Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Originally released in 2008, Phantom On The Horizon is the grandiose, progressive rock worshipping high concept EP from Washington based math-rock indebted post-hardcore heroes The Fall Of Troy. Initially abandoned following the leak of early versions in 2004 on what has since been dubbed The Ghostship Demos EP, the band would finally get over this setback and bang out the entire project in secret over October of 2008 before dropping it the very next month. Renowned for its epic, lengthy pieces segmented into chapters like all good prog concept records, the work stands as solely unique from the majority of the trio's remaining output, bridged in the gap year between 2007's instantaneous Manipulator and the more melodic alt rock of 2009's In The Unlikely Event. Utilising an array of guest musicians adding elements of keyboards, violin, cello and glockenspiel for that extra proggy flair, while featuring guest vocal appearances from the likes of Fear Before's Dave Marion as well as both Ryann Donnelly and Jonah Bergman of Schoolyard Heroes, the mini-epic 5 tracks clock in at a 37-minute runtime detailing story of a Spanish galleon meeting with a ghost ship from another dimension. A true outlier gem conjuring a Venn Diagram intersection between early noughties sassy post-hardcore and timeless 70s indebted prog absurdity.

Review: We're pretty sure our catalogue is full of albums by The Fall which we describe in gushing terms. More fool us for using all the words before this re-issue of the band's seminal live record arrived, because it really is that good. Laid down at shows in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Memphis, to put things in no uncertain terms it bangs in the best possible way, offering the kind of unashamed gutter punk we find ourselves sorely lacking in most rock 'n' roll today.

Of course, back in 1982, when this first landed, critics were torn as to whether they wanted to demand more from Mark E. Smith, et al. And back then perhaps that was a valid point. Speaking in today's terms, though, A Part of America Therein 1981 represents a moment in time when authenticity was far more commonplace, and the impact of hearing that is nothing short of profound.

Review: By the time Shift-Work came along, The Fall had put out 13 studio albums and been going for 15 years. Apparently ready to switch things up, Mark E Smith sacked guitarist Martin Bramah and keyboardist Marcia Schofield after the Australian leg of the tour for Extricate, cutting the lineup to four, for the first time in the band's history. Then he set to work finishing a record that had been started while on the road. Few would fail to pick up on the difference between here and before. While there's still plenty of those mesmerising, experimental, punk-not-punk goth moments, Shift-Work also embraces more pop sensibilities and seems to take more time to pay respect to rock & roll, or a gritty interpretation of it. Meanwhile, tracks like 'Edinburgh Man' and 'A Lot of Wind' feel introspective than ever.

Review: Originally released in 2005, the fourth (and subsequently final) album from avant-garde metal absurdist supergroup Fantomas (made up of Faith No More vocalist extraordinaire Mike Patton, Melvin's Buzz Osborne, Slayer's Dave Lombardo, and Mr. Bungle/Tomahawk/reliable Patton bassist Trevor Dunn), furthered their "dada-metal" sonic experimentations to literal cartoon levels of bizzarro wonder. Pulling from plunderphonics to craft a 30-track audible calendar of obscure holidays throughout the month of April, the pieces warp and meander like a grindcore band playing lounge music for anime soundtracks. If that sounds ludicrous and alienating, don't worry, as that only indicates you're sane. Considered almost too challenging for even the most devout of Patton's faithful followers, can you handle the unhinged mayhem of Suspended Animation? The record also comes complete with an accompanying mini-calendar to track the hallucinogenic journey.

Review: A lot has been said about The Monroe Doctrine over the years. What's remarkable is how little of that people seem to remember, or recall in conversations. In a 2006 issue of iconic culture bible Alternative Press, the head of Revelation Records said this was in the top five albums the label had ever released. And several critics have listed it among the greatest and most under-appreciated records of the 1990s. Taking its name from a 1823 message delivered to Congress by US President James Monroe, which would evolve into an understanding that any act of meddling in American affairs by a foreign country was a potential hostile act, the record takes a similar stance. Calling on melodic punk, hardcore, indie rock, post punk and more, it's a statement of intent - don't get in the way of us doing our things, we're too powerful.

Review: Formed in 1989 in Orange County, California, the melodic punk band Farside enjoyed an influential eleven-year run before disbanding in 2000. Over their career, they released three albums, two EPs, and a split with Sense Field. Their 1994 sophomore album Rigged was released through Revelation Records and became a fan favourite across punk, hardcore, emo, and alternative rock genres. back then the band was made up of vocalist and guitarist Michael "Popeye" Vogelsang, bassist Bryan Chu and drummer Bob Beshear and this all was their first with Kevin Murphy who shared guitar, vocal and songwriting duties with Vogelsang. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Farside and the original label are issuing this special mint green eco-vinyl pressing of Rigged complete with a 16-page booklet.

