Review: A new take on a Jonathan Richman classic from 1977 which has lit up clubs for 45-odd years, especially during the punk era. The track's infectious rhythm has inspired various reggae remixes but now it's getting a fresh cumbia twist. Cumbia and reggae share a common groove, making them a perfect match for DJs to mix and this one was recorded in Lima by Pancho Acosta, founder and guitarist of Company Quinto, who transforms the track into an upbeat cumbia gem. The flip side features Acosta's 'Carnaval de Jujuy' blended with Money Chicha's modern take on Peru's fuzzed-out chicha sound.
M Hawk - "Beat Me Till I'm Blue" (No Horns version) (2:41)
The Mohawks - "Beat Me Till I'm Blue" (Horns version) (2:42)
Review: 'Beat Me Till I'm Blue' is a wonderfully funky classic by The Mohawks presented under the M Hawk alias, the Hawk in question being none other than KPM Music Library overlord Alan Hawkshaw, who wrote the themes from everything from Grange Hill to Countdown. It was a real cornerstone of the late-1960s library and soul-infused grooves of the sort that diggers still fawn over today, and sample fiends still search out. The track delivers Hawkshaw's distinctively driving Hammond organ riffs, tight drum breaks and irresistible rhythms, all of which have made it a favourite among DJs for decades. Two versions are served up here, one with the iconic horns and one with them stripped away, and both offer plenty of energy. .
Review: If you're unfamiliar with Dr Robert, we recommend checking out The Blow Monkeys. Robert Howard, as he's credited, formed the iconic new wave and 'sophisti-pop' group in 1981 and his piano keys, bass notes, guitar melodies, vocals and words define the band's sizeable back catalogue. Matt Deighton, meanwhile, might mean Mother Earth, Bill Fay, or Paul Weller to some listeners. He's been involved with them all. Here, the esteemed UK musicians run into one another on Last Night From Glasgow, a treasure of a patron-funded, not-for-profit label out of Scotland's biggest city. It couldn't be a more credible and thoughtful combination. Musically, the result packs crazy levels of musicality, taking a lead from pop, soft, folk and psyche rock to produce a sound which moves between soaring to understated grandeur to deceptively complex and overtly intimate.
Review: Dr. Robert of British 80s pop hitmakers The Blow Monkeys and British folk icon Matt Deighton (Mother Earth, Bill Fay, Paul Weller) have formed a new duo and release their album on the not-for-profit Last Night From Glasgow label. Their respective histories - writing really accomplished pop songs and performing in bands with some of the best artists in the history of rock n' roll - raise expectations, but they absolutely smash them. The title-track is a beautiful marriage of pastoral psych folk and glam rock, where there's melodies to spare and affecting, deeply soulful timbres at every turn.
Review: Genre-defying trio Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto - their bassist Lewis Wharton is the third one, if you're wondering - have created an album brimming with explosive energy and diverse influences fusing rock 'n roll, deep funk, jazz, and fuzzy atmospherics. Barrie Cadogan (guitar/vocals) has played with everyone from The The to Primal Scream, but this LP moves well away from indie templates, employing a freeform approach, experimenting with tempos, volumes and textures. Tracks like 'Spektator' and 'Sick 8' showcase their ability to build subtle momentum and then let it slip back, allowing space for intricate instrumentation and lots of vivid expression.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Electric War (5:16)
Zero Sun (3:28)
Spektator (3:47)
Creaky (7:31)
’Said Soul (2:43)
Sick 8 (4:20)
My Now (5:50)
Count Of Four (6:05)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Genre-defying trio Little Barrie & Malcolm Catto - their bassist Lewis Wharton is the third one, if you're wondering - have created an album brimming with explosive energy and diverse influences fusing rock 'n roll, deep funk, jazz, and fuzzy atmospherics. Barrie Cadogan (guitar/vocals) has played with everyone from The The to Primal Scream, but this LP moves well away from indie templates, employing a freeform approach, experimenting with tempos, volumes and textures. Tracks like 'Spektator' and 'Sick 8' showcase their ability to build subtle momentum and then let it slip back, allowing space for intricate instrumentation and lots of vivid expression.
Review: British outfit Little Barrie - guitarist Barrie Cadogan and bassist Lewis Wharton - team up with Malcolm Catto, known for his experimental edge as producer and drummer with Heliocentrics, on this raw-edged collaboration. Cadogan and Wharton, whose distinctive sound helped define the opening notes of Vince Gilligan's own-right spinoff Better Call Saul, bring their tightly wound energy into Catto's sonically unpredictable world. What emerges is a tense, scorched blend of overdriven guitar stabs, thicketed percussion, and eerie atmospheres that play like a weather report from a collapsing city. Catto's rhythmic instincts create a fractured foundation where Little Barrie's gritty melodies can unravel or coil without warning. Far from polished or predictable, the record thrives on friction and volatility, capturing three musicians testing the limits of structure and sound.
