Review: Depeche Mode's standout album Violator (1989) produced the landmark song 'Personal Jesus', and with its catchy bluesy riff and innovative but rare use of guitar by the otherwise great synthpop act, the song would upend and expand at the edges of an already well-varied sound. With lyrics inspired by 'Elvis And Me' by Priscilla Presley, exploring themes of devotion and stardom, while the record's controversial promotions saw the band take out personal ads, as well as advertise a phone number through which fans could hear the song. Now Matt Early (aka. Funky Wogan and Hardbag), DJ, producer and remixer extraordinaire of Far Horizon and Sub London fame, lays down an ingenious edit backed by the original number on the flip. Limited numbers on this furtive output, so keep your shopping cart fingers poised...
Review: Ed Black, aka "edbl," is an increasingly prominent hip-hop and R&B artist and composer who has emerged from South London's indie music scene alongside luminaries like Jorja Smith and Jamie Isaac. His sound, a blend of lo-fi soul and hip-hop akin to Jordan Rakei and Tom Misch, garnered attention when Spotify UK featured him on their New Music Friday cover. Additionally, Music Business Worldwide Magazine nominated him as one of The Hottest Independent Artists In The World and now he backs up that potential with 'The Way Things Were,' featuring the mellifluous vocals of Isaac Waddington.
So Many Ways (Cherrystones Electric So Far I edit) (5:20)
So Many Ways (Cherrystones Slow Many Ways rework) (6:36)
Review: This marks a first ever reissue of this cult-status punk-funk, no wave electro post-punk fusion 45 from 1979. It's by post-Wayne County Electric Chairs and has been produced by David Cunningam and now expanded to 12". The first tune 'So Many Ways' has Val Haller on lead vocals and sounded at the time very different from anything else the band had done. A hypnotic, sure charged groove that still sounds years ahead of its time. 'J'attends Les Marines' is a rework of 'Waiting For The Marines' from the Things Your Mother album but with some added dub and experimental flourishes. Two versions of 'So Many Ways' then close out this fine curio.
Review: 'Marking My Time' is the second EP from Elmiene. The six-track EP includes the title track 'Marking My Time', which first debuted on Later... With Jools Holland, 'Mad At Fire' (co-written by Syd and produced by Lil Silva), and 'Mama' (produced by Sampha), along with the current single 'Someday'. The follow-up to Elmeine's debut EP 'El-Mean', released earlier in 2023, this one hears a worthy continuation of the Oxford-born soul singer's growth, sprouting outwards from his influences and into his own true niche.
New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down (6:28)
Review: A brand-new five-track EP from the current darlings of the indie scene. The Leeds four-piece have had an impressive few months, having dropped their debut album 'This Could Be Texas' in April and performing across major festivals in Europe, as well as being nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize. The new project, recorded during their sessions with BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music, includes live versions of tracks from the album, plus covers of LCD Soundsystem's 'New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down' and Billie Eilish's 'Birds Of A Feather'.
Everything Is Recorded, Noah Cyrus & Bill Callahan - "Porcupine Tattoo" (3:31)
Everything Is Recorded - "Norm" (feat Bill Callahan) (3:04)
Review: XL boss Richard Russell's Everything Is Recorded returns with 'Porcupine Tattoo', an unexpected yet compelling collaboration with Bill Callahan and Noah Cyrus. The track, released via XL Recordings, came about during sessions at LA's infamous Chateau Marmont hotel, when Russell asked Callahan who he'd most like to write a song for. Callahan's surprising answer: Noah Cyrus. The result is a stripped-down folk tune with subtle gospel undertones, featuring Callahan's deep, pitched-down vocal layered alongside Cyrus' delicate voice. Russell's production, iminimal yet atmospheric, ihighlights the contrast between Callahan's gravelly tone and Cyrus' ethereal presence. Recorded during a rain-soaked week, the track evokes a sense of melancholy and intimacy. On Side-2 'Norm', is a tribute to comedian Norm Macdonald, featuring only Callahan. This release continues Russell's tradition of creating genre-blurring, evocative collaborations.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
You should never assume too much when it comes to Eartheater. Powders on Mad Decent and finds the maverick modernist at her most vulnerable and exposed. Where she's so often warped and manipulated her voice as part of her hyper pop experimentation, here she comes through in strikingly direct terms whether soaring over elegant threads of synthesis (on gorgeous opener 'Sugarcane Switch') or covering System of a Down's 'Chop Suey' in fragile, acoustic fashion. Even after so many albums, it feels like we're still in the process of understanding the many dimensions of the Eartheater creative universe, and here is but one new galaxy to explore.
