Back catalogue: Psych/Garage Rock

Review: Founding Bees members Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher recorded the original Sunshine Hit Me on the Isle of Wight in their own home garden studio which they called The Shed. A year after release in 2003 it got recognised with a Mercury Music Prize nomination and spawned some big singles. Now, 20 years on, it arrives once more but in an all-new and dubbed-out fashion. The six cuts include three which have never previously been released in any physical format and bring a fresh dimension to the originals.

Review: Composer Matt Berry aims to mimic the classic iconic Library Music label KPM with this new outing on Acid Jazz. It is the first in a series of such releases and it does a fine job of following in the label's tradition of providing the musical bedrock for classic British TV series and international movies. KPM used composers such as Alan Hawkshaw and Keith Mansfield and Berry proves he is right up there with this 7". 'Top Brass' is a funky instrumental with dramatic strings that add a sense of tension to the rude boy swagger of the rhythm. On the flip is a more stripped-back 'Bare Essentials mix' which is just as good and a little more menacing.

Review: For seven years, Matasuna Records has been dedicated to uncovering musical gems from the past. Now, they introduce a thrilling contemporary find: Barcelona-based band Bidaide. Their debut 7" vinyl single features two unreleased tracks, 'Batua' and 'Love Me & Give Up', both of which showcase their eclectic blend of soul, funk, psychedelic rock, reggae-dub, and library music. 'Batua' on the A-side delivers an energetic fusion of funky rhythms, agile guitar dialogues, and vibrant brass overlays. On the B-side, 'Love Me & Give Up' offers a soulful, relaxed vibe with Motown-esque charm. Bidaide's evolution from a duo to a vibrant band culminates in this dynamic release.

Review: Second time around for the Bees' terrific debut album, Sunshine Hit Me, which wowed critics and buyers alike on its initial release way back in 2001. The epitome of a surprise hit with admirably DIY roots - the duo behind it, Paul Butler and Aaron Fletcher, famously recorded it in a limited home studio built in the back garden of a residential house on the Isle of Wight - the album has lost none of its allure all these years on. Woozy, summery and lo-fi, with hazy horns and glassy-eyed vocals rising above backing tracks that variously doff a cap to soul, rocksteady, ska, 1960s dream pop, psychedelia and a wealth of subtle global musical influences, Sunshine Hit Me is a warming, smile-inducing treat. This edition also boasts a sextet of bonus cuts, which seem to be a mixture of B-sides and tracks plucked from the pair's archives.

Review: Pioneering and mercurial DJ Erol Alkan and former Grid man Richard Norris have been spinning discs together for well over a decade, and remixing other outfits for almost as long, after bonding on a love of '60s psychedelia and classic acid house - yet this marks their bona fide debut as recording artists, and it's a glorious collision of both these passions - fuelled by crate-digging acumen and exemplary taste, and reflective of a magpie spirit that renders these third-eye-massaging gems more than mere psychedelic pastiche, rather a bold and joyful reinvention of lysergic glories of yore for a new aeon.

Review: Vapor is the fifth album from Sao Paulo Afro-Brazilian heavyweights Bixiga 70, breaking a four-year hiatus to bring you sizzling grooves played with an intensity which is all their own. There's a streak of 70s psych running through these full-bodied jams which splices with the rolling Afrobeat grooves and the piquant brass section - the results are as explosive as you would expect. It's worth noting the changes within the band and in the world around them since they last laid down recordings, so you can consider Vapour a re-birth of sorts for this nine-strong powerhouse.

Review: Since forming in Austin in 2004, American Psych-Rock group The Black Angels have become standard-bearers for modern psych. Over 5 years since the band's fifth album 'Death Song' was released, the group have spent two years working on 'Wilderness of Mirrors', the times providing more than ample fodder for the Black Angels' signature sonic approach. And does it show, packaged in this beautiful gatefold housing limited red and blue coloured discs There are classic blasts of fuzzed-out guitars alongside melancholy experiments in the realms of shoegaze and garage rock. Even amidst these new experimentations, The Black Angels remain true to psych-rock forebears such as Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, Arthur Lee and the members of the Velvet Underground, all of whom are namechecked on album highlight 'The River.' Another highlight is 'El Jardin' and its sorrowful lyrics and vocal delivery, lyrics discussing a toxic relationship as guitars strum away.

Review: When it comes to plugging in mega stacks of amplified prog-rock, Vancouver-area band Black Mountain deliver a retro-futuristic sound that's as large as any Godzilla soundtrack. With Destroyer presenting a fifth LP on Bloomington label Jagjaguwar, Black Mountain go someway in delivering a bold cross reference of only the best and most legendary points of 60s, 70s and 90s rock n roll regalia. With keys and piano mixed with guitars, distortion and vocoders giving the band a futuristic, krautrock (Deutsche elektronik musik) edge, British psychedelic and raw but atmospheric arrangements give the band their own undeniable identity. With songs passing the bottle from slow dancing rock, flashy hair metal, to synthy guitars and cosmic arpeggios, the best metal of today is still way up there, on Black Mountain.

Review: Grammy-nominated Texan psychedelic-soul band Black Pumas, led by Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada, return after their 2019 self-titled debut album - leading to the pair being put up for 'Best New Artist' in 2020 - with a bold statement to break the sophomore album curse. Lead single 'More Than a Love Song' is the perfect introduction to the sound, Burton's commanding voice riding on a wave of progressively zanier instrumental patches and choir vocal samples, with a sultry deep south tone that, oddly, reminds me of CeeLo Green. Quesada's production style is quick and loose, oozing with soul - nothing more to be expected from former member of Grammy-winning funk band Grupo Fantasma. The two describes Black Pumas as an "electric church", the synths and digital organs punctuating Burton's wistful wailing perfectly. If you're looking for a soul release to close out the year, this is it.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Originally founded in 1992, Boris have absolutely nothing to do with the mop-headed World King currently refusing to leave the No.10 party like that guy who nobody really knows at 7AM. Suffice to say, at some point soon we'll all have to pretend to go to bed and then reconvene in the back yard. The gate is always open.

Digressions aside, this particular Boris represents the vanguard of underground Japanese experimental rock. Tracks that can easily help you escape the reality of a world where even the leaders can't be bothered anymore. Staggeringly, W is the band's 27th studio album, and this doesn't include another 15 collaborative long forms, many with fellow Far East noise legend Merzbow. If that name means anything, but Boris doesn't, you should still kind of know what to expect here. Thick bands of guitar scuzz, subtly developing disharmonies, atmospheric drones, and discordant refrains.

Review: Rome label Maledetta Discoteca Records encouraged a bunch of talented local musicians to get together and play live, embrace spontaneity and do their improvised best. What results is this new record, which is funk at its core, but which is coloured by so much more around the edges. Recorded in the historic Auditorium 900 studios with sound engineer Fabrizio Piccolo, the record takes in everything from 70s instrumentals to progressive funk, Hispanic rock and more with all manner of wah wah guitars, synths and organ bringing each groove to life in tiles fashion.

Review: .They don't come much tighter than the legendary New York City outfit, Budos Band. The acclaimed funk outfit has long been associated with Daptone Records - for over two decades, in fact - but here they land on new label Diamond West with latest EP Frontier's Edge. Across five cuts it has their famously tight grooves under pining each track and the whole thing is said to have been written in just a few days. The lead single and title track is a menacing head banger with bone rattling guitar and tejano-flavored horns.This one comes on lovely opaque lime vinyl.