Back catalogue: Pop

Review: Widely acclaimed Japanese rock band RADWIMPS has joined forces with German label Black Screen Records for the release of their latest studio long player Forever Daze on vinyl. It was released back in November of 2021 when it was their first new album for three years and now it makes its wax debut. It features 14 tracks, one of which is a new original version of 'Weathering With You' and was written throughout the pandemic yet still features a diverse group of collaborators who help to bring the experimental elements to life. Singles 'Blame Sumer' and 'Iron Feather' are amongst the highlights.

Review: Light In The Attic teams up with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive for a thrilling retrospective, Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964-65. An expansive selection of songs all written by Lou Reed, during his mid-60s stint as the staff songwriter for the long-defunct label Pickwick Records, this is a rare glimpse of a master rock musician stepping out of the limelight over the course of 25 songs, yet still letting the form and contour of his voice and sensibility be heard. All this was achieved before Reed had at all launched his career with the Velvets; it may indeed be said that this pubescent 60s period was the firelighter to Reed's flame, as the label specialised in soundalike records that emulated the major pop hits of the day - it's no wonder Reed would absorb such emulations and take them in as his own, albeit with a Century-defining twist. Channelling everything from teenybopper pop to soul-inflected garage rock, whether byJeannie Larimore, The Hi-Lifes or The Hollywoods, we get a thorough look-in here as to what made Reed and his contemporaries tick, and what Reed made tick in turn, before the fame.