The Fat Angel Sings

This London group perfect their uneasy blend of heartbreak, humor, and haze on their captivating third album, Asha Lorenz says the title of her band Sorry’s third album was inspired by meeting documentary filmmaker (and Massive Attack collaborator) Adam Curtis, who told them his next project was about cosplay — and how he felt the whole world is just cosplaying everything. It struck a chord with Lorenz, who felt the new songs Sorry had been working on were all like trying on different outfits.

Of course, the different styles Sorry try on are all filtered through the band’s distinctive sound — bummed out, dark, a sludgy melting point of indie rock and dance music — which end up sounding only like themselves. They quote Burt Bacharach’s “Save a Little Prayer” and Toni Basil’s “Mickey,” sample Guided by Voices’ “Hot Freaks,” and dabble in loungey exotica and downtempo electronics. “Some big cultural references feel so far away from what they used to mean that they’re almost like inanimate objects that are part of the furniture,” Lorenz said.

“Cosplay” feels like Lorenz and band cofounder Louis O’Bryen searching for meaning, identity, and connection in an increasingly fractured world. It’s a lonely album, one where even love feels fleeting. “I think we’re losing now / I think we’re fucking it up / But it felt so good / When we were drifting in the dark,” Lorenz sings on “Echoes,” her voice cracking into falsetto on the words “losing” and “fucking.” Its chorus — “Echo, echo, echo, echo I love you” — clings desperately to something that’s slipping away. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful, and arguably Sorry’s single finest moment to date.

“Echoes” sets a high standard, but the rest of “Cosplay” Sorry’s best record yet, by a mile — nearly matches it. The album most recalls Maxinquaye-era Tricky: sultry and sinister, evoking urban wastelands and post-industrial ruins, with a deep romantic streak. (It doesn’t sound like Tricky, but very similar vibes.) “Jetplane” rides manic, nervous energy with skittering beats and skronky sax bleats darting through the mix, while “Waxwing” turns Toni Basil’s cheerleader anthem inside out, coating it in glossy grime, dark synths, and a searing solo that drains all the pep from the source (in the best way).

Sorry have become masters of dynamics, shifting from delicate balladry to squalling rock epics within the span of a song (“Antelope”) and crafting eerie, music-hall sing-alongs with twisted undercurrents. They also know when to keep things smoldering, like on “Life In This Body,” a black-cloud duet between Asha and Louis that ties back to the album’s theme: “Everybody changes / I have loved every version of you.” “Cosplay” is a captivating record that pushes Sorry into the big leagues.

January marks the 20th anniversary of Cat Power’s critical and commercial breakthrough, “The Greatest”. To celebrate, Chan Marshall aka Cat Power will release the “Redux” EP, featuring three tracks recorded with her touring band, Dirty Delta Blues, comprising Judah Bauer (The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion), Gregg Foreman (The Delta 72, Jesse Malin), Erik Paparozzi (Lizard Music) and Jim White (Dirty Three, The Hard Quartet).

Listen to their cover of James Brown’s “Try Me” . The track was among those first recorded by Marshall during the original sessions that produced The Greatest, but never completed. The EP also includes newly recorded versions of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” (dedicated to the late Memphis Rhythm Band guitarist Teenie Hodges, who played on “The Greatest“) and and Cat Power’s own “Could We”.

It will be released digitally and on 10” vinyl via Domino on January 23.

Next year will see Cat Power perform “The Greatest” in its entirety with a series of 20th anniversary live shows beginning in North America in February and reaching the UK in November. 

The Style Council’s 1984 album “Café Bleu”, is to be reissued as a 6CD special edition featuring unheard material, including early demos, alternate takes, and unreleased songs.

The band’s debut (the band being Paul Weller and Mick Talbot) showcased a new sound for Weller, a cosmopolitan blend of jazz, soul, and was released a year after their first single (‘Speak Like A Child’) and a few other non-album singles that were issued in the US (and a few other territories) as a mini-album “Introducing The Style Council”. When The Style Council’s debut album “Café Bleu” was released in 1984, Weller and wing-man Mick Talbot unveiled a cosmopolitan blend of jazz, soul, and pop that felt effortlessly sophisticated and daringly fresh. “Café Bleu” was more than a debut—it was a statement of intent, redefining what British pop could sound like in a new decade.

