Review: The Cure have a lot of iconic moments from throughout their career, starting with the angular goth rock of their early years right through to their long-standing position as headline treasures of British alternative music. Originally released in 1992, Wish marked their move towards a poppier sound, and 30 years on it still ranks as their most successful album to date. This reissue gives Wish the pomp and ceremony it deserves, letting perennial classics like 'Friday I'm In Love' shine anew for lifelong fans and newcomers alike.
Review: Legendary emo indie outfit The Cure have played all over the world in their decorated careers but back in 1996 when they headed to Brazil, it was the first time they had been to the country since 1988. They were there for the 1996 edition of the Hollywood Rock Festival which they headlined in superb fashion and wowed their Latin American fans. Live Lullabies & Other Bedtime Stories is a special recording of that night that comes on nice yellow vinyl and features the likes of signature anthems like 'Boys Don't Cry,' 'Friday I'm In Love,' 'Just Like Heaven' and many more.
Review: Japanese Whispers stands as a crucial juncture in The Cure's evolution, capturing a transformative period for the band. Amidst lineup changes and creative exploration, this compilation album bridges their gothic roots with a newfound synth-pop sound. Tracks like 'Let's Go to Bed' and 'The Lovecats' showcase Robert Smith's emerging versatility as a songwriter and producer, marking a departure from their earlier introspective rock. Despite its status as a compilation, Japanese Whispers is a gem often overlooked for its significance. This reissue offers fans a chance to rediscover its brilliance. With its effervescent melodies and cheeky nods to jazz and dance music, Japanese Whispers laid the groundwork for The Cure's future endeavors and remains a testament to their enduring influence.
Review: Just when you thought you'd heard Robert Smith and The Cure every which way but bad, we discover more from their huge back catalogue. This time in the form of World War, a compilation of rare demos that takes its name for the band's seminal early single, which appears in a particular raw and unfettered, grinding version on this collection. A sound that defines the overall aesthetic. Rough and ready but packed full of energy, the huge landmark 'Boys Don't Cry' feels more intimate as a result, 'Fire In Cairo' arguably more punk, 'M' more New Romantic, and 'Heroin Face' less compromising than ever before. If all that sounds like bullshit talking, we implore you to take a listen and see what you think - the smart money is on us agreeing in the end.
Review: This multi-volume series captures various different parts of one of the many seminal gigs that UK indie sad-sacks The Cure played around the world. In particular, this captures the action from a legendary night in Leipzig, Germany. Much like the first two volumes, the third is a brilliantly well received album that is alive with energy and the rawness of the gig but never at the expense of any of the frets of melodies. From 'In Your House' to original classics like '10:15 Saturday Night' and the enduring favourite 'Boys Don't Cry', this is a great record of a great band in great form.
Review: This live album captures the raw energy and emotional depth of a legendary goth band's performance, showcasing their latest work in its full, unfiltered glory to an intimate crowd (albeit with a massive global streaming audience). Debuting the entire new album for the first time to an eager London crowd, the band delivers a powerful, immersive experience. Tracks like 'Alone' and 'End Song' stand out as some of the most hauntingly beautiful and intense pieces in the band's catalogue, with the live setting amplifying their emotional weight. The band's iconic sound, a blend of atmospheric melancholy and brooding intensity, resonates deeply, drawing the audience into every note and lyric. The live rendition of these songs adds a new layer, with the crowd's energy and the band's commanding performance elevating the material. Since its release, the accompanying live album has been met with widespread acclaim, charting in the top five across numerous countries, proving that the band's impact remains as potent as ever.
Review: Happy Man are not two words you would usually associate with The Cure frontman and emo poster boy Robert Smith, but this live album is named after their 1984 track 'Happy The Man', naturally enough included here. This selection was recorded while the group was on a third tour of the US having already made a big name for themselves off the back of their recently released 1984 studio record The Top. The fan based turned out (and then some) and got to hear classics such as 'Let's Go To Bed', 'Boys Don't Cry' and a live version of 'Killing An Arab', which closes out this set. A crucial one for diehard fans and curious listeners alike.
