Review: 32 years on from the release of their debut album Speak and Spell, Basildon's finest drop their 14th full length. While there are echoes of their eyeliner-wearing, synth-bothering futurist past (see the glitchy "My Little Universe" and early New Order-ish "Broken", where Dave Gahan sings about 'dreaming of the future'), for the most part Delta Machine finds them in grinchy synth-rock mode, presumably shaking their fists at passing youngsters like a gang of grumpy old men. Thankfully, they're still capable of great things - "Soothe My Soul" has echoes of "Personal Jesus" - and there's enough to suggest there's some life in the old dogs yet.
Review: If there was ever an artist suited to a posthumous release it's Leonard Cohen. The gravel-voiced baritone never made light of situations in life, so "voice from grave" fits him down to the ground. Moreover, if there was ever an artist we needed more music from it must be Cohen, one of the most gifted songwriters of the 20th Century, poet laureate of the human condition and the good and evil men and women do. This collection of leftovers from a relentlessly incredibly career has been pieced together with a little help from friends and family still cursed to walk this troubled Earth. Son Adam Cohen led on the project, with former-collaborators such as Beck, The National's Bryce Dessner and Feist called in for services. Not that you'd tell. The finished product is timeless Cohen business - a gentile and humble powerhouse you can't help but feel profoundly moved by.
Review: For people of a certain age, their teenage years were defined by the edgy grunge, alt and punk rock sounds of bands like Alice in Chains. Three decades later their seminal sophomore effort, Dirt sounds as good as it ever did and gets an anniversary reissue to mark the occasion. It comes with plenty of powerful drums and big-ass basslines as well as yelping vocals and fuzzy textures that take in a range of emotions and even bigger riffs. This issue features a special insert and comes across four sides of vinyl so it's nice and loud, just as intended.
Review: Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies from 1994 is a masterful album that showcases the band's versatility and songwriting prowess across an acoustic-driven collection of tracks. They deliver plenty of haunting melodies and introspective lyrics that make for a deeply immersive listen. There is a real melancholic beauty to 'Nutshell' while a gritty intensity pervades 'No Excuses.' Each song offers a glimpse into the band's emotional depth and musical complexity, always with raw emotion and captivating performances that make this one a standout release in Alice in Chains' discography.
I've Been Waitin' For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) (5:42)
This Is The Day (4:45)
The Sinking Feeling (3:41)
Uncertain Smile (6:42)
The Twilight Hour (6:33)
Soul Mining (4:11)
Giant (9:29)
Review: It's hard to believe it is now a full decade since Detroit's Dez Andres blew up off the back of his classic house jam 'New For U.' He had of course been toiling away for years before that, recording with Moodyman and DJing for Slum Village amongst other things. Since then the music has kept coming - some of it hip-hop as DJ Dez, some of it house under this alias, and much of it a perfect fusion of the two. And that's what we get here on this new EP for Beretta Music - four lush deep house joints with his smooth signature drum loops and gloriously incidental melodies. The slower, funkier bounce of 'Back To Nature' is the EP highlight for us, but all four of these are a cut above, as per usual with Dez.
Review: They're a Marmite band no doubt, especially among those who followed the altogether more deviant and dengerous Nirvana that brought FF frontman Dave Grohl to the world's attention initially. But there's no denying the fact that the Foo Fighters' anthemic, surging power chord pileup of a sound has turned them into a prospect that - whether live or record - now massively eclipses their predecessor in popularity. This is the definitive double-LP compiliation of all of the Foo Fighters' most essential cuts, including 'Everlong', 'Monkey Wrench' and 'Rope' and many more.
Review: It's vital that the uninitiated understand one thing about 21-year-old Alexander O'Connor - his infectious and well crafted pop tunes are almost destined to bore a hole into your brain and stay there for quite some time. Like Michael Buble meeting Ed Sheeran at someone's Macmillan Coffee Morning. If that sounds even vaguely off-putting then this one clearly isn't aimed at you. But it is aimed at those who appreciate artists that can switch between a kind of Grammar school rap delivery, croonerdom and uptempo boy band business. From the piano and vocal R&B number "Pluto Projector", to the chart-friendly freight train of "Never Had The Balls" and the light acoustic guitar soul effort "Stressed Out", O'Connor's third studio album "Pony" is an incredibly sweet introduction to an artist who's clearly packing plenty of talent.
Review: Pink Floyd's Roger Waters recorded The Lockdown Sessions at home during the COVID lockdowns between 2020 and 2021. Of course, intrigue was bound to spark up as to what Waters would be doing in this time, so we're not surprised supply has matched demand. What ensues is a mixture of exclusive live originals (mastered for this EP of course), and a handful of new versions of old Floyd classics. The 2022 version of 'Comfortably Numb' falls into the latter category, appearing on the B-side. Meanwhile, brand new cuts like 'Mother' and 'Two Suns In The Sunset' appear on the A, acting as Waters' new reflections on a world driven mad; the songs were first streamed live to fans during the incipient, isolated phase of Zoom-calling and make-do music performances from inside musicians' homes.
Review: Part of Sony's latest reissues motive for weirdo champer pop songstress Fiona Apple, When The Pawn... is said to have broken the record for longest-ever album title, a record we're sure has been broken more recently by a much more obscure netizen we're not particularly fain to track down. That being said, this opening gambit did do well to evoke what Apple was shooting for with her second album, which saw to the likes of 'Paper Bag' and 'Fast As You Can' - waltzing, ornamented songs, laying claim to a convincing development in Apple's sound.
