliss taken from their aforementioned debut. The resulting session will be released on vinyl and digital via Fuzz Club. Emerging out of Giverny, Normandy, You Said Strange became a mainstay of the European underground long before they headed over to Portland to record their highly-anticipated debut album with Peter Holmstrom of The Dandy Warhols - whom the band set out on tour with back in 2015, solidifying a friendship that would see Holmstrom take on production duties for another band for the very first time.

Dining on an influence of The Velvet Underground, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and Ride – though delivered with their own insatiable, forward-looking French charm – You Said Strange carve out an intoxicating, heady sound of shimmering guitars and reverb cloaked vocals that’s just as potent when drifting into full-blown fuzz-overloads as it is when dealing in jubilant, earworm melodies that’ll get stuck in your head for hours. The live recording of the session sees both of those sides shine brighter than ever, making it undeniably clear why the band has spent the last several years bringing their sublime live show to countless venues and psych festivals across Europe and beyond. 

TRACK LISTING

1) Brain
2) Cold Crusader
3) Extend
4) Leave The Lord

‘Strange Times’ was the Chameleons’ third album, originally released in 1986 on the Geffen label and praised by the critics who reviewed it. Melody Maker called it “a marvellous departure” from their previous work and “a wonderful record,” describing it as “the band’s most inventive and winning album yet and as a fine a record as any guitar band has made this year - it should delight just about anyone.”

Singer and bassist Mark Burgess later said “‘Strange Times’ is my favourite. Personally, I believe it was the best lyrical work I’d done with the band and some of the best vocal performances, and I think the Chameleons really began to mature and move forward with this album.”

Noel Gallagher was quoted recently as saying “I’d forgotten how much this album meant to me. It came out in ‘86. I was 19!! I’ve been listening to it every day since and I have to say it’s blown my mind… again! It must have influenced my early years as a song writer because I can hear ME in it everywhere!!”

The Chameleons have long been named as influences on bands such as The Flaming Lips, The Killers and Smashing Pumpkins.

This recording from Preston Guildhall was taken from their current tour, which continues across the UK and Europe throughout 2019, ending at Manchester Ritz in December, supported by The Icicle Works.

The ‘Where In The World’ EP consists of four original Chameleons songs, rerecorded in 2017. As a feature of their current live set the songs were universally well-received by the fanbase and are presented here by popular request. ‘Dali’s Picture’ a discarded song written in 1981, ‘Ever After’ an unfinished demo from the ‘Strange Times’ session that produced the bands third album and ‘Denims & Curls’ and ‘Free For All’, which were demos for a fourth album that never materialized due to the band’s disintegration. Despite the years in between, all four songs feel fresh, vibrant and contemporary.

The Chameleons (known as The Chameleons UK in North America) were an English post punk band formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band originally consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding and drummer John Lever (replacing original drummer Brian Schofield). They released six studio albums and one EP before disbanding in 2003. They have gained even bigger audiences of late, touring as ChameleonsVox and playing out their classic albums.

TRACK LISTING

‘Strange Times… Live’
(CD / 2LP)
Mad Jack
Caution
Tears
Soul In Isolation
Swamp Thing
Time/
The End Of Time
Seriocity
In Answer
Childhood
I’ll Remember

‘Where In The World’
(2LP Only)
Denims & Curls
Dali’s Picture
Free For All
Ever After

The Strange World of Suzie Pellet' is a hard rocking concept album featuring a dark, unsettling and mysterious tale of future street dweller Suzie Pellet. A feisty survivor in a ruined world, Suzie is the brainchild of Ian Miller, fantasy/horror artist and novelist. His surreal. nightmarish creations have graced book covers, graphic novels and films, and have given form to the works of HP Lovecraft, Tolkien and many more. Now, one of his own dark gothic characters comes to life. Not unlike Michael Moorcock guiding Hawkwind or Sandy Pearlman, The Blue Oyster Cult, or even a cranked up Moody Blues or Who, Transmaniacon bring Miller'svision to sonic life, aided and abetted by the outstanding vocal deliveries of punk poetess and avant rocker Lydia Lunch (a hind-sighted Suzie) and Maya Berlin (a future 'present-day' Suzie).

