Pop & Rock News

Amber Run is a British indie rock band from Nottingham, consisting of Joe Keogh, Tomas Sperring and Henry Wyeth. They recorded their debut album with Sam Winfield and Brit Award-winning record producer Mike Crossey, who previously produced albums for Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots, Walk the Moon, Foals, Keane, Jake Bugg and Yungblud. The album was originally released in 2015 and peaked on the UK Album Charts at #36. The album features the singles “I Found”, “Spark”, “Just My Soul Responding” and a re-recorded version of “Noah”. “I Found” was even awarded with a platinum status in the US.

“I’m reeling, I’m restless,” sing Deep Throat Choir from the heart of their second album. That restlessness manifests in a set of tremendously abundant, original songs from the east London female and non-binary vocal collective, founded by Landshapes member Luisa Gerstein.

 Released via Bella Union, ‘In Order to Know You’ is a multi-layered assertion of freshly expansive range, driven by two core virtues: a sense of strength in unity and an open embrace of its singers’ personal experiences, shared through collective, supportive vocal expression.

 After 2017’s largely covers-based debut album, ‘Be OK’, the choir recognised the call to evolve. “Having been singing together for five-plus years, and having released an album of mostly covers, it felt like the logical next step to make our own music together,” says Gerstein. “This album is the alchemy of all the specific voices and players that make up the choir, and a collaborative process of writing and sharing music and ideas. Sonically, I wanted to move beyond just voices and percussion, to see what richness could be brought with acoustic instruments and electronics, and to transition from a choir that
does covers to a band with loads of vocalists.”

 ‘In Order to Know You’ heads towards its climax without seeming to touch the ground, from the title track’s devotional exhalation to the stealthy, smoky shimmer of ‘Unstitching’. Its lyrics drawn from a poem by Emma Cleave, the sublime ‘Field of Not Knowing’ closes the album in a vivid tapestry of folkgothic images (moon beams and pipistrelles) and serene-to-soaring arrangements, revelling in possibility: “It’s the place where I begin,” sing the choir.

 For Deep Throat Choir, the result is both an exquisite culmination of journeys taken so far and a lustrous, exquisite springboard for further adventures. Their travels began in 2013, when the collective took shape from a desire to strip music back to the basic elements of raw female voices and drums, united in a fashion that both honours and transmogrifies personal expression.

 A small group of four or five singers steadily expanded, with Zara Toppin’s drums providing a propulsive energy. Cathartic live shows and collaborations followed, ranging from team-ups with Peggy Sue, Stealing Sheep, Horse Meat Disco and Matthew E White, to performances at Green Man, Wilderness, the Southbank Centre’s WOW festival, London’s Scala and beyond. ‘Be OK’ provided a gutsy showcase for the band’s close, collective strengths, bolstered by weekly gatherings at a church in east London to blow
the roof off. A fruitful collaboration with techno-pop duo Simian Mobile Disco on the 2018 album ‘Murmurations’ followed: a testament to the choir’s alchemical abilities.

Promised Land is the twenty-first studio album by world famous American singer and musician Elvis Presley, originally released on January 8, 1975, Elvis’ 40th birthday. It reached number 47 on the Billboard Top 200 and number one on the Billboard Top Country Chart. The album spawned two hit singles: “If You Talk in Your Sleep” and title track “Promised Land”, the latter of which was also used for the 1997 sci-fi comedy film Men in Black. Promised Land remains a timeless classic by the King of Rock and Roll.

Franz Ferdinand announce ‘Hits To The Head’, a 20-track greatest
hits collection showcasing the world-conquering success of the
band’s career to date.
 Released on Domino, ‘Hits To The Head’ also features two brandnew tracks - ‘Billy Goodbye’ and ‘Curious’, produced by Alex
Kapranos, Julian Corrie and Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, Madonna, Pet
Shop Boys).
 Armed with an astute sense of what constitutes the ‘classic pop song’
(famously proclaiming that they write music “to make girls dance to”),
the music of Franz Ferdinand continues to resonate globally and over
the course of nearly two decades they’ve become, commercially and
critically, one of the biggest UK bands in the world, selling over 10
million albums, 1.2 billion streams to date, 14 Platinum albums,
winning Brit, Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize awards, Grammy
nominations and selling six million tickets for their incendiary live
show worldwide.
 Deluxe CD in hardback book-style sleeve with 48-page case-bound
booklet with liner notes by JD Beauvallet plus lyrics.
 CD in standard jewel case with clear tray and 24-page booklet with
liners by JD Beauvallet.
 2LP into black poly-lined inner sleeves plus 16-page booklet with
liners by JD Beauvallet and digital download card.