Review: Originally released in 1992, Rochambeau was the debut full-length from Orange County, California hardcore punk outfit Farside, following on from their Keep My Soul Awake EP. Signed to the iconic Revelation Records throughout their tenure (who have opted to reissue all three of the band's LPs), they never seemed to find their place as their sonic makeup pulled from numerous subsets of punk, from the blatant 80's melodious post-hardcore of Descendents and Dag Nasty to the 90's alternative metal wave spearheaded by the likes of Quicksand and Helmet, yet all syncopated with a power pop ear for melody evoking Elvis Costello and The Beatles (no, seriously). With the band exclusively working with producer Jim Monroe to help thicken and intensify their sound from second LP Rigged onwards, Rochambeau is often relegated to being their most accessible and pop-punk-centric work, which is quite the backwards tradition compared to the path taken by the majority of hardcore acts.

Review: Death Is Nothing To Us has been a long time coming, and in many ways represents pinnacle moment in the Fiddlehead story. In 2010, Pat Flynn, who some knew though Have Heart, lost a father who left behind his grief-stricken mother. Faced with the profound impact death can have on those forced to pick up the pieces, and feeling incapable of helping, this emotional period directly informed Fiddlehead's 2018 debut, Springtime & The Blind. A little later, Flynn's first child came into the world, and the sadness that comes with having a kid but no father to introduce them to was distilled into 2021's follow up, Between The Richness. Now, two years on, Death Is Nothing To Us rounds off the fatalistic trilogy, a rousing journey from bleak depression to strength, which touches on ideas from sleeping off trauma to leaning on friends. The result is every bit the right way to conclude this odyssey - leaving us under no illusions as to how difficult life can be, but how important it is to acknowledge when it's there, all delivered through equally vital hardcore anthems.

Review: With their high tempo combination of ska, metal, punk, funk, reggae and soul, many elements of Fishbone can be compared to other bands, but the group themselves have always sounded quite inimitable. Consistently invoking good times, they garnered a truly cult following, drawn by their diverse influences (and membership), pithy wit and razor sharp social commentary. A Los Angeles troupe held very close to many hearts, Fishbone, a five track EP, defines all that hyperbole. It's energetic, engaging, fun, but unarguably accomplished lyrically and musically. Featuring 'All We Have Is Now', their first single featuring longstanding member Chris Dowd since 1994 (he was with the band from formation in 1979 then went on hiatus), here's more than enough proof they're still as irresistible as ever.

Review: The combination of hardcore and pop-punk tropes that led to the term "easycore", has arguably had no greater example of its anthemic potential than on the seminal third full-length from Boston's Four Year Strong. 'Enemy Of The World' highlighted how comfortably hefty breakdowns could rest side by side with mega catchy hooks, imbued with earnest, emotive and motivating lyricism. From the stadium ready, 'On A Saturday (Tonight We Feel Alive)', to the chugging fan favourite, 'It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now' (titled as such in response to a shady review of friendly rivals Set Your Goals' sophomore effort), the project has gone on to not only be regarded as the band's finest work, but also a definitive genre staple in the decade since its initial release. A long overdue reissue, and essential purchase for the sub-genre aficionados.

Review: Canadian post-hardcore art-punk collective, Fucked Up, have been releasing projects at a ludicrously prolific rate ever since their 2001 inception, yet even by their own standards, they've gone majorly overboard in the past few years. Following on from 2021's epic Year Of The Horse EP and the 2022 follow up Oberon EP; named after the king of fairies from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2023 saw the release of their sixth full-length One Day (with all member's individual parts recorded under a strict 24-hour time limit) while 2024 birthed two sequels in the form of Another Day and Someday (both recorded with the same mantra). Their eighth album overall, with a promise to take a much-deserved hiatus following release, from the opening squall of 'City Boy', the band's reliable concoction of proggy, art-rock inspired chaotic hardcore is unleashed with allusions to Greek tragedy and even a chorus-like back and forth between the vocals and lyrics, conjuring the type of poetic, epic, theatrical spectacle not traditionally standard for the punk scene. In Fucked Up terms however, it makes perfect sense.

Review: Originally released in 2001, The Argument would serve as the sixth and final full-length from Washington D.C. post-hardcore visionaries Fugazi (led by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Guy Picciotto of Rites Of Spring). Released in tandem with their Furniture EP, the project continued the band's further experimentation and internal dissection of a subgenre and style they were creating, curating and bastardising in real time. Making extensive use of cello and piano, while weaving in more unhinged spoken word diatribes, the project falls in line with the latter-day art punk of Red Medicine and End Hits, while providing a bookended finale of incomparable intensity, equally disgusted and concerned with the war-torn world at large and man's constant inability to find better means of facilitating change. Often cited as not only the band's best work but a monolithic cornerstone of the scene at large, this repress naturally lands courtesy of MacKaye's own Dischord Records and arrives on artwork complimenting blue marbled vinyl.