Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Since first emerging in 2011 via the globally renowned Bella Union stable, Swedish indie rock duo I Break Horses have certainly set out their stall. The pair, better known as Maria Linden and Fredrik Balck, have - among other things - hit the road to support both M83 and Sigur Ros in the years between then and now. Indicative of their incredibly textured and subtly all-consuming approach to soundscapes, while this release comprises two remixes it still feels every bit a Horses outing.

There's just so much timbre to get to grips with. 'Death Engine' belongs in a twisted math rock dream, as grungy and rough as it is epic and emotional, if you look beneath the immediate discordance and distortion. Mythologen's take on 'Turn' is a cleaner second act, taking the pace down a notch and removing chaos, leaving only calm and serene harmonies of real beauty behind.

Review: Ahead of their European tour, Turkish electronic group Islandman share their EP 'Popsicle Obstacle', the new material on which tracks a heady musical pathway from archaic folk traditions and regional acoustics right through to the modern-day tonic-sonics of the electronic sequencer. Having made headway from the spiritualist dream of primitive past to the glossy utopia of a digital future, Islandman's core members are multi-instrumentalist & producer Tolga Boyuk, Eralp Guven (percussion) and Erdem Baser (guitars). The title is a misnomer, if not for the fact that the six tracks here are hardly obstacles at all; rather, they're hugely well-produced, flavoursome treats, chief among which has to be the incredible track 'Simple Man', which - take it from us - just gets cooler and cooler, timbrally and tastefully.

Review: Incomparable post-punk Bristolians IDLES return with their highly anticipated fifth "love album" Tangks, following on from the internal viciousness and midlife malaise of 2021's Crawler, with a collection of rough-throated, anthemic bursts of earnest gratitude. Re-uniting with exceptional hip-hop desk-man Kenny Beats, this time sharing production credits with Nigel Godrich (who's worked with the likes of Radiohead and REM) as well as the group's own eccentric former dentist-turned-crossdressing or perpetually half-naked guitarist Mark Bowen, the work exudes a creative camaraderie and sonic confidence only achieved over time through hard graft. Take one earful of disco-punk lead single 'Dancer', which features both James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem on backing vocals, and the post-punk-positivity balance the band are striving towards on LP5 should begin to take shape. As gravel-voiced vocalist Joe Talbot summarises their latest endeavour - "Love is the fing".

Review: If the greatest bands evolve over the course of their career, IDLES are clearly on the right track. While the Bristol-band rose to prominence via a raw, noisy and aggressive sound that sat somewhere between post-punk and alt-rock, Tangk - their fifth album and first for three years - represents a genuine (and deliberate) tearing up of their previous trademark sound. Inspired specifically by a desire to "make people dance and make people feel", it feels like a successful attempt to move into the punk-funk/rock-rave territory previously defined by LCD Soundsystem. It's fitting then that James Murphy and company feature on standout (and recent single) 'Dancer'. The nods to the glory years of DFA Records continue throughout, with further highlights including the moody, low-slung brilliance of 'Grace' and the righteous heaviness of 'Gift Horse'.

Review: It's barely been 12 months since the release of Bristol five piece Idles' debut full length, and the band's swift follow up effort is a righteous affair, doing away with any stigma attached to difficult second albums. The heavy post-punkers take another step forward in having the world realise their full potential straight off the bat with album opener "Colossos" that epicly, post apocalypticly, rattles and hums in swathes of drone and rock menace. Cue a quick change up in direction and we're met with what sounds like a lairy Kasabian smashing up the pub. Beer, sweat and tears. Let's 'ave it.

Review: Following on from 2021's exceptional, introspective fourth full-length Crawler, everyone's favourite pissed off Bristolians make their much hyped return on their fifth LP Tangks. Billed as their "love album", the project re-enlists the skills of hip-hop producer Kenny Beats (who's maintained a creative foothold within the band since 2020's raw and seething Ultra Mono), yet expands the production credits to share the desk with Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, REM) as well as guitarist Mark Bowen, marking the first time the crossdressing/well suited/three quarters-naked axeman has taken a behind the boards role. Distilling their most aggressive and accessible indulgences into one sonic wave of gratitude, IDLES appear re-focused and honed in to a task they've undertaken with sincere, shit-eating grins, and if you don't believe us, give the disco-punk banger 'Dancer' a seemingly harmless spin. Boasting nostalgic backing vocals from James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, who tiptoe around the throated swagger of frontman extraordinaire Joe Talbot, the collective mantra of "Love is the fing" becomes ever so clear. Get on board, give Tangks, get hype.

