Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Emotional Rescue returns to early 1980s Manchester with the previously unreleased music of Michael James Pollard and his beautiful distillation of indie pop in Too Confusing and bedsit cover version of Ashford and Simpson's Surrender.

While studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic, (MJ) Pollard lived and played in a band in a ramshackle house in Walley Range. In the cellar studio he would write and record his own songs using their guitars, fretless bass and keys, as well as his own Casio VL-Tone VL-1 and Simmons Clap Trap to augment his drums onto a 4 track TEAC.

By 1983, and now solo, he was recording out of Dislocation Dance's studio (ERC111), had secured a Peel Session and via Factory Records' Lindsay Reade, was discussing with Fundacao Atlantica about releasing an album.

Working with singer Sioux Goddard as a duo, they put down 8 songs in 2 weeks in summer '84. However, Fundacao Atlantica's financial difficulties and soon closure meant the songs were lost until now.

Recovered off the original tapes and lovingly restored, Too Confusing captures the optimism of the sessions, a summer love melody of forlorn youth. Surrender accompanies, recorded back in that cellar in '81, with friend Stephanie Danziger on vocals, its lo-fi simplicity is a perfect take on an all-time classic, making this a newly prized gem of British indie pop history.

Review: London retro soul specialists PREP almost feel lost in the 2020s. Everything from their sound, which is pretty unique in today's musical landscape, to release and merchandise artwork screams mid-late-20th Century modernism, owing as much to the crimson and purple-hued aesthetics of classic Miami iconography as anything more recent years have offered us. Meanwhile, aurally speaking, their output straddles lines between funk, soul, synth pop and yacht (those who know, will know), all of which have an ability to conjure strong images of easier, simpler times gone by. 'As It Was', a cover of the Harry Styles pop anthem, takes things into particularly seductive, slap bass and sax infused atmospheres, the air thick with intimate suggestion, which may or may not conjure thoughts of George Michael's 'Careless Whisper' letting loose at a boat party.

Review: Some lucky folk managed to bag a copy of this when it was released as part of the Screamadelica 30th Anniversary 12" Singles Box. Suffice to say, many didn't. It's also probably a given to point out the British and global music scenes are still reeling from the untimely and sudden passing of Andrew Weatherall, a studio mastermind and club DJ icon who managed to influence everyone from ambient and techno heads to indie kids, classical fans and heads in just about any other sonic avenue you care to mention. Arguably, though, his most beloved work was around the Screamadelica era, carving out a landmark crossover album from Primal Scream's original material, making stars out of everyone involved and timeless, decade-spanning tracks from singles like 'Come Together' and 'Loaded'. 'Shine Like the Stars' brought that album to a close in spectacular, trippy, emotive style, and has never left our hearts since.

Review: Fabiana Palladino's long-awaited debut album brings plenty of smooth and high gloss sound back to the fore. Following the end of a significant relationship, Palladino uses the album to delve into themes of love, loneliness, and relationship norms and in the process crafts a ten-track album that superbly blends r&b, soul, pop, and disco influences from the 80s and 90s with a contemporary twist. Self-produced and featuring collaborations with notable musicians like Jai Paul, Pino Palladino, Rocco Palladino, Steve Ferrone, and Rob Moose, the album is a classy journey through shapeshifting sonics and intimate introspection, marking a significant milestone in Palladino's musical journey.

Review: God bless XL Recordings. The UK label has been at the forefront of boundary pushing music since its inception, and almost 35 years remains a seal of quality. A constant source of inspiring surprises and new sonic experiences. The kind of organisation that will take a punt on British polymath Jai Paul's demo album, which, by all accounts, is pretty hard to describe, let alone define. More so, the type of team that would, eight years earlier, support and release one of the artist's earliest songs, 'BTSTU'. Coming full circle, that tune closes this collection of stuff produced around the same time, all of which was going to form the debut album, Bait Ones. One low-quality CD-R of the work stolen and then leaked online later, and the artist stepped away from music until the end of the last decade, when this "perfectly imperfect" LP was finally allowed to see the light of day. A lo fi, glitchy, trippy, granular, sexy sound that owes as much to hip hop, pop and r&b as experimental noise, ambient dub, and electronic soul.

