Back catalogue: All genres

Review: DIIV formed back in 2011 and made big impressions within the blog world and then the real world after debut single 'Sometime' picked up plenty of attention. It was follow up with two further singles as well as a cover of a Kurt Cobain tune 'Bambi Slaughter' and to mark the 10 year anniversary all of their debut album all of these 7"s re pulled together on vinyl and serve as a great reminder of where the band has come from. They scream DIY and are very indicated of the Brooklyn scene out of which they were born with songs that muse on love in all its many different ways.

Review: It was big news this year when hip-hop legends De La Soul finally made all of their music available to stream on digital platforms. That move was backed up by them also dropping a load of reissues of their finest albums and now we have, for Record Store Day/Back Friday, this special coloured vinyl boxset featuring their most iconic LP, 3 Feet High and Rising, on seven individual 7"s, making them perfect for DJ deployment. The box set also includes a funky slipmat making this a perfect Christmas gift for the hip-hop head in your life.

Review: San Francisco blackgaze auteurs Deafheaven offered a sharp left turn on 2021's Infinite Granite, which saw the band embrace a fully-fledged dream-pop sound complete with lush, gentle vocal cadences from enigmatic frontman George Clarke, known primarily for his shrieking, inhumane howls. Returning with their sixth full-length Lonely People With Power, the band seek to finally strike a balance between their equal understanding of black metal malevolence and ethereal shoegaze beauty, trading their usual penchant for small collections of lengthy, post-rock indebted ten minute plus tracks in favour of more instantaneous delivery, spread out across 12 individual pieces (their most on any project to date). Ranging from their heaviest and most straightforward black metal work on 'Magnolia', to the blackgazing familiarity of 'Doberman' to the seamless fusion of styles exuded on 'Heathen', which makes ample use of Clarke's now fully elaborated vocal range, marrying his caustic screams with fragile crooning, this is where Deafheaven have seemingly always been striving to land, it just took them a few albums of experimentation to get there.

Review: If you're going to re-release a Deftones album with stacks and stacks of bonus material, including remixes by artists ranging from The Cure's Robert Smith to Squarepusher, then White Pony was always going to be a solid choice. First unveiled in 2000, the band's third album marked a major turning point in their career and sound, bringing in far more experimental ideas to the already-alternative metal of their early output.

Two decades on and the original work still holds up to significant scrutiny - the kind of scrutiny bands like Deftones are used to, having created legions of highly obsessed fans during their time on the road and in studios. What makes this revisitation so compelling, though, are the bits and pieces that weren't included with the record first time round, which should keep you busy for quite some time.

Review: American hip hop group Digable Planets dropped their revered second studio album Blowout Comb in October 1994 on Pendulum/EMI Records. It bare all the hallmarks of the classic boom-bap era with hints of flower power positivity, plenty of dusty beats, great samples (of Roy Ayers amongst others) and, rather rarely, female bars in amongst the men. There is more than a whiff of A Tribe Called Quest to these beats, which also have lyrical themes such as inner city life and black nationalism. Guest appearances from icons of the time like Guru of Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, and DJ Jazzy Joyce all feature. Top tackle.

Review: Brand new 10th Anniversary reissue of DIIV's modern classic Oshin, which captured the sound of the early-10s Brooklyn indie scene like no other. This limited edition version contains the original Oshin demos recorded by frontman / alter-ego Z. Cole Smith, as well as two live performances recorded at the Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium.

Review: Matador is something of a forgotten masterpiece that gets a deserving deluxe treatment here with an all-analogue reissue on nice and heavy 180 gram vinyl. Released back in 1963 by passionate jazz players, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and alto talent Jackie McLean, the energetic album also features spirited performances from Bobby Timmons on piano, and the locked-in rhythm section of Teddy Smith on bass and J.C. Moses on drums. There is frenetic interplay between all, with loose and swinging keys and real spontaneity resulting in hugely expressive and energetic sounds. Remarkably, the whole album was recorded in just one day in 1962 and brims with rawness and realness.

Review: French touch has been one of the cornerstones of the European house scene for decades. It's a singular sound with lots of filters, fuzzy funk and feel good house grooves that were pioneered by the likes of Bob Sinclar, Daft Punk and Alan Braxe. This new collection cerebrates the genre from 1994 onwards with Sinclar featuring alongside the likes of Cute B, Salome De Bahia, Reminiscence Quartet and many more. It's a colourful and vibrant three-box set that will bring inescapably good vibes to any party. Must cop.