The Fat Angel Sings

DIIV are preparing the release of a new album, “ZIRP!”, on October 30th via Fantasy Records. Now they have shared its third single, “Trillions,” . Jaxon Whittington directed the “Trillions” video. The song is perhaps a satire of late stage capitalism and the persistent desire for wealth, although it’s also quite pop sounding for a band that’s usually buried in walls of guitars.

DIIV previously announced the album to fans via a hotline number. Then they officially announced the album and shared its first single, “The Fountain” ,Then they shared its second single, “Kid,” .

British producer A. G. Cook (Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX) produced “ZIRP” and says in a press release: “It was in the spirit of destroying and rebuilding their demos, Screamadelica-style, into a finished product, but that hybrid, half-remix approach felt completely wrong to me.

Cook adds: “I became a bit obsessed with their live sound, and insisted on recording live drums before most of the songs were even finished. We spent a lot of time recording intricate guitar parts with specific guitar pedals, and as little time as possible doing anything on a computer, at least by my standards. After a few rounds of that, “ZIRP!” emerged as a concept, and a sort of utopian, dystopian mantra. For me it became a vehicle to push the band into new territory.”

“ZIRP!” is the follow-up to 2024’s “Frog in Boiling Water”.

DIIV is Andrew Bailey, Colin Caulfield, Ben Newman, and Zachary Cole Smith.

Texas-born/Los Angeles- and Marfa-based singer/songwriter Jess Williamson is releasing a new album, “A Mile South of Heaven“, this Friday via New West. Now she has shared its latest single, “Hum of the City,”. She’s also announced some 2027 tour dates. Rocco Rivetti directed the video.

Williamson had this to say about the song in a press release: “I’m kind of a wanderer by nature, and this song is about my complicated relationship with the idea of home. I’ve spent years feeling pulled between the excitement of life in the city and the peace of a more rural life, never quite sure where I belong.

“There’s a romance to being in hotels alone. I love checking into my room, going down to the hotel bar, and talking with the bartender. I once checked into a hotel and realized I was staying in the very same room I’d been in years earlier (room 12, from the song), during a completely different season of my life, right before a major life change. There’s something uncanny about the anonymity of a hotel room holding such a personal memory.

“The song imagines a conversation with the hotel bartender, asking him to change the music. Sometimes contemporary music feels a little weird if you happen to have history with the person singing it. But old country music always hits.” 

Shooter Jennings produced “A Mile South of Heaven”, recording it at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. It follows 2023’s “Time Ain’t Accidental” and 2020’s “Sorceress”. In 2022 Williamson teamed up with Waxahatchee (aka Katie Crutchfield) to form Plains and the duo released their debut album under that name, “I Walked With You A Ways”.

“Depending on your outlook, a mile south of heaven may sound sad, or it may sound hopeful,” Williamson explains of the new album’s title. “We’re always a mile south of the impossible goals we set for ourselves, and my point is, maybe that’s ok, because a mile is pretty close. It’s about appreciating where we are now, because there is no finish line. There is always more work to be done.”“

A Mile South of Heaven

‘Violins’, the third album from Blondshell, finds Sabrina Teitelbaum digging in. Following her acclaimed 2023 self-titled debut and 2025’s ‘If You Asked For A Picture’, the 11-track ‘Violins’ trades the veil of bad romantic relationships for something braver, asking how we balance the world’s violence with its beauty across songs about troubled friendships, religion, the body, and the long, unglamorous work of healing. It’s an album of grandeur, drama, and tragedy, built on virtuoso hooks, swelling guitars, and big lead lines, pulling in fresh touchstones from Gang of Four, Teenage Fanclub, The Go-Betweens, and Sade, alongside lyrical nods to Leonard Cohen and Pavement. From the anthemic frenemy portrait of “Heart Has To Work So Hard” to the sunny, insomniac daydream of “Lucky” and the disarming closer “Fur Elise,” ‘Violins’ captures the sound of an artist who has stopped overexplaining and started rendering art on her own terms.