Review: Easy Life's new record is 45 minutes of bliss. It's their best since the Leicester five-piece's Life's A Beach and all 15 cuts will enrich your life with brilliant tunes such as 'Beeswax' and 'Dear Miss Holloway ft. Kevin Abstract. The soulful sounds all tackle the various issues that we all struggled with during the covid-19 pandemic. Lead vocalist Murray Matravers sings "I've been moving lateral, horizontal, vertical" just one minute into the first track on the album and it sums up the pace of this one perfectly. The band's cult fan base will lap this up while new fans are also sure to come flocking.
Review: Another BBC Sessions edition compiles nearly two decades of live-in-studio performances from Echo & The Bunnymen, tracing the Liverpool legends' rise from wiry post-punk outsiders to accomplished songwriters. John Peel and Janice Long oversaw the sessions with eagle's eyes, as production polish from classics such as 'The Killing Moon', 'Rescue' and 'Lips Like Sugar' reveal the band's skeletal brilliance and moody immediacy. Something of a guide to the band's career arc as a whole, we hear the way paved for a more expansive, melancholic texture in the later years, despite an ever morphotic, modulable lineup. The Cult Legends reissue set offers longtime fans and newer listeners a chance to hear the Bunnymen with studio intimacy and live spontaneity; less theatrical than their stage shows, but just as haunting.
Review: Echo & The Bunnymen's What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?, their eighth studio album, reflects a more introspective and matured sound from the post-punk icons. Released in 1999, this album marked a departure from their earlier work's grandiose, bass-driven rock, offering a gentler, acoustic-driven atmosphere. Tracks like the title song and 'Rust' highlight Ian McCulloch's soulful vocals, with lush string arrangements and a restrained yet heartfelt delivery. The addition of horn accents on 'Get in the Car' and 'When It Blows Over' brings unexpected warmth, while 'History Chimes' closes the album on a melancholic piano note. The album showcases a thoughtful evolution of their signature sound, offering a reflective soundtrack for both longtime fans and new listeners. This album demonstrates a band comfortable in its musical maturity, resonating with the contemplative themes of aging and legacy.
Review: Liverpool's legendary Echo & The Bunnymen add to their 30-plus years of service to music with a new album, of sorts, that in fact delivers two new compositions and 13 other songs plucked from their vast and expansive catalog. Long-time fans will no doubt be pleased to hear the new beatless tinges given to their 1984 classic "Seven Seas", while of course the album is a perfect diving point for new audience to come to grips with the band too. Take, for example, the gnarlyish drawl of "Nothing Lasts Forever" that helps offset the Bowie-like tendencies heard in numbers like "Lips like Sugar" and "The Somnambulist". Sounds like a cliche, but seriously, still as good as it ever was.
I Want To Be There (When You Come) (live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
Rescue (live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
Lips Like Sugar (live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
Bedbugs & Ballyhoo (live At The Improv Theatre, 1999)
Nothing Lasts Forever (radio One Jo Whiley acoustic Session 1997)
The Killing Moon (radio One Jo Whiley acoustic Session 1997)
Baseball Bill (radio One live At The Kilburn National 1997)
Just A Touch Away (radio One live At The Kilburn National 1997)
I'll Fly Tonight (radio One live At The Kilburn National 1997)
Altamont (radio One live At The Kilburn National 1997)
Lips Like Sugar (WHYT radio acoustic version 1997)
I Want To Be There (When You Come) (WHYT radio acoustic version 1997)
The Killing Moon (WHYT radio acoustic version 1997)
Forgiven (radio One live Lounge Session 1999)
Nothing Lasts Forever (radio One live Lounge Session 1999)
Review: It's now 25 years since Echo and the Bunnymen reformed (the Liverpool-born band initially disbanded in 1993) and recorded 'Evergreen', their seventh studio album. While reviews were mixed at the time, there's no doubt that it's as jangly, timeless-sounding and sonically gorgeous as any of their more acclaimed albums of the '80s and early '90s. Given that it was released at the height of 'Britpop' (Liam Gallagher provided backing vocals on 'Nothing Lasts Forever', a by-product of Oasis recording in the studio next-door), it's sound is far baggier, looser and warmer than much of the music being made by their younger rivals. On this expanded anniversary edition, the original (if remastered) set is joined by a disc of live recordings, both from their own shows and promotional radio sessions, all of which were laid to tape between 1997 and '99.
Review: Echo & The Bunnymen came back with renewed vigour when they reformed in 1997 and recorded Evergreen. The album was headed up by 'Nothing Lasts Forever', which lodged in the UK's musical psyche as the Britpop wave receded and everyone was craving a little more maturity in their indie bands. 25 years on, the album ranks as of the band's finest, as vital to their story as the classic 80s records, and it's a welcome treat to see it pressed up once again, on fetching white vinyl with a yolky centre, no less.
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