New releases last four weeks: All genres

Review: Originally formed in 1980 in Reno, Nevada, 7 Seconds are often credited as one of the most vital and criminally overlooked pioneering hardcore punk acts. Following on from their much-adored 1985 EP-cum-LP Walk Together, Rock Together, their 1986 follow up New Wind featured slower tempos and a notable imbuing of melody, with the project going on to be credited as an integral blueprint for the hardcore scene's eventual embracing and transition into pop-punk and indie rock. This long overdue reissue from Trust Records arrives complete with the complimentary Change In My Head, which is a totally new take on the classic album featuring tracks remixed in their entirety by Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) alongside Inner Ear Studios' Don Zientara. Restoring and reimagining unreleased cuts from the original LP such as 'Change In My Head' and 'Compro', these bonus tracks offer a fresh snapshot of 7 Seconds in transition, but still very much firmly rooted in their hardcore ethos (before literal U2 comparisons would arise with later output). This limited double LP also comes with a 24-page oral history featuring unseen photographs, flyers, and memorabilia.

Notes: Includes: 2x Ear Cushions for Hi-X50, 1x Bow Pad for Hi-X50, 1x Mounting Tool.

Notes: Includes: 2x Ear Cushions for Hi-X65/X60, 1x Bow Pad for Hi-X65/Hi-X60, 1x Mounting Tool

Review: Nearly 50 years after blasting out of Athens, Georgia, we now hearken The B-52's technicolor due with The Warner And Reprise Years, a freshly remastered retrospective of their first eight LPs, spanning 1979 to 1992. Here aside from the rainbow-hued nine LP set comes an 8xCD set, just in time for Pride Month: it tracks the thrifty West Coasters' evolution from wiry new wave weirdos to global hitmakers. Fan favourites like 'Rock Lobster', 'Channel Z', and 'Roam' sit aside mega-hits like 'Love Shack', netting the campy brilliance and rogue joy that redeemed them as pop's most gleeful outliers.

Review: West Coast rapper Big Sean sharpened his pen and darkened his ink for his third album, trading in his bling for a thunderous storm-braving. Out through Good Music and Def Jam in early 2015, the LP, in true rap kingpin fashion, serves to simultaneously enlist and dagger-eye its own collaborators, including Drake, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne. With production from Key Wane, DJ Dahi, DJ Mustard and Kanye himself, the likes of 'Blessings', 'Win Some, Lose Some' and 'Stay Down' seem prescient for the time, when dark unison synths and tension-pluck progressions would parlay Sean's otherwise largely dry, un-effected vocals. Ten years on, Dark Sky Thinking feels like a personal reckoning for the rapper, scratching off the liquid latex gold to reveal a complicated character underneath.

Review: Recorded live at Brooklyn's Glasshaus in front of just 100 guests, Live at Glasshaus captures a one-night-only performance from Philadelphia-born vocalist Bilal, reinterpreting material drawn from a two-decade discography. Backed by an ensemble comprising his long-time creative circle, the set revisits early breakthroughs like 1st Born Second, cult favourite 'Love For Sale' (still never officially released), and later highlights from Airtight's Revenge and his collaborations on Common's Like Water for Chocolate and Resurrection. At 78 minutes, the session moves between stripped-down soul and expansive jazz-schooled improvisation, with appearances from Questlove and Common woven in. 'Soul Sista', 'All Matter' and 'Funky For You' get fresh treatment, while interludes lend a loose, intimate feel. First pressing gone; second underway with global shipping across 15 territories.

Review: Cafe Tacvba's Re was released in July 1994 but remains one of the most groundbreaking albums in Latin rock. The sprawling double LP produced by Gustavo Santaolalla fused punk, norteNo, funk and traditional Mexican sounds into a daring, genre-defying opus. Tracks like 'El Baile y El Salon' and 'La Ingrata' became almost instant anthems, while deeper cuts elsewhere explored death, identity and national pride. Often compared to The White Album by The Beatles, Re delivered cohesion through diversity and elevated Mexican rock to new artistic heights. Thirty years on, it's a cult classic and cultural cornerstone and is essential listening that reshaped rock en espaNol and inspired generations who came after.

