Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Following on from their widely acclaimed album Afraid To Leave, Berlin's beautiful maudlin post-punk outfit Bleib Modern presents a compilation of remixes and reworks by esteemed artists from across darkwave, post-punk, and EBM. From IV Horsemen's club-worthy rendition of 'Bitter Smile' to M!R!M's dreamy synthpop take on 'Into The Night' via Dune Messiah's crooning 'Loony Voices, 2 Afraid 2 Leave: Remixed Reimaged Reloaded Part 2 offers truly diverse interpretations. With contributions from luminaries like The KVB and Blind Delon, it provides a fresh perspective on Bleib Modern's sound and serves as an exciting interlude that showcases the band's versatility and paves the way for future creations

Review: Alongside fellow Belgians Front 242, The Neon Judgement are widely regarded as pioneers of electronic body music (EBM), a synthesised slice of underground noise that incorporates elements of electro and industrial to often disorienting and intense effects. Led by Dirk Timmermans and Frank Vloeberghs, the pair combined synth pop and post punk with more abrasive tones, unusually, for EBM, bringing guitar work to the fore. Marking 40th years of the Play It Again Sam (PIAS) imprint, a veritable institution in its own right that has itself influenced many bands and scenes, some of TNJ's most triumphant efforts and attempts at pushing the boundaries of genre and style forward are collected here. A selection of tracks that showcases exactly what they were about very well indeed, and why their legacy is so significant, albeit subtle.

Review: The remastered reissues of New Order classics continues with this 1984 gem 'Thieves Like Us' (the title is taken from the Robert Altman movie). It originally landed, of course, on Factory and like all that label's releases, comes with a Peter Saville designed cover, based on a painting by Giorgio de Chirico. It's the band's seventh single and the remastering job has been done from the original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios. The title track is a typically forlorn affair to start, but it erupts into a more joyous and life-affirming sing along. 'Lonesome Tonight' is as low key and wallowsome as the name suggests.

Review: If you had an asset as potent and praised as 'Blue Monday', you'd want to see where else you could take it, wouldn't you? After New Order released their singles collection Substance 1987, they served up 'Blue Monday 88' with some subtle refinements overseen by none other than Quincy Jones. It's just the right approach, adding some spice to the rhythm section but keeping the brilliance of the song intact. Meanwhile 'Beach Buggy' on the flip sees Michael Johnson going in on the instrumental flip side version for those who need maximum club reaction. Both tracks absolutely shine thanks to a tidy remastering treatment, so if you don't already own it, now's the chance to put that right.

Review: You might think that you could cop a copy of New Order's seminal hit 'Blue Monday' fairly easily and cheaply given its ubiquity over the years. But no, copies in good condition still fetch around 50 quid, so this remastered reissue is well worth a cop. The single's iconic bassline and twitchy synth modulations very much soundtrack a generation, if not an entire youth revolution, but still enliven any dance floor many years later. What's more, the de-humanised vocals will always provide real singalong joy. On the flip is a 'The Beach', which is drenched in echo and reverb and general sonic filth.

Review: Although the single that followed it, 'Blue Monday', remains New Order's most significant and influential club cut, 'Confusion' is every bit as impactful. It was recorded with Arthur Baker and John Robie, and mixed by John 'Jellybean' Benitez, and saw the Manchester band turn their hand to the then brand-new sound of New York electro. As this re-mastered reissue proves, the track still sounds superb, offering a unique mix of the band's usual hazy, post Joy Division guitars, evocative Bernard Summer vocals and ultra-tough beats from Baker and Robie. As it did first time around, the full-length mix (A1) comes backed by two dub-style club revisions ('Confusion (Instrumental)' and the sparse, effects-laden B-boy classic 'Confused Beats'), as well as the demo version (the 'Rough Mix').

Review: Warner Music's ongoing New Order remastering and reissue project continues apace with 'Murder', featuring a quite opposite pair of singles form the cult Manchester band. Again both have been remastered from original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios. 'Murder' was released in 1984, but was recorded in winter, two years earlier, for the Power, Corruption & Lies album. It captures the darkness and unrest of the times with hellish vocal screams and huge, pounding military drums all building to a thunderous peak with a nagging lead guitar eventually making its way out of the mire like a beacon of hope. 'Thieves Like Us' (instrumental) is a more archetypal New Order track with those happy-sad guitar licks and resigned drums.