Review: Fight through the blizzard of scrupulously meta promotional activity surrounding it and you'll find a record that deconstructs the bombast Aracade Fire have become known for, reveals the vulnerability behind the stadium sheen and offers a treatise on modern day superficiality and consumerism. Moreover, it makes a sterling job of all three - joyfully disco-inflected, poppily uplifting, stylistically adventurous and bolder than every before, this is a band who can reference ABBA and Bowie irony-free in a ditty about information overload and somehow get away with it - a bunch of eternal square pegs with emotional wallop and deft melodic skills at their disposal, constantly in search of musical worlds beyond empty rhetoric and grandstanding gestures.
Ozzy Osbourne & Lemmy From Motorhead - "Hellraiser Mashup" (4:59)
Ozzy Osbourne - "Hellraiser" (4:54)
Motorhead - "Hellraiser" (4:33)
Review: "This 10" single reissue comes in celebration of the upcoming 30th anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne's 'No More Tears'. A new mashup sure to inspire only the best moshpitting and hair-flicking skills from every true hard rock head, this new track hears a the original Ozzy song mashed up with Motorhread's version. Never before released, it sounds like an alternate Dante eagerly cruising through the many layers of hell, as new drum reversings, stereo effects and soundscapes are peppered into this masterful musical jigsaw. The B-side also contains the two original, unremixed versions.
Review: Fiona Apple's debut album, Tidal, was released in 1996 and has since gone down as one of the foremost examples of the experimental pop artist's style-unto-no-other. Bringing the likes of 'Shadowboxer', 'Sleep To Dream', and standout 'Criminal' to the forefront of the contemporary imagination, the album functioned personally as a proof of talent: in Apple's own words, she was "proving myself, telling people from my past something. And to also try to get friends for the future." If Apple's pre-emptive lonesomeness wasn't assuaged after this album's release, we'll eat our hats. Its ten tracks singles portray Apple's young-adult angst against a predominant trip-hop backstyle, flaunting her palmy and present vocal delivery in particular.
Review: It's always pleasurable to watch a band grow into themselves, realise early promises and fulfil potential. It wouldn't be over-egging it to say that Palomino, the fifth album from Klara Soderberg and sister, represents that moment for First Aid Kit. The Swedish indie-pop siblings have been courting praise and attention for years now, but there's always been a sense of not quite being ready for the big time, until now.
LP five is an altogether freer record, to say the least, and as such represents the pair growing into their own skin and finally having the confidence to step out of it. Laid bare, we're given meditations on mid-road trip break ups, self-acceptance, emotional doubts and redemption. Familiar themes, yes, nevertheless everything here is dealt a refreshing original hand.
Review: It's hard to believe The Strokes' debut album is 20 years old in 2023. Of course, it sounds very much like the band did at that time, with reviews upon release even celebrating the fact that they'd opted not to mess about with a musical formula that won legions of fans on their debut, Is This It. High speed, turbulent, angsty rock 'n' roll music that isn't just youthful, it's completely disinterested in growing up. Of course, this might be taken to mean a lack of new ideas, but that's precisely where the genius really shines through. Room On Fire is less a band regurgitating and getting 'found out', and more proof of a singular vision of what a guitar band should actually sound like. Really very loud, not at all comprising, and while comparable to many, entirely The Strokes.
Review: Tomorrow's Here Today celebrates 35 years of Lightning Seeds with a stellar compilation showcasing the band's mastery of modern pop songwriting. Led by Ian Broudie, the album kicks off with their iconic debut single 'Pure' and continues to deliver hit after hit across 20 tracks. From classics like 'The Life Of Riley' , All I Want' and 'Change' to fan favorites such as 'Lucky You' and 'Sugar Coated Iceberg,' Lightning Seeds' knack for crafting catchy melodies and feel-good songs shines through. With over eight million albums sold, their music has undoubtedly provided a soundtrack for an entire generation. The compilation is a testament to Lightning Seeds' enduring popularity and their ability to resonate with listeners through their infectious tunes and relatable lyrics. Tomorrow's Here Today is a must-have for fans old and new, encapsulating the band's impressive career and leaving a lasting impression as a true greatest hits collection.
Review: Celebrating half a century of rock legacy, AC/DC's Back In Black gets a special edition release some 44 years after its original unleashing. The iconic album is well known for its thunderous riffs and anthemic choruses and though it is very much of its age, it solidified AC/DC's status as one of rock's greatest bands, despite the appearance of flat capped Geordie Brian Johnston in place of Bon Scott, who died tragically in 1980. With hits like 'You Shook Me All Night Long', live favourites 'Hells Bells' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' and the title track, the album reached all-new heights of rock energy and big riffery and now this anniversary edition offers a fresh perspective on a timeless classic while showcasing AC/DC's enduring influence on the rock landscape.
Review: We have been quietly wondering when the dance music backlash will begin and popular trends will turn back to guitar music, and maybe a reissue of this classic album from The Strokes will provide the catalyst. It was one of three early albums from the band that made for an unreal run of records and it still sounds mega all these years later. The critically acclaimed, gold-certified First Impressions Of Earth was first released back in 2005 and debuted right in the top spot of the UK album charts. It packs a punch with hit singles like hit singles 'Juicebox,' 'Heart in a Cage' and 'You Only Live Once' all proving plenty of singalong joys.
Review: The fifth studio album from New York's perenelially preppy masters of the catchy indie anthem sounds like a tantalising mix of trademark qualities and an ever widening eclecticism, not to mention lyrical concerns that mirror the big scale traumas and worries of American life through the minutiae of interpersonal relations. The title itself comes, appparently, from an eyewitness account of a plane that lost its roof mid flight - add your own geopolitical metaphor here. But in short, there'll be a few surprises but VW fans everywhere will also get a serious dollop of what they've been waiting for for almost five years.
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