Blondshell has always weaved violence throughout her searing alt-rock. Her ’90s-inspired breakout single ‘Olympus’ started with the head-over-heels promise that Sabrina Teitelbaum would “still kill” for a toxic partner, while her self-titled debut album wrestled with daydream vengeance and potent self-destruction over explosive guitar breakdowns. Her second LP, 2025’s ‘If You Asked For A Picture’, was prettier but no less vicious as she reflected with unapologetic directness on generational anguish, body image struggles and coming-of-age uncertainty.

Coming less than 18 months later, Her third album ‘Violins’ is as playful as it is savage. The album title is an accidental bit of wordplay (violins and violence), while the title track showcases acts of kindness turned into something darker. Instead of a reassuring hand on a shoulder, it’s “a pat on the ass”. Talk of gradual healing is dismissed as boring (“It’s like watching paint”) and there’s no biting back, as Teitelbaum tries to rise above it. “I hope heads don’t roll, they rest lightly on your shoulder”, she repeats like a mantra between celebratory guitar solos. It sets a course for ‘Violins’, an album which defiantly strikes a balance between optimistic beauty and harsh, jagged truths. Throughout, Blondshell fights to stay tender in a world that isn’t.

The cheery ‘Lucky’ flickers between moments of calm on tour and the unavoidable horrors of the news cycle, while the slow-burning ‘Knotted’ showcases complicated, messy love in all its horrible glory. There’s hard-earned joy here, too. ‘Two-Fried’ (co-written with fellow indie darling Samia) sees Teitelbaum flirt with self-love; on the dreamy ‘Sea Legs’, she rattles through a list of her favourite things .

After the one-two origin story of her first two records, there’s a liberated freedom to Teitelbaum’s storytelling here: less diary confessional, more conversational poetry. This turns the swaggering ‘Stone Fruit’ into an open-ended exploration of human connection, but it also makes lines such as “when I PMS, my face looks different” from the jangly indie of ‘Trojan Horse’ hit even harder. Live, those moments are going to inspire deafening singalongs.

released September 25th, 2026

Sabrina Teitelbaum’s next album as Blondshell promised to be a major leap forward from a songwriting and production standpoint, and lead single “T&A” hints at the evolution to come: with glum recollections of a regretful hook-up, an anthemic chorus that asks unanswerable questions and electric guitar work that charges up the song’s energy, “T&A” is a home run of an opening statement, and the sound of Blondshell becoming an indie star.

“T&A” by Blondshell, from the new album ‘If You Asked For A Picture’ out May 2nd on Partisan Records

This week, Blondshell (Sabrina Teitelbaum) released he new album she shared the song “Heart Has to Work So Hard,” her first new music since her critically acclaimed album “If You Asked For A Picture” and its companion release “Another Picture”. The track is out now via Partisan Records and follows its live debut at Coachella.

The song deals with the fallout of a fractured friendship as Blondshell explains: “This song is really about friendship and betrayal, getting stuck in a dynamic and letting things fester. It’s about pain and confusion, no one trains you for the ups and downs of a friendship between two women, but it’s also about a love so enduring that you find compassion no matter what.”

out now on Partisan Records

Uncle Tupelo was an alt- country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active from 1987 to 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville Records before signing with Sire Records and expanding to a five-piece. Shortly after the release of the band’s major-label debut album “Anodyne”, Farrar announced he was leaving the band due to a soured relationship with Tweedy. Uncle Tupelo split on May 1994, after completing a farewell tour. Farrar then formed Son Volt with Heidorn, while the remaining members continued as Wilco.

Although Uncle Tupelo broke up before it achieved commercial success, the band is renowned for its impact on the alternative country music scene. The group’s first album, “No Depression”, became a byword for the genre and was widely influential. Uncle Tupelo’s sound was unlike popular country music of the time, drawing inspiration from styles as diverse as the hardcore punk of Minutemen and the country instrumentation and harmony of the Carter Family and Hank Williams. Farrar and Tweedy’s lyrics frequently referred to Middle America and the working class of Belleville.

Uncle Tupelo is one of the most influential alternative country acts ever. Releasing four amazing records before splitting into Wilco and Son Volt, they truly left a mark on the music scene. Pre-order their first three albums, “No Depression”, “Still Feel Gone” and “March 16-20, 1992″.

