Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Hailing from London's East End, there's few Oi-punk outfits who were as quintessential or authentic as The 4-Skins. While only releasing a small handful of albums with their definitive 80s line up, this live/demo/unreleased cuts compilation offers an aural fly-on-the-wall experience of being confronted with their signature brand of seething anti-authoritarian, anti-police brutality, anti-fascist, football loving, skinhead sporting, Doc Marten stomping punk in real time. Packed with cuts pulled from radio sessions, Bumper sessions, demos and even two tracks from a previously unreleased 7" 45, including the ska-punk-inflected 'Seems To Me'; offering a more subdued side to the OG Skins than most long-time fans would be accustomed to.

Review: Originally forming in 1982, Agnostic Front were one of the pioneers of New York City hardcore punk and they've left an indelible mark on the scene and movement ever since. Inspired by their dilapidated surroundings of Lower East Side Manhattan, then blighted by poverty, drugs, violence, and high levels of urban decay, the ugliness around them would help to chart a venomous new course for the sonic potential of hardcore as an urgent, abrasive form of catharsis. This incendiary compilation offers up recordings which date back to the very start of their career, including demos of cuts that would eventually appear on their 1983 debut United Blood 7", while also featuring other recordings from the period that were left unissued at the time; some of the material would later be included on 1995's Raw & Unleased CD, though several of these tracks are making their wax debut. If you're eager for more homeschooling, the band were featured as part of Showtime's The Godfathers of Hardcore documentary in 2017, while frontman Roger Miret's autobiography offers insightful and frightening lore to an already clearly tumultuous yet integral time in punk history.

Review: Formed in 1982, New York City hardcore pioneers Agnostic Front left a defining impact on the burgeoning scene with their unmatched ferocity and sonic abrasion as well as their intimidating attitude and skinhead aesthetic, which would lead to them incorrectly being perceived by some as racists or neo-Nazis. Coming up in the rundown streets of Lower East Side Manhattan, surrounded by urban decay in an area battling severe poverty, drugs, and violence, they channelled their anger into a new breed of punk that would serve as both a rallying cry for the less fortunate as well as an urgent, abrasive form of catharsis. This blistering compilation contains recordings dating back to the very beginning of their career, featuring demos of tracks that would eventually appear on their 1983 debut United Blood 7", while also offering other recordings from this period originally left unissued at the time; some of these would later be included on the 1995 Raw & Unleased CD, though several of these cuts have never been made available on wax until now. The band would later be featured as part of Showtime's The Godfathers of Hardcore documentary from 2017, while frontman Roger Miret's autobiography provides a deeply insightful yet frightening firsthand account of an already clearly tumultuous yet integral time in punk history.

Review: LA punks Brat (aka. The Brat) released just one album, Attitudes, in 1980. Despite their terse career, effectively lasting for just three years (indeed, being made up usually of hot temperaments and bright, punk bands don't tend to last that long, though the members of this outfit did go onto flourish under other projects and names), this LP is nothing short of a charmer. Characteristic of the first wave of LA punk - along with contemporaneous albums by X, The Germs and The Weirdos - Atittudes has an up-front, earnest and melodic sound, one that'll instantly chime with anyone wanting to explore the constructive side of anarchy. Echoes of rockabilly and glam rock shine through on jubilant buzzers like 'Starry Night', and its for creative fusions such as this that Attitudes enjoys the cult classic status it has now.

Review: Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, The Crowd arrived in the early 80s as part of the "trash punk" movement, somewhat segregated from the burgeoning hardcore realm that was slowly becoming the most followed path forward for the punk scene. Sporting dayglo beachwear and influencing their own type of proto moshing (or "slam dancing"), their momentum sadly didn't equate to instantaneous success for their 1981 debut full-length 'A World Apart', which can best be described as chaotic surf-punk akin to a scrappier Agent Orange. Dissolving shortly after before reforming towards the end of the decade for their sophomore follow up Big Fish Stories, the band would become an on again, off again labour of love from there on out whilst the members toiled away in a myriad of other groups, yet time and ears syncing up in later decades as always, this debut LP has since been reappraised for its unique and pioneering form of sunny aggro and the vast number of acts it surely inspired, who ironically eclipsed the band during a time where they needed some sunrays the most.

Review: Another year, another vital repress of Scotland's greatest punk export The Exploited's adored yet overlooked fourth full-length Horror Epics. Originally released in 1985 and arriving two years after the career high-point that was Let's Start A War... (Said Maggie One Day), fan appreciation for the project has only ballooned in the decades since, with a myriad of 7" singles and compilations often boasting at least one of the album's essential cuts such as 'No More Idols' or 'Treat You Like Shit'. For both seasoned heads and newcomers alike, who aren't bothered by the piecemeal approach, take advantage of Radiation Records' tireless efforts to constantly keep such punk classics in circulation in their intended form.

Review: Forming in 1980 in Herne Bay, Kent and named after the famous East London skinhead shop, The Last Resort were one of the pioneering and most highly regarded Oi! punk acts to ever stomp heads. This rarities compilation features choice cuts recorded between 1981 and 1984 including tracks from their seminal Violence In Our Minds cassette single with original vocalist Graham Saxby (who now fronts The Warriors), demo versions of material that would appear on their 1982 full-length A Way Of Life, as well as their contributions to the national chart compilations Strength Thru Oi!, Carry On Oi!, and Oi! Oi! That's Yer Lot. A major influence on the burgeoning hardcore and punk scenes, so much so that the most recent iteration of the band, still fronted by vocalist Roi Pearce (who switched from bass to mic duties following Saxby's departure), features Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen. A genuine Oi!-thentic blueprint from the OG pissed off visionaries.