Open The Morning Window, The Sunshine Comes In, The Hope Of Today Is Small Bird Singing (Dog Side) (3:04)
Ruding Piano (4:01)
Shukuyakushi Nenbutsu Kanehari (5:33)
American Village (5:32)
Look Up The Sky (6:15)
Review: Makoto Kurita aka. Magical Power Mako was a veteran underground avant-garde rock musician from Japan. His self-titled record, now reissued here - it saliently forewent any unique album cover save for the stock Polydor sleeve - raised all kinds of arcane hell, and went on to furtively pave the way for a yet more exploratory avant-garde renaissance in Japan thereon. Beginning with a faux-newscast about the collapse of the social contract amid gridlocked international politics (Kurita waxes British-accented with his introduction, "throughout the city today, there is chaos... hospitals have no ambulances, fire brigades have no fire engines... the country is paralysed"), as China, Russia and America escalate mutually assured tensions to a bitter triangular chess game. A deeply puzzling concept record ensues, fusing songwriterly charm, balladry and psychic rock, of purposeful provocation, and with no obvious resolution in earshot.
Review: The Magick Brother & Mystic Sister are in fact not a brother-sister duo, but rather a quartet made up of musicians Eva Muntada, Marc Tena, Maya Fernandez and Xavi Sandoval. Active since 2020 and their debut self-titled EP, this light occultic outfit have since built a rep for weaving flying-carpeted tapestries of narration, sonic reverie, and mysticism in album form; their latest record Tarot II is no exception this rule, coming as the second to name itself after the card-reading divination practice common to the Western esoteric world and beyond. Out from an opening, what sounds to be hammered dulcimered prog progression ('Strength') and moving through to a further ten tracks each named after tarot cards (save for the 'Unnamed Arcane', an apocryphal confabulation of the band - have they drawn a hand we haven't?), this is a record of supreme mystique, and one for the witches and warlocks in our ranks.
Review: The Magick Brother & Mystic Sister might sound like a sibling duo, but this four-pieceiEva Muntada, Marc Tena, Maya Fernandez, and Xavi Sandovaliare conjuring something far more intricate. Since their 2020 debut, they've built a name for themselves crafting immersive, mystic-tinged prog. 'Tarot Part 2' continues their esoteric journey, with each of its tracks inspired by tarot cards, blending lush, hammered dulcimer riffs and hypnotic instrumentation. From the opening notes of 'Strength' to the enigmatic 'Unnamed Arcane,' this album is a spellbinding listen, full of rich sonic layers for the spiritually inclined and prog aficionados alike.
Review: The Magick Brother & Mystic Sister outfit is a four-piece comprising Eva Muntada, Marc Tena, Maya Fernandez and Xavi Sandoval and they craft intricate, esoteric progressive rock. Following their 2020 debut, they've gained acclaim for their immersive, mystic-tinged sound. Tarot Part 2 continues their journey and is inspired by tarot cards and featuring lush hammered dulcimer riffs and hypnotic instrumentation. From the commanding opener 'Strength' to the enigmatic closer 'Unnamed Arcane,' the album weaves a spellbinding tapestry of sound. Rich in sonic layers, it's a captivating experience for both spiritual seekers and prog enthusiasts, blending otherworldly themes with masterful musicianship.
Review: The debut album from hotly-tipped London/Oxford self-dubbed 'Flowerkraut' collective Mandrake Handshake comes eagerly-awaited as they've built up a strong following from playing live. As the album cover suggests, the overarching feel of this album is quite blissed out and psychedelic. The Stereolab-esque 'Hypersonic Super-Asterid' is a case in point as it combines a motorik beat with lead singer Trinity Oksana's Laetitia Sadier-esque vocals. 'Find The Tree and Dig (Deep)!' is their darkest number with overdriven guitars offering an ominous undercurrent to the lush dream pop vocals and resplendent flute flourish. It's an adventurous collection by a band that sound refreshingly removed from the zeitgeist and are operating in their own parallel universe.