Released in October 1993, “Anodyne” was the fourth and final album by alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. Cut live in the studio in Austin, Texas, the record moves from the driving energy of “Chickamauga” and “The Long Cut” into “Anodyne” and “Acuff-Rose,” where fiddle and pedal steel add a flash of Cosmic American colour.

The album ended Uncle Tupelo’s short-but-remarkable run, with the breakup soon giving rise to two new bands: Wilco and Son Volt. In the new liner notes, music journalist Mark Deming reflects on the album’s lasting weight. “”Over those two weeks in Austin, Texas, recording “Anodyne”, Uncle Tupelo created both a grand finale and a new beginning, and the music and the emotions ring just as clear more than three decades on.”

These are official European pressings from Music On Vinyl, a reissue label that is known for high quality sound, art, and TLC. All three have been out of print since 2021,

“Still Feel Gone” (1991) is the second album by American alternative country pioneers Uncle Tupelo. While its predecessor “No Depression” was filled with uptempo tracks, their follow-up effort showcases a band taking a closer look at the middle ground by acoustic guitars. “Still be Around” and “Looking For A Way Out” are great examples of tracks with high-strung acoustic guitars.

On this album, Uncle Tupelo sounds even more powerful than before. And the broader picture of the abilities of Farrar, Tweedy, and Heidom confirms a strong combination. This reissue gives the album the special treatment it deserves.

“March 16-20, 1992” is the third studio album by alternative country band Uncle Tupelo, released in 1992.

The title refers to the five-day span during which the album was recorded. An almost entirely acoustic recording, the album features original songs and covers of traditional folk songs in near-equal number, and was produced by Peter Buck, guitarist with R.E.M.

With Uncle Tupelo‘s popularity on the rise, “March 16-20, 1992” sold more copies than their first two albums, “No Depression” and “Still Feel Gone”, combined. The album generated positive reviews.

“No Depression” is cited as one of the most important albums in the alternative country genre. Due to the impact of the album on alternative country, the term ‘No Depression’ is sometimes used as a synonym for the genre – especially after a country music magazine named itself after the album.

The album helped kick start a revolution which reverberated throughout the American underground. In 1999, Spin Magazine listed the album as one of the Top 90 Albums of the 90s. Its punk attitude, combined with Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy’s lyrical depictions of rural, blue-collar life paint grim portraits of Midwestern existence, left a long-lasting legacy.

Don’t miss out on these if you’ve been waiting. These are official European pressings from Music On Vinyl, a reissue label that is known for high quality sound, art, and TLC. All three have been out of print since 2021, and those clear versions from MOVLP go for $100+ over on Discogs. They are excellent, and I suspect these will be on par with them, just on black vinyl.

“Cyano” is Emily A. Sprague’s first studio solo album since 2020’s “Hill, Flower, Fog”, following 2025’s “Cloud Time“, a modular synthesizer album recorded live in Japan, and “Double Moon“, a 7” single released earlier this year

The album is the first to combine Sprague’s intuitive synthesizer music with the songwriting she’s known for with her band Florist, introducing singing into her previously instrumental persona

Intentionally primitive and minimal, Sprague’s vocals are a static-y transmission that marks a technical and symbolic juncture, with experimental, formless music that deconstructs the more conventional song styles of Florist.

For fans of Ana Roxanne, Boards of Canada, Green-House, Mouse on Mars, Laurel Halo, Florist

Linda’s Head is the first new album in over a decade from Pacific Northwest trio Liz Harris on guitar and vocals, Scott Simmons on bass, and Jed Bindeman on drums.

Like 2015’s The Original Faces, it deepens their intimate take on bedroom dream pop: a shoegaze of half-light and silhouettes, tuned to melody, melancholy, and undertow.

The title bends across several meanings: head in the clouds, a severance, a made-up landform reaching into the sea. Waves, storms, and escape run through the lyrics, with hints of the New Zealand pop underground, while the trio’s chemistry stays warm, weathered, and beautifully close.

Blossoms – Songs From The Wedding Cake

Following on from the massive ‘Gary’, Stockport’s Blossoms had big shoes to fill and they’ve done it with aplomb with the self-deprecating, confessional new album. Soaring, soulful melodies and bright synths beneath the instantly recognisable vocals of Tom Ogden, charting the highs and lows of married life with wry humour and memorable hooks.