Golden Earrings’ On The Double was the band’s first double album, released in January 1969. It contains 19 tracks varying from pop and acoustic to their well-known heavier rock tracks. The album includes the band’s first piano based ballad, which is simply entitled “The Grand Piano”. However, most people will know this album for the song “Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart”, which reached #2 on the singles chart in their home country The Netherlands. During the time of this release, the band was playing every venue down across the country and started to gain grounds in other countries all over the globe. This was when the band’s international career took off with a rocket start.

For her outing on Patience, Swedish producer Johanna Knutsson departs on a sweeping, drifting electronica dream suite, a cloud-level glide through the subconscious that returns back to reality just before the alarm sounds. Dingsbums Homage is Johanna’s engulfing evocation of eyes shut wonder and a compelling 6th entry into the Patience catalogue of long-form explorations.

Conceived as a single piece, Dingsbums Homage features two distinct movements. The A side Bersteinsee floats into view on a soft breeze, with cosmic keys puncturing the ozone layer, before a gentle, almost tropical rhythm bobs into being and celestial shapes career in and out of view - comets, ufos or other, the truth is out there somewhere. The track settles into a supple groove that cruises on out of range, as whimsical synthesized strings bring part one to a close.

On Side B Beilsteinerstrasse picks up where the A left off, with an array of twinkling electronics, piano and snippets of memories in reverse weightlessly whizzing through the mind. The light sleep state is abruptly transformed by a monumental arpeggio that rises from the depths and propels the mind beyond the clouds and into a deeper inner space. Eventually the track re-enters the atmosphere and gently lowers to earth on some bittersweet strings, leaving a slowly dissolving outline of melancholic silver clouds behind the eyelids on waking.

Recently returned to Sweden after a long stint in Berlin, as a producer Johanna’s music veers between lucid, pumping techno and ethereal ambience. She's released records on Klasse Wrecks, Kontra-Musik, Oscillate Tracks and her own UFO Station Recordings, and she also ran Zodiac44 with Luca Lozano. Her DJ sets of nimble, spacey techno have seen her play sets in some of Europe’s finest outposts, and more recently she has performed ambient live sets at Intonal in Sweden and an all night “sleep set” at ADE, and in addition she composes music for documentaries.

Magnum II is the eponymous second studio album by English hard rock band Magnum. Originally released in 1979, the album highlights the band’s trademark harmonies and punchy instrumentals. Magnum II is a diverse record, as it features ballads and adult contemporary rock, but also hints of prog rock and heavy metal. A track like “Great Adventure” contains catchy vocals, dynamic guitar riffs and inspired keyboards, while the acoustic “Reborn” showcases a more mellow side of the band. Magnum II was produced by Ten Years After bass player Leo Lyons.

Originally released as a Paddy McAloon solo album in 2003 and now fully remastered. A 9 song CD and double LP (1 side is etched) which includes several instrumental tracks including a 22 minute title track. Features new artwork and liner notes written by Paddy McAloon. The album was conceived and recorded after Paddy was diagnosed with a medical condition that dramatically affected his vision and has become regarded as one of the great lost classic records. Ads, features, interviews and reviews across all press. Radio support across 6Music, R2, Absolute and ILR network. Online/social media activity. Poster campaign and database mailout.

Prong’s distinctive industrial metal sound influenced other bands such as Korn and Nine Inch Nails. Former New York club CBGB’s soundman Tommy Victor founded Prong in 1987 as his outlet for sonic fury. Having their roots in the thrash metal and hardcore scenes, Prong carved a niche for themselves - groovy, angry, massive; just perfect mosh music. The trio wrecked stages and impressed audiences all over the world.

Rude Awakening is Prong’s fifth album. Prong continued to refine their piercing attack on Rude Awakening, while simultaneously expanding their sonic vocabulary. Throughout the record, they continue to mix in industrial rhythms and effects - there are samples scattered all over the album - but the key to the success of Rude Awakening is the precise, drilling effect of the group’s jackhammer riffs.

Straightaways is the second album by the American rock band Son Volt. It was originally released on April 22nd, 1997. The group was formed by Jay Farrar after his previous band Uncle Tupelo broke up. The sound of this album is much related to the sound of their first album Trace. However, where Trace is still very alt-country oriented, Straightaways has a more alternative rock sound.

Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.

After 'Transit', his successful solo debut, Safe is the second album Bert Dockx (Dans Dans, Flying Horseman, Ottla, Strand) is releasing under his own name.

