Review: 1984 was a big year for a lot of reasons - including the wall of sound unleashed by The Jesus & Mary Chain with 'Upside Down'. The Scottish alternative rock set delivered their first single in November that year, marking the arrival of a decade-spanning tour de force of the guitar world. Packing a Syd Barrett cover on the B-side, 'Vegetable Man' (its chorus to be confused with the line, "festival man", not matter how much it sounds like those are the words), the track and its accompaniment on the flip would sell 50,0000 copies and become Creation Records first major success story. It also set the tone for one of the most inimitable back catalogues in rock & roll history. But these are other tales for other times.
Review: Joy Division's iconic track Love Will Tear Us Apart' gets a special treatment with this limited edition 12" LP on glow-in-the-dark vinyl. The 12" remix of the song offers a new perspective on the classic, allowing listeners to experience its haunting beauty in a fresh light. This release is idea for fans and collectors alike, offering a unique and memorable way to enjoy one of post-punk's most enduring and influential songs. What else us there to say? Get a beautiful looking copy of one of alternative music's most important song ever.
Review: Un Peu D'histoire marks a much anticipated Juniore debut album and it offers an enchanting voyage through time and space. Their fusion of 60s French pop, surf rock, and psychedelic influences creates a unique musical tapestry from the dreamy 'Christine' to the haunting 'La Route,' each track takes you through lush harmonies and infectious rhythms. Elsewhere, Juniore's versatility shines as they seamlessly transition from upbeat tunes like 'La Verite Nue' to introspective melodies like 'En Solitaire.' With vintage-inspired production and modern flair, this album appeals to both nostalgia seekers and contemporary music lovers, making it the perfect soundtrack for any adventure.
Review: Florence and the Machine's chart-topping Mercury Prize-nominated debut album Lungs turned the London group led by Florence Welch into global superstars. Just months prior to its release in summer 2009 they were still on ones to watch tours playing first on behind the likes of White Lies and Friendly Fires. But that was all to change with their Island Records release Lungs. The album produced by a slew of cool producers, including James Ford and Paul Epworth, gave the world 'Kiss With A Fist', 'Dog Days Are Over' and - the biggest of all - 'You've Got The Love'. It will have been a huge investment for the label, but it's paid off and then some, going six-times-platinum in the U.K. Given it's shaped the life of the band, it's a record that they are keen on revisiting and the latest feature on it is this symphony version. This new release is the group's triumphant performance of the album in full at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Orchestra conducted by Grammy-winning Jules Buckley. This is bucket list stuff for any musician and indicative of the fact that Florence is one of the most enduring artists to have formed in the U.K. this century.
Review: There's almost no point writing about this one - an album that already has legions of disciples waiting to embrace it, with pretty much everyone who knows the names Liam Gallagher and John Squire guaranteed to be interested in what their self-titled LP is about. More so, without even hitting play we all kind of know what it's about, with two of the biggest names to come out of Manchester's 1990s indie rock breeding ground coming together for a record that sounds every bit the sum of its parts. Squire's incredible guitar playing - a centrepiece of The Stone Roses' sound - is incredible as ever, sending riffs soaring over the dilapidated rooftops of North West England and out into the stratosphere. Meanwhile, Gallagher's elongated but gruff vocal style remains steadfast across ten anthems-in-the-making. Powerhouse stuff, but like we said, nobody expected less.
Review: Recorded in 1975 after the disintegration of The Stooges and eventually released, albeit in altered form, in 1977, the album saw Iggy recording his vocal contributions at weekends, on leave from the mental institution at which he was recovering from heroin addiction. With the addition of pianos, acoustic guitars and saxophones to the musical palate it's a different beast from the raw power - and Raw Power - of the Stooges, a bridge between his garage rock roots and the classier pop offerings he'd soon become known for. A fascinating document, regardless, it's well worth a listen.
Providence (US Television Broadcast 28th April 1991)
Jack Frost Blues (CD2: Snow Job)
Aviatrix
Running From The Body
Shakedown
You Don't Know
Weightless & Wild
Pony Express
Cousin/Angel
Little Song
Empire
Angela Carter
Haze
Dry Dock
On Persuasion (bonus track)
Bad For You (bonus track)
Providence (CD3: live & radio Performances)
Didn't Know Where I Was
Civil War Lament
Ramble
The Wrong Road
Bye Bye Pride
Thought That I Was Over You
Every Hour God Sends
Number Eleven
Everything Takes Forever
Thought That I Was Over You
Didn't Know Where I Was
Providence
Civil War Lament
Review: Any aspiring rocker worth their salt in Australia is likely familiar with Steve Kilbey from his work being the lead singer of 'Under The Milky Way' hitmakers The Church. Here he combines with The Go-Between' Grant McLennan to make the great supergroup Jack Frost. The collection includes a remastering and reissue of their two studio albums: The Snow Job (1995) and the self-titled debut (1991) - plus bonus material. It's stacked with classics, but 'Birdowner', which evokes Morrison Hotel-era Jim Morrion, is a huge standout. As is Civil War Lament', but for different reasons: this goes into acoustic psych-folk territory, leaning towards some Pink Floyd styles. Elsewhere, 'Trapeze Boy' conveys memories of listening to Comet Gain, who may well have been influenced by the underrated, masterful Jack Frost.