Review: Funk legend Bootsy Collins drops his rather indelible 23rd studio album at the age of 73. Despite the advancing years, Bootsy remains a restless innovator and tireless blender of funk, punk, rock, r&b and futuristic sounds. This latest concoction album features collaborations with icons like Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Dave Stewart alongside fresh talents such as October London and Fantaazma. Bootsy embraces his role as mentor here and ensures that his singular grooves are embellished with new school energy. Beyond music, he's also launching the Bootsy Collins Network, a streaming hub for live shows, tech and gaming that could well be worth a look.

Review: Detroit rock monster Alice Cooper's band hit their stride in 1971 with this raw, swaggering major-label breakout, now reissued on Rhino's high-fidelity imprint. The set blends garage rock grit with theatrical flair, laying the foundation for what would later be called shock rock. Powered by Bob Ezrin's debut co-production, the groupiAlice Cooper, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smithideliver hard-edged anthems laced with surrealist angst and proto-punk snarl. Tracks like 'I'm Eighteen' - the track that John Lydon auditioned for the Sex Pistols with - and 'Caught In A Dream' balance noise and nuance, while deeper cuts like 'Sun Arise' and 'Is It My Body' play with form and stagecraft. A new interview with Ezrin offers insight into the sessions and his early relationship with the band. Recut for audiophile listening, it's a vital snapshot of early 70s US rock, reissued with care and context.

Notes: Module A-119-2 is a Dual external input amplifiers with only 4HP module width. The module contains two amplifiers with separately adjustable amplification levels. Each channel is equipped with an overload display. The module can also be used for stereo signals, e.g. the stereo output of a smartphone.

Controls and displays:

Level 1/2: manual control of the amplification in the range 0 - about 45.
Overload 1/2: overload LED, begins to light up for output levels beyond about 10Vpp (+/-5V)
In 1: audio input 1 (monophonic or stereophonic, see technical details)
In 2: audio input 2 (monophonic)
Out 1/2: audio output (monophonic)

Technical Details:

For higher amplifications the two amplifiers can be daisy-chained
Different normallling options are available via the rear of the modules with jumpers.
All inputs and outputs are DC coupled. Thus the module can be used also for the amplifications of control voltages.

Power consumption: 20mA at +12V and 20mA at -12V
Depth: 30mm
4 HP

Review: Fabric Presents Laurent Garnier is a masterful 4xLP compilation showcasing the legendary French DJ's unparalleled taste in picking deep techno and house tracks. With over 35 years of experience, Garnier elevates the dancefloor like no other, and this collection reflects his exceptional taste and influence in the genre. The compilation features standout tracks such as Deon Cole's infectious 'Where The Freaks At', the atmospheric 'Aftermath' by Culoe De Song, and Anane's reimagined 'Walking On Thin Ice'. Each side offers a seamless flow of energy, including highlights like Sammy Virji & Flowdan's 'Shella Verse' and the dynamic 'Urban Snare Cypher' by Equiknoxx. Normally, a set from Laurent is a balanced look into the history of the genre while being balanced with new music he enjoys. This set focuses all on new music, showing Laurent is in touch with top-notch techno as always.

Notes: ADSR (Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release) is a module designed to generate a voltage, which acts as the envelope with the adjustable stages. This envelope, generated in response to the incoming gate signal or manually pushed button, can then be used to shape the sound amplitude via VCA, modulate filter's cutoff frequency or any other parameters expecting CV control.
It features exponential Attack, Decay and Release stages, switch to select fast/slow operation mode, push button with led indicator to manually activate the envelope.