Since then, fans have been waiting for a deep dive into the Style Council vaults eager to hear any unreleased material. And now the wait is over.

“The Café Bleu Special Edition” is a treasure trove for Style Council devotees and music lovers alike – an immersive journey into one of the most inventive eras of Paul Weller’s career. This lavish release unveils a wealth of previously unheard material, including early demos, alternate takes, and unreleased songs that showcase the band’s restless drive for experimentation and evolution. Adding even more depth, the set features an extraordinary collection of BBC session and live recordings, capturing the band in full creative flight. Completing the package are superb new sleeve notes from broadcaster and longtime Café Bleu champion Gary Crowley, offering fresh insight into this timeless classic’s enduring legacy.

The demos disc includes an early demo of ‘Long Hot Summer’ (from August 1982), ‘Boy Hairdresser’ (written for Respond artist Tracie Young) and extended version of ‘The Paris Match’ (running to 6:31) and early variant ‘“’Summertime Song’. There’s also some instrumentals from Mick Talbot including a jazzier version of ‘Party Chambers’ and ‘Mick’s Demo’.

Also Live recordings include performances from BBC Sight & Sound In Concert at Chippenham’s Gold Diggers and London’s Dominion Theatre.

The 6CD special edition includes a book with new sleeve notes from Gary Crowley. The 3LP vinyl edition offers the expanded “Introducing…” album on LP 1 (less tracks than on the CD version), the album proper on LP 2 and then a third LP that combines more tracks from the expanded “Introducing…” with some of the demos.

CD1 – Extended edition of Introducing… The Style Council.
CD2 – Café Bleu full album. As well as the two hit singles “My Ever Changing Moods” and “You’re The Best Thing”, stand-out tracks on the original Café Bleu include “Headstart for Happiness” and “The Paris Match” which features Tracey Thorn on vocals.
CD3 – All related singles, B-sides, remixes, and demos from that era.
CD4 – Unreleased demos, Outtakes & Alternate Versions, including:
• An early demo of “Long Hot Summer” (Aug 1982) showing its evolution from “Le Départ” offering a fascinating insight into its evolving musical journey.
• “Boy Hairdresser” (written for Respond artist Tracie Young).
• Extended 6:31 version of “The Paris Match” and early variant “Summertime Song.”
• Unreleased instrumental gems from Mick Talbot including a jazzier “Party Chambers” and “Mick’s Demo.”
CD5 & CD6 – BBC Sessions & Live Performances made available for release for the first time, including:
• Live recordings from Cheltenham’s Gold Diggers and London’s Dominion Theatre.
• BBC Radio One sessions (1983) for David Jensen and Saturday Live, featuring standout versions of “Headstart for Happiness,” “The Paris Match,” “Long Hot Summer,” and “My Ever Changing Moods.”

“Café Bleu” will be reissued on 30th January 2026, via UMR / Polydor.  

 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s 1967 album ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ is expanded, explored, remastered and remixed for new 4CD+blu-ray and 5LP+blu-ray box sets. Additionally the boxes include 40 alternative versions, unreleased studio takes, demos, live tracks and television appearances, 28 of which are previously unreleased. These are spread over two CDs or three vinyl LPs.

Finally, Kramer and engineer Chandler Harrod recently created a brand new immersive Dolby Atmos mixes of the entire 13 song album, which features on the blu-ray that comes with both versions of the “Axis Bold As Love” box set. Produced by Janie Hendrix, original Experience recording engineer Eddie Kramer, and John McDermott, “Bold As Love” includes stereo and mono mixes of “Axis: Bold As Love”, remastered from the original mixes created by Hendrix, Chas Chandler and Eddie Kramer. Kramer and engineer Chandler Harrod have also created a Dolby Atmos mix of the album.