Review: As part of the Low Life 'Definitive Edition' release campaign, New Order reissue the 12" singles from and around the album, first released in May 1985. 'Shellshock' the perfect name for the thousand-yard-stare of satiation we experience on relistening to this glitzy and glamorous electro tune, packed with 16th note rimshots, not a buzzing master bus that few synthpop acts could rival back then. The B-side 'Shellcock' snips the hidden jockstrap on, meanwhile, on an instrumental dub of the tune, much in the fashion of what Depeche Mode were doing contemporaneously.

Review: You know a band has iconic status when not only their LPs but all their singles get a fresh repress. If there's one group who warrant such indulgence, it's New Order, and amidst the many classics being spruced up for a new audience here is the evergreen The Perfect Kiss, originally released in 1985 and interestingly the first New Order single to have also been included on an album, Low-life. As well as the title track, there are some essential B-sides in the form of 'The Kiss Of Death' and 'Perfect Pit', but really it's about the special extended version of 'The Perfect Kiss' - a shining emblem of everything great about the 12" single.

Review: As part of the Low-Life 'Definitive Edition' release campaign, New Order reissue the 12" singles from the album, first released in May 1985 at the height of their controversial exploitation by Factory Records. 'Sub-Culture' is one of its lead singles: originally released on white label (infamously, graphic designer Peter Saville allegedly deemed the song unworthy of his talents), this functional synthpop banger reeks with and oozes of FM-farty glitz, and lyrically concerns a nocturnal protagonist, disaffected with the modern, measured day-night cycle. The B 'Dub-vulture' pulls a similar instrumental trick with a varied melody.

Review: Alongside the reissue of their eternally adored Substance 1987 compilation, New Order are bringing back this 12" edition of their equally seminal 'True Faith'. It's one of the tracks the group are most readily associated with, capturing the essence of the band around bombastic pop hooks, the spikiness of new wave and Bernard Sumner's sharp distillation of the prevailing British mood. It's a golden slice of pop history which sounds better than ever thanks to a new remaster, and the same goes for the excellent B side '1963'.

Review: When New Order released 'True Faith' in 1987, they broke the mould as the first band to present multiple different editions of their single right at the point of arrival. As well as the widely adored original version of the track, there was a club-ready version mixed by the mighty Shep Pettibone, a true king of New York's scene who knew exactly how to get the best out of the track for the dancefloor. As singles compilation Substance 1987 gets a high-end reissue, so too does this late 80s club monster sounding brighter and bolder than ever thanks to a tidy remaster treatment, with the 'True Dub' version on the B side for those who really want to lock in.

Review: NewDad continue to offer the kind of jangly, low-slung, affected alternative rock & roll people don't seem to make (and we don't seem to hear) enough of anymore. At once laidback, raw, melancholic but euphoric, wry and yet heartfelt, on Waves the Irish West Coasters seem to invoke the gusty breeze of their homeland, powerful energy of a basement gig, and the reflective, expansive reality of the wilds.
Already having made friends in the right places, it seems unthinkable that the Galway hopefuls will not continue their ascension through the ranks of what might be coined nu-shoegaze with this. Even if we want to cut our fingers off for even considering using that term. Regardless, it's reverb soaked, highly emotive and achingly cool stuff that is bound to hit home.

Review: If you're never been to Galway, Ireland, we implore you to head for Skyscanner airport immediately after ordering this latest EP from one of the city's most promising new(ish) outfits. Once you arrive it will quickly become apparent that, in so far as guitars go, the place is brimming with great artists and outfits, not to mention incredible ideas, with an abundance of incredible places to see those creatives at their best.

Suffice to say, labelling NewDad among the finest in G-Town, to use the colloquial, could never be a spurious statement given their peers. Combining, at various points, elements of Goat Girl, The Cure, and Slowdive, while comparing easily to none of the above, they paint vivid pieces with gradually emerging powerhouse tracks disguised as intimate meditations on highly emotional formative experiences.

Review: For the first time since their Four Against Fate album, Nightingales have recorded new music. 'Ten Bob Each Way' / 'Use Your Loaf' is a limited 7" single. The A-side is a beguiling bit of lo-fi post-punk energy, and the b-side features Stewart Lee and Nick Pynn serving up a cover that was originally intended for a Nightingales tribute album. This release kick starts what is said to be a lengthy campaign of reissues by Robert Lloyd's band The Nightingales after they've been returned to the spotlight thanks to the Stewart Lee-written film King Rocker. It told the fascinating tale of the unique band over a four decade career and was recently shown on Sky Arts.