Review: Producer and guitarist Yutaka Hirasaka enjoyed a peaceful career pitstop with Breath, one of many to top up the beatsmith and cassette artist's now towering discography, and which now comes released on vinyl for the first time. Hirasaka's approach to music covers ambient, beat-driven landscapes, a format which has led him both to immersive live performance work and commercial ends. The homely aesthetic of Hirasaka's sound is heard once more on the wordless, texturally unperturbed Breath, which clears our airways far better than any shop-bought nostrum ever could, be it via the deconstructed guitar pan-plays of 'Orion' or the marzipan piano maunders of 'Amaretto'.

Review: The elusive De Frank Kakra remains a mystery, his real name unknown, and his current whereabouts unclear. But the music tells its own story: rooted in Ewe heritage, Kakra cut his teeth as a percussionist and backing vocalist in the fray of Ghana's 70s highlife scene, with stints with K. Frimpong's Cubano Fiestas and the Vis-A-Vis band. Eventually fronting his own groups, The Professionals and The Diggit Ways, he went on to record countless scintillating sides with labels across West Africa, and this new compilation brings together many of said wax etchings from Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, handled with care by Michael Graves at Osiris Studio. It's the debut release from a label founded in gratitude to Kakra's music and the healing it sparked. Liner notes and archival sleuthing aim to piece together his story, and the hope is that someone, somewhere, might know what became of him.

Review: The hugely prolific and endlessly touring Australian rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's latest is Rave Gizzard: Live in San Francisco 2024 via Reverberation Appreciation Society, a hefty triple-LP capturing their legendary first-ever full synth set. It was recorded live at The Regency Ballroom on November 6, 2024, and is a nine-track set with technicolour performances of tracks like 'Theia,' 'Gilgamesh' and 'Extinction' all reimagined with razor-sharp synth textures. It was an epic show lapped up by fans who revelled in the overwhelming bass and immersive, rave-like energy, all of which is conveyed when listening back. This limited-edition bootleg is a document of the band's adventurous leap into synth-driven psychedelia that is sure to swiftly sell out.

Review: Having long since been making a vital contribution to the drum & bass landscape, On Rhythm marks the first-ever album released on Future Retro London. It was during a 2023 tour in Australia and New Zealand that the label head finally met Kloke in Melbourne after years of online collaboration. Visiting his studio, he discovered a massive folder of thousands of music files and took a large part of it back home, spending months sifting through to select favourites for this album. After much back-and-forth with Kloke, the final version is now pressed to three slabs of wax. They make for a full sale exploration of his sound, from dark and driving drum breaks to more journeying cosmic trips like 'Rebellion', ice cold steppers like 'Tomorrow's World' and melodic mind melters like 'To The Moon'.

Review: Mid 2010s hip-hop heads will be pleased to know that Kendrick Lamar's history-making third LP To Pimp A Butterfly, pet named "TPAB" by fans, is now being given a thorough reissue campaign via Interscope. Riddled with literary and contemporary influences relevant to racism, identity, hood politics and capitalist consumerism - all of which lie curdled but still active in the American psyche - To Pimp A Butterfly took its namesake from Harper Lee's literary staple of similar name, semantically substituting active murder of innocents (killing mockingbirds) for systemic manipulation of fundamentally free and beautiful people (pimping butterflies). The imago that emerges by the end of the record, especially on the penultimate, Isley Brothers-sampling psych-funk hit 'I', attests a resolutely healthy narcissism; a defiant riposte to centuries-long, systemic strangulation of Black selfhood.

Review: Futurespective is a carefully remastered compilation showcasing the finest work of Les Animaux Sauvages, the legendary Bulgarian band known for their blazing blend of post-punk, new wave and dark wave. For the first time, these classic tracks are available on vinyl, which is literally music to the ears of fans of Eastern European underground sounds. The band is a trio of artistic kindred spirits who united in 2014 with Ivo Stoyadinov Charlie on guitar, synths and programming alongside Sibylla Seraphim, who brings her haunting vocals and synth work to the mix. Together, they craft a moody, atmospheric sound that is distantly lo-fi, with prowling and sleazy guitars that Andrew Weatherall would love, chugging dark disco groves and tripped-out machine soul and wiry electronics.