Review: The release of any new Peaking Lights record is cause for celebration, but there's something extra-exciting about The Fifth State of Consciousness, the husband-and-wife duo's sixth studio set. It's colourful, psychedelic, vibrant and unashamedly sunny, offering a thrill-a-minute ride through kaleidoscopic synth-pop, wide-eyed Balearica, humid reggae-pop and hazy, sunrise-friendly goodness. There are few surprises, of course, but a wealth of thoroughly brilliant, emotion-rich, head-in-the-clouds moments. Highlights include the chiming Balearic rush of "Wild Paradise", the early Pet Shop Boys in dub drowsiness of "A Phoenix & A Fish", and the dreamy, wall-of-sound shimmer of "Love Can Move Mountains". In other words, it's the aural equivalent of coming up at dawn on a secluded Californian beach.

Review: For the first time in over 26 years, much-loved metallers Pearl Jam finally topped mainstream rock airplay charts in the US with the first single off their latest album. That came some 1000 days ahead of the album itself which has now finally arrived and has soon won over fans. That single, 'Dark Matter', became Pearl Jam's first No. 1 on the chart since 'Given To Fly' led for six weeks all the way back in January-February 1998. The rest of the album is full of just as much gold as that, with plenty more of their signature riffs and potent grooves all topped with Eddie Vedder's legendary lung-busting vocals.

Review: Glaswegian outfit Pleasure Pool - a collaboration between producer/synth player Finn O'Hare, vocalist Andrew Robertson and a rotating cast of guest musicians from the local scene - delight in creating hard-to-pigeonhole music that combines club-friendly elements with live performance, the addictive accessibility of pop and nods to a wide variety of sonic styles. 'Love Without Illusion', their debut album, is an exemplary exploration of this approach, offering aural attractiveness and a string of highlights. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the slipped breakbeats, stirring synth-strings, New Jersey organ stabs and analogue bass of 'Modern Nature', the wayward electro-dub eccentricity of 'Sell Your Stuff', the Balearic synth-pop colour of opener 'Open Hours' and the humid, immersive, sunrise-ready deep psychedelia of 'Love Without Illusion'.

Review: Twelve Carat Toothache is the fourth studio album from multifaceted rap icon Post Malone. Aiming for a sound that both broadens his horizons and gives his fans a little uplift, Malone's contribution to the global tidal wave of pandemic-rooted LPs features Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat, Fleet Foxes, the Kid Laroi and the Weeknd. Digging into his confessional approach and teasing the possibilities of a pop-minded rap record on lead singles 'One Right Now', 'Cooped Up' and 'I Like You (A Happier Song)', Post Malone continues to evolve as an artist, leaving unique and compelling albums such as this one in his wake.

Review: Pretenders' iconic album Learning To Crawl gets a crystal clear vinyl reissue here to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Retaining the original 1984 artwork and tracklist, this reissue boasts 2018 remastered audio by producer Chris Thomas which arrives on wax for the first time. Following a band hiatus marred by the tragic losses of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, the album features various musicians before Robbie McIntosh and Malcolm Foster joined to solidify the lineup. Achieving Gold and Platinum status in the UK and US, the album peaked at #11 in the UK and #5 on the Billboard 200 and includes beloved tracks like '2000 Miles' and 'Back on the Chain Gang'.

Review: In 1991 the UK is in a very different place to the one it occupies today. One thing that hasn't changed in the 30 years between then and now, though, is how incredibly, unbelievably good Primal Scream's Screamadelica was. And still is.

It might have been the studio mastery brought to the mix by the late, great Andrew Weatherall. Perhaps it hit the nail on the head of a year when the country's rock and dance scenes finally met somewhere on the outskirts of Blackburn, or along the M25. Maybe, just maybe, it's because the tracks themselves are just great. Whatever your personal take, this album should be on everyone's shelves. From the hedonism of 'Loaded' to the pseudo-rave euphoria of 'Come Together', and the self love of 'Movin' On Up' always inspires, the record is of its time but resonates through the ages.

Review: Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have more than proven their music knowledge across a stellar run of prior compilations, including The Daisy Age, Fell From The Sun and English Weather. This time around, they're tapping into the freeform climes of the late 70s and early 80s, as punk exploded and a myriad of bands channelled the unique, downcast mood of Britain into wildly creative, nervously urgent songs. Across four sides we take in all manner of cult selections and outer limits largely in the loose fit realm of post-punk. It's flawlessly selected and programmed - another reminder of how immersive a proper compilation can be.