Sci-fi and space rock has always been present in Transmaniacon, a previous incarnation was XM3a who released the first New Heavy Sounds single, 'Bad Robot Man', an epic 9 min acid rock riff-fest. This was followed up (as Transmaniacon) by 'The Darkening Plain' their first concept piece containing the 25 min classic 'Quintessence of Dust' - bleak, dense, forboding, and heavy. - a sort of Killing Joke/Hawkwind/Pentagram hybrid which featured the first collaboration with Lydia Lunch. But with 'Suzie Pellet' Transmaniacon becomes more a musical collective. The core of the band remains, hard and heavy riffing guitars, overdriven Hammond Organ (and this time synth) but with the addition of Tom (Uncle Acid/Limb) Mowforth on drums they are a groovier, more athletic 70's rock beast. The twin heavyweights of Blue Oyster Cult and Mountain loom large, but this time with the added groove of an an organ-driven Black Mountain. Suzie Pellet is Transmaniacon's first true collaboration with Ian Miller. Miller resurrected his post apocalyptic tale of street survivor Suzie Pellet in a rotten and derelict London-esque urban-scape called Duht. Transmaniacon have taken and expanded Miller's vision into a story in which Pellet herself, describes the dark, underworld, its characters and situations, friends and foes, all in grisly-spoken and sung diary-like, excerpts.

Lydia Lunch was an obvious choice for the mature Pellet. A survivor of numerous underground scenes herself from punk and no-wave through noise, avant-rock and, appropriately enough here, spoken word. In 1975 Patti Smith perhaps could have been a young Susie Pellet, in 93 Polly Harvey, but now the role falls to Maya Berlin. With her band, Cold in Berlin delivering equal parts Punk, Doom and Goth over their three highly acclaimed albums (including 'The Comfort of Loss and Dust on Candlelight Records), she was perfect. And Suzie gives her the opportunity to expand her vocal (and theatrical) talents in Grace Slick or Julie Driscoll or even Chelsea Wolfe directions. Step into the nightmare world of Suzie Pellet. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: It's a pretty out-there idea, and more than fitting for the King Crimson / Blue Oyster it so readily references, but this particular concept is flawlessly accomplished and brilliantly overblown. Brilliantly heavy but nuanced psych rock with a host of talented musicians behind it makes it a must have for you LL fans out there.

TRACK LISTING

1. Inca Sunshine
2. Painted On Skin
3. The River, The Birds
4. Sexton Breen
5. Dogs Of War
6. Outrun The Pack
7. Tooled Up
8. Aerosol Death Rattle

Available on 180g vinyl. You Said Strange come from the north-western region of Normandy in France, although if it was up to them they’d come from the States, somewhere between Texas and Cali. They’ve been growing their own Norman-spiced-up definition of psychedelia for a few years now, making their way on a historically busy road. Having just signed to Fuzz Club, You Said Strange are gearing up for the release of their debut full length, Salvation Prayer.

The album was recorded in Portland, USA with Peter Holmström of The Dandy Warhols after both bands toured together back in 2015. Salvation Prayer is a condensation of heady riffs, haunting melodies and bright rhythms, half-way between 90s shoegaze and 60s psychedelia. The album touches on the theme of belief, the kind that affects even the most Cartesian spirit; may it be superficial, spiritual, superstitious, religious or moral. This very-human interpretation of reality is meant to help those who seek to free themselves, dream or flee, and that’s what the band is all about. 

TRACK LISTING

1) Salvation Rain
2) Power House
3) Brain
4) Get Out
5) Cold Crusader
6) Tilelli
7) Halo
8) Extend
9) Leave The Lord
10) Just Wait
11) The Way To The Holy Wa (Jesus)

Anyone who’s been living on the grapevine these past few years must have heard the rumours about the coming of the FELT reissues – well they’re here.

During the ‘80s Felt made ten albums and ten singles for the Cherry Red and Creation labels. This beautifully produced series examines the work of one of the greatest underground groups of modern times. These records, unavailable for many years, have been remastered and revisited by Lawrence, and he has fashioned the ultimate definitive collections.

Before the Stone Roses and after Be-Bop Deluxe and Plastic Ono Band, John Leckie worked with Felt. Booked into a metal/reggae studio in Birmingham’s industrial wasteland he sculpted a Michelangelo slice of new rock – exquisite and beautiful guitar odysseys – quite unlike anything the city had experienced before. Merging pop with a classical nuance Felt stood alone as the forerunners of a brand new style. And Gary Ainge was finally allowed to use his high-hat!