Blossoms brand new album, following on from the incredibly well-loved ‘Gary’ and it’s a journey that’s can only be undertaken between a man and his wife, and hundreds of thousands of listeners. ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ is a close-to-home tale, swerving from day to day life stuff and relationship issues that people face, and shows a maturity in confessional song-writing that allows truth without sacrificing entertainment. It’s a fine line and it’s toed nicely with a selection of nice earworms to boot

Johnny Marr – The Age of Everything

The massive new Johnny Marr album ‘The Age Of Everything’ and you’ll probably already be aware that we’re huge fans of Johnny in here too, but I’ll reiterate regardless. The new album takes everything Marr is so capable at and magnifies those elements to the benefit of all involved. There’s maximum jangle (that legendary Marr jangle) and lots of powerful momentum, leading to some of his most memorable hooks for some time. It’s well worth checking out, even if you’ve heard none of his brilliant solo work.

An incendiary new outing from shop all-time favourite, Johnny Marr. With his trademark jangling guitars and soaring vocals coming together into a more upbeat endeavour than the “Fever Dreams” quadrilogy on the whole, it really showcases Marr’s impeccable ear for melody and skill at composition. Wonderfully concise, upbeat indie from one of the masters of the craft.

Fat Dog – Cancel Me (I’m Tired)

A bracing selection of rowdy groove-heavy electro-punk, with a little more of a lean toward the garage indebted numbers like the eponymous single. ‘Cancel Me (I’m Tired)’ perfectly illustrates Fat Dog’s uniquely appreciable sonic trajectory and furthermore, gets the head bouncing like nothing else. Gritty, momentum filled and rowdy. A good time all round.

Fat Dog’s latest might initially sound like a resigned call for some quiet and recuperation, but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. The album is as ferocious and tongue-in-cheek as their last was, and furthers their measurable ascent into a band that are as indescribable as they are enjoyable. Is it indie? punk? Industrial? Electronica? Disco? Yes it is. Dead good it is too.

Greg Freeman – All Set The Bone

Heavy alt-country grooves and clattering percussion beneath frantic honky tonk piano and Freeman’s Southern-leaning drawl, resulting in an album that’s both nuanced and intense, leaning into the alt much more than the country. Brilliantly dynamic, heartfelt melodies throughout/

Greg Freeman was barely finished with his breakthrough album, “Burnover”, before he started writing its follow-up, “All Set The Bone”. “Burnover” drew wide critical praise, landed on The New York Times Best Albums of 2025 list, and earned Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Album tag.

On “All Set The Bone”, Freeman leans into friction rather than smoothing it out. Built through scant rehearsal time and urgent, self-appointed deadlines, the record came together fast, then was completed in a real Hollywood studio with one of modern rock’s sharpest architects, John Congleton.

Walt Disco – Walt Disco

‘Walt Disco’ turns years’ worth of graft to the band’s artistic advantage; songs grapple with the disorientation of growing up (amidst gender dysphoria, changing relationships, a volatile industry) but eventually land in a place of gratitude and acceptance.

The songs wrestle with growing up through gender dysphoria, shifting relationships and a volatile industry, before landing somewhere warmer: gratitude, acceptance and clarity. It’s a fearless alt-rock record that feels specific to Walt Disco, with “Coup de foudre” and “Lies” among its highlights.

Wishy – Nature’s Pill

Wishy’s ‘Nature’s Pill’ captures a world where life feels unpredictable and overwhelming, yet full of possibility. On their vibrant sophomore record, Wishy entertains the madness–capturing romantic frustration, neurotic desire and the melodrama that ensues from simply being human in a jubilant remix of the past.

“Nature’s Pill” bears all of Wishy’s trademarks: zany lyrics transfiguring melancholia into freedom, choruses set to become instant classics, and an unholy fusion of sugary grunge, indie rock and dream-pop. Wishy’s genesis has been a prolific burst powered by the band’s musical synergy: the Mana and Paradise EPs in 2023, debut LP “Triple Seven in 2024, and a follow-up EP “Planet Popstar” in 2025.

