Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Industrial noise jazz of the highest order comes reissued by Black Editions, who cast their sights back on the late 1960s, a lesser-known golden era for unbounded experimentation in the genre. Japanese stalwart and bandleading visionary Masayuki Takayanagi was at this time in the twilight years of his life, but that hardly stopped him from scouring new musical frontiers; he formed New Direction as a means to freely upend jazz, in a way that mirrored the rapid societal changes of post-occupation Japan. A raucous 3xLP boxset.

Review: .Originally released in 2009, Crack The Skye would serve as the fourth full-length and creative rebirth of sludge-indebted alternative metal behemoths Mastodon. Inspired by the suicide of drummer Brann Dailor's sister in their youth, the album takes cues from prog classics such as Pink Floyd's Animals and King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King to craft a monolithic sonic journey spread across seven tracks. With their later material taking on a more instantaneous approach to composition, whilst coming off the back of the harsh dynamics of 2004's Leviathan and 2006's Blood Mountain, the mercurial middle point the band found themselves on this LP emboldened them to add Dailor as a third lead vocalist, providing a melodious fulcrum between the snarl of bassist Troy Sanders and nasal croon of guitarist Brent Hinds. A hallucinogenic, astral projecting prog epic in the search for peace accumulated through unprocessed grief, the project has been held near and dear to the hearts of the band and their fanbase in the fifteen years since initial release and now celebrates such a milestone with this definitive boxset. Spread across gold vinyl 2xLP with a bonus blu-ray, poster, magnet sheet and 12-page booklet.

Review: This is a stone-cold classic from the legendary and late MF Doom that gets s deceiving special Japanese Edition reissue for its 20th anniversary, complete with fresh artwork by Sam Rodriguez. This one has long been revered for its inventive production, sharp wordplay and food-themed metaphors which blend humour with incisive social commentary as Doom explores themes of vice, violence and jealousy with playful yet profound storytelling. Tracks like 'Beef Rapp' critique conflict glorification, 'Hoe Cakes' examines indulgence and 'One Beer' delves into escapism and ego. With its witty, layered narratives and textbook beats, this one is a brilliant fusion of satire and social insight.

Review: When it was first released, George Michael's Older was something of a shock to those who were used to his chart-topping hits of yore. Certainly, 1990's Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was a mature and expansive album from one of pop's brightest talents, but six years later Older took a moodier turn on tracks like 'Jesus To A Child' and 'Spinning The Wheel'. There are of course some big bangers too, from the slinky funk of 'Fastlove' to 'Star People', but this was a turning point in Michael's career which finally delivered the creative freedom he'd always so vically called out for. This expansive special edition of the album comes with additional edits, remixes and unreleased tracks to complete the picture for a landmark slice of British pop music.