TRACK LISTING

Disc 1
1. Roman Litter
2. Sempiternal Darkness
3. Spanish House
4. Imprint
5. Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow
6. Vasco Da Gama
7. Crucifix Heaven
8. Dismantled King Is Off The Throne
9. Crystal Ball
10. Whirlpool Vision Of Shame 

Bonus 7" (Comes With Deluxe CD)
1. Penelope Tree
2. A Preacher In New England 

"Strange Days" (50th Anniversary Edition) was produced by the album’s original engineer Bruce Botnick. Accompanying the set are liner notes by music journalist David Fricke, as well as a selection of rare and previously unseen photographs.

Having a larger budget for Strange Days allowed the band to spend more time experimenting in the studio. They used an eight-track recorder for the first time, which resulted in some memorable overdubs like Krieger’s double-tracked guitar on “When The Music’s Over.” Surprisingly, the trippy keyboard sound heard on the album’s title track is actually one of the earliest appearances of a Moog synthesizer in a rock song.

Strange Days mixed new songs written on the road with some written before the band’s 1967 debut. In fact, the band performed “Strange Days” during its 1966 residency at the London Fog in L.A., while “My Eyes Have Seen You” dates back to 1965. Another early track is “Moonlight Drive,” which was one of the very first songs that the band practiced together, and where the band heard Krieger’s haunting bottleneck guitar playing for the first time. It’s also the song Morrison sang to Manzarek at Venice Beach in 1965 when the two former UCLA film students reconnected and decided to start the Doors.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Strange Days 3:05
A2 You're Lost Little Girl 3:01
A3 Love Me Two Times 3:23
A4 Unhappy Girl 2:00
A5 Horse Latitudes 1:30
A6 Moonlight Drive 3:00
B1 People Are Strange 2:10
B2 My Eyes Have Seen You 2:22
B3 I Can't See Your Face In My Mind 3:18
B4 When The Music's Over 11:00

 Since releasing their self-titled debut record in 2012, which The New Yorker called, “One of the year’s best albums…a punishing, noisy, exhilarating thing,” the Toronto-based 3-piece METZ have garnered international acclaim as one of the most electrifying and forceful live acts, touring widely and extensively, playing hundreds of shows each year around the world.

Now, Alex Edkins (guitar, vocals), along with Hayden Menzies (drums), and Chris Slorach (bass) unleash their highly-anticipated third full-length album, Strange Peace, an emphatic but artful hammer swing to the status quo.

"The best punk isn't an assault as much as it's a challenge — to what's normal, to what's comfortable, or simply to what's expected. Teetering on the edge of perpetual implosion,” NPR wrote in their glowing review of METZ’s 2015 second album, II.

Strange Peace was recorded in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show. The trio continued to assemble the album (including home recordings, additional instrumentation) in their hometown, adding the finishing touches with longtime collaborator, engineer and mixer, Graham Walsh.  

Strange Peace isn’t merely a collection of eleven uninhibited and urgent songs. It’s also a kind of sonic venting, a truculent social commentary that bludgeons and provokes, excites and unsettles. With all the pleasurable tension and anxiety of a fever dream, Strange Peace is equal parts challenging and accessible. It is this implausible balancing act, moving from one end of the musical spectrum to the other, that only a band of METZ’s power and capacity can maintain: discordant and melodic, powerful and controlled, meticulous and instinctive, subtle and complex, precise and reckless, wholehearted and merciless, brutal and optimistic, terrifying and fun.

“Their whiplash of distortion is made with precision, a contained chaos. But you would never talk about them like that. Because METZ are not something you study or analyze,” wrote Liisa Ladouceur in Exclaim! “They are something you feel: a transfer of energy, pure and simple.” In other words: to feel something, fiercely and intensely, but together, not alone.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Rawkous, punky snarling rock, infused with the energy of political upheaval, and produced with a fine-tuned and perfect balance between melodicism and raw lo-fi energy. A fist-pumper to the end. Turn it up and get going!

TRACK LISTING

1. Mess Of Wires
2. Drained Lake
3. Cellophane
4. Caterpillar
5. Lost In The Blank City
6. Mr. Plague
7. Sink
8. Common Trash
9. Escalator Teeth
10. Dig A Hole
11. Raw Materials

* Limited to 1,000 LPs worldwide on black wax
* Housed in deluxe heavy weight Stoughton tip-on sleeve
* Includes insert with extensive liner notes by both Robert Tomaro & Gregory Lamberson

Slime City is the debut film by cult horror director and author Gregory Lamberson. The story follows Alex, who after moving into his new apartment is seduced by his neighbor and soon turns into a melting ghoul who is forced to kill innocent victims in order to maintain a normal human physique.