Review: Golden Lion Sounds is the label attached to the legendary pub in Todmorden that has hosted everyone from Andrew Weatherall and ALFOS to synth wizard Richard Norris. It is he who is behind this latest 7" alongside Rude Audio. 'This Song's For You' (feat Findlay Brown) is fusion of indie, cold wave and synth with dreamy vocals drifting over typically lush chords and silky drums from Norris. It's a perfect soundtrack to a lazy afternoon in the sun. On the flip, Rude Audio's 'The Grinning' has a more psychedelic sound with loopy synth arps spiraling up to the stars and back again in colourful fashion.

Review: Cardiff-based troubadour Ali Lacey, AKA Novo Amor, began this musical project in the wake of a breakup, but things quickly became about much more than redemption and recovery. Not completely dissimilar in style to one of indie-folk's most famous heartbroken men, Bon Iver, both chaps share a penchant for falsetto vocal delivery, gentile but complex acoustic guitars, and rural America, with Lacey having spent a summer in upstate New York, memories of which were directly translated into his debut LP, Birthplace.

Four years on and he's still clearly finding inspiration in both the subtle beauty and tragedy of existence, offering four tracks here best - perhaps only - described as quietly powerful. From delicate emotions worthy of Sufjan Stevens running through 'Weather', to the gradually building, stop-you-dead 'From Gold', this is a name you won't forget after the first encounter.

Review: British label Fire return with more retro antics. Virginias Wings perform a cover version of Suzanne Menzel's lost pop classic "It Starts Again" with Jane Weaver on vocals. Noveller Aka Brooklyn based Sarah Lipstate performs a rendition of John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Malmo based dream pop trio Death and Vanilla re-imagine Bert Janschs "Moonshine" on this first edition of the new Lost Library series: conceived by the label boss James Nicholls and designer Luke Drozd. Featuring new tracks from their acclaimed female fronted roster.

Review: 1995 saw the unlikely pairing of David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails playing together in a live setting, as part of the latter's 'Self Destruct Touring Cycle' - this arm being the Dissonance tour. Bowie was celebrating his then-latest album 'Outside', while NIN were still reeling from the roaring fallout success of 'The Downward Spiral'. This new 180-gram LP version consists of a picture disc with fitting spiky red lettering, straddling the typographic connotations of both Ziggy Stardust and Trent Rezor. The recordings themselves are remastered and greatly-enhanced versions of the original KLLT-FM and Syndicated radio broadcasts, documenting two live appearances at the Riverport (MO) and Shoreline (CA) Amphitheatres. Be sure not to skimp on timeless restylings of 'Hallo Spaceboy' and 'Hurt', each artist lending strange charisma to each other's masterworks.

Review: Originally released in 2005, 'The Weight Is A Gift' is the sound of band becoming more comfortable in its own skin - already thirteen years into their career and having originally made their mark as makers of grunge-tinged angst, this was where frontman Matthew Caws' songwriting took on a notably reflective and mature aspect, rendering this band as less the stuff of tantrums and rage than more bittersweet and restrained work one might expect from the like of Paul Westerberg or Evan Dando, were they still making records worth listening to. An unshowy charm offensive from one of the US' most rewarding and understated bands.

Review: On Strange Disciple, Brooklyn-based cold synth pop trio Nation of Language explore their relationship with a very distinct set of emotions: hopeless devotion, temptation, guilt. Like a religious zealot gone rogue - perhaps an image evoked by the cloaked figure on its front cover - the album seems to sonically bastardise its various new wave, post-punk and shoegaze influences, all while channelling the increased energy that has slowly found its way into the music. It mirrors the band's picking-up-of-the-pace as their fanbase has grown and touring schedule has filled up over the years.

Review: Seven albums in, The National have solidified their songwriting with confident nuance, and 'Sleep Well Beast' is another milestone on this consistent band's upward curve. Standout ballad 'Carin at the Liquor Store' waltzes and wanders through melancholic nostalgia and glimmers of hope, exemplifying the sound and storytelling that The National are so renowned and respected for. Small cracks in the concrete gloom appear with the more energetic and optimistic tracks, allowing just enough light in for this masterfully executed album to encourage repeat listens, which will in turn, and as always, provide ample rewards.

Review: The First Two Pages of Frankenstein is an impressive ninth studio album from The National. It's an 11 song collection that marks something of a new chapter in the band's ever evolving discography as it is steeped in evocative melodies and dense, absorbing lyrical narratives. The American indie legends sound as creatively free as ever on this record and that is sure to both keep ling time fans onside as well as win new admirers. The album was produced in update New York and features some top level guests in Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens.