Review: Carpet of Fallen Leaves serves as the luminous introduction to Eddie Marcon, a folk-pop project from Eddie Corman and Jules Marcon. The collection takes in more than two decades of intimate, self-released recordings that all bring fragile beauty and melodic grace from Japan's underground psych-folk scene. Gentle guitar, soft organ and deft bass interlace with pristine vibraphone, flute and pedal steel sounds to form sparse and spare yet intricate arrangements. Collaborators like Ikuro Takahashi and Shintaro Sakamoto add their own contributions, and so songs shimmer with a real emotional depth and Eastern charm. Highlights like 'Tora To Lion' and 'Shoujo' inspire quiet wonder while capturing fleeting moments of everyday life with a real tenderness and elegance.
Review: If you were indeed wondering why, well, Gary Marks doesn't claim to have the answers. Amid an honorary reissue campaign of this under-storied musician's early LPs by P-Vine (after he moved on to become a published fiction and non-fiction writer), Marks' third record from 1978 stands out among this folky jazz singer's best. After his debut record Gathering and then the sophomore Upon Aonda's Wing, this ponderous yet sprightly record follows Marks' relocation to the West Coast of the USA in 1976, after which he began working with Art Rande and Oregon member Paul McCandles. Considered his masterpiece by many, this hidden avant-garde folk jazz diamond contains stirring narratives, cathartic piano ballads, and hum-along heart-pinchers, weaving twin threads of personal disclosure and mystery Americana.
Review: The exquisite 1974 debut album by American pianist, guitarist, producer and songwriter Gary Marks hears a deserving reissue through Lantern Heights. Now a published fiction and non-fiction author, Marks' early musical career ended all to shortly, and was Marked sonically by sweetened contemporary jazz and folk arrangements, heard best on this homeward but still subtly cosmic opening statement of an LP. The open-ended, pathetic-fallacious 'Sherry's Song' is our twinging piece de resistance, with Marks serenading a young flame as the object of his gushing folksy affections, while the immediate follower 'Gathering' indulges a completely "other" set of progged-out emotions. 'We Free' unites the two through a bossa nova downturn, and 'A Gina Theme' isolates the vibraphone in a kind of giant sonic glasshouse, serving as one of several interludes that steadfastly beautify the record.
Review: Known as much for their outlandish costumes as their constant musical evolution, Martin Circus were one of France's most intriguing bands of the 1970s and 80s. Originally formed in 1969 as a psychedelics-inspired progressive rock combo, they later successfully turned their hand to wonderfully camp, over-the-top disco and synth-sporting new wave. Evolution Francaise 1969-1985 does a brilliant job of charting that remarkable musical evolution, dashing between tail end of the 60s prog sounds ('Tout Tremblant De Fievre', 'Facon de Parler'), early Black Sabbath-esque heavy rock ('Annie, Christine ou Partricia'), gritty, Rolling Stones style rhythm and blues ('A Bas Tous Le Privileges'), psychedelic disco-rock ('Les Indiens Du Demier Matin'), Cerrone-ish throb-jobs ('Mon Premier Hold Up', Francois K re-editing 'Disco Circus') and synth-pop ('J'tai Vu Dans Le Canoe?').
Review: Charif Megarbane, the Beirut-based multi-instrumentalist and composer, stretches his sonic vocabulary on this sprawling new full-length, a genre-hopping journey that draws as much from the Lebanese coast as it does from the wider diaspora. Where his earlier work painted intimate portraits of local life, this one looks outwarditoward cultural entanglement, exile, and exchange. 'Hanadi' kicks things off with a sax-led, Somali-inspired groove, while 'Dreams of an Insomniac' drifts through hazy keys and fluttering violin. 'Al Dollarji' recalls his signature Mediterranean funk, full of ornate strings, but 'Al Bahriye' disrupts the flow with hip-hop motifs and vocal samples. Collaborations feel purposeful: 'Helia', with Swedish composer Sven Wunder and the Stockholm Studio Orchestra, layers lush cinematic strings into Megarbane's idiosyncratic palette. Even miniature pieces like 'Sfiha' or 'Preamble to the Conclusion' feel essential, punctuating the record's narrative of displacement with clarity and warmth. It's a collection that resists linearity, folding nostalgia and innovation into a rich, borderless soundian informal transmission between traditions, cities and moods.
Review: Russian horror-surf-rock band Messer Chups reissue Don't Worry, Be Creepy, another addition to a discography committed to themes of horrification and gothic pop culture. Think Misfits, but surf and rockabilly, not punk. The tracklist on this 2024 last-judgment include such nightmarish thinkings-up as 'Mad Monster Party', 'Blood and Black Lace', 'Dracula Hates Killer Icicles' and 'Electric Zombierella', making four a corpse-bridal 13-tracker, whose clocking in at the fateful number, we're sure, isn't coincidental.
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