Slime City debuted in 1988 and spent months in the NY midnight movie circuit, at the tail end of the grindhouse era. Lamberson creatively made a great film with intense special effects with very limited money and a small crew of dedicated movie fans.

A huge part of what makes Slime City so fantastic is it's wildly creative score, which was composed by the now PHD, and current Music Director of the Beloit Janesville Symphony, Robert Tomaro. Rob's score is unlike any horror soundtrack past or present. In Robert's own words, the music is "perhaps what you might get if you locked Igor Stravinsky, Johnny Rotten and Bernard Hermann in a hotel room and didn't let them out until they wrote something together." The score is most certainly slimy as the film's title would leave you hoping for. Very much classically written, but with a serious mix of punk guitar work and weirdo avant-garde synth. A truly unique composition.

A veritable cornucopia of 60 tunes as spun by Lux Interior on his radio shows or lurking within his and Poison Ivy’s collection.

From cool instrumentals and rockabilly weirdness through to female rock ‘n’ rollers, devotees of voodoo and all round devil worship and purveyors of the newest dance trends.

With more than a hint of esoteric exotica, with added jungle sound effects, tributes to Tarzan, dragsters and rabbits and a host of dazed and confused survivors to boot.

Rampant with riffs, overflowing with deranged ideas and sullen sideswipes on the soap opera of life.

Complete with hip jive from ‘Ginchy’ to ‘Gumbo’, an aural extravaganza that’s relentlessly groovy!

Remastered from the original sound sources with sleevenotes by MOJO magazine’s Dave Henderson. 

TRACK LISTING

1: No Good Lover - MICKEY & SYLVIA
2: Whistle Bait - THE COLLINS KIDS
3: Ham 'N' Eggs - SKIP MANNING
4: Signifying Monkey - SMOKEY JOE
5: Stutterin' Cindy - CHARLIE FEATHERS
6: Congo - BO DIDDLEY
7: Munch - THE ALADDINS
8: Groovy - JOE DODO
9: Delicious! - JIM BACKUS & FRIEND
10: Here I Am Drunk Again - CLYDE BEAVERS
11: Skull And Crossbones - SPARKLE MOORE
12: Tongue Tied Over You - RUSTY DRAPER
13: Hot Rod Guitar - CHARLIE RYAN
14: Baghdad Rock - THE SHEIKS
15: Lovers Satellite - THE DUALS
16: Shock Treatment - THE INVADERS
17: Sinners - FREDDIE AND THE HITCH-HIKERS
18: Tequila - THE THREE SUNS
19: Green Onions - THE VENTURES
20: Midnight Rain - GARY WARREN
21: Let Me Out - Kenyon Hopkins
22: Hot And Cold - MARVIN RAINWATER
23: Get Lost Baby - HANK & THE ELECTRAS
24: Crazy Vibrations - THE BIKINIS
25: I Hates Rabbits - JERRY NEAL
26: Twistin' In The Jungle - BUDDY BOW
27: Congo Elegy - JAMES ARR SEPTETTE
28: Tarzan - GLEN REEVES & HIS ROCK-BILLYS
29: Voodoo Doll - THE INTERIORS
30: Voodoo Doll - GLENDA & GLEN
31: Straight Skirts - GENE SUMMERS
32: Bumble Bee Twist(The Wasp) - The Ventures
33: Uh Huh - THE ROMANS
34: Hey Jibb - ART WOOD
35: Enough Man! - BOBBY CHRISTIAN
36: Fallout - SIL AUSTIN
37: Wild Wild Party - CHARLIE FEATHERS
38: Twixteen - GENE SUMMERS
39: Misirlou - Martin Denny
40: R.F.D Rangoon - THE FORBIDDEN FIVE
41: Ali Baba's Boogie - PRESTON LOVE & ORCHESTRA
42: Algiers - THE BAMBINOS
43: Boo Hoo - MARVIN RAINWATER
44: Cindy Lou - DICK PENNER
45: Devil Blues - SKIP MANNING
46: Voodoo - THE RED CALLENDER SEXTET
47: Garlic Bread - GARRY AND LARRY
48: Don't Fuck Around With Love - THE BLENDERS
49: Hi Cups - THE EMPALLOS
50: Sexy Ways - THE MIDNIGHTERS
51: Gumbo - SHADES OF RHYTHM
52: The Last Drag - THE VOXPOPPERS
53: Guitarville - ROLAND JANES
54: Ginchy - THE VENTURES
55: Sweetmeats - SPOT BARNETT
56: Limbo Drum Part 1 - YOUNG WILLIAM AND THE JAMAICANS
57: Honeydripper Mambo (Pt2) - ALFREDITO
58: Cuban Get Away - IKE TURNER ORCHESTRA
59: Port Zibee Part 11 - ROBBY RHINES AND THE ROGUES
60: Volcano Rock - TOMMY MERCER AND THE MCBRIDES 