After those releases met acclaim and the band’s stature rose, the conception of “Nature’s Pill” was fundamentally different. Written more collaboratively than past releases, the group reconvened with “Triple Seven” co-producer Ben Lumsdaine in Los Angeles, where the quintet packed into a tiny studio and tracked half the songs live in the room, imbuing the album with the immediate energy of a band in sync after heavy touring. It gave them the ability to synthesize an even greater array of touchstones this time around, with the ‘90s dream-pop and alt-rock of “Triple Seven” fusing with ‘80s college rock and ‘00s indie.

For fans of Broken Social Scene, The Breeders, The Cure, The Primitives, The Sundays, Cocteau Twins, Stereolab, Hole, Slow Pulp, Momma

Vanishing Twin

Otherworldly vocals and ambient vocalisations twist around an ever-changing core of crispy percussion loops and experimental electronic interludes. A bracingly improvisational but unerringly cohesive fusion that could only come from a group of connected musicians.

Shapeshifting trio Vanishing Twin present their new album “Archives”, a collage of postmodern songcraft that finds transcendence in the shared experience of creation.

The album’s title alludes to Vanishing Twin’s distinctive approach of listening to, piecing together and reworking daily recording sessions. Founding member Cathy Lucas describes the process as “gathering material together, riffing with it, turning it around on itself, trying to put the pieces together and create a story with it”. With Lucas now relocated to rural France, and Valentina Magaletti and Susumu Mukai in London, the three connected by swapping songs and fragments of instrumentals in a virtual studio space. Geographic distance is bridged by their hivemind creativity, with multi-instrumentalist input from each member.

Each player brings a wide experience of collaboration and improvisation, with listening back and editing studio sessions an integral part of the creative process. Concepts of authorship and ownership dissolve in Vanishing Twin’s music, as members swap instruments and lose themselves in the collaborative moment. The archives of the album title become documents of the trio’s collective intelligence.

The chaotic energy of Archives pushes Vanishing Twin into unfamiliar shapes and directions. Out of their comfort zones, the trio find new moments of enlightenment and delight. Deep in the mix, you might hear Magaletti picking up the bass, Mukai unexpectedly sitting in on drums, or Lucas slipping chameleon-like between the gaps.

“Archives” refines Vanishing Twin’s model of collective music making, where egos are dispelled in playful games of mix and match, and creativity flows between the three multi-instrumentalists. Operating between and outside conventional categories of genre, they sit alongside fellow travellers such as Tara Clerkin Trio and Still House Plants, stretching the idea of the contemporary music ensemble. A decade into their existence, Vanishing Twin are more mercurial than ever.

For fans of Broadcast, Stereolab, Sun Ra and Ennio Morricone.

Babe Rainbow – Acid and Honey

From the heart of the Australian psych scene… rainbow rockers Babe Rainbow return with their 7th studio album “Acid and Honey” recorded on an op shop acoustic on a houseboat in Amsterdam and finished at zen master Mullarky’s Malibu ranch. Exciting country-pop beat production backs wailing Babe rainbow vocals on solid skanking hip-hop hard rocking finger funky sounds. The first single “Polymucalsaccharide’ is just something Perry Farrell says and it means “drool, like you’re dribbling cos the truth is once you hit the road you don’t remember the good shows, they’re just like every other show”

Skids – 1977

“Skids 1977” brings together Skids‘ first studio demo recordings, cut in October 1977 and released officially for the first time on Awrite Records. It’s a vital snapshot of the original lineup: Richard Jobson on vocals, Stuart Adamson on guitar, Bill Simpson on bass and Tom Kellichan on drums.

These are the earliest recordings of songs written by the late Stuart Adamson of Skids, Big Country and The Raphaels, later dubbed “Britain’s answer to Jimi Hendrix” by BBC Radio 1 legend John Peel. Raw, direct and full of early spark, they capture Scotland’s emerging punk scene in motion.

Compiled with the full support of Skids and Stuart Adamson’s family, “Skids 1977” is both a historically significant archive release and a seriously collectible piece for fans of UK punk and new wave.