This collection of songs and instrumentals navigates between threat and dream, between silence and storm. Unlike 'Transit', 'Safe' mainly consists of original work and just two interpretations (of The Velvet Underground & Ornette Coleman tracks). This time Dockx is not flying entirely solo either, he gets musical assistance from Loesje and Martha Maieu (Flying Horseman, Blackie & The Oohoos) and Thomas Jillings (Ottla, Linus). Koen Gisen, Ghent based producer for connoisseurs, is back at the controls. Together with them, Dockx paints a richly variegated and adventurous soundscape with echoes of his other musical projects.

We hear folk, psychedelia, ambient, introverted guitar rock, shaded jazz. Colourful vistas are contrasted with gloomy introspection. Careful listeners will also discover the narrative of a complex, painful, passionate love.

After 'Transit', his successful solo debut, Safe is the second album Bert Dockx (Dans Dans, Flying Horseman, Ottla, Strand) is releasing under his own name.

This collection of songs and instrumentals navigates between threat and dream, between silence and storm. Unlike 'Transit', 'Safe' mainly consists of original work and just two interpretations (of The Velvet Underground & Ornette Coleman tracks). This time Dockx is not flying entirely solo either, he gets musical assistance from Loesje and Martha Maieu (Flying Horseman, Blackie & The Oohoos) and Thomas Jillings (Ottla, Linus). Koen Gisen, Ghent based producer for connoisseurs, is back at the controls. Together with them, Dockx paints a richly variegated and adventurous soundscape with echoes of his other musical projects.

We hear folk, psychedelia, ambient, introverted guitar rock, shaded jazz. Colourful vistas are contrasted with gloomy introspection. Careful listeners will also discover the narrative of a complex, painful, passionate love.

Incredible early work from Joyce – the completely fantastic female singer who would go on to transform the sound of Brazilian music in the 70s, and have a huge global legacy for years to come! This set's got Joyce working with Nelson Angelo – a bandmate of the singer in the group A Tribo – and the pair write and perform songs with a vibe that's similar to her later work, but maybe a bit darker and moodier too! The music has an extremely haunting quality, and Angelo's presence adds a lot to Joyce's usual mix of lovely vocals and guitar playing – maybe pacing things out in a different way, with some rootsier elements reflected on the cover – but still handled with all the sophistication that we've really come to love from Joyce over the years. A gem throughout – and titles include "Tudo Comeca De Novo", "Sete Cachorros", "Um Gosto De Fruta", "Hotel Universo", "Ponte Nova", "Tiro Cruzado", and "Mantra".

When you’re trying to make it through tough times, you need a little light to find your way. That light blazes brightly on the alchemical second album from Penelope Isles, an album forged amid emotional upheaval and band changes. Setting the uncertainties of twentysomething life to alt-rock and psychedelic songs brimming with life, colour and feeling, ‘Which Way to Happy’ emerges as a luminous victory for Jack and Lily Wolter, the siblings whose bond holds the
band tight at its core.

 Produced by Jack and mixed by US alt-rock legend Dave Fridmann, the result is an intoxicating leap forward for the Brighton-based band, following the calling-card DIY smarts of their 2019 debut, ‘Until the Tide Creeps In’. Sometimes it swoons, sometimes it soars. Sometimes it says it’s OK to not be OK. And sometimes it says it’s OK to look for the way to happy, too. Pitched between fertile coastal metaphors and winged melodies, intimate confessionals and expansive cosmic pop, deep sorrows and serene soul-pop pick-you-ups, it transforms ‘difficult second album’ clichés into a thing of glorious contrasts: a second-album surge of up-close, heartfelt intimacies and expansive, experimental vision.

 Field recordings were made during a stay at a small cottage in Cornwall, where Penelope Isles began work on the album. With romantic heartache already in the air, things swiftly got worse:
lockdown began, claustrophobia kicked in and emotions ran high. As Jack puts it, “We were there for about two or three months. It was a tiny cottage with four of us in and we all went a bit bonkers, and we drank far too much, and it spiralled a bit out of control. There were a lot of emotional evenings and realisations, which I think reflects in the songs.”

 At different points along the way, Jack Sowton and Becky Redford left the Isles. An old friend, multi-instrumentalist Henry Nicholson, stepped in swiftly - “A godsend after a low time,” says Lily. Another friend, Hannah Feenstra, contributed drum parts; now, Joe Taylor is the band’s drummer. After Cornwall, the band redid many of the rhythm tracks, recorded a little in Brighton, then recorded more in Cornwall at their parents’ house. “It was,” says Jack, “a proper
rollercoaster ride.”