Review: Amsterdam has two celebrated, long standing venues - the Paradiso and the Melkweg - and this 1979 broadcast caught the soon to be huge Cure in action in the latter, way more intimate one. It's a collection of the tracks that made the early part of their career as a wiry, lean three post-punk piece more than goth behemoth - 'Killing An Arab', '10:15 Saturday Night', 'Boys Don't Cry' and two speedy versions of 'A Forest' that both come in under five minutes (as opposed to the latter versions that are closer to ten) all figure. It's a period that has its own, rather different following to the normal Cure legions, and this display of sharp pop sense and its jagged approach to sonics showcases just why that is.
The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small) (19:49)
Review: The reissue of Current 93's Nature Unveiled brings back an iconic album that first captivated listeners with its avant-garde sound. This album features two striking tracks: 'Ach Golgotha (Maldoror Is Dead)' and 'The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small).' 'Ach Golgotha (Maldoror Is Dead)' stands out as an irreverent celebration of orthodox liturgical rites, inspired by the demon Maldoror, a creation of French poet Lautreamont. This track, with its dark and mystical aura, reflects the early influences on Tibet, including the magician Aleister Crowley. Fans appreciate the eerie and otherworldly appeal of this piece, which retains its power and impact decades later. 'The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small)' complements the first track with its own haunting soundscapes. The album's ability to transport listeners to a realm of fantastic nightmares underscores Current 93's lasting influence in the experimental music scene. Pressed on picture disc, this version is extra special for collectors who look for unique music and packaging.
Review: First released in 2018, The Light Is Leaving Us All is one of Current 93's (David Tibet's) most up-to-date explorations in sound, and is noted by the artist himself as one of his most recent favourites. An expansive collaborative cluster of entities, some human and others perhaps not, assisted Tibet in the making of this morbid neofolk opus, which, when not indulging droning guitarscapes and dulcimer twinkles, humours a spoken word and found sound palette, constructing a conniving persona that perhaps farcically laments the loss of suburban niceties (clues in the track titles like 'The Birds Are Sweetly Singing', 'The Policeman Is Dead', 'The Postman Is Singing', 'The Milkmaid Sings' and 'A Thousand Witches' portray a macabre picture of the dead underside of sleepy hometown life). When Tibet sings, he brings a knowingly resigned tone to the record, sounding almost genderless in his evocation of experience and loss of domestic innocence.
Review: Current 93's latest album, Sketches of My Nightmares, is a collection of fractured musical scribblings that evoke a sense of dreamlike wonder and disorientation. The album is a tapestry of skittering sounds, strange tape loops, and other outlandish noises that weave together to create a haunting and evocative atmosphere. One of the highlights of Sketches of My Nightmares is Tibet's haunting vocals. His voice is both ethereal and powerful, conveying a sense of vulnerability and longing. The lyrics, which are often cryptic and enigmatic, add to the album's dreamlike quality. Overall, Sketches of My Nightmares is a masterpiece of avant-garde music. It is a record that is both challenging and rewarding, and one that will leave a lasting impression on the listener.
Christus Christus (The Shells Have Cracked) (9:46)
Falling Back In Fields Of Rape (8:00)
From Broken Cross, Locusts (4:42)
Raio No Terrasu (Jesus Wept) (5:44)
St Peter's Keys All Bloody (11:17)
Review: Embarking on a series of new Current 93 reissues via his own label Cashen's Gap, David Tibet here reminisces on the very second LP to be released under the moniker, Dogs Blood Rising. Said to have been "reeling in the weeks - which felt like years - after my first Current 93 album, I had started on the difficult second album" (Dogs Blood Rising) after "having been asked to appear on both Top Of The Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test 93 times in the same week". Cult mythologising aside, this five-track sonic gorgonesquerie is a fantastic primer in early occult industrial music, leading on the iconoclastic canto 'Christus Christus' and ending on the chamber-effected monologue 'St. Peters Keys All Bloody'. The songs cast implicit scorn on the popular imaginaria that insist that heaven and hell are divided; Tibet is keen to collapse them into one, devising a new sonic eschatology all unto his own.