Released barely six months after the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s May 1967 debut “Are You Experienced”, the band’s second album, “Axis: Bold as Love”, showcased more sophisticated song writing and musical performances on tracks such as “Little Wing” and “Castles Made of Sand.”

“As everybody suspects, following up a great first album, it’s always difficult to make a second one,” ZZ Top legend Billy F. Gibbons says. “And yet, I got to say, “Axis: Bold as Love” coming down the line, treated the fans and friends and followers to some of the best stuff that Jimi did throughout [his] career.”

The trove of previously unreleased tracks includes alternate takes recorded at London’s Olympic and Regent Studios, as well as performances from Top Of The Pops and Dee Time, Dutch TV programme Hoepla, and eight songs from a September 1967 concert in Stockholm.

The cover art incorporates a drawing done by Jimi when he was five years old. “I thought it was perfect for this project,” says Janie Hendrix. “It’s a colourful dragon that depicts exactly what the song ‘Bold As Love’ is talking about – the empowerment of each colour of the rainbow. I don’t believe there could be a better reflection of the message in the song.”

On November 7th, Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings will release the 5-LP/4-CD + Blu-ray boxset containing The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s landmark 1967 album “Axis: Bold As Love” in stereo, mono and Atmos formats, along with 40 bonus studio and live tracks, 28 of which are previously unreleased.

Listen to one of those previously unreleased tracks, “Stone Free / Up From The Skies (Demo)”

The Jimi Hendrix ‘Bold As Love’ box set offers a premium collector experience in a 4CD + Blu-ray package. Each set features 27 previously unreleased recordings from 1967, including demos and alternate takes, as well as television and radio performances. This deluxe edition includes the stereo and mono mixes for the ‘Axis: Bold As Love’ album, all newly remastered by Bernie Grundman from the original flat master tapes. Both stereo and mono mixes are included in high-resolution 24bit/96kHz audio, as well as a newly created, immersive Dolby Atmos mix by Eddie Kramer and Chandler Harrod. A 36-page booklet rounds out the offering, filled with rare photos, detailed liner notes, and track-by-track insights. This release is ideal for Hendrix fans looking for a definitive archival edition of one of Hendrix’s most iconic albums.

“Axis: Bold As Love” will be released on 7th November 2025 via Sony’s Legacy Recordings division.

One of the most ambitious albums in rock history, Yes’ “Tales from Topographic Oceans” arrives February 6th from Rhino Records YES’ epic 1973 double album, “Tales From Topographic Oceans“, is receiving a massive Super Deluxe Edition. 

The massive collection spans 12 CDs, 2 LPs, and a Blu-ray and features a newly remastered version of the original double album on both CD and vinyl; rarities; previously unreleased studio and live recordings; and several new mixes by Steven Wilson, including a Dolby Atmos version. 

Rhino.com will have an exclusive bundle of “Tales From Topographic Oceans (Super Deluxe Edition)” with a 12×12 Tales litho numbered and signed by Roger Dean, limited to 500.

“Tales” was the group’s sixth studio album. With creative juices flowing, the progressive rock band had made a significant breakthrough with their three previous albums in a little more than 18 months: 1971’s “The Yes Album” and “Fragile“, and 1972’s “Close To the Edge”, which saw them significantly expand the concept of traditional song lengths. Though they still had just a sole Top 40 single, “Roundabout,” YES were achieving significant airplay on the free-form FM stations with their longer tracks. As their fan base continued to grow, Atlantic released a 3-LP live set, “Yessongs”, in May 1973. “Tales” arrived just seven months later. To preview the set, the single edit for “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance Of The Dawn)” is out now

The origins behind “Tales from Topographic Oceans” trace back to a footnote in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi, which inspired Jon Anderson to imagine a four-part musical journey through ancient Hindu scriptures. That concept took shape across four side-long compositions: “The Revealing Science Of God (Dance of the Dawn),” “The Remembering (High the Memory),” “The Ancient (Giants Under the Sun),” and “Ritual (Nous Sommes Du Soleil).”

