Back catalogue: All genres

Review: The Specials revolutionised the British music scene in 1979 with their unique fusion of English punk and Jamaican ska. Their superb album Dawning of a New Era brings together their iconic 1978 demos, which were recorded when they were still called The Automatics, with Silverton Hutchinson on drums and before Neville Staples joined. The fine collection features raw, early versions of fan favourites like 'Night Klub,' 'Too Much Too Young,' 'Stupid Marriage,' 'Concrete Jungle,' and 'Blank Expression.' These rougher, edgier tracks reveal the band's reggae influences from the late 60s and early 70s and even mow still make for a thrilling listen from one of the UK's most vital outfits.

Review: Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, The Crowd arrived in the early 80s as part of the "trash punk" movement, somewhat segregated from the burgeoning hardcore realm that was slowly becoming the most followed path forward for the punk scene. Sporting dayglo beachwear and influencing their own type of proto moshing (or "slam dancing"), their momentum sadly didn't equate to instantaneous success for their 1981 debut full-length 'A World Apart', which can best be described as chaotic surf-punk akin to a scrappier Agent Orange. Dissolving shortly after before reforming towards the end of the decade for their sophomore follow up Big Fish Stories, the band would become an on again, off again labour of love from there on out whilst the members toiled away in a myriad of other groups, yet time and ears syncing up in later decades as always, this debut LP has since been reappraised for its unique and pioneering form of sunny aggro and the vast number of acts it surely inspired, who ironically eclipsed the band during a time where they needed some sunrays the most.