 The ride continued with Fridmann, whose recent credits include Isles’ favourites Mogwai’s No 1 album, ‘As the Love Continues’. As Lily puts it, the process of sending Fridmann a mix, receiving it back in the morning and then having five hours to make decisions on it resulted first in stress, then in something sublime. “I love everything he’s touched - MGMT, Mogwai, Mercury Rev. He would turn our mix into this electric, fiery thing. There were some moments that were
initially hard, like on ‘Miss Moon’, where he took out the bass when it gets to the chorus. But now it’s my favourite bit on the record. He made everything so colourful. It’s an intensesounding record - a hot record. It was so refreshing to have that blast of energy from Dave - it’s like he framed our pictures.”

 Away from the confines of the cottage, the Wolters also opened the door to a collaboration with storied composer Fiona Brice, whose credits include John Grant, Lost Horizons and Placebo. A
“big bucket-list tick” for Jack and Lily, the team-up results in glorious arrangements across the album: for Lily, ‘11 11’ stood out. “I was in absolute tears when she sent back the strings for ‘11 11’. It was like, oh my goodness, she’s nailed it.”

 On its release, ‘Until the Tide Creeps In’ received rave reviews from Q, DIY, The Line of Best Fit and many others, while finding champions in Steve Lamacq and Shaun Keaveny. It also become part of a lifeline for music fans during the 2020 lockdown when the band participated in Tim Burgess’s Twitter Listening Party. Meanwhile, extensive touring saw the Isles develop into a formidable live force, with ‘Gnarbone’ emerging as a sure-fire showstopper.

 Now, the Isles have 11 more showstoppers to add to the mix. At the album’s heart, the band’s core traits have never been stronger: the bond between the Wolters, a sensitivity towards complex feelings, a desire to celebrate life in all its facets and an ambitious reach combine to create an album that feels utterly, emphatically present on every front, rich in depth and uplift.

 LP pressed on 180g clear vinyl with A4 print.

The eponymous Sun Cutter debut album, released via Bronzerat Records (Gemma Ray, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Still).

 Sun Cutter (real name Kevin Pearce) hails from Colchester in Essex, England. Three years ago, at the age of 33, Kevin suffered a heart attack (on a golf course). As well as having to redress some lifestyle
habits, his rehabilitation involved writing and recording the Sun Cutter project. It is an album of driving, harmony-drenched indie-soul folk-pop / rock that looks to the light for reflection.

 Songs of love and protest befit the man, and his politics of empathy, evident in his lyrics, are also demonstrated by his day job as a mental health worker. His tone and delivery sometimes reveal John Lennon, Tim Buckley and Bob Dylan as an influence.

 Co-produced with pal Dean Honer (Moonlandingz, Eccentronic Research Council, Pins). Dean is also one half of I Monster, and Kevin lent his voice and guitar to the acoustic version of ‘Daydream In Blue’, which soundtracked the Magnum ice cream ads in 2020.
They have also collaborated and created ‘The Sounds of Science’, a collection of science songs for kids, released in April 2022 on Castles in Space.

 Previously he has released (under his real name) the album ‘Matthew Hopkins & The Wormhole (AWAL)’, a concept record about the Witchfinder General who lived in the same village (Mistley in Essex).

 Kevin Pearce is currently on tour with Turin Brakes

The Iveys had been a moderately successful Swansea-based beat group in the mid-sixties performing cover versions of the latest pop and soul records before they engaged Liverpudlian Bill Collins as their manager. Collins had known the Beatles back in 1962-63 and was chummy with their road manager Mal Evans, who came along to an Iveys gig in January 1968. This led to the group being signed by Apple Records for a three-year deal. Tom Evans’ composition Maybe Tomorrow was the first single. Although it bombed in the UK and USA, it was an international smash released in 20 countries worldwide. “We felt our original name was too nice. And people kept asking us if we were the old Ivy League.” In November 1969, The Iveys changed their name to Badfinger to coincide with the release of their recording of the Paul McCartney song, Come And Get It. Side One of this set contains songs recorded by the Iveys for the BBC in 1969, and Side Two consists of Badfinger sessions from 1970 for the BBC and a couple of tracks* for the German TV programme, Beat Club. Recording quality is excellent throughout except for Birthday and Nobody where unfortunately a better quality source was not available.