As a singer, writer and producer, Yabby You created some of the greatest roots classic in the history of reggae. A must-have for roots reggae fans and all those interested in classic reggae!

Vivian "Yabby You" Jackson was, along with Lee "Scratch" Perry, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, Burning Spear and Culture, one of the key creators of the roots reggae style and dub revolution which swept the world in the 1970s.

'Dread Prophecy: The Strange And Wonderful Story Of Yabby You' is a stunning collection of Yabby You's classic recordings of himself and other artists he produced as well as sought-after rarities presented in a "long" DVD-style package including 3 audio CDs with 56 tracks - over 3 hours of music with 10 previously unreleased tracks and 30 tracks never previously on CD. It includes a 28-page booklet with many extensive personal essays from people who knew him: David Katz , Alex Peacemaker and Randall Grass.

TRACK LISTING

Disc: 1
1. Deliver Me
2. Conquering Lion
3. Yabby You
4. Anti Christ
5. Carnal Mind
6. Run Come Rally
7. Jah Vengeance
8. Tubby's Vengeance
9. One Love
10. Pound Get A Blow
11. Fire Fire
12. Fire Dub
13. Chant Down Babylon Kingdom
14. Beware Dub
15. Give Thanks And Praise
16. Man Of The Living
17. Free Africa
18. Live Trap
19. Love Thy Neighbor
Disc: 2
1. Love And Unity -mashdown
2. Babylon A Fall
3. This Economical Crisis
4. Praise Jahova
5. Fire Deh A Mus Mus
6. Fleeing From The City
7. Love In Zimba
8. Gwaan And Lef Me
9. Rock Man Soul
10. Love Of A Woman
11. Get Lost Babylon
12. How Long
13. Stop Your Gang War
14. Blessed Are The Poor
15. Peace
16. Jah Mercies
17. Dreadlocks Man
Disc: 3
1. Daughter Of Zion
2. What A Sufferation
3. I Must Achieve What Is Mine
4. Words Of The Prophets
5. Freedom Of Life
6. We Want Our Liberty
7. Beyond The Hills
8. Mercy And Truth
9. Blackstar Liner
10. King Of Kings
11. Education For Free
12. Reggae Make You Feel Alright
13. Natty Roots Man
14. Half Pint
15. Oh City Of Zion
16. Hail The Children
17. Warn The Nation
18. Jah Vengeance
19. Black Is Our Color
20. Run Come Raw Dub

Stolen Body’s first 7” release comes from Manchester garage'n'surf rock band Fruit Tones. The 4 track EP shows off the bands ability to morf garage rock, tropical pop and surf beautifully while keeping a raw rock'n'roll feel to everything.

They have featured on several compilations which have been incredibly recieved. They have also previously released a split tape with Death Cats on Scottish label Fuzzkill Records which is now sold out. Stolen Body is happy to release the EP on limited edition colour vinyl. Limited to 500 copies (Coloured - Yellow with black splatter)

NME recently put Chains of Love as number 3 in their top ten 'buzziest' bands of SXSW 2012, and no doubt we will be hearing a lot more from them this year! Their début album, Strange Grey Days, will see a UK release on Manimal.

With an intoxicating energy, Vancouver-based, Chains of Love's sun-soaked romantic pop is injected with the stomp of vintage 60s soul, the wild abandon of 70s garage, and the guitar grime of The Cramps and early JAMC. The group formed when guitarist, Felix Fung, the engineer and owner of Vancouver’s Little Red Sound, hatched a plan to start a girl group with Nathalia Pizzaro. Things took shape quickly and with the harmonic help of Rebecca Marie Law Gray, the band knew they had something very special at hand.

