Back catalogue:

Review: First released more than two decades ago in 2004, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone features the renowned cellist performing pieces from the legendary composer's very many iconic film scores. It was recorded with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and pianist Gilda Butta and Morricone himself served as orchestrator, conductor and producer. The album remained on the Billboard Top Classical Albums chart for 105 weeks after its initial release and now this resisted and stunning collection again offers up music from Once Upon a Time in America, The Legend of 1900, The Untouchables, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and more. It is a masterful tribute done with sheer class and beautifully orchestrated collaboration.

Review: "Of all the many noble attempts of the prog rockers to create a grand compositional style which blended elements from classical music with rock, none, in my view, ever reached the intensity, complexity and raw savage excitement of the great Magma masterworks." When you make music that feels like the love child of a rock & roll musical, gospel choir, Frank Zappa and Ziggy Stardust, why should anyone expect you to be even remotely humble when describing your own back catalogue. Magma's 1974 epic is nothing short of batshit crazy in the true sense - bordering, perhaps sprinting well beyond, the point of genius and capable of rendering any room speechless. A stunning example of how wild, exploratory and experimental the music industry was once so proud to be.

Review: Mahavishnu Orchestra, a believably metaphysical force in the alternate plane that is jazz-rock fusion, released Visions Of The Emerald Beyond in 1975, indicating an accessible and funk-influenced approach compared to their earlier works. Through sprawling fusion fugues and shorter, more structured pieces, the record is, despite its compositional variety, a fadeless, seamless connected suite. 'Lila's Dance' stands tall among the movements especially, though 'Eternity's Breath' and 'Cosmic Strut' also abound in their sooling psychic projections, demoing the radical result of the shaken-up, second Mahavishnu lineup, with Mahavishnu himself, sometime Miles Davis ensemble guitarist, John McLaughlin remaining at the helm.

Review: Pantechnicons of Philadelphia soul, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes reached their musical peak with Teddy Pendergrass between 1972 and 1975. Their 1975 album Wake Up Everybody hears Pendergrass' last vocal contribution to a band before he went solo; the record is filled with thought-provocations and gnomic lyrics, and became famous more by way of its covers than its originals. Returning the favour, 'Wake Up Everybody' was later covered by John Legend & The Roots, while 'Don't Leave Me This Way' became a disco classic thanks to the vamping vocal verves of Thelma Houston. This 750-copy 50th anniversary repress now comes with a special bonus: a rare 11-minute remix of 'Don't Leave Me This Way' by remixing pioneer Tom Moulton.

Review: Considering how much most modern rockers don't talk about the Melvins, or Melvins as the Washington staters should technically be referred to, it's insane how much influence they had on the development of late-20th Century guitar sounds. Without Dale Crover, Buzz Osborne and Steven Shane McDonald, we're not sure there would have been grunge at all. Kicking but not screaming out of the Pacific Northwest in 1983 (at which time Mike Dillard was playing drums, later replaced by Crover), Houdini is their fifth studio album and by this point they'd more than found that legendary groove. Sludgy, thick, stompy and a little bit swampy, these are the riffs that inspire limbs to move of their own accord, setting the tone for a range of bands from Soundgarden and Nirvana to Tool, Sun O))) and Slipknot.

Review: This reissue brings The Modern Lovers' eponymous debut album back to life, a record that captured the raw energy and poetic spirit of the burgeoning American punk scene at its earliest inception. Originally released in 1976, the album features a collection of iconic tracks, including the anthemic 'Roadrunner' - subsequently covered by everyone from the Sex Pistols to Sleaford Mods and Iggy Pop - the introspective 'Astral Plane', and the quirky ode to 'Pablo Picasso'. Raw and yet sophisticated, with influences ranging from the Velvet Underground to garage rock, this is a real treat.

Review: The Modulations released their album It's Rough Out Here in 1975, not only impressing both industry and laity with the singles 'Rough Out Here and 'I Can't Fight Your Love', but also spurring the considerable career of a funk quartet whose merit outdoes their reputation alone. The Modulations recorded extensively with MFSB, the house band of the famed record label Philadelphia International; these sessions yielded this album, one considered a gem of 1970s soul music. Exemplary of the long, wistful titles of the Philly funk era and beyond, the titular roughness of the record is also nonetheless embedded in a sea of audible Romance; the Modulations' hard knocks don't exclude the necessity of letting emotion in, with 'Head On Collision With Heartbreak' being an indelible example of this sense of being swept up in one's own emotions in the face of heartbreak, away from the perseverance aesthetics of "gritty" realism one might expect from a title like this.

