Back catalogue: All genres

Review: This is a special Record Store Day 2024 release that rights a wrong for hardcore Madness vinyl heads.
With the exception of 'Baggy Trousers,' 'Embarrassment' stood as the sole Madness single from the 80s not to receive a 12" release. This year's annual waxy celebrations however present a special opportunity to own it on vinyl as the classic Motown-inspired hit gets the coveted treatment as part of this six-track EP. Also included is the original 7" mix alongside a previously unreleased instrumental version meticulously crafted by Clive Langer, which offers fans a fresh perspective on this iconic Madness track.

Review: Time-honoured guitarist Johnny Marr releases yet another new solo album this winter, 'Fever Dreams Pt. 1-4'. Charting his long and isolated experience of the first COVID lockdowns, this album documents the guitarist's "interior life" away from the spotlight of Modest Mouse, The Smiths or The Cribs. A unique turquoise vinyl houses this promising dark new wave pop bit - its sound preempted by the first part, released last year. In his own words, Marr calls it his "most ambitious solo record".

Review: Zak Starkey - The Who's drummer and, as it happens, Ringo Starr's kid - joined ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan and The Smiths legend Johnny Marr for what was a kind of British indie supergroup of sorts, for a brief moment of glory. Boomslang remains the first and only album released by JM and the Healers, landing in 2003 to a rather mixed bag of reviews. Some lauded its musicality, others criticised the frontman's lack of bravery in refusing to move out of comfort zones. Listening back 21 years later, we're not sure what people were looking for and, to be honest, that kind of summarises the post-millennial era. We'd spent a lot and did a lot in the previous century, and it took some time to refocus on the blank page of the next 100 years. For us, Boomslang is a well balanced trip through a variety of very UK guitar sounds, from loose, druggy, vocally-effected bits to bewitchingly quiet folk-tinged stuff and rowdier, fight night scores. To clarify - that's all good.

Review: Acclaimed and now rather veteran singer-songwriter Katie Melua is back with her ninth studio album Live & Money this March. It comes after she had a fine 2022 that included an acclaimed collaboration with Simon Geoff called Aerial Objects and for this one she links up with sometime Ghostpoet, Brian Eno and Regina Spektor producer Leo Abrahams. The album was recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios while Melua was pregnant and finds her reflecting on her place in the world. "It's about the scene changing and being a woman in the music industry and how strange and lucky I feel to have a job I'm addicted to." It's a great listen.

Review: On her 2023 album Tension, Queen of Pop Kyle Minogue leant into dance music culture in a big way, delivering a set of bold, weighty and throbbing dance-pop singalongs rooted in EDM, Euro-dance and the more boisterous and forthright end of LGBTQ club culture (a theme that has been a significant part of her musical output from the earliest days of her career in the 1980s). As a sequel, Tension II is similarly framed - think catchy, effects-laden vocals, trance-adjacent synth stabs, bustling beats and plenty of nods to club sounds old and new. There are a few collaborations, too, most notably with The Blessed Madonna ('The Edge of Saturday Night'), Sia ('Dance Again'), and Orville Peck and Diplo ('Midnight Ride').

Review: Kylie keeps up her newfound 'Infinite Disco' brand with a special clear vinyl invitation to spacey joy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the global pop megastar's Infinite Disco live performance was first broadcast online in 2020, accompanying her album 'DISCO', which showed off just what she could do with the style. Now, with the aid of the House Gospel Choir, Teemu Brunila, Sky Adams, and Maegan Cottone, she brings her take on the style further to life with live versions of all the hits from 'DISCO'.

Review: The Dirt Soundtrack was released in 2019 and accompanied the Netflix biopic The Dirt, chronicling the wild and chaotic rise of Motley Crue. The album features 18 tracks and blends classic hits like 'Dr. Feelgood,' 'Kickstart My Heart,' and 'Girls, Girls, Girls' with four new songs, including the title track 'The Dirt (Est. 1981)' featuring Machine Gun Kelly. The soundtrack captures the band's famously hard-hitting, rebellious spirit while highlighting their influence on the glam metal scene of the 80s. With a mix of nostalgia and fresh material, this one serves as both a tribute and introduction to Motley Crue's legacy.

Review: The second studio album from metal behemoths Motorhead saw the trio - in their classic line up form of Lemmy (bass, vocals), Fast Eddie Clarke on guitar and Philthy Phil Taylor on drums - truly hit their stride. In probabality, this LP, originally released in 1979, produced the biggest crop of classics of any in their career, with 'No Class', 'Capricorn', 'Stay Clean' and 'Metropolis' all joining the title track in the ranks of songs that would remain staples of their live sets for literally deacdes to come. The year is significant, as Overkill marks the band harnessing the anarchic overtones of punk to their metal power, with plenty of lyrical attitude added to the sharp riffing, 747-like basslines and double kick drum onslaught. This reissue restores the original tracklisting without the frills and extras of the 2005 remaster, but when it's all as shitkicking as this, why mess?!

Review: The eight full-length from Motorhead is often regarded as one of their most underappreciated works. Originally released in 1982, 'Iron Fist' would be the final album from the classic Three Amigos era line up of Lemmy, "Fast" Eddie Clarke, and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. Citing the pressures of following up their, 'No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith' live album that debuted at no. 1 on the UK album charts, as well as the internally controversial decision to allow guitarist Eddie Clarke to produce, the end result would be a project respected and adored by most, with the exception of the men behind the craft. With Clarke's departure not long into the promotional tour, and the underwhelming regard Lemmy held the work in, it's times like this that we can thank the fans for championing the record and its praise for years to come. This 40th anniversary edition is mere proof that even sometimes the artist themselves doesn't get the last say on the staying power of their art.