Review: Bristolian post-punk extraordinaires IDLES make their triumphant return with a grand declaration on their "love album" Tangks. Where 2021's immense Crawler saw the gravel-voiced Joe Talbot pull back from socio-political issues in favour of a more introspective lyrical approach which examined fatherhood, drug addiction and the life-altering impact his mother's passing would have, this time around the band seek to show their massive gratitude to their family, friends, fans and the world at large that has granted them such an opportunity to pursue their passion on their own terms. While continuing their ever-expanding creative partnership with hip-hop producer Kenny Beats (who received some credits on Ultra Mono before being tapped to solely handle desk duties on Crawler), a more open and collaborative ethos has welcomed in Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, REM) as well as their own dentist/crossdresser/half-naked guitar guru Mark Bowen to help anchor a sonic undertaking that looks to run a victory lap around every audible guise IDLES have adorned thus far. From James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem providing banging backing vocals to disco-punk lead single 'Dancer' to the jittering, muted minimalism of 'Grace', in which Talbot bellows the project's rallying cry - "Love is the fing", on album 5 the band look to finally distil their jagged, rough, endearing and motivational brand of post-punk-positivity in such a manner for all to cherish and embrace.

Review: Billed as a "love album", the fifth full-length from IDLES offers an entirely fresh batch of soulful buzzsaw anthems, aiming to take a further look inward following on from the apolitical, primarily introspective musings that permeated 2021's criminally underrated Crawler. Working with renowned hip-hop producer Kenny Beats yet again, who shares co-production credits with Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis, REM) and the band's very own guitar wizard Mark Bowen, the collective have distilled the vital aspects of their sonic makeup, whilst eschewing any rethreads of topical malaise they've previously exorcised to its maximum potential. One spin of the grooving dance-punk lead single 'Dancer', complete with backing vocals from James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem, should be enough to illustrate the power of positivity brimming from these sessions, with frontman Joe Talbot's simple succinct summary of the record going as such - "Love is the fing".

Review: RECOMMENDED
The fact Imagine Dragons tangibly slowed things down in the past year or two has nothing to do with the deadly virus that single-handedly stopped life as we all knew it. The outfit had done four albums in six years, records arriving between non-stop touring schedules and each giving birth to a series of big hit singles. It's a story of runaway success, but those almost always lead to burnout.

With this in mind, Mercury: Act 1 is the band refocused, re-energised and musically reformed. Enlisting the services of super producer Rick Rubin, a guy known for switching things up in terms of an artist or band's style, he certainly lives up to those expectations here. Yes, it remains staunchly pop driven by tribal, fist pounding drums and choruses that should be sung in rainstorms, with elements of heavy rock and hip hop thrown in for good measure. But it's also their best to date thanks to the variety and ideas at work.

Review: Did you, like us, have a rebellious nu-metal phase in your teenage years? If so then you will likely have been a big fan of US rockers Incubus, who had a wide range across several great albums - from star gazing and introspective works like Wish You Were Here to the more punk-funk rawness of Fungus Amongus. This was the band's debut album in 1995 and fuses alt-rock, rap metal, funk rock and rapcore with plenty of thrashing guitars and hard-ass drums as well as Brandon Body's snarling and growling vocals. It is one of funk mental's most celebrated albums and remains a firm favourite to this day.

Review: Indeep's 'Last Night A D.J. Saved My Life' is one of the most recognisable disco tunes of its generation, but also the title of the group's 1983 album. The New York outfit never had a tune as big as that one again but when something is such a fine mix of boogie, funk and soul as that and loved by everyone universally, does that even matter? The rest of the album which is now being reissued is packed with plenty of other more than useful dancefloor cuts with big hooks, buoyant drums and colourful synth work.