Finally reissued on vinyl here is Blurt's self-titled essential debut from 1982 remastered and accompanied by a second album that collects all singles from 1980-1984 including: - My Mother Was A Friend Of An Enemy Of The People (1980) - The Fish Needs A Bike (1981) - The Ruminant Plinth (1983) - White Line Fever (1984). Led by poet/saxophonist/blurter Ted Milton, they were one of the oddest and most galvanizing bands from Great Britain’s post-punk movement. Surfacing a year after 1981’s live full-length In Berlin, their self-titled debut studio LP consists of seven tracks that strip funk and jazz-inflected no wave down to insanely logical essentials. These lean vehicles operated by Milton, his brother Jake (drums), and Pete Creese (guitar) get your hips twitching and your brain itching. The songs are both tight and spacey—a rare combo of elements that coheres into trance-funk jams punctuated by Milton’s rude, shredded sax jags and spluttering, megaphoned rants. If you saw Ted Milton doing his thing on the street corner, you’d give him a wide berth. See him onstage or hear him on record and you’re transfixed and repulsed in equal measure. (Jive Time)

“Sunlight to blue … Blue to blackness” - This was one of the more upbeat title suggestions for the very bare, back to basics, reflective album from The Durutti Column. Originally released in June 2008, Sunlight to Blue… was a conscious response to the previous two polished and ‘studio-based’ releases. Here he created some sparse, simply beautiful 'sketches' as he once called them, more reminiscent of his work from the early eighties. Many of the pieces are instrumentals played on his Juan Montero flamenco guitar, and he returns to 'Without Mercy' for the last track 'Grief' whilst reinventing 'Never Known' from LC. Now, for the first time, the LP is available remastered and re-packaged as a gatefold double 12” 180gram vinyl release.

This album also saw the debut of the then talented young pianist and singer, Poppy Morgan, who co-wrote the melancholy Ananda as a duet with what Reilly dryly called 'intrusive guitar'. For the uninitiated, Vini was the first artist signed to Manchester’s influential Factory Records, co-wrote and played on Morrissey’s first solo album ‘Viva Hate’, and was heavily featured in the Manchester music culture film, ’24 Hour Party People’. Vini Reilly has recorded under the name The Durutti Column since 1978 and has a rich portfolio of work, releasing over twenty albums in this time. Ever critical of Vini’s voice, but ever a fierce champion of his talent, the late Tony Wilson would surely appreciate this return of The Durutti Column.

Milky Clear w/ Black Heavy Splatter

Listening to Græns album ”Musique Pour L’Esprit En Expansion” is an awakening experience. This record pours new poison over rock music, a genre which the bands founder Axel (Graveyard, Big Kiss etc) has a lot of experience from and, in his own words “a love/hate relation to”. That objective and sober perspective on the genre may be the main reason for the loosely assembled set of influences, put together by Axel, Lisen Rylander Löve (Midarcondo, Union Carbide Productions, Amason etc) and Rickard “Bobban” Johansson (Den Stora Vilan, Hills etc.), three experienced and wide eared musicians with a fearless approach to their main instruments and music in general.

With song titles like “Björkarnas Sus” (Whiz of the Birch trees) and “Commodification blues”, ”Musique Pour L’Esprit En Expansion” mixes nature romanticism with raw political comments about consumption. The sound moves from Stooges La Blues-land to Swedish progg with each instrumentalists shining through in grand style! Axel describes the less song-oriented tracks as “directed improvisation” – it’s loose but not eclectic.

Whatever sense you are using to catch this music, Græns message of cosmic unity and creative freedom will carry through to you!

KORN changed the world with the release of their self-titled debut album. It was a record that would pioneer a genre, while the band’s enduring success points to a larger cultural moment. The FADER notes, “There was an unexpected opening in the pop landscape and KORN articulated a generational coming-of-angst for a claustrophobic, self-surveilled consciousness. KORN became the soundtrack for a generation’s arrival as a snarling, thrashing, systemically-restrained freak show.”
Since forming, KORN has sold 40 million albums worldwide, collected two GRAMMYS, toured the world countless times, and set many records in the process that will likely never be surpassed. Vocalist Jonathan Davis, guitarists James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian “Head” Welch, bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, and drummer Ray Luzier, have continued to push the limits of the rock, alternative and metal genres, while remaining a pillar of influence for legions of fans and generations of artists around the globe.
The level of KORN’s reach transcends accolades and platinum certifications. They are “a genuine movement in a way bands cannot be now,” attests The Ringer. They represent a new archetype and radical innovation, their ability to transcend genre makes barriers seem irrelevant.

Sam Evian knew he wanted to leave New York City almost as soon as he arrived, more than a decade ago. An upstart songwriter and producer, he, of course, loved its creative wellspring—the ideas, the instrumentalists, the energy. But he’d grown up in the woods of upstate New York and, later, along the coast on the rather empty eastern end of North Carolina. The city was expensive, anxious, and unsettling, however inspiring it could be. So in the Summer of 2017, he and his band decamped to a rented house upstate to cut his second album, the magnetic You, Forever. He then realized he could no longer resist the urge; two years ago, Sam and his partner, Hannah Cohen, split from the city, building their refuge in the quiet of a Catskills town. That reflective, relaxing environment inexorably shaped Time to Melt, his third LP and debut for Fat Possum. A glowing set of soulfully psychedelic pop gems, Time to Melt is a testimonial to the life and wisdom to be found when you give yourself the mercy of space..