Review: Laugh Track is The National's most freewheeling, all-hands-on-deck album in years. If Frankenstein represented a rebuilding of trust between group members after 20+ years together, the vibrant, exploratory Laugh Track is both the product of that faith and a new statement of intent. Revelling in the license to radically upend its creative process, The National honed most of this material in live performances on tour this year and captured those invigorated versions in impromptu sessions at producer Tucker Martine's Portland studio, Flora Recording & Playback. The nearly eight-minute album closer 'Smoke Detector' was recorded in June during a Vancouver soundcheck, completing a body of work bristling with spontaneity and vintage rock energy that makes a perfect complement to the songs found on its more introspective predecessor.

Review: Ohio five-piece The National present their latest, most affecting statement to date, Laugh Track. The 12-song LP is a follow-up companion to, and features material originally started in, the same sessions as First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, also released by 4AD back in April. While the parent album was a brooding genesis of post-COVID anxiety channelled into indie rock, this child is a higher-res re-rendering of the same headspace, lending the National clarity in hindsight. Like its predecessor, it features from the same ilk of collaborators - Phoebe Bridgers, Rosanne Cash, Bon Iver - and is an infectiously pristine indie-pop-rocker, dedicated to "bailing out of your head".

Review: American indie rock band the National rach their ninth studio album with First Two Pages of Frankenstein. It makes the start of a new chapter for the hugely popular outfit as they anchor their sounds in evocative melodies and lyrical narratives that are complex and enthralling throughout. The band produced the record at Long Pond Studios in New York with some high-level guests including Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens. It comes after busy touring years, two back-to-back albums and a period of creative block but suggests that was very much gotten over as it brings plenty of invention and originality.

Review: One of many names in the pantheons of Tokyo's electronic music triumphs, despite their acclaim, reverence among boffins, and the sprinkling of high profile UK remixers that helped spread their output further (copies of reworkings by The Black Dog, Autechre and Global Communication fetch a fair song on the resale market) most will never have heard about Nav Katze. Their loss, and one we'd like to put right if possible.

Formed in 1984 as a trio - Naoko Iimura (guitar), Miwako Yamaguchi (vocals and bass), and Shino Furutachi (drums) - the band would put out two well received record on SWITCH before migrating to the far more prominent label Victor Music Industries for 1991's Kanki, at which point three became two with Furutachi stepping down. This package showcases not only why their original material was so sought after, with trance notes, IDM and ambient and pop meeting in beautiful soundscapes - but also what can happen when new parties get involved, with remixes from Aphex Twin, Sun Electric and Disjecta included.

Review: Named after an episode of The Goons and following in the wake of fellow Strourbridge bands The Wonderstuff and Pop Will Eat Itself, Ned's Atomic Dustbin were as famous for their 'one side shaved' haircut as their music, although their two bass player line up gave them a unique sound of sorts. 'Are You Normal?' was the second of their three studio albums, and catches the band breaking away from their trademark 'grebo' grooving to exoeirment with electronics and sampling.

Review: This troupe, fronted by the honeyed tones of vocalist and former child actor Jessie Rutherford, have their set their stall out with a sound that could scarcely sound more like their homeland of California - expansive, carefree and slick as always. 'Wiped Out' takes their R&B-tinged indie-pop sound, to a beachside destination where the sun-kissed retro-pop of Phoenix melds with both quasi-surf ambience and the midnight R&B of Frank Ocean to result in an atmosphere for daydreaming and nightlife alike. 'Wiped Out' may win no awards for earthiness or grit, yet these winter months seem an ideal time for such easygoing escapism.

Review: This double LP release of Marcello Michelotti's Italian New Wave live performances of the groups 1980 double single 'Information of Death' and 2008 album 'Oscillator' come 3 years after their last EP. Whilst 'Information of Death' utilises analogue synths and live drum recordings to create its metallic, cold soundscape, 'Oscillator' - a live performance from the 1979 Banana Moon Club - is almost entirely those alien synths, with interspersed vocal passages. These two legendary New Wave projects are bundled together for the first time, the first vinyl press of 'Oscillator' and the first press of 'Information of Death' in 7 years. The abrasive, experimental production on tracks like 'Neon 0832' and 'Neon 1102' are revolutionary to a modern ear. To say Michelotti et al were ahead of their time is an understatement.

Review: Legendary kraut and prog rock duo NEU! aka Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger make the 50th anniversary of their self titled debut album with a special reissue all formats. This limited edition picture disc format is one for the collectors for sure. The music still sounds fresh with its mix of heady ambient and lazy grooves, driving motor kicks and psyched out sounds all making for perfectly immersive listening. Weird and wonderful and unbelievably avant garde for 1972, it remains one of the most impressive debut albums of the era.