To capture the album’s structural and spiritual ambition, Anderson (vocals), Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), and Alan White (drums) worked with longtime producer Eddy Offord at London’s Morgan Studios, using Britain’s first 24-track console. originally Released December 7th, 1973, “Tales from Topographic Oceans“ topped the U.K. album chart and reached #6 in the U.S., where it earned a Gold certification.

The new Super Deluxe Edition reveals deeper dimensions of the project with previously unreleased in-progress versions of all four album tracks, providing rare insight into the creation of Yes’ most audacious work. 

The set’s live material was recorded early in the tour for “Tales” and includes previously unreleased performances of all four album tracks, along with earlier favourites “And You And I” and “Close To The Edge.” The shows include Zürich (April 21, 1974), Manchester (November 28, 1973), and Cardiff (December 1, 1973). 

When the album came out, it took time for some fans and critics to catch up with the band, as writer Syd Schwartz of Jazz & Coffee recalls in the set’s liner notes. “Consensus was never the point,” he says. “Tales from Topographic Oceans” will continue to be debated, dismissed, defended, and rediscovered. Its resistance to easy categorization is not a failure—it’s the reason it endures. It’s a vast, unknowable ocean of sound and spirit. And it still hasn’t finished revealing itself.” Schwartz also notes the album would be a turning point for the future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame® inductees and GRAMMY® winners: “Without “Tales”, there’s no “Relayer”. No pivot to leaner, sharper structures in the later ’70s. No map gets drawn without first pushing the edges of the known world — and “Tales” is where Yes did exactly that.”

12CD/2LP/BLU-RAY BOXED SET INCLUDES NEWLY REMASTERED 1973 ALBUM PLUS UNRELEASED STUDIO AND LIVE RECORDINGS. STEVEN WILSON PROVIDES NEW MIXES, INCLUDING DOLBY ATMOS

Primavera Sound has dropped its 2026 line-up, arriving earlier than ever in the festival’s history. Headliners span generations and genres: The Cure return after releasing “Songs of a Lost World” in 2024, Doja Cat and The xx join the bill, and Damon Albarn brings Gorillaz back with a new album, “The Mountain”. Massive Attack will make their long-awaited festival debut, while My Bloody Valentine, Addison Rae, Mac DeMarco, PinkPantheress, Peggy Gou, Skrillex, Little Simz, Big Thief, Slowdive, Wet Leg, Father John Misty, Blood Orange, Alex G, Dijon, and Ethel Cain are among the many other names revealed. In total, 150 acts have been confirmed.

Primavera’s reputation for eclectic curation holds true this year: expect everything from Einstürzende Neubauten and Knocked Loose to Lambrini Girls, Men I Trust, Overmono, Joan La Barbara, and Brìghde Chaimbeul. Rising artists including Lola Young, Kneecap, rusowsky, and PinkPantheress sit alongside cult favourites like Rilo Kiley and Texas Is the Reason, making for a line-up that stretches across eras and styles.

Australian quartet The Belair Lip Bombs call their music “yearn-core,” mixing indie rock with elements of country and power pop. If you like Waxahatchee, Wednesday, or — for readers of this column — Billy Nomates, I feel confident you’ll like the band’s sophomore album.

Their label (Jack White’s Third Man Records) the Australian band mix country melodies and vocals with post-punk and power-pop touches on their fantastic first album for Jack White’s Third Man Records. Your new favourite band perhaps?

“Again” opens with “Again and Again,” a jubilant ripper that’s got its hooks in you before singer/guitarist Maisie Everett even starts to sing. When she does, though, your ears prick up — she’s got a soaring, expressive voice that lifts everything a few feet higher. The rest of the record keeps that energy going, with memorable song after memorable song, all loaded with melody, personality, and serious musicianship.

They’re not afraid to get ragged and loose, but they can tighten up on a dime, full of melodic shredding and riffs as catchy as the choruses. Everett ties everything together as Belair Lip Bombs glide from punky earworms that would’ve fit between Pixies and Meat Puppets on late-’80s college radio (“Another World,” “Hey You”), to twangier creations (“Don’t Let Them Tell You [It’s Fair],” “Back of My Hand”), ’70s-style pop (“Cinema”), and the bright, jangly modern sound of fellow Aussies The Beths and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (whose Joe White co-produced the album).