Review: Marking the beginning of Austro-Bohemian romantic-era classical composer Mahler's deep engagement with themes of resurrection and transcendence, Symphony No. 2 stands as his first fully personal statement in the form. Claudio Abbado's recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra remains one of the most striking interpretations available; spanning the breadth of Mahler's vision, from the luminous serenity of the softer passages to the thunderous force of its climaxes. This new edition revisits the original four-track tapes, offering a freshly remixed and recut version.

Review: Mixed by Japanese producer and DJ Muro, who has a background in hip-hop, this connoisseur is never short on deep cuts and takes us on a journey through soulful, vintage AOR sonics from his home country. Whilst no two tracks are by the same artist, there's a cohesion to the tracklist thanks to Muro's ear in pulling out things that sit so well together. Asakawa Mak's 1988 cut 'American Night' is a smooth nod to sophisti pop greats Prefab Sprout; whilst Seri Ishikawa's elegant and lush number, 'Eternal 1/2', highlights how innovative she was in forging new sounds back in 1985. These two cuts are just the tip of the iceberg, yet this compilation is an ideal entry point to some of the finest Japanese music of the late 20th century. You can bank on Muro delivering the goods.

Review: Seminal electronic doom mongers New Order may be mainly associated for the siesmic shifts they created in electronic music in the 80s, but they remain a huge draw as a live act to this day. Their show at London's Alexandra Palace on November 9, 2018, was their only UK show of that year and Education Entertainment Recreation captures exactly what went down with Bernard Sumner and crew at the helm. This deluxe, limited edition box set includes the full concert and spans two hours and 20 minutes in a show that mixed crowd-pleasing New Order classics like 'True Faitth' and 'Temptation', highlights from Music Complete and even some Joy Division favourites. From 'Singularity' to 'Blue Monday' and a powerful Joy Division encore of 'Atmosphere', 'Decades' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', it's a well-rounded celebration of their legacy, and also includes a Blu-ray film of the entire show.

Review: Time flies, and yet there's time enough yet for the albatross of Britpop to mantle its wings just one more time. With this Oasis throwback first released as a 15th anniversary retrospective, now in 2025 yet another 15 years has passed, in effect marking the band's pearl anniversary (but not the pearly gates just yet). The quadruple vinyl set lands just ahead of the band's upcoming Oasis Live '25 tour, which we're won't fall afoul of a dynamic pricing fiasco this time around! The band's entire chart-crushing run from debut single 'Supersonic' to swan song 'Falling Down' is traversed, gathering all 26 singles from their seven UK number one albums - Definitely Maybe, (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, Be Here Now - including standalone favourites 'Whatever' and 'Lord Don't Slow Me Down'.

Review: Stourbridge-raised grebo trailblazers Pop Will Eat Itself are doing their bit to breathe life into an unfairly forgotten scene that they helped start in the late 80s from their town on the outskirts of Birmingham. Whilst Britpop hit major label sales targets, the more nuanced sonics - everything from punk and folk to electronic and hip-hop was referenced - was harder for the labels to package, leaving grebo to gather dust, relatively speaking. But this reissue of the Public Enemy-influenced group's 1996 compilation (released the year they split) makes a case for the resurrection of grebo to prevail. Among the highlights are 'Wise Up! Sucker' and 'Can You Dig It?', which dented the charts in 1988, and the slightly later 'Not Now James, We're Busy', a track about James Brown's arrest in the 1980s which captures their Black Country sense of humour and genre-blending greatness. A fun return to the second half of the band's first era as Clint Mansell - now, of course, an esteemed soundtracks composer - and co prepare to take to the road in reformed guise in October.

