Review: A repress of Innershades & Betonkust's 2018 new beat sensation 'Forever In Boccaccio!' has long been requested by hardcore record collectors. And now it has become available and has been fully remastered and housed in a new sleeve design, limited to just 300 copies. It was first made, according to the two being it, in January 2017 "under grey Belgian skies," when they had been consuming lots of acid and new beat, which of course shows. The title cut is brilliantly dark and gothic but is backlit by haunting vocal harmonies and underpinned by a menacing bassline. The three other cuts explore similar moods and grooves with great authenticity.
I Got A Right (take #4 with Guitar Solo - Olympic Studios) (2:51)
Tight Pants (James & Scott Run Through - Trident Studios) (1:23)
Search & Destroy (alternate version - CBS Studios) (3:22)
Death Trip (Early Guide vocal version - CBS Studios) (4:47)
Gimme Danger (Early version - CBS Studios) (3:20)
Review: Not to be confused with the 12th studio album by Mary J. Blige, or any of the other records with 'London Sessions' in the title (and there will be many, many), it's now 50 years since Iggy Pop and his Stooges sat down to record the now-legendary LP, Raw Power, with sessions taking place (you guessed it), in London. Logically, this extended player collates some of the best versions that didn't make the final cut into one place, and as such is definitely a must for diehard fans and collectors.
Not that others should be put off in anyway. We'd still recommend getting a copy of the original as it was intended to be released. The players designed it that way. But this is also a well-worth owning piece of punk rock history, with unrelenting, unpolished, uncompromising and unapologetic noise sounding as infectious today as it did back then.
Review: Cleopatra Records are no strangers to collectible 7"s from the archives of Iggy & The Stooges. In recent times we've had the likes of 'The Passenger', 'Scene Of The Crime' and even a live spot with David Bowie in 1977 thrown into the mix. Now comes something which feels so right tucked up tight on a 45 - a raucous live rendition of The Kingsmen's classic beat track 'Louie Louie', a song which would go on to be a lifelong staple in Iggy Pop's performance career. On the flip comes another rarity - a blistering version of The Stooges' own cut, 'Wild Love', all pressed up on purple vinyl for your listening pleasure.
Review: This six-track mini-album delivers Southern Californian punk at its best - fast, furious and packed with anthemic sing-along tracks. The new pressing comes on translucent white vinyl and includes an additional bonus track: a high-energy cover of Bad Brains' iconic 'Banned in D.C.,' originally released on a split 7? with Good Riddance. Combining raw energy with infectious melodies, this release captures the spirit of the punk scene with a fresh twist so whether you're a long-time fan or a new set of ears, this updated version offers a perfect opportunity to dive into the band's powerful and relentless intensity.
Review: The always excellent Minimal Wave presents a rare EP from Greek electronic pioneers In Trance 95 here. Alex Machairas and Nik Veliotis formed the duo in 1988 and very much helped define Greece's early electronic scene with their minimal synth and EBM-inspired sound, all of it usually marked by analogue warmth, hypnotic melodies and a futuristic sensibility. This release captures their innovative spirit and cult legacy across six unreleased tracks recorded between the late 80s and early 90s in Athens. It sounds magnificent and is a long-overdue glimpse into their visionary archive for new fans, or a fine reminder of their roots for those who have always been tuned in.
Review: IMS these days usually stands for the annual Ibiza Music Summit that kick starts each summer sedans, but for this disco-loving diggers out there, it means just one thing: International Music System. Here we have the latest reissue of some classic Italo disco tunes from the much-loved outfit, all remastered once more. This trip of top tunes have been taken from their 1983 album and they sound as good now as ever. 'An English '93' is a strident cut with melodies washing over the face of the cold drums and big chord stabs. 'Run Away' then gets breezy on a summer groove, and closer 'Bubble Rap' has that super old school feel.