Best of all is “If You’ve Got the Time,” a gossamer, tightly crafted pop song delivered like a bar-band showstopper. “Again” is a joy — a great pop record, a great guitar record — and one that’ll make you want to see The Belair Lip Bombs live as soon as possible.

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Often described as the first Southern rock album, the Allman Brothers Band‘s self-titled debut album was first released on November 4th, 1969. The album features a number of the band’s most well-known songs, like “Dreams”, “It’s Not My Cross To Bear”, and “Whipping Post”. It still looms large as the defining moment that the Allman Brothers were born.

From 1965 through 1969, brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman went through a number of band lineups—both separate and together. It took four years for the siblings to travel the country and get back to the basics in Jacksonville, FL, putting together a jam session featuring all of the band’s original players: Berry Oakley, Jaimoe, Butch Trucks, and Dickey Betts. This would be the lineup for two and a half years until Duane’s untimely death in October 1971.

In August 1969, the Allman Brothers Band was just cutting its teeth in the band’s new home of Macon, GA, when record executives enticed them to make the album. With a few reworked blues numbers and some originals penned by Gregg Allman, the band made its way to Atlantic Records in New York City to record. The Allman Brothers Band was recorded in just two weeks and quickly turned around for a release a few months later.

The album initially flopped on a national level, as the band’s Southern-influenced rock sound failed to take hold, but it helped turn Macon from a sleepy town into a vibrant musical community. That’s when the Allmans knew they were onto something. “They wanted us to act ‘like a rock band’ and we just told them to f–k themselves,” remembered Trucks.

Now, we can look back at this album to see a wildly talented band in its earliest days. The Allman Brothers Band may have had a lot of drama over the years, but at the heart of it all is its undeniable mission for authentic Southern rock and roll. That’s what you hear on “The Allman Brothers Band”, musicians who take their craft seriously but also know how to let loose and rock out.

Rocket, our latest CoSign, emerged in late 2023 with a supremely confident debut EP, featuring massive hooks and a whole lot of volume. Now, after cutting their teeth on tour opening for a variety of seasoned rock bands, the Los Angeles quartet have offered their official debut album, and it’s a blast. It can be hard to classify their sound, but in my humble opinion, Rocket are a straight-up rock and roll band. They play music with a visceral amount of energy and a restless, communal sonic language.

When they go for the outright rippers, like “One Million,” they sound enormous — but it’s the dreamier cuts, like “Another Second Chance,” that demonstrate their dynamism and willingness to muddy up the waters. As far as debut albums go, very few are as confident and sticky as “R Is for Rocket”.

Ian Shelton has been going through it. The Militarie Gun frontman has written honestly about his vices and mental struggles before, but as the album artwork and title for “God Save the Gun” suggests, this new album was really his “come to Jesus” moment. Now, that’s not to say it’s about belief in organized religion or even the transcendental power of a spiritual community — instead, Shelton tracks his experience getting sober and the way it’s changed his outlook on life, cramming hook-filled power pop cuts with full-throated meditations on aging, fucking up, and rising above. It’s certainly the band at their most mature, though the excellent, haywire lead single “B A D I D E A” suggests that they’re still happy to turn up the volume and get a little reckless.

Miltarie Gun are gearing up for the release of their anticipated new album “God Save the Gun” and they’ve just shared its third single, “Throw Me Away.” It’s a catchy, anthemic, ’90s-style alt-rock song that Ian Shelton says is “about the feeling of only being valued when you’re visible or useful and the desperate need to hold onto that. What someone loves about you one day might be cited as a reason they hate you now. It’s the desire for external validation and also the deep resentment of it.”

Militarie Gun have lots of tour dates coming up, including a tiny Brooklyn show at Alphaville next week That show is one day before they play Chicago’s Riot Fest, and that will be followed by one leg of tour dates with Death Lens and Milly and then another with Liquid Mike and Public Opinion.

“God Save the Gun” drops 17th October via Loma Vista,