Review: Completed within six days - always a sign of a unprescribed project, without pretence or conceit, one which just needs to be unleashed - Noah Kahan completed the five-track 'Cape Elizabeth' EP in 2020. The five-track EP, which followed four original CDs already released on major labels, was an instant hit among indie singer-songwriter lovers. Now repackaged for the same audience once more, the towering chart-topper now returns to Republic Records for a first-time aqua vinyl reissue, after its initial digital-only run.
Review: First released in 1983, Khartomb's 'Swahili Lullaby' first surfaced on the underground punk and reggae label Whaam! before fading back again into obscurity. In fact their only release, originally a 7", it came backed by the 12/8 wonderwork 'Teekon Warriors' on the B; both tracks established their sound as straddling both a restlessness and a laconism, channelling influences from the Slits to the Raincoats. Legend speaks of an original Peel Session and support from Melody Maker - the holy one-track difecta for breaking artists back then - yet this initial support sadly, madly waned. Now, however, the release comes miraculously back to the fore, rendered concscious again by way of a new-to-vinyl track - 'Daisy High' - as well as two versions of the A1 by Synkro and Talking Drums. 'Daisy High' is a lissome one, its layered contraltos overdubbed to perfection against endless Balearic guitar-swirls amid an overarching 'bossa feel' (in Peel's words). Synkro's dub could just as easily have come from '83 as it did from '24, swelling away into a sweet kickless reverie that happily, barely resembles the original; Talking Drums' version is more loyal to the genesis, yet amps up the dub pressure.
Review: A chance to own this much loved pre-album classic from King Kruke aka Southwark-raised Archy Marshall on a neat 7". The track, originally issued in 2012 on the Rinse label, has all the hallmarks that would make Marshall famous, namely a lilting, emotionally direct vocal performance, some rather nifty guitar work and some rough cut breakbeats with a lovely whiff of bedroom production about them. The flip, meanwhile, is adorned with an instrumental version, making this quite the all round desirable item.
Review: K's Choice released their ten-year retrospective compilation back in 2003. It drew together all their finest moments from the proceeding decade but gets the full reissue treatment here with limited numbered gatefold 180 gram and coloured wax. The Belgian rock band hail from Antwerp and in their heyday mixed up alt-rock, post-grunge and folk rock on a series of albums that went gold and platinum in various countries around the world. This collection has all the big, stadium-sized tunes as well as the more quiet moments of introspective calm. It's a great reminder of a band that had a big impact at the turn of the millennium.
Review: Few stadiums involve the same level of America-ness as Fenway Park. Home to the Boston Red Sox, whether or not you believe baseball to be pointless and mundane, the fast food equivalent of cricket which is, somehow, also a slow cooked nothing, it's impossible not to appreciate just how much atmosphere there is in heritage sports arenas, and how much these places mean to the town that built them. For anyone to perform a concert at Fenway, then, is a privilege that betrays status. So does the deafening noise of tens of thousands singing along to the anthems on this Noah Kahan tour recording. Born in Vermont, but with strong family ties to the Boston area, the roaring and soaring folk-pop hitmaker - whose roots are as much in rock & roll as country and bluegrass - is quite simply commanding, even heard via the replay medium of vinyl or CD. Something to remember next time you consider tickets to see him in the flesh.
Review: Leeds rockers Kaiser Chiefs' are back with what they are amusingly calling their 'Easy Eighth Album' this March. It has been produced by Amir Amor of Rudimental association and also features a single, ''Feeling Alright', co-written by Chic's hit making machine, Nile Rogers. It all adds up to a fresh and bold new sound with the likes of the horn-laden 'Job Centre Shuffle' and big, joyous, hard hitting jam 'Jealousy' as well as plenty more of their trademark hooks and singalong vocals. Expect to hear plenty from it all over the radio and at every rock festival all year long.
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