Review: Cult English electronic duo I Monster aka Sheffield based record producers Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling dropped Neveroddoreven, their second studio album, on 21 July 2003. A little later than first planned, it now gets a special 20th Anniversary re-issue on CD as well as this double gatefold. It incudes the original album plus three new singles and the much loved acoustic version of 'Daydream in Blue' which even if you don't think you know, you will, because ti has been rather ubiquitous in ad campaigns for brands including Ford and Magnum Ice Cream. Also helping to keep this band relevant after all these years was their single 'Who Is She' going viral on TikTok in 2023 and picking up 290M Spotify streams.
Review: IAMX is Chris Corner's solo project, which can be traced back to 2004, around the time his former band, Sneaker Pimps, went on hiatus. Spanning multiple genres, from burlesque-hued dark cabaret to electronic rock and unbridled dance music, there have now been eight studio albums, two remix records, two live albums and two experimental albums released under the moniker. Fault Lines² is among the finest in that oeuvre, and the most recent. Fresh for 2024, this collection of work paints a vivid picture of the artist - at times unsettling and slightly eerie, in other moments melancholic-yet-euphoric, it's dramatic, theatrical, innovative and strangely teetering on the brink of traditional and more explorative schools of sound. Probably not something you'll hear much like again this month.
Review: Identity Theft is the solo electronic music of Michael Buchanan, commencing in 2011 with the album Night Workers. Having previously released on labels such as Oraculo Records, Treue Um Treue, Record Label Records, and Katabatik, here he continues to astonish with the atmospheric, brooding and liturgical electro opus, Omnia Vitas. Rooted in Dusseldorf-school electro with strong leanings towards the more abstract krautrock origins of the genre, Vanitas continues to flesh out the themes of surveillance and paranoia - themes endemic to his music from the outset - albeit this time he also works in samples culled personally from the posthumous sonic archives of several departed (and unnamed) producer friends.
Review: Despite being at the centre of one of rock's tensest social media dramas in recent history - having been called out by Fat White Family for being too middle-class for their own image - Idles are back on top, thanks to their new album 'Crawler'. Taking a chance on their own criticisms, this album is more introspective than 'Ultra Mono', revealing the band's various wrestlings with addiction and desperation. In true post-punk fashion, it's an emotive sophomore development from lead brain Joe Talbot, spanning plod-rap grungers ('Car Crash') and dark disco-rock ('When The Lights Go On'), all giving off his signature brand of hopeful nihilism, with the ultimate message that 'the show must go on'.
Review: Live albums are often either pointless cash-ins or nice ways to remember watching your favourites on stage. Rest assured, IDLES haven't resorted to the former, not that anyone expected them to, and even if you weren't in Paris on the night this was recorded the 19-track set is well worth owning. If you've seen the band live you'll know nothing could compare to the ferocity, beauty, anger and power of their shows. Nevertheless, this comes close. From the brooding opening of "Colossus", capped off by Joe Talbot's speech about love and caring for one another, it's as rousing a cry for a more empathetic humanity as anyone could ask for in their front room, energy levels higher than the Bataclan ceiling for the duration. Not bad for the end of a 90-date world tour, it's both a testament to their place among punk rock's most overtly political and socially essential and a musical masterclass.
Review: It's barely been 12 months since the release of Bristol five piece Idles' debut full length, and the band's swift follow up effort is a righteous affair, doing away with any stigma attached to difficult second albums. The heavy post-punkers take another step forward in having the world realise their full potential straight off the bat with album opener "Colossos" that epicly, post apocalypticly, rattles and hums in swathes of drone and rock menace. Cue a quick change up in direction and we're met with what sounds like a lairy Kasabian smashing up the pub. Beer, sweat and tears. Let's 'ave it.