Review: Berlin-based artist Curses is committed to the dark side of the dancefloor as an artist, and as this series on Eskimo proves he's also an authority on the seedier side of selecting, too. The first volume of Next Wave Acid Punx was a knockout success and so he's back for another round from the seemingly unending pools of EBM, industrial, synth-pop and minimal wave spanning the 80s through to the modern day. Given the sheer size of the compilation (covering no less than 49 tracks) it has to be split across separate chapters, with this double vinyl serving as Chapter 2 and featuring creepy masterpieces from the likes of Boytronic, Matrixxman and Dina Summer.
Lifetime - "I'll Bet You Thought I'd Never Find You" (4:21)
Tres Men - "Samba De-La Cruz" (4:32)
Miho Nobuzane - "Ponteio" (6:52)
El Caballo Y Su Orquesta - "Mambo De Papi" (3:05)
Review: The Jazz Dance Fusion series is a compilation-based series collecting some of the finest songs in the Jazzdance, Latin Jazz and Fusion. Each volume is careful cultivated by the well-known British DJ Colin Curtis. After the first three successful editions, the fourth boasts tracks like 'Mother Of The Future" by Venus Dodson, 'I Face East' by Mary Greer Mudiku and 'Ponteio' by Miho Nobuzane, to name but a few. Volume Four Part 2 is spread across two pieces of vinyl housed in a beautiful gatefold vinyl. If you are a jazz fan looking for a compilation to expand your knowledge and love the style, then look no further than this one here! Thanks ro Colin Curtis for continuing to curate such a great series!
Telmo Fernandez & The Latin Soul Beat - "Cuchifrito Pa’ Los Pollos" (4:51)
Juju - "Cla Samba" (5:07)
Moreen Meriden - "Caught In A Fever" (7:28)
Alfredo Dias Gomes - "Samba De Negro" (3:51)
Alonso Gonzalez & Jazz Latino - "Mr Fool" (5:17)
Review: Colin Curtis returns with another finely-curated selection of the best 'Jazz Dance Fusion' records he could find. In Curtis' own words, Volume 4 reflects a combination of new music, unreleased music, and tracks that have never been on vinyl before or have not attained the recognition they deserve. A whopping 26 tracks are racked up on the digital edition, but this special vinyl record yields just thirteen further selections from that initial batch; leading the charge is the Rhodesy, hi-hatty '46 To Somewhere' by the Sultan's Swing, capturing the free-spiritedness of hitching a ride to somewhere untrammeled. Further choice sonic infections, infusing elements of vocal jazz, salsa and Latin spoken word, include Somos Amigos' 'Pa'gozar' and GeeW's 'Kyoto'. Get grooving!
Review: Having recently released the impressively in-your-face Live at Primary CD, it's something of a surprise to see CV313 dropping another live recording so soon. To be fair, Live Excursions first surfaced digitally last year via their own Bandcamp site, and now makes its way onto CD for the first time. The recordings themselves are vintage too, having been captured at a warehouse party in Detroit back in 2001. According to the Echospace website, the tracks were performed live using only outboard kit and a 16-channel mixer, with no computer trickery. Whatever the method, the resultant tracks are long, trippy, and immersive forays into dub techno and ambient in CV313's trademark style.
Review: It all started here; one of the landmark releases that sparked the tidal wave of legendary electronic music to emerge from Detroit, featuring Juan Atkins alongside Richard Davis taking their lead from Kraftwerk, post punk, synth pop and industrial and coming up with a distinct Motor City twist that would eventually morph into techno. Just listen to the likes of "Cosmic Raindance" and you'll hear the future echoes of the Belleville Three and the scores of music that came after. This is an essential milestone for any avid electronic music fan to keep a hold of.
