Back catalogue: All genres

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


With 2022's God's Country, Oklahoma City sludge metal/noise rock manglers Chat Pile took the underground music scene by the throat and dragged it through the twisted drug addled, decrepit, destitute annals of modern middle America. Returning two years on from their major glow up that saw them land on numerous end of year list that usually wouldn't touch their brand of hubris sonics with a ten foot pole, their sophomore endeavour Cool World trades the initial narrow view of the woes of their home country for the rotting globe at large, taking religion, politicians and narcissistic everyday people to task for their ignorance, malice and docile attitudes which are leading to a culmination of no more cool world for any of us. Expanding their sonic scope to draw on more melodious grunge and sultry goth-rock, while tapping outside production help this time around to make their heaving industrial-tinged noise-sludge bombast even more stomach churning, LP2 makes bad on all of Chat Pile's initial, unsettling promise, with a nauseating feeling that they'll be narrating our end times for as long as there are ears to listen.

Review: After recording sessions for their legendary fifth LP Combat Rock would come to a close at the end of 1981, punk heroes The Clash embarked on a six-week jaunt across Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand (where they shot the iconic cover for their forthcoming record) and Hong Kong. Hitting the city of Kowloon on 25th February only a few months out from record release, this was an era when Hong Kong was still a colony of the British Empire (the last existing dependency of any significance at this time) and enjoyed less government interference in personal freedom, yet there had never been an act as bold as The Clash over to visit. With a setlist that reads today more like a greatest hits including the signature opener 'London Calling' along with bangers galore from 'The Guns Of Brixton' to 'I Fought The Law', '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' and 'Jimmy Jazz', with the band even treating the crowd to an early earful of Combat Rock lead single 'Know Your Rights' more than two months before official release (a time when no one had smart phones to film and throw up on YouTube or include on Setlist.fm as "New Song"), this performance and tour would also be one of the final to feature drummer Topper Headon, who would be fired due to his heroin addiction just a few months down the line, marking the end of the original line-up.

Review: Following the end of recording sessions for what would become their iconic fifth full-length Combat Rock in December 1981, punk legends The Clash would embark on a six-week tour of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand (where they would shoot the cover for the upcoming album) and Hong Kong. Captured in Kowloon on the 25th February three months before record release, and during a time where the city enjoyed less stringent government oversight, there had still never been an act as rambunctious and declarative as The Clash to hold court. Delivering a set that now reads like a greatest hits from the obligatory opener of 'London Calling' to bangers such as 'Tommy Gun', 'The Guns Of Brixton', 'I Fought The Law' and 'Jimmy Jazz', while even unveiling Combat Rock lead single 'Know Your Rights' two months before studio release, the performance and subsequent tour is also noteworthy for being one of the last with the original line-up, as drummer Topper Headon would be fired due to his heroin addiction only a couple of months later.

Review: Finishing up recording sessions for what would become their classic fifth full-length LP Combat Rock in December of 1981, The Clash began 1982 with a six-week jaunt across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand (where they would shoot the iconic cover for their forthcoming album) and Japan, marking their first time hitting most of these countries. Taking the stage at the Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo on the 1st February, Joe Strummer and co would rip through a setlist that reads today more like a greatest hits collection including the signature opener 'London Calling' along with an array of quintessential bangers such as '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais', 'This Is Radio Clash', 'Tommy Gun' and 'Jimmy Jazz', while the band would be joined by bassist Paul Simonon's wife Pearl Harbor (aka Pearl E. Gates) of new wave outfit Pearl Harbor & The Explosions for a rendition of the Wanda Jackson popularised 'Fujiyama Mama'. This tour and subsequent performance is also noteworthy for being one of the last to feature drummer Topper Headon, who would be removed from the band shortly after due to his heroin addiction, ultimately bringing an end to the original line-up.