Chains of Love's début record, Strange Grey Days is their first body of work (and first release with Manimal Vinyl) and one that proves that they are no one trick pony. While the band's yearning for a certain period of rock and roll which is ingrained in their DNA, it seems to be more about unearthing something timeless rather than simply nostalgia. There is of course that grooving ‘wall of sound’ meets Motown boogie that first gained the group notoriety throughout the record, but the songs also sound bigger with intricate layers amounting to mini-symphonies. Some songs experiment with noisier guitar textures, while others venture into more psychedelic, darker territory. They are still all centred around Pizzaro and Gray's sublime, inescapably catchy hooks and rousing sock-hop harmonies.

In a recent interview, singer Nathalia Pizzaro said, “I don’t want to just say that we sound retro or Motown—that we’ve got a kitschy, candy shop vibe to us—I feel like there’s a raw element to our sound, too.” The band would all agree that Chains of Love is truly a passion project, putting every bit of energy and emotion into it. Uninitiated audiences who have been lucky enough to stumble across seeing them live, will come away witnessing the best show they never expected to see!

Debut album on Secretly Canadian for widely respected Italian / London artist now relocated to New York.

Mauro Remiddi's androgynous vapor of a voice weaves like a ghost between Nick Gilder and The Alessi Brothers, Julee Cruise and Judee Sill. In more contemporary terms, Porcelain Raft stands confidently on a high hill between the sounds of M83 and Beach House. Lead track "Drifting In and Out" is loping and anthemic; gauzy and chiming. "Shapeless and Gone" follows with a heavy strum reminiscent of "Cosmic Dancer" -- full of mood and style without all the wearying excesses and feathered boas. Porcelain Raft's thesis statement hits when side B kicks off with "Unless You Speak From Your Heart." Remiddi's androgynous vocals carrying a hook so simple that you might think you sang it first; keys and bass that might make the needle jump off of your turntable; and a sense of raw sincerity that has come to trademark Remiddi's songs is what ultimately resonates.

STAFF COMMENTS

Andy says: Heartstring twanging, massive, classic chord changes with yearning vocals drifting around. This is like Puressence, but played by Twin Shadow. That gorgeous, sometimes anthemic quality is offset by bedroom electronics and distortion. Absolutely mega!

Darryl says: Serene and utterly gorgeous, welcome to the world of Porcelain Raft. An angelic vocal that floats majestically over a delicate and melancholic soundscape, bringing to mind a futuristic Joy Division, M83, and an electro-infused My Bloody Valentine.

‘Strange News From Another Star Vs Samoans’ started as all good split releases should – with a series of conversations down the pub as a collaborative effort between friends to release something really unique by two bands who are as good friends as they are musicians. Recorded over just two days at Musicbox Studios with producer Charlie Francis, the split single features two tracks from each band, matching the math-rock stylings of Samoans with the fast-paced quick-witted Strange News From Another Star.

Limited edition, hand numbered copies of the single are available on black 7” vinyl with full colour artwork by Daniel Lazenby, and come with instant digital download of all four tracks (plus bonus digital material exclusive to the vinyl release).

For fans of McClusky, Hot Snakes, Reuben and Secondsmile.

St. Vincent, the nom-de-stage of Annie Clark, releases the new album, ‘Strange Mercy’. Having worked together on 2009’s ‘Actor’, Clark reunited with producer John Congleton and recorded the album in her hometown of Dallas, TX at Elmwood Studios.

The eleven new tracks showcase Clark’s gift for fusing the cerebral and the visceral, her melodically elegant arrangements packing hefty emotional punches.

Clark’s virtuosity has been long recognised, and ‘Strange Mercy’ finds St. Vincent redefining the idea of the guitar hero, utilising the instrument as a pointillist artist might wield a brush. Countless judiciously placed riffs and instrumental flares, each distinct and unique, cohere into grand tableaus. On ‘Cruel’, she elicits punchy bursts like an R&B horn section. ‘Cheerleader’ froths and boils, with deep and fuzzy guitars bubbling up to the surface, while ‘Surgeon’ twirls about endlessly, Clark’s vocals dancing amid a blizzard of notes.