Review: Recorded over the course of a single week during summer 2022, hauled up in a house on the stunning and serene shores of Lake Lugano, Passarella is an exercise in less as more. Spanning post punk, synth and dark wave, synth pop and more, the arrangements here aren't really minimalist, but share in a particular kind of functionality. Everything is in its right place, and there is absolutely nothing more. As such the aesthetics, and textures, are distinct in their rawness. There's more in common between Infesta's latest offering and the prototypes of these genres that were crawling out from the depths of cities such as Dusseldorf between the late-1970s and 80s than the vast majority of things produced today. Which isn't to write this off as pastiche or pure nostalgia, but to celebrate a pervading air of sonic adventure.

Review: Inhaler have been a long time coming. Causing significant groundswell after emerging from a Dublin scene re-energised some time ago across all walks of music, they placed fifth on BBC's Sound of 2020 poll, only to contend with a pandemic that tore out the industry's heart, replacing it with record streams for Tracks We Used To Love and dashing the dreams of many young contenders. Not these, apparently.

The expectations go much further back than that, though. They began life around 2012, and frontman Elijah Hewson's dad is Bono. Say what you will about him, if anything tips someone for future fame it's that paternal figure. Now onto their second album, none of that comes close to being as important as what you hear on the record. Channeling more jangle but with extra thump, influences from Joy Division and Stone Roses to The Killers and The War On Drugs are audible, making this easy to love and guaranteed to leave a mark long after play.

Review: Produced with the help of Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev producer Dave Fridmann, Interpol's iconic sound returns, a whopping 16 years after their acclaimed debut, Turn on the Bright Lights, and four years since their last: El Pintor. Guitars still twang and sparkle with spine tingling reverberation and the melancholy of Paul Banks vocals remains everlasting. There are grungier elements where rock and electronics take over from the emotional response of the bands sound, as heard in "Number 10", and while the dazzling impact of songs like "Obstacle 1" may be something else, there's no denying this groups heartmelthing longevity.

Review: Interpol's seventh album sees the long-standing NYC indie rock giants teaming up with the legendary production team of Flood and Alan Moulder for a trip into sadness, darkness and introspection. For devoted fans of the band, those themes should ring true and spell out another record to be cherished for those downcast days. Daniel Kessler's serpentine guitar work cuts an imposing, but ultimately graceful figure on 'Into The Night', while Samuel Fograino's propulsive drumming continues to explore meters beyond linear motorik drive and Paul Bank once more speaks from the deepest reaches of his soul.

Review: Not to be confused with the rather divisive 2011 album, Original Sin, on which a host of guest artists - Rob Thomas, Ben Harper, Mylene Gamer, Pat Monahan among others - take on the difficult task of stepping in for Michael Hutchence, joining the surviving members of INXS, Original Sinners is the real deal of the band at a time when they couldn't have been riding higher or been filled with more promise.

Recorded in 1984, this was the year when things really started happening for the Aussie alt-rock new wavers, scoring their first homeland number one ('Original Sin' - hence the title of this and the aforementioned outing), setting things up nicely for more than half a decade that would see them hit international superstardom with successive chart topping albums and singles. Packed with a synth-laden, emotionally charged and stadium filling sound, this is a snapshot of what everyone saw in them back then.

Review: Released in 1982, Shabooh Shoobah was the third studio album by one of the most promising bands emerging from Australia at the time, INXS. Hitting number five in their homeland's ARIA albums chart, it would still feature in that countdown 94 weeks later, and became the group's first international release, going on to find success in the UK, US, and a number of other territories. It almost didn't happen, mind, with the LP born out of a self-funded single, 'The One Thing', which INXS recorded at Paradise Studios with celebrated Aussie producer Mark Opitz. The track was so well received it spurred on a full length release, which became Shabooh Shoobah. This special edition offering is made up of rare B-sides, remixes and live performances from that period, proving - as if there were a need to - just how vital the outfit were during that time.

Review: It is now five years since Nabihah Iqbal got widespread critical acclaim for her debut album Weighing Of The Heart, and finally, she is back with another. This one, Dreamer, was two years in the making and finds the London-born artist, curator, broadcaster and lecturer offering up her most reflective and raw work to date. This versatile talent has done everything from composing music for the Turner Prize to being involved in a performance as part of a major Basquiat retrospective. Here she reflects on pandemic experiences having let the ideas develop in her head before she even turned on her machines.