The Beatles – Rubber Soul

The Beatles’ 1965 album Rubber Soul is reissued across a number formats, including, for the first time for the Fab Four, a standalone blu-ray audio.

First released on 3rd December 1965, “Rubber Soul” marked a pivotal moment in The Beatles’ evolution. Arriving at the end of a remarkable year that saw John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr reach artistic and commercial heights, the album revealed a band pushing beyond the conventions of pop music and embracing a more adventurous approach to songwriting and recording.

Recorded over four weeks during October and November 1965, following the band’s record-breaking concert to more than 55,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York, Rubber Soul captured The Beatles at a creative crossroads. Featuring classics including “Drive My Car”, “Norwegian Wood” (This Bird Has Flown), “Nowhere Man”, “Michelle”, “Girl and “In My Life“, the album saw The Beatles experiment with new instruments, sounds and recording techniques, and is widely regarded as having pioneered the long-form pop album as an art form.

Widely heralded as one of the greatest albums of all time and a milestone in the evolution of the pop album, “Rubber Soul” reflects the start of a period when, unburdened by concert, radio or film commitments, The Beatles’ music, ideas and unbridled creative ambitions began to truly flourish.

All of the new “Rubber Soul” formats feature the album’s new stereo mix, sourced directly from the original four-track master tapes. The audio is brought to the fore in stunning clarity with the help of cutting-edge de-mixing technology developed by the award-winning sound team led by Emile de la Rey at Peter Jackson’s WingNut Films Productions Ltd., while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original recordings.

Elvis Costello’s 1977 debut, “My Aim Is True”, is reissued as a 5CD box set.

Elvis Costello‘s debut “My Aim Is True” returns remastered from the original 1977 analogue master tapes. Its 13 songs include “Less Than Zero” and “Alison”, both non-charting U.K. singles, “The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes“, a minor hit, and “Watching The Detectives“, his first Top 20 single.

This expansive 5CD box set gathers 104 tracks, including 52 unreleased songs, demos, outtakes and live performances. It also includes a 72-page liner essay by Elvis Costello, with unseen photographs, handwritten lyrics from his notebooks, and diary entries from 1976 during the making of My Aim Is True.

Elastica – Elastica (Deluxe Edition)

Striking their own, distinct path in March 1995, Elastica proved uniquely fresh-sounding as the London four-piece delivered on the reputation they had built up gigging around the capital beyond in the months ahead its release.

Elastica’s iconic self-titled debut “Elastica” returns via Rough Trade Records in a new edition packed with rarities and b-sides. First released in March 1995, it still sounds brilliantly sharp, capturing the energy and emotional blur of life, love and late nights with total confidence.

With “Line Up”, “Connection” and “Waking Up“, Elastica delivered songs that felt immediate then and remain timeless now. Drawing on post-punk and new wave while sounding entirely their own, Justine Frischmann, Annie Holland, Donna Matthews and Justin Welch made a debut full of swagger, cool and clarity.

Howling Bells

Originally released in 2006, ‘Howling Bells’ marked a striking debut for the Australian band Produced by Grammy Award-winning Ken Nelson (Coldplay, Gomez, The Charlatans), the album introduced their cinematic blend of darkly romantic songwriting, atmospheric guitars, and Juanita Stein’s unmistakable vocals.

Twenty years after the release of one of the most captivating albums of the 2000s, Howling Bells announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of their self-titled debut album, released via Nude Records.

Felt – CRUMBLING THE ANTISEPTIC BEAUTY: DELUXE

Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence, the 2022 edition of Felt’s first studio album from 1982 features a 6-song LP with very sparse arrangements. The album includes quietly strummed guitars and minimal floor tom, showcasing Lawrence’s ambition to release the best debut English album ever.

Initially, Adrian Borland offered his services for the album, but commitments with his band The Sound prevented this collaboration from happening. As a result, Felt began a relationship with Swell Maps producer John A. Rivers. The album was recorded and mixed in just six days, giving the band a taste of how bitter reality fares compared to the “mellow fruitfulness” of blind ambition.