‘Strange Mercy’ isn’t an entirely solitary affair either, with Clark joined by a host of other musicians. Included among them are Grammy Award winning Bobby Sparks on mini Moog, clavinet, Arp and Wurlitzer, Midlake’s MacKenzie Smith on drums and Daniel Hart on violin. Also contributing were Beck keyboardist and musical director Brian LeBarton, Evan Smith on woodwinds and Phil Palazzolo.

Recorded in an isolated mansion thirty minutes outside Yass, in country New South Wales, "Strange Tourist" captures Liddiard at his most naked, and his most explosive. Armed with just a guitar, he makes surreal stories of tightrope walkers, down and outers, suicidal Japanese salarymen and suburban radicals come alive like no one else could.

On "Blondin Makes An Omelette" Liddiard tells the story of wirewalker and acrobat Charles Blondin from the point of view of his eternally suffering understudy: 'No one cared for him at all until he crossed Niagra Falls/ So you’d all feel a little lower down the scale… but I ain’t here because he’s tall, I’m only here to see him fall/ And if I get on the wagon now it’ll only be to run him down'.

Liddiard’s interest in Australian history and folklore also makes a return on "Strange Tourist", but this time it’s mixed with a uniquely incisive take on current affairs and politics. The record contains one of his richest and most controversial songs to date, "The Radicalisation Of D", loosely inspired by the incarceration of Australian David Hicks in Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2001.

Recorded with another graduate of the Australian Music Prize, Burke Reid (the producer behind 2007 winner The Mess Hall’s "Devils Elbow" and The Drones’ fourth album "Havilah"), "Strange Tourist" is the latest instalment from one of Australia’s most talented poets. Listen to it now, because you’ll be hearing about it for years to come.

!!! (Chk Chk Chk) have returned with a striking, personal but ultimately danceable collection of funk-punk-rock-pop-dance missives, fired off with the precision production of the band and Eric Broucek. This is a record custom-built for the alternative dancefloor, yet moving into deeper and sometimes darker territory than previous albums "Myth Takes" and "Louden Up Now". On the one hand, "Strange Weather, Isn’t It?" is !!!’s most texturally rich record to date and is filled with deep, galvanizing grooves in the tradition of 2003’s "Me And Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard (A True Story)" and their massive cover of Magnetic Fields’ "Take Ecstasy With Me". On the other, there’s a dark undercurrent running through the record that acts as a counterpoint to the glittering surfaces. In other words, although only 20% of the record was recorded in Berlin (the other 80% split between New York and Sacramento, California), "Strange Weather, Isn’t It?" is the perfect Berlin album.

Dieter Moebius is one of the most important protagonists of avant-garde electronic music in Germany. Alongside his bands Kluster/Cluster and  Harmonia, he participated in numerous collaborations (with the likes of Brian Eno and Mani Neumeier/Guru Guru) He recorded two albums with the bass player Gerd Beerbohm in 1982 and 1983. What became of Beerbohm sadly remains a mystery.
In the latter half of the 1970s, alongside their Cluster collaboration, Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius embarked almost simultaneously on individual musical journeys. Roedelius focused primarily on solo projects, whilst Moebius preferred to enagage with other musicians on equal terms.
“Strange Music" - unimaginative as it may first appear (!), the title speaks volumes about where Moebius was coming from, artistically speaking.  Moebius is a master of perspicuity, uncovering the rich variety inherent in the detail of minor variations. Moebius' principles of pop music are drawn from three sources: the uncomplicated minimalism of the late 1960s, instrumental rock'n'roll of the late 1950s and improvisation. Working with Gerd Beerbohm saw him combine these elements to create an exact representation of his understanding of contemporary pop music.
Gerd Beerbohm turned out to be the perfect musical foil for Moebius, affording him free rein, in the very best sense of the expression, to bring his concept of pop music to life. Whilst "unleashed" best describes his mindset, this should be equated with neither chaos nor arbitrariness. On the contrary, the only liberty Moebius took was to focus exclusively on his and Beerbohm's musical visions, without feeling the need to consider any higher group concepts. This gave rise to a forceful, energized album, steering a clear course ahead, full of improvised ideas and unencumbered by frills or embellishments.

