Back in stock: Indie/Alternative

Review: Bran Van 3000's The Garden is their fourth studio album and another subtle evolution of their signature genre-blending sound. Rooted in prog-rock grooves and boogie flair, the album explores romantic and reflective territory without losing the collective's playful spirit. On the album, which arrives as a special for this year's Record Store Day, James Di Salvio is joined by longtime collaborators and fresh talent alike to create a lush collaborative soundscape that's rich in emotion and rhythm. The tracks all exude soulful vocals, brass-laced arrangements and global sonic textures, which help to make The Garden is a mature yet adventurous chapter in BV3's musical journey.

Review: Primarily known for his sprawling LA-based psych/garage/punk/all of the above work as Osees aka Thee Oh Sees aka Oh Sees, John Dwyer links up with experienced percussionist Dave Barbarossa (Fine Young Cannibals, Adam & The Ants) for the retro bratty glam-punk experience of the year - Chime Oblivion. Their self-titled debut is packed full of squelchy synths, jagged minimalist guitar lines and high-pitched eccentric vocals, paying clear homage to classic acts such as The Slits and Bow Wow Wow. Chock full of bite-sized bangers including 'Neighbourhood Dog' and 'Kiss Her Or Be Her', both of which scoff at the notion of a three-minute track, this is retrofitted throwback dance-punk in the stylised era before it even had such a moniker.

Review: The cult favourite Dark Entries hits 15 in style here and celebrates in the only way it knows how - with more great music. This time it is the legendary synth-punk yahoos Crash Course in Science aka Dale Feliciello, Mallory Yago, and Michael Zodorozny who are in the spotlight. The group formed back in 1979 and set out to make music using toy instruments and kitchen appliances. Their punk-y, aggressive, angular sound soon found a hardcore fan base and gave rise to big tunes like 'Cardboard Lamb' and 'Flying Turns.' In 1981 they recorded Near Marineland, a full-length that never actually saw the light of day but does now and shows the band moving into more diverse and polished territory.

Review: Polly Jean Harvey broke into the common conscious with her unique and individual approach to alternative rock, and she's managed to maintain that aural autonomy throughout a storied career that has simultaneously found favour in the musical mainstream and refused to stray far from the leftfield. A difficult balance to strike, this, her eighth solo studio album, is indicative of that point. There's nothing here not to enjoy, but there's very little here you could predict.

Not least given where it sits in her back catalogue. Production began as the seminal but decidedly hushed White Chalk was released, and this record couldn't be more different from the preceding LP. Doing away with introspect, for the most part anyway, and refocusing attention away from pianos, it's a rousing indie collection that further cements the artist as one of Britain's national treasures.

Review: A little slice of rock history for RSD 2025, taken from the encore from US indie faves The Killers' encore at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 1, 2022, when a certain Mr Springsteen joined them to Boss proceedings. We get versions of two of Springsteen's calling cards - 'Badlands' from his Darkness on the Edge of Town album, often cited as a proto-punk classic - and the ubiquitous 'Born To Run', with The Killers' raucous 'Dustland', seemingly heading up and up in intensity without ever quite hitting the ceiling, as the meat in the musical sandwich. The clear parallels between both acts are laid bare, as is the spontaneity and excitement of a true one off moment.

Review: Q Lazzarus was always going to be a good fit for the cult synth and cold wave crew, Dark Entries, and so it proves here with this overdue debut. Diane Luckey was born in 1960 in New Jersey and created her iconic moniker while living in NYC's East Village. Her breakout moment came after meeting director Jonathan Demme during a 1986 snowstorm; he was captivated by her demo playing in her taxi. Their encounter led to the unforgettable inclusion of 'Goodbye Horses' in Silence of the Lambs. Despite its cult status, Luckey and collaborator William Garvey remained largely overlooked but surely that will change now as they offer up five unreleased tracks that have been newly mixed from original master tapes.

Review: Wilco's Iconic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot gets a special 20th anniversary reissue here and has given it a full remastering treatment just for the occasion. Back in 20022, this was seen as one of the year's best incidents albums with high praise from NME, Rolling Stone, Uncut and many more. It was the band's first album on Nonesuch Records after they split from Reprise and was also the first featuring the line-up of drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Leroy Bach joining founding members Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt. Though the recording process was brought, the resulting album has stood the test of time.

Review: Yoo Doo Right's third album delivers a great blend of post-rock epics and emotionally charged sonic explorations. Opening with a droning guitar barrage, the album unfolds through mantra-like repetitions, abyssal tones and carefree saturation that all serve to cement their status as Montreal post-rock royalty. Inspired by themes of patience, art commodification, AI and unconditional love, this LP draws influence from Wes Montgomery, Rachmaninoff, Neurosis and Russian Circles and was written during a snowstorm retreat in early 2023 which meant the trio aimed for cinematic, experiential significance.