Tina Turner’s classic album Foreign Affair is celebrated on 2LP, fully remastered for the first time.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Zeroes Collected features Nelly Furtado “I’m Like A Bird”, The Script “Breakeven”, The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling”, Alphabeat “Fascination”, T.A.T.U. “All The Things She Said” and Mika “Grace Kelly” amongst others.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Tens Collected features Sam Smith “Stay With Me”, Lorde “Royals”, The Weeknd “Starboy”, Dua Lipa “Be The One”, Niall Horan “Slow Hands” and Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do” amongst others.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Tens Collected features Sam Smith “Stay With Me”, Lorde “Royals”, The Weeknd “Starboy”, Dua Lipa “Be The One”, Niall Horan “Slow Hands” and Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do” amongst others.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the new Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favorite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

Various Artists - Zeroes Collected features Nelly Furtado “I’m Like A Bird”, The Script “Breakeven”, The Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling”, Alphabeat “Fascination”, T.A.T.U. “All The Things She Said” and Mika “Grace Kelly” amongst others.

BACK IN 2001, when Detroit exploded all over the airwaves, the Dirtbombs’ released this album.. it flew out.. and here it is again on glorious vinyl format. Mick Collins and his merry band of Dirtbombs (which, this time around, features Bantam Rooster's Tom Potter and Detroit studio wiz Jim Diamond) bring the soul on their sophomore album Ultraglide In Black, named after Ultraglide in Blue, a cool late-nite flick from your youth. All the influences that helped shaped his sonic psyche are in the forefront here - Sly & the Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Parliament, the Miracles and host of others too obscure to mention all have their presence felt. If the Temptations owned fuzz pedals and read too many comic books they might've sounded something like this. There are a lot of young bands claiming to be creating "soul" music and "testifying" (we won't name names) but this here is the authentic item - accept no substitutes. "The Dirtbombs' combination of squealing feedback-driven guitar, dual drumming and walloping bass presence rivals that of the Velvet Underground. Imagine the Velvets, Gories and Oblivians battling to the death inside a tuna fish can, their raw and ultra crude instrumentation blazing away with hell-bent fury. Led by Mick Collins (who spent time fronting the Gories and the rockabilly grunge outfit Blacktop), the Dirtbombs' distinctive Motown howl and wicked axe slingin' escapades shred like one of Dolemite's rapid-fire, X-rated monologues.… Collins executes some snarling, self-professed "cyclone" guitar riffs underneath the stomping, mummified mayhem. These Detroit cavemen have found their place in a fuzz-drenched, garage band sound reminiscent of Question Mark and the Mysterians fused with the sonic annihilation of the Stooges." -Tucson Weekly
Every shop /home NEEDS THIS ALBUM.

"Gliding in on the twin engine discordant tones we’ve come to love from EXEK comes their new transmission 'Advertise Here' Beats bumping up thru a flapping spring reverb Gilded production choices
Stripped bass bubbling in the cauldron With each pass of the witch’s ladle, words float in the steam over the cacophonous concoction
The coven that croons together slays together With every layer peeling back on our ear’s tongue we will exclaim “wicked” Perhaps their strongest effort yet

The twin engines reappear now, tardy Guitar and synthesis, rounded edges, worn and ever so slightly fuzzed out Perfection
This LP strives for new lyrical highs in my opinion Pop at an arm’s length Thru a greasy lens A conversation A conversation on drugs
A passing comment that sticks an utterance from the death bed
Reminiscent of Brian Eno, White Fence, PiL, Full Circle, ESG, all things Geoff Barrows, Eroc, Lard Free, and music of free weirdos everywhere This one is the mossy titled deck of a half submerged shipwreck A green light in a red room A lump of clay The end of the night when you think “perhaps I should have left ages ago”
But it’s too late now…you’re in too deep…might as well have one more dance
This LP is leaping even further out into the unknown for EXEK A trip indeed Full of hits with zero diss and lots of hiss on no near miss” - John Dwyer