Death to the Strange are a Salford (Manchester) based five piece, fusing lyric-driven, folk-inspired songs with ambient electronic sounds and an amplified rhythm section. With instrumentation tailored to each tune, the band are looking to take in and build on all interesting music out there. In recent months things have been moving more and more quickly for Death to the Strange, with headlining slots at acclaimed Salford and Manchester venues, more high profile supports (Gomez) and a growing repertoire of radio and press coverage. In the words of one Salford City Radio DJ: 'check them out or look proper daft in a year or so!'

The Vocokesh (previously simply 'Vocokesh') formed in 1991 when guitarist Richard Franecki spun out of orbit from F/i, the legendary Milwaukee psychedelic veterans he co-founded. Thinking them turning a bit polite, The Vocokesh provided the necessary vessel to sufficiently blast Franecki's undiluted vision of full-blown experimental/free-acid rock mayhem further out into the ether. Multiple recordings for RRRecords, Drag City, Lexicon Devil (responsible for many a Vocokesh and F/i reissue) and Strange Attractors Audio House chart relentless trajectories of improvised, analog electronics-laced instrumental rock psychedelics that reverently summon the spirits of the most marginalized ruffians of 70s Krautrock (Amon Duul I, Ash Ra Tempel, Agitation Free) while exploring newer terrain. With 2005's "Through The Smoke", The Vocokesh took a bit of a detour by lacing their hallucinatory flurries with actual 'songs', in the vein of latter 60s fuzz/psych. Franecki and the boys' restless spirit never wanes, and thus "... All This and Hieronymus Bosch", The Vocokesh's eighth long player, marks more departures from previous formulas, resulting in some of their finest and freshest sonics yet.

West Coast psychedelic folkie Nick Castro is currently making some of most dynamic and truly original sounds to emerge from the much-ballyhooed new folk movement. As 'freak-folk' and assorted hairy-fairy type labels grab the headlines in the underground, Castro strives for a solemn, serene sort of beauty, summoning utterly melodic incantations in song and sound. Gracefully immersing 60s / 70s British Isles acid balladry with Middle-Eastern traditional music and heady, pan-cultural communal jams, Castro succeeds in reaching otherworldly vistas and ocean-spanning folk transcendence. Following up 2005's lauded "Further From Grace", Castro unfurls his sprawling third album "Come Into Our House", easily his most far-reaching and deeply molecular outing yet. Previously backed by The Poison Tree, which included Josephine Foster and members of Espers, Nick Castro has assembled a new band of players under the moniker The Young Elders - a truly stellar cast of musicians whose combined resumes include folk and avant rock ensembles Current 93, In Gowan Ring, Damo Suzuki's Network and Cul de Sac. Effortlessly mating Bert Jansch-style folk song ("Winding Tree"), psychedelic folk rock ("One I Love"), Middle Eastern traditional music ("Attar") and Bay Area acid-raga ("Lay Down Your Arms") to a kind of organic studio Musique Concrete that Can forged on albums like "Tago Mago". The results are astonishing, challenging and utterly psychedelic. By reaching for the sky Castro achieves the heavens, and "Come Into Our House" is the evidence. A modern acid-folk masterwork.

The eerie and utterly grandiose fourth album. Unfurling like mellow smoke from some alien opium den, the title track introduces the sonic soiree in a pleasant mood, as distant acoustic plucking and electronic oscillations provide a pillowing backdrop for some elegant electric guitar flourishes. No sooner is serenity induced than the trip goes dark, as metallic-tinged acid guitar rips a flurry of shrapnel over a storm of chugging drums and slinky bass lines. Imbued with an intense array of moods and textures, "The Tenth Corner" is a tremendously cinematic listening experience a sound that draws from the early flights of 70s German avant rock (Agitation Free, Cosmic Jokers, Ash Ra Tempel) and synth-powered cosmic (Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh) if it were created in the embryonic electronic music labs of the 60s and 70s. Transcendent, gritty, hallucinatory – undoubtedly Vocokesh's finest hour.

Reformed and back to their primitive best Mad Parade were once one of the "heavy hitters" of the early 80's Southern California Punk scene. "Bombs And The Bible" is their most aggressive, angry and blistering punk rock recording for years. Forget about the poor quality of the insert this is genuine old skool punk.

Lynn Miles's 1998 album has her easy going vocals lending a poetry to her lyrics, a heartfelt simplicity of emotion that characterises all her work. Produced by Joni Mitchell's ex Larry Klein futher confirmation of why she is regarded by many as one of the most gifted Americana songwriters recording today.