Review: To any funk digger worth their salt, Cymande have been a staple since their 70s heyday, but the Brit funk cult legends are enjoying a renewed presence since their triumphant return with reunion shows which cemented their legacy after decades being overlooked. Their story tracks back to this seminal album, a scintillating fusion which could only have occurred in Britain in the 70s as communities and cultures joined together to create one harmonious groove the likes of which had never been heard before. The whole album feels like a run of hits, from the celestial swirl of 'Dove' to the life-affirming horn blasts of 'Bra'. If you don't already have this track in your bloodstream, now's the time to catch up.
Review: This is a lovely reissue on pink vinyl of Cymande's Promised Heights album, which is a famously warm blend of funk, soul, and reggae that showcases the band's distinctive sound and social consciousness. Released in 1974, this record continued their tradition of infectious grooves and thought-provoking lyrics. The uplifting rhythms of 'Brothers on the Slide' still resonate to this day while the laid-back vibes of 'Changes,' remain timeless. Each track has intricate instrumentation and soulful vocals that make this one so well-loved by new generations of record diggers and soul fans, all while delivering a powerful message of unity and hope.
Review: A true return to form, Renascence is a standout in the band's iconic discography, serving as a spiritual and sonic successor to their 1974 album Promised Heights. It brings a fresh, modern edge to their foundational sound, which shaped early hip-hop and funk scenes in both the US and UK. Renascence tells the story of a band that never received its full recognition but is now reclaiming the crown by staying true to their rootsipolitically aware, spiritually positive, and delivering infectious grooves that stand the test of time. A jewel in the crown of their legacy.
Review: Cymande are cult favourites amongst funk and soul lovers. The band members were all part of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora community in London who arrived in the UK from the West Indies in the 60s and blended sounds in captivating, heart-aching new ways across several standout albums. One of them is the Second Time Round from 1973. It was their sophomore effort and was produced entirely by John Schroeder. It's a well-rounded listen as a whole but also includes standout singles like 'Fug' which anyone who has played a Tony Hawk skateboarding game might well recognise.
Review: The unstoppable force of Czarface is back yet again with another heavyweight hip hop assault. This time around the super group of Wu Tang's Inspectah Deck and 7L & Esoteric are joined by the mighty Ghostface Killah - as you'd expect the results are big. The beats are wild, with the sample sources veering from Hammer horror dread to cosmic synth wobbles and dubbed out bass, as hard rocking as it is trippy and loose. Meanwhile the lyrical flows are razor sharp, with Esoteric, Inspectah and Ghostface all sparring at the top of their game. This is deadly modern hip hop that recognises what made the golden era special without cashing in on old tricks.
Czarwyn's Theory Of People Getting Loose (feat Kendra Morris) (3:19)
Mando Calrissian (2:14)
Doom Unto Others (2:46)
Jason & The Czargonaut (feat Del The Funky Homosapien) (3:50)
Break In The Action (2:31)
A Name To The Face (1:49)
This Is Canon Now (2:06)
So Strange (feat Godforbid Of THD) (2:31)
Young World (3:16)
Review: CZARFACE & MF DOOM's newest team-up record Super What? is an all powerful outing. Doom's famous wordy wizard is unleashed with wicket wordplay tying your mind in lots for the first to the last beat. CZARFACE's production (with help from Wu-Tang Clan's Inspectah Deck and Esoteric) is on point, with golden age beats, cosmic thrills and spills and killer bars all lock-in you in.