Over the course of the decade, Meatbodies’ Chad Ubovich has been
a perennial candidate for MVP of West Coast’s fertile rock scene. The
LA native could be seen peeling off guitar solos in Mikal Cronin’s
backing band, supplying the Sabbath-sized low end for Ty Segall and
Charlie Moothart as the bassist for Fuzz, and, of course, fronting his
own Meatbodies. Today the recently dormant experimental noise /
freak-rock outfit has announced their return with 333—a corrosive
stew of guitar scuzz, raw acoustic rave-ups, and primitive
electronics that charts Ubovich’s journey from drug-induced darkness
to clear-eyed sobriety. 333 simultaneously reflects on how the world
he re-entered was still pretty messed up—if not more so. “These lyrics
are dark, but I think these are things that a lot of people are feeling
and going through” he says. “Here in America, we’re watching the
fall of U.S. capitalism, and 333 is a cartoonish representation of that
decline.”
In mid to late 2019, the band—Ubovich and drummer Dylan
Fujioka—had a new album in the can, ready to be mixed. But
when COVID hit, like so many other artists, they put their release
on hold as they rode out the pandemic’s first wave. During that idle
time, Ubovich discovered a cache of demos that he and Fujioka had
recorded in a bedroom back in the summer of 2018, and he really liked
what he heard. In contrast to Meatbodies’ typical full-band attack, it
was deliriously disordered. “It sounded gross, like a scary Magical
Mystery Tour,” he recalls proudly. After subjecting them to some
mixing-board freakery, Ubovich fast-tracked the songs into becoming
this third release of theirs, 333. It proves Meatbodies have greatly
expanded their palette, opening new portals to explore. And for an
album that wasn’t supposed to exist, 333 is the ultimate testament to
Meatbodies’ renewed vitality.

Neutral’s seminal album, Grå Våg Gamlestaden, is widely
considered ground zero for the explosion of creativity that has
transpired in the Swedish Underground ever since. It is the noisy
experimental rock album that opened the door and welcomed in
so many artists working behind the scenes. Gothenburgers Dan
Johansson (Sewer Election) and Sofie Herner had previously
made music together in the band Källarbarnen when they started
discussing a new methodology and a fresh sound for recordings
in 2013 under a new name as a duo.
After witnessing Herner and Johansson’s live performance in
an artist’s studio in the spring 2014, Gustaf Dicksson, who was
running the Omlott record label at the time as well as performing
under his own moniker, Blod, offered to release an album by
Neutral on the spot.
Herner recorded most of the instruments and voice, Johansson
worked on manipulating the recordings, experimenting with
reel-to-reel techniques. The title of the album translates as “Grey
Wave Gamlestaden” and was chosen as an inside joke about the
neighbourhood Gamlestaden where Johansson and Herner lived.
A major theme on the recording is a certain kind of bleakness
but with a wry smile closely identified with the spirit of the
neighborhood.
In the fall of 2014 Grå Våg Gamlestaden was released,
limited to 200 copies, and sold out quickly without many copies
making it outside of Sweden. Around the same time, Johansson
and Herner joined forces with other underground artists in their
widening circle to form a sort of Gothenburg supergroup making
music together as Enhet för Fri Musik.
Grapefruit’s reissue of Grå Våg Gamlestaden is the first time
Neutral’s masterpiece has seen the light of day since it sold out
quickly in 2014. This vinyl-only gatefold reissue is limited to
300 copies.

everything one needs to know about this album: a misshapen,
CHUD-like figure wanders in a graveyard bearing a cross,
while a mutated fish flops in a polluted ditch and a clutch
of factories belch their smoke above it all. The message of
the illustration is not to frighten or warn, but to celebrate
and admire.
Originally released in January of 1984, Disease Is Relative
is an unapologetic and wholesale embrace of death,
disease, and dystopia, with liberal doses of absurdism
and an unrelenting devotion to anything unexpected,
chromatic, or evil sounding. Sporting influences as
diverse as no wave, death rock, funk, post-punk, hardcore,
metal, and prog rock, this music somehow happened in the
midst of a first wave hardcore scene, before there was a
“post-” to be “post” of. Less surprising is that this happened
in Cleveland, which also inspired a desire to recreate the
feeling of the city’s post-industrial desolation in sound.
There’s also some epic screaming and crazy guitar playing.
The album features three songwriters (brothers Andrew
& Chris Marec, Robert Griffin), who also divide guitar,
bass, and vocals equally between themselves here.
Drummer Bruce Allen is the secret weapon, and provides
a clue to what a young Bill Bruford might have done in a
band like this. And yet, beyond all odds, the end result is
cohesive, cathartic, and utterly idiomatic. The distinct vibe
of the album, and its sheer quantity of killer riffs, songs
and performances have made it an album that people have
championed over time, while others have come to know it
through the interwebs as a result.

Stunning and evocative psych folk album from the Lewes based group. There are shades of Sandy Denny, Trees, Mellow Candle and the Wicker Man, shot through a kaleidoscopic lens. Beautiful tones abound from singer Rachel Thomas, backed by Stuart Carter (Fumaca Preta) and writer/producer Richard Norris (The Grid/Beyond The Wizards Sleeve).