Review: Peter Hook's post-New Order venture with David Potts resurfaces after 25 years with Monaco, the duo's second and final album, finally seeing a vinyl pressing for the first time. The self-titled LP followed Music For Pleasure and leant into Hook and Potts' foundational fondness for rock-dance hybrids, with the buoyant 'I've Got A Feeling' and the moodier 'See Saw' among the stereo-steroidal standouts; we've everything from Brit-pub rock whimsy to club-shuttling indie house respectively. This UK-only edition lands as a deluxe gatefold double crystal clear wax; with a four-page booklet and a deluge of bonus tracks, this is the first proper physical revisit to a project that closed the 90s in the shadow of Hook's better-known bands.

Review: Marc Moulin's long career, establishing him as a pioneering figure in Belgium's music scene, continues its journey on this release, with tracks that weave together his signature blend of smooth jazz and downtempo rhythms. Beginning with the jazz-rock group Placebo in the 70s, Moulin later formed the electro-pop act Telex, which represented Belgium at Eurovision in 1980. As a solo artist, he merged jazz with electronic and downtempo sounds, collaborating with artists like Sparks and Lio. His production, marked by complex instrumentation and atmospheric depth, solidified his reputation as a key figure in both jazz and electronic music. Whether drawing from the cool jazz of the 60s or the laid-back grooves of 90s chillout, Moulin's music transcends genre boundaries. On this album, the music explores a subtle interplay of muted trumpets, congas, and guitars, blending sensual, smoky vocals with a deeply rhythmic pulse. There's an unmistakable touch of classic jazz, reminiscent of legends like Wes Montgomery and George Benson, while the rhythms pull you into a more contemporary space, aligning with the downtempo beats that were popular in the 90s. Tracks like 'Into The Dark' and 'What?' unfold with a breezy yet intricate sense of rhythm, offering both chilled vibes and moments of tension. 'Organ' offers a groove-heavy track, with its jazz roots merging seamlessly with a funk-infused, hypnotic backdrop. The bonus remixes serve as a fresh take on these original compositions. From the midnight mood of 'Organ (Cosmos Midnight Express Remix)' to the deeper house flavour of 'Into The Dark (Karma Fever Reminiscent Step Remix)', these remixes take the core of Moulin's vision and deepen it, offering something for both the jazz enthusiast and the dancefloor. This release crystalises a rich moment in Moulin's career as he updates the familiar jazz and downtempo idioms with the intricate, soulful grooves of funk and electronic experimentation, keeping his sound vital and relevant.

Review: Taking influence from death metal, hardcore punk, jazz fusion, speed metal and hip hop - a heady brew of noises if ever there was one - Mudvayne pretty much invented 'math metal' when they landed L.D. 50. Listen hard and you can hear shades of Pearl Jam, King Crimson, Alice In Chains and Obituary. Listen harder still and you'll catch hues of Motley Crue, Porcupine Tree and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. To say L.D. 50 was a brave record would be understating things, then and 24 years after its initial release we can say the same things with similar confidence. Formed from what band member Matthew McDonough termed 'number symbolism', a process of pairing riffs with lyrics based on their thematic similarities, it's a fascinating record technically, but that never overshadows the impact of the tracks themselves.

Review: Junior Murvin's Bad Man Possee is a quintessential early Eighties dub reggae album, originally released in 1982. This reissue, pressed on translucent yellow 180 gram audiophile vinyl, arrives to quench the thirst of rare dub record diggers everywhere clamouring for a copy. Featuring the renowned Dread at the Controls studio musicians, the Roots Radics Band, the album delivers hypnotic tracks that complement the standout title track. 'Guitar' is a haunting homage to Murvin's first guitar, gliding effortlessly over a captivating rhythm. Murvin's versatility shines through as he navigates the poignant 'Never Fall in Love' and the politically charged 'Rebellion,' maintaining a consistently high musical quality. His distinctive doo-wop-inspired falsetto nods to r&b traditions while embracing elements of ska, rocksteady, and dub all of which now come as a limited edition of 750 numbered translucent yellow vinyl.. The album concludes with the remarkable 'Man Is the Fire.'