Review: The Band Cover edition of South Korean k-pop star Rose's debut album Rosie offers a unique sonic experience, where fans are provided an alternative take on the album's presentation. Artisianally bundled in with two out of three collectors' edition Polaroid picture, and with exclusive cover art emphasising Rose's rootedness among friends, this edition incurs a state of youthful rebellion, blending punk aesthetics with South Korean heritabilities. Along with the original tracks from Rosie, listeners are treated to stripped-back versions that heighten and home in on Rose's vocal chops.

Review: Rosie is the debut solo album by Rose (Roseanne Park). Reflecing on her New Zealander and South Korean roots, the record hears a hardcore starlet retell her personal journey through heartbreak, fame, and the struggles of her early twenties. Co-written and co-produced by Rose herself alongside collaborators Bruno Mars and Carter Lang, we hear a sweltering 12 tracks spanning pop-punk, r&b, synthpop, and balladry, carefully teasing a rawer vulnerability compared to her previous work. Songs like 'Apt.' and 'Toxic Till The En' explore Rosie's experiences with toxic relationships, while 'Number One Girl' and 'Drinks or Coffee' reveals a complex take on love.

Review: When she started her career just over a decade ago, Cleopatra Nikolic AKA Cleo Sol was considered a singer-for-hire within the international deep house community. Now, with the assistance of beat-maker Inflo, she's decided to strike out on her own via a quietly impressive solo debut that re-casts her as a genuinely fresh and exciting soul talent. Beginning with the layered acapella vocals and deep, jazzy grooves of stunning opener "One Love", the album sees her brilliantly deliver heartfelt and thoughtful lyrics over hazy backing tracks that brilliantly join the dots between jazz, neo-soul and R&B. While she's undoubtedly the star of the show, Inflo's stripped-back, partially acoustic and largely soft-focus production is also worthy of high praise.

Review: To mark a decade since its original release, Carrie & Lowell returns in expanded double vinyl edition through Asthmatic Kitty, curated and designed by Sufjan Stevens himself. The anniversary release addends 7 unreleased tracks, as well as a full 40-page art book, and a newly unearthed Polaroid cover revealing the album's namesake, handwritten by Sufjan's sister Djamilah. The booklet contains family photos over four generations, as well as Sufjan's own landscape photography taken throughout the American West, all reflecting themes of loss, memory, and place. The second LP compiles forty minutes of bonus material, including demos of 'Death With Dignity' and 'Eugene', atmospheric outtakes of 'Fourth of July' and 'Wallowa Lake Monster', and the original version of 'Mystery of Love', recorded during the album's sessions before its reworking for the infamous Timothee Chalamet actor-debut Call Me By Your Name.

Review: A decade later, this landmark work still cuts like a quiet revelation. Originally released in 2015 by the Michigan-based songwriter, the album marked a sharp return to acoustic intimacy, steeped in grief following the death of his mother. The original recordings are preserved here with their stark, hushed intensity intact: skeletal arrangements cradle whispered meditations on loss and the half-formed memories of childhood. '4th of July' unfurls with ghostly repetition; 'No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross' lingers in the air like a last breath; 'John My Beloved' feels spoken rather than sung. The second disc brings seven unearthed tracks, mostly stripped-back demos. 'Eugene' and 'The Only Thing' appear in rawer forms, with faint lyrical shifts and a slightly looser grasp on grief. 'Wallowa Lake Monster (Version 2)' stretches toward something more orchestral, while 'Fourth of July (Version 4)' swaps hushed devastation for cinematic scope. The inclusion of the original 'Mystery of Love' is particularly poignant i recorded during the same sessions but unreleased until now, it's just voice and guitar, with altered lyrics that render it even more fragile than the version made famous in Call Me By Your Name. The booklet and alternate cover, both assembled by the artist himself, deepen the intimacy further i full of snapshots, sketches and quiet revelations that bring the music's emotional terrain into sharper, more painful focus.

