Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Happenstance can be a fortuitous element. A union-funded single discovered in a dusty store, a long disbanded band found, leads to unreleased post punk dubs in a box of unreleased demos.

Formed during the mid-80s in the downbeat town of Walsall, their music is a blend of disparate influences from 50's crooners, blues and reggae to Killing Joke and The Bunnymen; Ron's Neighbours were out of step with the perfect pop of the C86 indie generation.

Their only single - "To The Fight" - a split 7" was supported by the Trade Union Resource Centre, while many gigs were benefits for striking miners, leading to a loyal local following.

Engineered by Ozzy Osbourne's brother Tony, tracks were recorded at an 8 track bedroom / home studio, while a terraced house served as rehearsal space. Here Ron Next Door was born. When a tape recorder was left running it captured the long-suffering neighbour for posterity. His outburst gave the band and song, its name.

Experimenting with drum machines, the resultant jam track, here in its "Alternative Mix", languished unheard until now. Ron's 'Black Country' tones lead to driving bass / percussion against crashing Stratocasters and repeating, refrained vox - a post punk dub turned symphony.

The B side, Sitting On Top of the World, is an indie anthem, becoming their theme, a blend of grandiose and banal that characterised their songs.

Review: Based out of Brooklyn, New York, The Still Brothers is a group made up of two childhood friends, Andrew LeCoche of Ula Ruth and Evan Heinze from The Shacks. They started their musical adventure way back in the 6th grade. In the decade since they have managed to record and tour with their own respective groups, as well as work on their own distinctive brand of indie together. Here they tap up Sloshy for a feature on a new 7" that comes via Lewis. 'It's Not Over' is a dreamy cut lush vocal harmonies and lo-fi drums making for a beautifully melancholic sound. 'Crazy' has slightly more primate drum breaks and the Shoshy is just as smooth.

Review: The latest short form offering from Scottish alternative indie rockers Teenage Fan Club will do nothing to dissuade fans the Glaswegians remain at the cutting edge of their sound. After a four year hiatus, they've returned to hit us with catchy, upbeat, sweet and jangly aural sugar that masks the rather melancholic lyrical content. 'Home' bounds along with summer seemingly pouring from every guitar chord, while Bellshill's finest sing of dejection, frustration and longing.

Then we are told 'Everything's Falling Apart' through harmonious vocal delivery on the B-side: an understatement of epic proportions given the current global situation, it's indicative of the band's well-established modus. Packing suggestion and inference beneath easily-accessible instrumentation is a sure fire way to make as many people as possible stop for a long, hard think.

Review: Riding SCORCHING hot on the heels of their recent self-titled debut, fans could be forgiven for expecting more of the same from Champyun Clouds' second long player of
2021. A hodgepodge of cutting-room-floor-fodder and experiments that would've been b-sides or Japan-exclusive CD bonus tracks in those halcyon days of physical formats' golden ages is not what we're getting. Let's save those for a deluxe anniversary reissue
one day. Nah - sheer, unabashed creativity fuels this album; and weirdly enough, they've managed to branch out in interesting ways while also creating an album that is more immediate and banger-centric. Although Nail's eclectic psych-lounge tendencies and
Asa's irreverent poetry and broad Nottingham lilt remain the key touchstones of CC's sound, opener "Check For Silt"s rough drum'n'bass beats offer an immediate and clear sonic progression for the Nottingham duo. The LP ultimately plays a bit like a haunted
jukebox in outer space - with elements of dub, britpop, early house, trippy, blissed-out sunshine pop (reminiscent of mid-90s His Name Is Alive at their most Beach Boys-aping), William Orbit-esque 90s psych-pop electronica, distorted glam rock shuffles and
garage-y funk. There's a particularly great moment of sequencing at the end of the first half where I got lulled into a state of near-euphoria with the Air-like "The Flowered Crown" before getting slapped 'round the face by "I'm Not Right For You", which sounds
like Nile Rogers producing a demo for Sheila & B. Devotion, except he recorded it at the bottom of a well. Sophomore slump? Never heard of him, mate.

Review: Given that all four members of Piroshka have serious musical heritage stretching back to the late '80s and early '90s (famously the line-up boasts former members of Lush, Elastica, Moose and Modern English), it's perhaps unsurprising that their trademark sound taps into these roots. Love Drops & Gathers, their sophomore set, evolves this collective style further, adding notable nods towards shoegaze and shimmering electronica amongst the rugged Britpop grooves and classic indie-rock song structures. The result is a warm, drowsy and more musically adventurous affair that still puts hummable melodies and sing-along choruses at the heart of the action.

Review: As the title suggests, this excellent collection gathers together tracks from three live sessions the Sisters of Mercy recorded at the BBC's Maida Vale studios between 1982 and '84, during the formative years of their lengthy career. The first session, recorded for John Peel in August 1982, contains a quartet of early live favourites, including their popular cover of the Stooges' '1969', while the second - a session for David 'Kid' Jenson' - boasts versions of tracks from the classic goth-rock EP The Reptile House (as well as a surprise Dolly Parton cover). Best of all though are the tracks from their 1984b Peel Session, which were laid to tape around the same time as the Leeds outfit was recording its debut album.