Felt – THE STRANGE IDOLS PATTERN AND OTHER SHORT STORIES: DELUXE

Remastered by Kevin Metcalfe and Lawrence, the 2022 edition of the third Felt studio album from 1984 is a strong pop album with great guitar hooks and a simultaneously sad and happy feel to it.

Before the Stone Roses and after Be-Bop Deluxe and Plastic Ono Band, John Leckie worked with Felt. Booked into a metal/reggae studio in Birmingham’s industrial wasteland, he sculpted a Michelangelo slice of new rock – exquisite and beautiful guitar odysseys – quite unlike anything the city had experienced before.

Merging pop with a classical nuance, Felt stood alone as the forerunners of a brand new style. And Gary Ainge was finally allowed to use his high-hat!

Swervedriver – Raise x2 LP

Originally released in 1991, Swervedriver’s debut album ‘Raise’ became an instant cult classic, helping the band, founded by Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, to build a following that is still active today.

To mark the album’s 35th anniversary, this expanded 2LP edition arrives on colour vinyl. Disc 1 features a newly mastered version of the album, bringing fresh detail and energy to favourites including “Rave Down”, “Sandblasted” and “Son of Mustang Ford“.

Disc 2 gathers B-sides and rarities, personally compiled by the band, making this a thoughtful new edition of “Raise” for longtime fans and anyone discovering Swervedriver for the first time.

Swans

Superb recordings of Swans’ final concert of the “Big Sound” era, the apotheosis of fifteen years of cosmic sonic expressionism, alternately heavenly and debased, visceral and transcendent. Over two and half hours of music, includes a wealth of new material never recorded elsewhere and a DVD of the performance.

This live document that feels like both farewell and peak statement. Capturing the final concert of this phase, it brings together fifteen years of cosmic sonic expressionism at its most heavenly, debased, visceral and transcendent.

Across more than two and a half hours of music, this set includes a wealth of new material never recorded elsewhere, It stands proudly alongside Swans’ legendary live records, closing this chapter with love and unbridled passion. A fitting goodbye to this stellar line-up: Norman Westberg, Michael Gira, Dana Schechter, Phil Puleo, Pravdica, Larry Mullins and Kristof Hahn.

Wooden Shjips’

Wooden Shjips’ rise to prominence from the psychedelic underground to the rock and roll overground was a steady sojourn. With each consecutive release, the band has found new ways of transforming heady psychedelic rock into minimalist masterpieces.

“Back To Land” is a breakthrough record: nuanced, varied and utterly addictive. The band’s scope expanded to include more earthy, grounded tones, such as the acoustic guitar, without abandoning their modernist psych core. The nervy urgency of ‘West’ has evolved into an assured confidence, from the alliterative, interlocking guitar and organ groove of ‘Ruins’ to the languidly compelling guitar solos of ‘Servants.’ The addition of the acoustic guitar to the band’s textural palate is coupled here with some of the most melodically direct songs the band has written.

Caravan – ‘For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night’

Widely regarded as one of Caravan’s finest records, ‘For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night’ captures the Canterbury legends at a creative peak. Released in 1973, the album blends sophisticated progressive rock, jazz-inflected arrangements, and Caravan’s trademark melodic charm, delivering a collection that remains a cornerstone of the Canterbury Scene

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

-12 Bar Bruise Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP – Opaque black

-Eyes Like The Sky Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP – Crystal clear

-Float Along – Fill Your Lungs Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP – Translucent black

-Infest The Rats’ Nest Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP – Opaque black

-Oddments Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP – Translucent green

-Willoughby’s Beach Injection Molded PET EcoSonic LP –

Peter Gabriel returns with “o\i,” the follow-up and companion to his acclaimed 2023 album “i/o.” 
Recorded at Real World Studios, o\i features extraordinary musicians, two distinct mixes (‘bright side’ and ‘dark side’) and artwork from leading artists.
 
Featuring contributions from Brian Eno, Tony Levin, David Rhodes, Josh Shpack and Paolo Fresu, and orchestral arrangement from John Metcalfe and PG

Following a year in which Peter Gabriel has released a new song on every full moon, November 27th sees the release of his new studio album, “o\i,” the follow up to his critically acclaimed album of 2023,” i/o”, a number 1 in the UK album chart.