Review: Originally released in 1979, 'Self Conscious Over You' still serves as a vital piece of Northern Irish punk more than four decades on. Following the success of their 'Just Another Teenage Rebel' single via Good Vibrations, and airplay attention from the one and only John Peel, The Outcasts delivered a staggering debut of frustration, vitality and youthful angst, with seminal cuts such as 'The Cops Are Comin' tackling more weighty anti-authoritarian vitriol, yet the bruised distracted heart of unrequited teenage affection and snot-nosed rebellion primarily teems through this essential Belfast punk classic. One for fans of the classics and newfound punk scholars wishing to expand their knowledge.

Review: If propulsive rhythms, driving guitar riffs with the chorus pedal cranked all the way and reverb-soaked vocals are your bag then Sad Lovers and Giants are your ticket to joy. This release features their 1982 debut album - alongside companion material - and will almost certainly appeal to fans of post-punk greats, such as The Chameleons, The Cure and Interpol. The band never had the commercial backing that a major label affords so have slipped under the radar somewhat over the years. But thankfully new generations are tuning in and realising that they're an extraordinary group that ought to be held in as high regard as the seminal post-punk acts that people more readily refer to. The tracklist is stunning from start-to-finish, but don't miss 'Clint': the topline delivered on the synth is epic and the smorgasbord of guitar arpeggios and understated rhythms beneath prove their knack for penning atmospheric walls of sound. And 'Landslide' centers around a woozily psychedelic guitar pattern, hypnotic beats and short, thought-provoking lyrical stanzas that elevate the overall dreaminess. Music that's as tasteful as it gets, really.

Review: In 1981, as the punk genre began to simultaneously expand and collapse in on itself, well across the pond, a group known as Solucion Mortal would stake their claim as arguably the most vital Mexican punk band to ever exist. Hailing from Tijuana, the bevvy of crusty influences smashed against the group's own perception of what punk meant to them, evidenced greatly by their pummelling debut, 'Live At Fairmont'. This self-titled compilation includes the entire full-length, along with the cassette release, 'En Iguanas', as well as a choice cut from, 'Al Filo De Abismo.' If you feel a slight pang of fomo (fear of missing out) that you've never delved into the criminally overlooked work of Mexico's seminal punk contributors, this collection serves as the perfect crash course.

Review: Originally formed in Birmingham in 1976, Suburban Studs were a classic case of right place, right time yet with no major mainstream success to buoy them for long. Opening for the likes of The Clash, Sex Pistols, Judas Priest, and even AC/DC during their tenure, while also recording a Peel Session, the Studs' live graft is what they're fondly most remembered for, yet their one and only full-length Slam is still packed to the brim with retrograde bangers. Releasing your punk debut in 1977, the year punk (apparently) died, may not have been the best move, but disregarding all pontifications of mysticism and fate, punks with working ears are still very glad the record exists, while those with turntables will be overjoyed to finally add this slept on gem to their collection.

Review: I Was A Mod Before You Was A Mod was originally released in 1995, at that point that made it their first album in three years. It was also Television Personalities' first collection of new music on new label Overground Records following the label putting out two live albums and nine reissued singles. Now it gets repressed and served up on wax once more but with the added bonus of eleven new tracks recorded by Liam Watson at Toe Rag Studios. his marked the band's last original album with everything coming after taking the form of covers or compilations.

Review: Toy Dolls are a little-known but incendiary punk act from Sunderland, England; the band came together in 1979 at the pinnacle of the movement, at a time of fecund promise for genres such as oi!, industrial music and punk. As evidenced by their (now reissued via Radiation) third LP Idle Gossip, their sound is a riveting mixture of these. Its impeccably spacious sound and uniquely upper-register squeals, not to mention its male-female call-response patterns, transport the listener to a headspace of collective ecstasy, reminiscent of time spent watching your favourite team body the opposition, leading to a collective eruption of glee. Well worth listening to in tandem with their first two LPs, Geordie's Gone To Jail and Keith's A Thief, Idle Gossip is a quintessential, authentic slice of northeastern punk.

Review: This is the first-ever vinyl reissue of a rather confrontationally-titled but landmark compilation of early California hardcore punk that was originally released by New Underground in 1982. It features iconic bands from the day such as the Descendents, Minutemen, Saccharine Trust and Redd Cross alongside lesser-known acts like Civil Dismay, Ill Will and Zurich 1916. Like all punk, it is raw, unpolished, and visceral which helps convey the passion and gutter feelings expressed on the often harshly delivered vocals. Fully remastered for the occasions this includes a double-sided insert with notes by Susan Swear which helps make it a pivotal piece of punk history.

Review: Radiation Reissues has put plenty of effort into this welcome reissue of X-Ray Spex's seminal gig Live At The Roxy Club. It comes with remastered audio, updated artwork, and exclusive sleeve notes from original saxophonist Lora Logic almost fifty years after it was first recorded on April 2, 1977, at the legendary London venue. It was an early performance by the new wave punk icons ahead of the arrival of their debut single 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!' and their genre-defining Germfree Adolescents album. The setlist includes tunes that went on to become future hits such as 'Let's Submerge,' and 'I Live Off You,' which were both performed months before their official release. As such this record offers a rare glimpse into the band's vital formative days.