Review: A remastering and reissue of the Jack Frost recordings, a collaboration between two acclaimed Australian songwriters: Grand McLennan from The Go-Betweens and Steve Kilbey, the lead singer and bassist in The Church. The Church are well-known for their hit 'Under The Milky Way', which made the Donnie Darko soundtrack. Included in this set is their two studio albums: The Snow Job (1995) has never been on vinyl before and the self-titled debut (1991) has been out of print for more than 20 years. There's also bonus material tucked in. This release comes as The Go-Betweens have been enjoying a renaissance recently, thanks to a successful reissue campaign, and The Church have been touring. Despite this being a side project, there's no sense it's an afterthought as the pair clearly thrived in each other's company and wrote melodic, wistful and affecting songs of the highest order. Noel Gallagher would likely have been proud to write the reverb-y love song 'Thought I Was Over You' and 'Every Hour God Sends' is up there with Echo & The Bunnymen's best stuff. Meanwhile, 'Ramble' has a stark arpeggio-laden beauty to it, building from its sparse beginning into something more textured and darkly atmospheric. There's an embarrassment of riches to delve into here and it cements the pair's reputation for being among Australia's greatest ever songwriters.
Review: Sydney-to-Vancouver dance debonair Jack J presents Blue Desert, his second album for Mood Hut. Friends of the label will know J's sound - warming house musical pumps come deep future Balearics - and yet on Blue Desert, we hear the sound tempered by a newfound indie vocal performance by J himself, and that's not to mention its expansive tracklist-trajectory, which, when followed in full, details a head-hung but still hopeful tale of rue and recompense. Of the highlights, opener 'Wrong Again' opts for the true-blue choice of a DX7 organ blearily blent with an open chorded jangle guitar and a sequencer-gated trance line, as J muses on taking a past life too seriously; 'Down The Line' brings impressive Oort clouds of reverse reverb and desert new wave; and 'My Other Mind' even echoes Squeeze, as J continues to lyricise over misunderstandings and perspectival shifts on life. Sight of the dance is not lost, however; 'Pink Shoes (part III)' ends things on a gushing iso-stab, rendering the beach disco in clear-as-day clarity, just over the dunes, at the foreshore's end.
Review: Australian singer hailing from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Julia Jacklin, resurfaces with a third album following Don't Let The Kids Win (2016) and Eastwick / Cold Caller (2017). Opening with arguably the album's most afflicting number, "Body", Jacklin's voice almost inhibits an Edith Piaf-like quality, somewhat shaky but resolute. It's far from a forlorn listen though, and while "Pressure To Party" may lament such things as fun, it adds an upbeat rhythm to the album's more down beat numbers, be they "Don't Know How To Keep Loving You", to the lowly piano and voice solo of "When The Family Flies In". Touching on the hallmarks of a true romantic, Jacklin's music is melancholic as ever, but with her vocals only adding to the warm embrace of the instrumentation, "Crushing" should melt a few hearts yet.
Review: From his beginnings as the bassist in John Lydon's post-Pistols band PiL, to collaborations with The Orb and Sinead O'Connor, Wobble is a musician deeply steeped in dub and experimental soundscapes. Crafted in a bedroom studio - as the name would suggest - it blends dub fusion, ethereal wave and global beat into a mystical and introspective journey. Tracks like 'City' show a spectral dub-pop aesthetic, while 'Fading' leans into kosmische abstraction with an ethnic flair. 'Long Long Way' brings an atmospheric mood, contrasting with the minimal, haunting dub of 'Sense Of History' and the organ-driven dirge of 'Hill In Korea'. The industrial textures of 'Journey To Death' add a stark, musique-concrete edge, while the Middle Eastern influences of 'Invaders Of The Heart' create a hypnotic stroll through uncharted sonic terrain. The album crescendos with the hallucinogenic 'Desert Song'. A daring, sombre work that defies easy classification - but demands repeated listening.
Review: Experience the white knuckle energy of the band's early U.S. tour at the legendary punk club, with a mix of tracks from their 1977 debut In the City and their second album - also released '77 - This Is the Modern World. Technically named the Rathskiller, the Boston venue was nicknamed The Rat and built a reputation as a basement dive bar that has hosted acts that have gone on to be the biggest names in rock. The Jam are a case in point and on red hot form here with the Paul Weller-led band thrashing through the likes of 'Carnaby Street', 'In The City' and 'All Around The World' in an unpolished, ramshackle and intimate way that the studio albums can't conjure.
You Can't Tell How Much Suffering (On A Face That's Always Smiling)
How Was It For You
Sit Down
Walking The Ghost
Gold Mother
Top Of The World
Come Home
Crescendo
Hang On
Review: Studio album number three from mighty Manchester icons James could not come soon enough back in 1990. In the run up to the grand unveiling, we'd had outright anthem 'Sit Down' released as a single during summer 1989, a rousing bombshell of a track that still kicks today, and at the time suggested something very special was waiting in the wings for fans, and legions of new recruits the band were garnering.
When Gold Mother finally landed the reception was understandable - not least when we look back at the group's storied career to date. As a record, this might be the highest concentration of James' best songs you'll find anywhere, with tracks like 'Come Home' and 'How Was It For You' helping secure a place among the finest long players of the 1990s.
Review: The 18th album from James, whose career spans over four decades, emerging in the C86 era of indie, coming to prominence as part of the Madchester movement but establishing and holding onto a loyal fan base and critical acclaim with their unique blend of alternative rock and dream pop. The band work in unique ways to keep things fresh and this is no exception, bringing us "the tracks that didn't make it to the next stage" before now. A significant milestone in their musical journey, showcasing the band's continued evolution and creative prowess, it encapsulates a wide range of emotions and themes, exploring personal experiences, societal issues and the human condition. James' distinct songwriting style is evident throughout, with thoughtful lyrics and introspective reflections, while musically, the album features the band's signature atmospheric soundscapes, ethereal melodies and intricate guitar work.
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