The Order of The 12 is a psych folk group formed in Lewes, Sussex. It is a place of rolling hills, druids, and sorcery. There’s also a long folk tradition here, from the Copper Family to Shirley Collins, who lives just round the corner from where this album was created. It was recorded in an attic studio on the banks of Lewes Castle.
The Order of The 12 is singer Rachel Thomas, Fumaca Preta multi-instrumentalist Stuart Carter, and musician, writer and producer Richard Norris (the Grid/Beyond The Wizards Sleeve).
The album is a richly melodic set of tales of lost love, pagan magic and the lore of nature. There’s a strong sense of the rolling countryside in the music, and it’s connection with those who live within its hills. Echoes of Sandy Denny, Trees, Mellow Candle, and all manner of psych folk soundtrack from the Wicker Man onwards are evoked in its rich sonic brew.

Rachel Thomas – Vocals
Stuart Carter – Guitars
Richard Norris – Keyboards, percussion, drums

Even for a band hailing from the nomadic Tuareg population, roaming the deserts of Mali, Africa, the members of the Grammy winning band Tinariwen have travelled further than most. Since breaking through to a global audience, their music has taken them around the world and been championed by artists as diverse as Robert Plant, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke and TV On The Radio.
By the time the west caught on, the 5 to 7-piece group had a two-decade career behind them. Formed in and around the Algerian town of Tamanrasset by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib in 1979, they were initially a traditional group playing weddings, baptisms and parties-until they heard Bob Marley and Bob Dylan during military training in Libya and duly went electric. Their early music-banned in Mali-spoke of ethnic pride, drought, political struggle, and rebellion. Members of the band fought in the Touareg rebellion that broke out in Mali and Niger in the 1980s, leading to the popular image of the group with a guitar on one shoulder and a machine gun on the other. Returning to Mali after a 1994 ceasefire when the ban on their music was lifted, Tinariwen continued to document the changing lifestyle of their persecuted people. 'For the Tuareg community, music and poetry are everything,' bassist Eyadou Ag Leche has said. 'Music is politics. Music is 'maux de vie,' it's the news and the current affairs. I think we play music to give out information, project our ideas, and convey feelings.'
The last decade saw major changes for the band: they toured Europe for the first time in 2000, and the following year's The Radio Tisdas Sessions became their first widely distributed album-and the first to be not solely released on cassette. Line-up changes followed, with frontman Ibrahim welcoming the first of several younger members to the group. Their global travels brought new influences to the band. 'For a long time we didn't know what music like blues, rock, or pop sounded like,' said Eyadou.
Amassakoul, released in 2004, was made by a band in which four of the six players were newcomers and represented a shift to a more produced, intricate sound. It preserved the loose, camelback rhythms, call-and-response vocals, lively guitars, and handclaps of Tinariwen's unique sound but added a vocal drone to 'Assoul' and influences from Jamaican toasting on Tamashek rap track 'Arawan' and on 'Oualahila Ar Tesninam,' the group's hardest rock track yet. The album's name tellingly translates from Tamashek to 'The Traveler.'
Issued on vinyl for the first time ever by Modern Classics Recordings, this is your chance to discover Tinariwen at the point when their travels to Europe and beyond created a cultural exchange beneficial for the band, for western music, and, ultimately, for the listener.rded live at Mali's Festival of the Desert in January 2001. Showcasing the band's ferocious performance skills, it created an appetite for their live show around the world. Soon, western audiences who thought they'd seen everything discovered a new, hybrid form of music that was quite unlike anything they'd heard before.
Issued on vinyl for the first time by Modern Classics Recordings and presented in a deluxe edition, this is your chance to discover Tinariwen at the pivotal moment of their career.

Tinariwen’s breakthrough album originally released in 2004, now remastered andrepackaged with a bonus unreleased track, exclusive photos and brand-new linernotes. The first vinyl pressing is limited edition indigo vinyl - only 3000 copies worldwide and the download card provides 24-bit WAV. Amassakoul features songs from Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni, Touhami Ag Alhassane.
Tinariwen are Tuaregs, children of a nomadic Berber tribe who have roamed the Saharan desert for thousands of years. Over recent centuries, colonialism has seen the Tuareg’s ancestral territory partitioned into distinct countries - Mali, Algeria, Libya, Niger. This drawing of borders has turned the Tuareg into ishumar, a displaced people in search of a homeland lost to them. Tinariwen’s music – a
blend of West African traditional music and electrified rock’n’roll – speaks directly to this feeling of longing: a sound that critics have called “desert blues”