Back catalogue: Indie/Alternative

Review: Since first emerging in 2011 via the globally renowned Bella Union stable, Swedish indie rock duo I Break Horses have certainly set out their stall. The pair, better known as Maria Linden and Fredrik Balck, have - among other things - hit the road to support both M83 and Sigur Ros in the years between then and now. Indicative of their incredibly textured and subtly all-consuming approach to soundscapes, while this release comprises two remixes it still feels every bit a Horses outing.

There's just so much timbre to get to grips with. 'Death Engine' belongs in a twisted math rock dream, as grungy and rough as it is epic and emotional, if you look beneath the immediate discordance and distortion. Mythologen's take on 'Turn' is a cleaner second act, taking the pace down a notch and removing chaos, leaving only calm and serene harmonies of real beauty behind.

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: RECOMMENDED
The fact Imagine Dragons tangibly slowed things down in the past year or two has nothing to do with the deadly virus that single-handedly stopped life as we all knew it. The outfit had done four albums in six years, records arriving between non-stop touring schedules and each giving birth to a series of big hit singles. It's a story of runaway success, but those almost always lead to burnout.

With this in mind, Mercury: Act 1 is the band refocused, re-energised and musically reformed. Enlisting the services of super producer Rick Rubin, a guy known for switching things up in terms of an artist or band's style, he certainly lives up to those expectations here. Yes, it remains staunchly pop driven by tribal, fist pounding drums and choruses that should be sung in rainstorms, with elements of heavy rock and hip hop thrown in for good measure. But it's also their best to date thanks to the variety and ideas at work.

Review: Recorded over the course of a single week during summer 2022, hauled up in a house on the stunning and serene shores of Lake Lugano, Passarella is an exercise in less as more. Spanning post punk, synth and dark wave, synth pop and more, the arrangements here aren't really minimalist, but share in a particular kind of functionality. Everything is in its right place, and there is absolutely nothing more. As such the aesthetics, and textures, are distinct in their rawness. There's more in common between Infesta's latest offering and the prototypes of these genres that were crawling out from the depths of cities such as Dusseldorf between the late-1970s and 80s than the vast majority of things produced today. Which isn't to write this off as pastiche or pure nostalgia, but to celebrate a pervading air of sonic adventure.

Review: Inhaler have been a long time coming. Causing significant groundswell after emerging from a Dublin scene re-energised some time ago across all walks of music, they placed fifth on BBC's Sound of 2020 poll, only to contend with a pandemic that tore out the industry's heart, replacing it with record streams for Tracks We Used To Love and dashing the dreams of many young contenders. Not these, apparently.

The expectations go much further back than that, though. They began life around 2012, and frontman Elijah Hewson's dad is Bono. Say what you will about him, if anything tips someone for future fame it's that paternal figure. Now onto their second album, none of that comes close to being as important as what you hear on the record. Channeling more jangle but with extra thump, influences from Joy Division and Stone Roses to The Killers and The War On Drugs are audible, making this easy to love and guaranteed to leave a mark long after play.

Review: Interpol's seventh album sees the long-standing NYC indie rock giants teaming up with the legendary production team of Flood and Alan Moulder for a trip into sadness, darkness and introspection. For devoted fans of the band, those themes should ring true and spell out another record to be cherished for those downcast days. Daniel Kessler's serpentine guitar work cuts an imposing, but ultimately graceful figure on 'Into The Night', while Samuel Fograino's propulsive drumming continues to explore meters beyond linear motorik drive and Paul Bank once more speaks from the deepest reaches of his soul.

Review: Released in 1982, Shabooh Shoobah was the third studio album by one of the most promising bands emerging from Australia at the time, INXS. Hitting number five in their homeland's ARIA albums chart, it would still feature in that countdown 94 weeks later, and became the group's first international release, going on to find success in the UK, US, and a number of other territories. It almost didn't happen, mind, with the LP born out of a self-funded single, 'The One Thing', which INXS recorded at Paradise Studios with celebrated Aussie producer Mark Opitz. The track was so well received it spurred on a full length release, which became Shabooh Shoobah. This special edition offering is made up of rare B-sides, remixes and live performances from that period, proving - as if there were a need to - just how vital the outfit were during that time.

Review: There's something uniquely Japanese and slightly off-kilter about the pop-making prowess of Eiko Ishibashi, a singer-songwriter, improvisational drummer, pianist and all-round experimentalist that counts Editions Mego and Oren Ambarchi's Black Truffle as labels she has released on. She returns to Drag City, an all time Chicago label famous for records by Pavement and Stereolab to more recently music from Ty Segall and the all-talented John Mulaney. Ishibashi's music here, however, sways from heavy industrial beats to future, funky and avant pop numbers like "Iron Veil". It's a record that will take some getting used to but there's no denying you will get used to it too; if you can keep up with its modernity that comes from way out leftfield.