Back in stock: Punk/Hardcore

Review: Live albums are often either pointless cash-ins or nice ways to remember watching your favourites on stage. Rest assured, IDLES haven't resorted to the former, not that anyone expected them to, and even if you weren't in Paris on the night this was recorded the 19-track set is well worth owning. If you've seen the band live you'll know nothing could compare to the ferocity, beauty, anger and power of their shows. Nevertheless, this comes close. From the brooding opening of "Colossus", capped off by Joe Talbot's speech about love and caring for one another, it's as rousing a cry for a more empathetic humanity as anyone could ask for in their front room, energy levels higher than the Bataclan ceiling for the duration. Not bad for the end of a 90-date world tour, it's both a testament to their place among punk rock's most overtly political and socially essential and a musical masterclass.

Review: English band XTC served up White Music, their debut album, in 1978 having already impressed three months earlier with their debut EP. The album had modest chart success, making number 38 i the charts, and spaced the infamous single 'Statue of Liberty' which the BBC promptly banned on account of the line 'In my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt. It sure seems tame by modern standards but it helped gain the band more notoriety for their hyperactive post-punk sounds. While one reviewer at the time said the album was "aimed at bored Yes fans" it was a fine and hard to define debut that set the band in good stead.