Back catalogue: Indie/Alternative

Review: One of many names in the pantheons of Tokyo's electronic music triumphs, despite their acclaim, reverence among boffins, and the sprinkling of high profile UK remixers that helped spread their output further (copies of reworkings by The Black Dog, Autechre and Global Communication fetch a fair song on the resale market) most will never have heard about Nav Katze. Their loss, and one we'd like to put right if possible.

Formed in 1984 as a trio - Naoko Iimura (guitar), Miwako Yamaguchi (vocals and bass), and Shino Furutachi (drums) - the band would put out two well received record on SWITCH before migrating to the far more prominent label Victor Music Industries for 1991's Kanki, at which point three became two with Furutachi stepping down. This package showcases not only why their original material was so sought after, with trance notes, IDM and ambient and pop meeting in beautiful soundscapes - but also what can happen when new parties get involved, with remixes from Aphex Twin, Sun Electric and Disjecta included.

Review: 25 years after it was originally unveiled, Nine Inch Nails' soundtrack for the video game Quake - a dark and doom-laden first person shoot-'em-up - still sounds surprisingly intense and unsettling. Their decision to write and record the soundtrack was itself pioneering - Quake was one of the first games to seek sounds from a big-name act - while its pitch-black musical blend of fractured electronic sounds, dark ambient sweeps and creepy, largely beat-free soundscapes was undoubtedly ahead of the curve. Remarkably, this meticulously re-mastered vinyl edition marks the first time the soundtrack has been available on anything other than a CD bundled with copies of the game. An undoubted classic of its type.

Review: The third, controversial final album from Seattle's Nirvana should require little to no introduction. Repressed, remastered and redefined again and again, the Steve Albini-produced, mainstream-eschewing swansong has become one of the ugliest left-turns the 90's grunge scene ever spat up, and the subject of much heated internal fan debate over which is the definitive version. Celebrating its 30-year anniversary with a super-deluxe box set, boasting eight LPs made up of additional live performances as well as a myriad of memorabilia from the In Utero era, for the more lackadaisical collectors, there's this single LP gatefold pressing in a premium 'tip-on' sleeve similar to 2021's reissue of Nevermind, which comes with a bonus 10" of b-sides also featured on the monstrous deluxe edition.