Review: It sometimes only takes one great song to gatecrash your way to prominence and Australian modern punk greats The Chats managed that with the opening cut here, 'Smoko', which is an ode to the joys of the fag break: "Leave me alone / I'm on Smoko". This reissue is of their second EP that was released by Sunshine Coast label Bargain Bin records. With the first pressing going for big money, it's a welcome chance to get your hands on this classic. Despite 'Smoko' being the biggest song, it's loaded with bangers and a stroke of genius that they realised that a song about struggling to afford bus money would connect on such a wide level.
Review: Dr. Dre's The Chronic gave rise to such heavy-hitters as 'Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang' and 'Let Me Ride', but what about its many "reimaginings" over the years? With The Ghronic, released in 2023, West Coast rappers 38 Spesh and Conway The Machine can't be said to have laid down their own version more so than they did treat the Dre touchstone as a starting point, dropping a nine-track array of similar G-funk whistling lowrider bumps, readapted for the contemporary New Yorker, and yet with fresh lyrical themes and subject matters. Reissued two years later on green vinyl, after an initially white-sleeved run, the productions are ever clean and the flows lackadaisical. Features from Lloyd Banks, Che Noir, Benny The Butcher and Elcamino cement the bluffing rep of a brag-heavy machine duopoly.
Review: Candeleros is a six-member, Colombia- and Venezuela-rooted collective based in Madrid that fuse Cumbia, merengue, dub and an array of Afro-Caribbean rhythms, creating a psychedelic, postmodern celebration of Latin sound. Their music blends Andean echoes, cinematic textures and hypnotic percussion into what feels like a ritualistic dance experience and has seen them collaborating with artists like Dodosound and Carlos Talez. They always reject the usual genre boundaries while focusing on cultural activism and the power of collective expression and have performed across Europe. As this album shows, their sound is passionate, borderless and proof that Cumbia has truly rooted itself in Europe.
Review: John Carpenter's knack for cinematic storytelling without the screen takes centre stage on this deluxe reissue, marking ten years since the release of the great American soundtrack artist's first Lost Themes edition. The new expanded edition, complete with artwork by Greg Ruth, offers more than just a nostalgic revisit; it adds a new 7" featuring two unreleased tracks, 'Cruisin' With Mr. Scratch' and 'Dominator', both pulled from the original sessions. When it first came out, the album stood out for its vivid, visceral style, blending horror, science fiction, and eerie synthwork into standalone pieces that could easily score unseen films.
Review: More Chaos marks American rapper and record producer Ken's fourth studio album and shows a bold evolution of the distinct style he introduced on A Great Chaos. A pure solo effort with no guest features, the record sharpens his voice both lyrically and sonically and the production is handled exclusively by a close-knit circle of trusted collaborators, all of whom he's cultivated and refined across previous projects, and who give the album a cohesive, focused energy. With More Chaos, Ken expands the emotional and sonic range of what he's done before while staying true to the intensity that first defined his work. It's a sharpened vision well worth tuning into.
Review: Cassiano's Cuban Soul - 18 Kilates was first released in 1976 and is a landmark of Brazilian soul for the way it blends the groove of American r&b with native rhythms in a way few artists have matched. Long coveted by collectors, the album has achieved cult status and now returns remastered from the original tapes on 180g vinyl so it is sure to fly off the shelves. Cassiano's velvety vocals glide over lush, cinematic arrangements throughout and in doing so, evoke the grandeur of contemporaries like Tim Maia. From start to finish, this album is packed with depth, warmth and effortless cool, which makes it an essential listen for anyone who likes soul, samba and vintage Brazilian brilliance.
Review: Causa Sui's In Flux is the dynamic follow-up to last year's From The Source, reflecting a more spontaneous, experimental face of the band. Where in its predecessor we heard a hermetic 45-minute LP, In Flux embraces a looser, freer structure, charting fuz-off riffs through to a Hot Rats-style jazz fusion, in the end finding notes of oceanic post-rock building on influences from Talk Talk to Can. On 'Spree', the band eschew guitars entirely, going full Death in a wild doomsynth embrace. The 16-minute 'Astral Shores', meanwhile, stands as the album's centrepiece, mesmerising us listeners through heavy folk psych shearwaters. Causa Sui continue to operate in the manner of unmoved movers, unstoppable as they come.
