XL レコード& CD

Review: When The Prodigy's The Fat of The Land first appeared back in 1997, it captured the mood of the times. By blending the psychedelic obsession of the Chemical Brothers and the rock-obsessed rhythms of big beat with their usual rave-influenced nastiness, Liam Howlett and company blew the competition out of the water. Almost overnight, they became international dance music's most in-demand live act. 15 years on, the album's lost none of its sparkle. This celebratory edition presents the remastered album in full, alongside a sextet of remixes. While they don't all hit the mark, Major Lazer and Noisia's booming reworks of "Smack My Bitch Up" are pretty darn tasty.

Review: Astonishingly, a quarter of a century has now passed since The Prodigy released The Fat of the Land, the inspired rock-rave fusion opus that helped rocket the Essex combo towards superstardom and converted a whole generation of spotty indie kids to the joys of rambunctious rave music. It's certainly worthy of this limited-edition anniversary pressing, which comes on eye-catching silver-coloured vinyl. Of course, we all know the smash hits - the bustling, acid-flecked roll of 'Smack My Bitch Up', ultra-heavy 'Firestarter' and funky, low-slung 'Breathe' - but the set's lesser-celebrated moments, such as hip-hop jam 'Diesel Power', Meat Beat Manifesto-esque 'Serial Thrilla' and punky 'Fuel My Fire' have aged equally as well.

Review: Named after their infamous Brixton club night, Basement Jaxx's second album Rooty saw them continue to push the boundaries of pop and club music. The album mixes classic house with generous lashings of punk, funk, R&B, jazz, hip hop, 2-step and pop song-craft in a mad genre crash that works like a charm. It features the massive tracks 'Where's Your Head At', 'Romeo' and 'Do Your Thing'.

Review: With a run of knockout singles on XL reaching back to 2016, Tom and Ed Russell finally deliver the album we always knew they had in them. Overmono is a project which happily gorges on the best bits of rave culture and spits back out something fresh, universal and yet still headsy enough to keep the underground faithful happy. Good Lies builds on that promise in every way, threading in anthemic vocal hooks and massive emotive brushstrokes without losing that legit bite which has made them so enduringly popular. 'Is U' has an eye on the charts for sure, with plenty of big festival moments bagged along the way for their live shows and everyone else DJ sets. 'Walk Thru Water' hits a more melancholic note with St. Panther on vocals, but it's still masterfully crafted to bring out joyous escapism with gnarly synth flex on top. Something for everyone, then.

Review: Overmono have become real techno darlings in the last two years. And rightly so - they have served up a fine run of EPs in that time which now brings us to their debut album Good Lies. They are also an award-winning live act who have brought new energy and invention to techno as well as a next level grasp of sound design. As such the pair are two of the most revered artists in the UK with a hardcore fan base who pack out their every gig. They will find plenty to love here on an adventurous record that features all the hallmarks you would expect of this duo as well as plenty of freshness.

Review: It comes as a surprise that brothers Tom and Ed Russell - Tessela and Truss, together known as Overmono - are set to release their debut album. That's because their names are synonymous with a certain bleak UK techno sound, following the trend of imagery associated with the likes of St. Etienne, Mt. Kimbie or Real Lies, plus their music and live sets have seen to a wealth of stonking tracks over the years. They're arguably the popularisers of live techno for the next generation, so in 2023, we're floored by the Mandela-effecting notion that they haven't put out an album before. Thankfully, 'Good Lies' is their magnum opus, blending elements from emotive UK soul (the St. Panther feature on 'Walk Thru Water'), future garage (spot the Tirzah samples on 'Is U'), and pirate radio chatter and crud (basically every other track). Nu-school ravers rejoice; this is your defining album.