Hitomi Tohyama - "Sweet Soul Music (Kiss Of Life)" (3:50)
Review: For the latest edition of their essential Wamano A to Z compilation series - the third to date - DJ Yoshiwza Dynamite JP and Chintam have decided to focus on "Japanese light mellow funk, disco and boogie" tracks recorded between 1978 and '88. Like its' predecessors, the eight-track set is heavy on obscurities and little-known cuts, as well as bona fide killer cuts. There's much to savour throughout, from the intergalactic, slap-bass propelled boogie brilliance of Jadoes' 'Friday Night (Extended Mix)' and the laidback funk bliss of Yumi Sato's 'Ame', to the smooth jazz-funk lusciousness of Hitomi Tohyama's 'Rainy Driver' and the Latin-infused, Teena Marie style electrofunk brilliance of Mizuki Koyami's 'Kare Niwa Kanawanai'.
Takeo Yamashita - "A Touch Of Japanese Tone" (4:21)
Tadaaki Misago & Tokyo Cuban Boys - "Jongara Reggae" (3:38)
Chikara Ueda & The Power Station - "Cloudy" (6:08)
Chumei Watanabe - "Downtown Blues" (3:38)
Kifu Mitsuhashi - "Hanagasa Ondo" (2:51)
Monica Lassen & The Sounds - "Incitation" (5:29)
Norio Maeda, Jiro Inagaki & The All-Stars - "Go Go A Go Go" (3:19)
Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo & The Jazz Rock Band - "The Sidewinder" (2:41)
Masahiko Sato, Jiro Inagaki & Big Soul Media - "Sniper's Snooze" (6:42)
Review: Some compilations manage to both educate, inform and educate in equal measure; this fine collection from Japanese crate diggers DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite and Chintam is one such set. Comprising mostly little-known tracks recorded by Japanese artists between 1968 and '70, it offers up a wealth of cuts inspired by American jazz-funk "rare groove". There's much to admire across the ten tracks, from the mazy Rhodes solos, fizzing big band jazz grooves and traditional Eastern instrumentation of Toshiko Yonekawa's "Soran Bushi", and the languidly-slung brilliance of Tadaki Misago and Tokyo Cuban Boys' multi-faceted musical fusion "Jongara Reggae", to the Jimi Hendrix-goes-funk heaviness of "Incitation" by Monica Lassen & The Sounds, and the drums-driven dancefloor madness of Masahiko Sato Jiro Inagaki & Big Soul Media's "Sniper's Snooze". Recommended.
Akira Yasuda & Beat Folk - "Yumura No Obaba" (3:04)
Pinky Chicks - "Tosetsu Donpan Bushi" (3:16)
Review: On the first instalment in the Wamono A to Z compilation series, released in September 2020, dusty-fingered diggers DJ Yoshizawa Dynamite.jp and Chintam focused on Japanese jazz-funk and rare groove gems recorded and released between 1968 and '80. For this speedy sequel, they've narrowed their focus further in order to showcase little-known Japanese funk slammers pressed to wax between 1970 and '77. As you'd expect, there's tons of absolute bangers amongst the 10 tracks on show, with highlights including the Blaxploitation movie soundtrack vibes of Mieko Hirota's 'Theme of Doberman Cop', the fuzzy, Hammond-sporting psych-funk of Fujio Tokita's quirky 'Watashi No Beatles', and the energetic, proto disco-funk of Hatsumi Shibata's 'Singer Lady'.
Tribute To Bob Kaufman: 43 W 87th Street Sur Memoires De Guerre/Samba Miaou Sur Renvoyez-Les Et Benediction/43 W 87th Street Sur Peut-Etre (19:41)
101 W 85th Street (10:34)
King Kong (5:51)
Review: Full Moon Ensemble's Crowded With Loneliness is one of the French free jazz scene's early classics. It is now the first reissue from Comets new series and it comes on lovely gatefold vinyl. Produced by Claude Delcloo, it has echoes of Pharaoh Sanders and politically-engaged French poetry (most of which was inspired by US poet Bob Kaufman) over next-level drumming. The band saw very little commercial success but was much loved on the live scene. They all went their separate ways as a result and left behind this holy grail which is now available to all once more.
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