Peter Gabriel returns with a brand-new collection of songs after a mere three years – his shortest gap between studio albums since the early 1980s. “ o\i ” is a companion piece to its reflected name-sake ” i/o “ expanding on many of the same themes: our relationship with nature, the passing of time, the increasing influence of technology in our lives and our place in the world; “Trying to get a handle on where you fit in life, that’s what I write about a lot,” he says.

The 13 tracks of o\i showcase the breadth of Gabriel’s song-writing palette, lyrically always insightful and imaginative, able to explore big themes with emotional conviction whilst retaining a peerless ability to speak to us, the listener, directly, personally, intimately. Songs that pull the heart strings, and reflect our hopes and fears sit alongside those full of optimism, love and joy, where the groove is king, and keeping still an impossibility.

All songs come in two stereo mixes: the Bright-Side mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent, and the Dark-Side mix by Tchad Blake in all cases apart from Who Are We Talking To? which has been mixed by Mike Elizondo. Both versions are included on the 4CD package, and are also available separately as double vinyl albums. The digital only Dolby Atmos In-Side mix is again shaped by Hans-Martin Buff, who won Best Immersive Mix engineer at the Grammy’s for his work i/o.

“The songs are a mix of thoughts and feelings,” Gabriel says. “I have been thinking about the future and how we might respond to it. We are sliding into a period of transition like no other, most likely triggered in three waves; AI, quantum computing and the brain computer interface. Artists have a role to look into the mists and, when they catch sight of something, to hold up a mirror.
“We are not, and have never been, the exclusively self-determining, independent beings that we imagine we are. We have had a sense of entitlement that everything exists for our benefit – that we’ve been given the run of the world to exploit as we see fit.

We are something else, a part of nature, a part of everything and when we feel that connection, shake our booty and give and receive a little love, it can help us find our proper place – and put a big smile on our faces. “This is how I see the lumpy bits –” i/o:” the inside has a new way out and “o\i:” the outside has a new way in.”

“o\i” was written and produced by Peter Gabriel and recorded primarily at Real World Studios and Peter’s home studio. The album, like most Gabriel records, contains both songs that have been written since the last album and some that have taken years, decades, to complete. “Sometimes things take time,” he adds, “most people do stuff a lot faster – but I have no problem with understanding my own process. Some things will mature and evolve spontaneously and some will just stay hidden-away in a box until their moment in the light appears.”

Long standing band members, guitarist David Rhodes, bassist Tony Levin and drummer Manu Katche feature on many of the songs, supplemented by other members of the i/o touring band Richard Evans, Josh Shpak and Don E and Real World staffers Faye Dolle and Katie May. The New Blood Orchestra, led by John Metcalfe are also heard, as are the Soweto Gospel Choir and Swedish all-male choir Oprhei Drängar. Other notable contributions come in the shape of Mike Elizondo (who co-produced A Hard Lesson), Brian Eno, guitarists Leo Nocentelli and Tony Berg, drummer and percussionist Abe Rounds, pianist Tom Cawley, trumpeter Paolo Fresu, cellist Linnea Olsson and multi-instrumentalist Evan Smith. Once again Peter’s daughter Melanie provides vocal support.

As will have been seen across the monthly full moon releases, Peter has once again invited a range of visual artists to contribute a piece of art to accompany the music that encompass a full range of artistic approaches, from painting, sculpture, installation, embroidery and weaving to co-authoring with spiders. The wonderful artists included are: Janaina Mello Landini, Tomás Saraceno, Judy Chicago, Tatsuo Miyajima, Shirin Neshat, Juan Genoves, Roelof Louw, David Altmejd, Fracis Alÿs, Tadashi Kawamata, Berndnaut Smilde, Tishan Hsu and Michal Rovner.

The cover shot is by renowned photographer Nadav Kander.

Piece by piece, one by one, the monthly full moon releases come together with the release of the album “o\i,” and, with two albums in three years, there’s no doubt that this collective body of work proves Gabriel is having a late career creative high.

Available as a 4CD in hardcover book with booklet and separate double black LP and limited double colour LP editions of the Bright Side and Dark Side mixes.

November 27th release.