Review: Chilean-born, Bristol-based Shanti Celeste has always brought a unique colour and emotion to her often bass-heavy sounds. She's a party-starting DJ, too, but delves into whole new realms with her wonderful sophomore full-length. Romance sees her exploring themes of love and friendship through shimmering pop textures and emotionally resonant songwriting. Her vocals take centre stage for the first time and lead single 'Thinking About You' is a heartfelt tribute to a late friend with a glowing groove and airy falsetto. Crafted between Bristol and London, the album features collaborations with Batu and harpist Miriam Adefris, whose delicate touch enhances its celestial tone and following last summer's acclaimed 'Ice Cream Dream Boy,' Romance is a luminous return and smart evolution.
Review: It's no wonder there's a nu-gaze movement bubbling up at the moment and showing no sign of dying down - the quality of the godfathers of the genre is just staggering. And you can count Chapterhouse as a key component of the transcendental and viscerally thrilling first wave of shoegaze. This collection features four songs that the Reading-based band recorded in January 1989 - including one that has never been released before. The track in question, 'See That Girl', is as good as any of the more direct songs that bands in their scene released in the 90s. It's their equivalent of Ride's 'Vapour Trail' and strong enough in and of itself to warrant getting the whole EP.
Review: NRG 4 is the latest instalment in drummer and producer Chiminyo's boundary-pushing series and it captures the raw improvisational spirit of London's jazz-adjacent underground.The album is a communal outpouring of pure energy that was recorded live at the iconic Ronnie Scott's with no rules, no scripts, just spontaneous creativity and featuring a powerhouse ensemble including James Akers, Marysia Osu, Daniel Casimir, Lyle Barton and Tile Gichigi-Lipere. The set moves between frenzied burners like 'Levitate' and serene pieces like 'Sonder.' With surprise guests like BAELY and Regis Molina, NRG 4 is a genre-defying celebration of live collaboration and musical intuition that's electric, ephemeral and deeply alive.
Review: Emanuele Cisi's Rushin' celebrates jazz in its purest form. It was recorded in just one inspired April weekend with Cisi leading a stellar quartet of Dado Moroni on piano, Nicolas Thys on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. The full emotional range of the genre is on show here with swing, blues and spiritual depth rising up through the tracks which range from reimagined standards to soulful originals like 'Pharoah's Message'. Throughout, the album honours jazz greats such as Coltrane and Lee Morgan with Cesare Mecca guesting on trumpet and it all adds up to heartfelt performances rich in discovery and style.
Review: Counting Crows' sequent 2021's Butter Miracle: Suite One with The Complete Sweets! Now expanding on the themes of its predecessor, the record hears all four tracks from Suite One alongside five new songs, blending this heartsick Berkeley, CA band's signature storytelling with sweeping melodies and raw emotion. Leading the charge is 'Spaceman In Tulsa', a striking single that not only marks their first new music in nearly five years, but appropriately concerns itself with the theme of metamorphosis - "the way music breaks down who we were and spins us into something new. It's about broken lives becoming something better," in the words of frontman Adam Duritz. The record coincides with a fresh tour kicking off in Nashville in Spring 2025, with stops across North America and Europe.
Review: Seven strong San Francisco rock band Counting Crows have always walked a fine line between intimate storytelling and grandiose soundscapes. This time - taking the four tracks from their Butter Suite pt 1 Ep and adding five more new tracks - they sound like a band utterly in control of their own narrative. Adam Duritz's lyrics reflect a certain self-assurance as they weave through themes of reinvention and regret. Musically, the band brings a tighter, more focused intensity, merging rock, folk and even hints of alt-country with the ease of a band at their peak. 'Spaceman In Tulsa' takes its time, unfolding languidly, savouring every detail before pushing forward. And in moments like 'Boxcars,' it's clear this is the most cohesive they've sounded in years, with every instrument serving the story rather than competing for attention. They've done the work, and now, it's all paying off.
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