Review: It's barely been 12 months since the release of Bristol five piece Idles' debut full length, and the band's swift follow up effort is a righteous affair, doing away with any stigma attached to difficult second albums. The heavy post-punkers take another step forward in having the world realise their full potential straight off the bat with album opener "Colossos" that epicly, post apocalypticly, rattles and hums in swathes of drone and rock menace. Cue a quick change up in direction and we're met with what sounds like a lairy Kasabian smashing up the pub. Beer, sweat and tears. Let's 'ave it.
Review: If the greatest bands evolve over the course of their career, IDLES are clearly on the right track. While the Bristol-band rose to prominence via a raw, noisy and aggressive sound that sat somewhere between post-punk and alt-rock, Tangk - their fifth album and first for three years - represents a genuine (and deliberate) tearing up of their previous trademark sound. Inspired specifically by a desire to "make people dance and make people feel", it feels like a successful attempt to move into the punk-funk/rock-rave territory previously defined by LCD Soundsystem. It's fitting then that James Murphy and company feature on standout (and recent single) 'Dancer'. The nods to the glory years of DFA Records continue throughout, with further highlights including the moody, low-slung brilliance of 'Grace' and the righteous heaviness of 'Gift Horse'.
Review: Following on from 2021's exceptional, introspective fourth full-length Crawler, everyone's favourite pissed off Bristolians make their much hyped return on their fifth LP Tangks. Billed as their "love album", the project re-enlists the skills of hip-hop producer Kenny Beats (who's maintained a creative foothold within the band since 2020's raw and seething Ultra Mono), yet expands the production credits to share the desk with Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, REM) as well as guitarist Mark Bowen, marking the first time the crossdressing/well suited/three quarters-naked axeman has taken a behind the boards role. Distilling their most aggressive and accessible indulgences into one sonic wave of gratitude, IDLES appear re-focused and honed in to a task they've undertaken with sincere, shit-eating grins, and if you don't believe us, give the disco-punk banger 'Dancer' a seemingly harmless spin. Boasting nostalgic backing vocals from James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, who tiptoe around the throated swagger of frontman extraordinaire Joe Talbot, the collective mantra of "Love is the fing" becomes ever so clear. Get on board, give Tangks, get hype.
Review: Bristol's heavy post-punk groups Idles present their first full length album after a slew of records dating back to 2012. Brutalism collects the best of the bands antics, from vocals that shift from wailing snarls and smokey mob calls to punkish drawls, or the more spoken word and poetic emotional ballad that is album closer "Slow Savage". Guitars can thrash away or chill out melodically in the background, with the character of this album's songs striking up a familiar feeling of late-'90s punk to mid-2000s indie. Album highlights for us include "Mother", a song championing one woman's die hard working week, to the screeching, distorted anthem "Stendhal Syndrome".
Review: Onsen Music isn't just the title of Shoko Igarashi's second album, but rather a manifesto of sorts. The name refers to a "genre" of music the saxophonist, flautist, and vocalist has created. A strange, bouncy-yet-angular corner of the electronic music universe that feels like it's inviting you to a party thrown by Mr Soft and a flying unicorn. Sounds extend themselves, curve, wobble, warp, float, glitter, and do everything else in their power to make sure you know this is a safe listening space that's equally danceable. Ever bubbly and colourful, 'Rainy' represents the full blown nu disco end of the record's vast spectrum, while the likes of 'Ukigusa' come over far closer to Ryuichi Sakamoto's clean, crisp and cuddly pop excursions - staunchly leftfield and out there, but strangely familiar and universally likeable.
Review: Scene Of The Crime serves up a remastered compilation of previously unreleased rare studio recordings from Iggy & The Stooges. All recorded in 1973; the same year the band would distil the frustration of their initial 1971 break up, their subsequent return upon Iggy failing to pin down adequate replacements, as well as the unchecked ego, rife drug abuse and tour burnout, into the blistering classic we now know as Raw Power. Remastered to their highest quality yet, and boasting alternate takes of gems such as 'Cock In My Pocket', 'Tight Pants,' and 'I Got A Right', this is a must-have slice of rarity for any devout Stoogist.
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