Review: American industrial kings Swans' latest offering unfurls across a sprawling 19-minute journey, building a tension that is as much about space as it is about sound. The first half, marked by 'The Healers' and 'I Am A Tower,' feels like an unyielding force, as if the music itself is evolving into something beyond human comprehension. Gira's voice, thick with grit, clashes with the deep rumble of guitars, creating a rhythm that seems to pulse from a primal core. The journey picks up momentum through 'Red Yellow' and 'Guardian Spirit,' where the sound bends and twists, its drone-like qualities alternately lulling and unsettling. By the time 'Away' takes hold, the track feels less like a song and more like an emotional release, with each successive wave stripping something away, leaving raw, exposed moments in their wake. A visceral experience that demands patience and reflection, with each track revealing layers of complexity.

Review: It's always nice to hear new music from Towa Tei, who will forever be revered for his work with 90s dance fusionists Deee-Lite. His 13th studio album shows he's lost none of his adventurous spirit, with quirky melodies, chopped samples, and imaginative collaborations galore. AH!! is testament to Tei's knack for assembling unexpected parts into something stylish and, well, just a little wackadoodle. With contributions from the likes of Takkyu Ishino, Verbal, Yukihiro Takahashi and Haruomi Hosono, AH!! plays like a mixtape from an alternate pop universe. Over 30 years since he and his bandmates tore the roof off the dance underground, AH!! lands as a marker of Towa Tei's staying power and serves as the final part of a loose trilogy that began with EMO and LP. A milestone release, then, from a shape-shifting producer who's always been more interested in what's next than what's expected.

Review: Rotterdam label Mord is back with a bumper selection of techno treats here from a range of new school producers. Across an incredible eight sides of vinyl, all shades and rhythms are explored, starting with Radial & Bas Moot's loopy, dark, sludgy 'Jacht' and going on through Temudo's silky and stripped back minimal prowler 'Leaving The Old Flesh,' Rommek's industrial and edgy 'Vaporized' and Roll Dann's twitchy, paranoid 'Human Furniture'. Elsewhere Shaney & Zadig offer up unrelenting pressure with 'Downwards' and Mathys Lenne's 'The Road Is Wider Than Long' is all about sparse techno atmospherics from a dystopian world.

Review: Western Lore reasserts its place at the vanguard of contemporary jungle with this 12-track set, a widescreen survey of the genre's evolving emotional and rhythmic terrain. Founded by Bristol artist Dead Man's Chest, the label's curatorial strength lies in its ability to bridge eras and sensibilities-pairing established names with new voices, hard breaks with softer contours. His own 'Living Real' opens the collection with echoing vocal trails and crisp percussive rolls, while Denham Audio's 'Be Sweet To Me' offers a sweet-and-sour blend of hardcore tension and wistful pads. Sonic returns with the razor-edged 'X', Response & Sourpuss stretch time on the haunted 'Four 4', and Eusebeia's 'Epoch' drifts into panoramic ambient territory. Standouts from Vilhelm Hasselgren and Ravver carry the same detail-oriented production that defines the release, full of submerged textures and cinematic drama. What links each contribution is a shared reverence for breaks as both pulse and palette. As with earlier volumes, this isn't just a snapshot of jungle-it's a reminder of its capacity to shift, absorb and outlast.

Review: A quarter of a century is a long time in any form of media or entertainment. But when it comes to video games and music, it might as well be a full century. What feels like a lifetime ago, in 2000 The Sims helped define a playable genre that had only seen niche popularity in the past with titles like Little Computer People and Creatures, and more mainstream attention with the standalone pet-in-your-pocket craze kickstarted by Tamagotchis. Breaking open the barriers between regular folk and the idea of living an entire life through a character on screen - now something we've become very used to - The Sims was revolutionary and appealed across the board. So it needed a soundtrack that could do the same. And that's exactly what it got. Beautifully immersive piano overtures, bouncy chip tunes, the kind of tracks you might find on a home shopping channel interlude... you get the point.