Review: Light Verse is the seventh studio album by the American singer and songwriter Iron & Wine. The album was announced on February seventh 2024, simultaneously with the release of the lead single 'You Never Know' which showcases Sam Ervin Beam's great songwriting and arrangement skill, with his blend of folk and pop music has been compared to greats like Simon & Garfunkel, Nick Drake and Neil Young. Sam has been loyal to the Sub Pop label since first being signed there over 20 years ago. This (Loser Edition) comes on transparent yellow vinyl and will hit stores in late April.

Review: Having just recently made his major acting role debut in Martin Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon, what an opportune time to reissue the debut solo album from former Drive By Truckers lead guitarist Jason Isbell. Originally released in 2007, Sirens Of The Ditch awarded the songwriter a chance to put his own voice front and centre, with a bluesy concoction of neofolk/alt-country meets indie-pop. Working with former bandmates as well as the iconic Spooner Oldham, in an effort to capture a balance between primitive folk aesthetics and modern pop sensibilities, Isbell managed to craft a startling debut that weaves its deft narratives around saccharine compositions, while charting out an immensely successful solo career with even his latest, exceptional ninth full-length Weathervanes landing earlier this year.

Review: American country rock singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and his backing band The 400 Unit present Weathervanes, the latest fruit of their labour and a reflection on recent years of pandemic, lockdown and social unrest. Meditating on how the pandemic blurred the artists' personal and political worlds - often, they're thought to be separate - songs like 'The High Road', 'Death Wish' and 'Only Children' are twanging ruminations on romance, goodbyes and being (at least somewhat) unable to help those in need when they're struggling the most. "What's the difference between a breakdown and a breakthrough?" We agree.

Review: There's something uniquely Japanese and slightly off-kilter about the pop-making prowess of Eiko Ishibashi, a singer-songwriter, improvisational drummer, pianist and all-round experimentalist that counts Editions Mego and Oren Ambarchi's Black Truffle as labels she has released on. She returns to Drag City, an all time Chicago label famous for records by Pavement and Stereolab to more recently music from Ty Segall and the all-talented John Mulaney. Ishibashi's music here, however, sways from heavy industrial beats to future, funky and avant pop numbers like "Iron Veil". It's a record that will take some getting used to but there's no denying you will get used to it too; if you can keep up with its modernity that comes from way out leftfield.

Review: On Imitation of War, songwriter and guitarist Kayla Cohen advances Itasca into rockier terrain, with a suite of smoky nocturnes and uneasy idylls surveying, with refreshing urgency, mythologies and psychologies both classical and personal. Co-produced by Robbie Cody (Wand, Behavior), these ten sturdy set-pieces represent the loosest, leanest, and most smoulderingly electric, guitar-forward recordings in Cohen's deepening catalog. Cohen explains the title as the "performance of war postures" evident at every scale of human and animal life, making war itself, or at least the thing we call war, a fundamental fact of existence. But it could just as easily apply to the revelation that, with Imitation of War, Itasca has finally come to inhabit fully the staged postures toward which former records gestured. She sounds more herself, more confidently authorial than the longing protagonist of her earlier work. This self-knowing sentiment implied in the lyrics of 'El Dorado'; no imitation, formal or emotional, of former self or imagined other, remains.

Review: Ivy's 1997 album 'Apartment Life' sees a reissue via Bar/None, looking back on the distinct style of "disaffected, nuanced pop", the kind (as is indicated by the title) one might've heard in local cafes, albeit with a little bit more ironic dreaminess to it than first meets the ear. Romping, Beatles-influenced compositions in a laid back style are its dominant moods; its makers consider it their most important record, owing to the vibe of casual optimism that set in while the bandmembers were recording the project, simultaneously hopping from apartment to apartment in 90s New York.

Review: Released back in 20916, Thanya Iyer's debut album Do You Dream was a gleefully hard-to-pigeonhole affair, with the artist's sweet and evocative vocals rising above a surprisingly eclectic, and at points experimental, musical palette. Kind, her belated follow-up, distils this formula further, with the Montreal singer-songwriter variously combining her evocative vocals with elements of lo-fi jazz, experimental pop, sample-based electronica, pastoral folk, stirring harps and strings, intense jazz-rock noise, ghostly ambient and dusty, slack-tuned trip-hop. That it hangs together wonderfully and entertains throughout, despite its disparate musical directions, is testament to Iyer's growing skill as a performer and producer.