Review: It has been 26 years since people had their first taste of New Found Glory. Emerging from Coral Springs, Florida, in the height of the pop punk second wave (Stateside at least), back then they were hailed by many as pioneers of a re-energised sound, offering rowdy, speedy, unrelenting and immediately sing-along-worthy anthems by the bucketload, referencing alternative rock and hardcore without putting off anyone eyeing them up for chart targeting marketing campaigns.

Make the Most of It certainly clarifies that praise was not simply the dew-eyed ramblings of people caught in a moment. Having created the blueprint for their sub-genre, here they strip all that away without damaging the emotional quality, offering a rousing and - it has to be said - evocative acoustic record that lays bare their lyrical and instrumental talent.

Review: In one of those unique cases where a compilation eclipses the studio albums, New Order's Substance is often considered the definitive representation of the band in their prime. It's understandable given it pulled together all their singles up to 1987, but equally they re-recorded classics like 'Confusion' and 'Temptation' so everything fitted together more naturally. As a result, Substance is a more cohesive listen than many similar offerings might be and these singles remain some of the finest to ever emerge from the UK's alternative music scene. Repressed and remastered, it's sounding better than ever.

Review: The 21st Century has been quiet thus far for New Order, with only two full albums to date, and only an out-takes compilation in the last decade. Moreover, 'Music Complete' marks their first album to date without founding bassist Peter Hook, and the return of Gillian Gilbert to the ranks. Yet from this turbulence and inertia they've somehow managed to create a collection of songs that rank as their strongest set since 'Technique' in 1989. VIbrant, upbeat and colourful, yet driven by the same mix of electronic experimentation and effortless pop suss that characterised their '80s heyday, 'Music Complete' is the sound of a timeless and unique force newly revitalised.

Review: In the midst of a slew of high-end reissues of New Order's classic material (including represses of the singles, no less), here comes a mouth-watering deluxe edition of their 1985 album Low-life. It's always a bold statement to call a release 'definitive' but it's hard to imagine topping this lavish box set with a 180 gram pressing plus a double CD, double DVD and accompanying book. There are full live performances from 1985 in Japan and Belgium, and every possible remix, outtake and demo version you could possibly dream of. And that's not even saying anything about the original album itself - a true totem of 80s synth pop in all its glory.

Review: Most of us have seen footage of New Order's celebrated performance at Alexandra Palace in 2018, a joyous and celebratory occasion that saw the Manchester legends deliver hugely entertaining performances of songs spanning the entire length of their career to date. Fans will love the rousing renditions of such classics as 'Regret', 'The Perfect Kiss' and 'Sub-Culture', while the extended takes on 'True Faith', 'Blue Monday' and 'Temptation' are every bit as engrossing and rush-inducing as the 12" studio versions of those cuts. The band's encore of a trio of Joy Division tracks is simply superb, too. With a blue-ray film of the concert plus two audio discs, Education Entertainment Recreation should be an essential addition to any New Order fan's collection.

Review: New Order's new remastered set of formats of Substance 1987 is here. The 2023 collection is here available on a double CD, among other versions including a 4xCD deluxe edition, 2xLP coloured vinyl version, and 2 cassette tapes. Also available are reissues of the 12" singles 'True Faith', 'True Faith Remix' and 'Blue Monday 88'. Originally released via the legendary Factory Records, Substance 1987 compiled all of the band's singles to that point in their 12" versions with many of their respective B-sides (on the CD and cassette versions), and specially new recorded versions of 'Temptation' and 'Confusion'. The album, of course, also included the biggest selling 12" single of all time, 'Blue Monday'.

Review: It's hard to miss the forward motion running through New Pagans' work. The Belfast group have this way of crafting sometimes jagged, sometimes rolling, but always direct and propellant riffs that cut a fine line between a kind of Neo-punk and classic indie rock. Their tracks can simultaneously sound DIY and soaring, big room but intimate, which is no mean feat at all.

Making A Circle of Our Own is a fantastic case in point - packed with energy and ideas, it hits hard. But movement runs through much more than instrumentation and arrangements. As an outfit, they're as concerned with starting conversations about some pretty big issues, for example equality and the perversion or distortion of history, alongside smaller, more personal themes. Relationships, self-identity, and belief. Quite the package, then.

Review: Most people will remember the New Radicals from their international hit single (well, certainly UK and US hit single) 'You Get What You Give' - a Waterboys-esque slice of emotionally charged indie with rousing message about how putting in is the only real means of receiving anything good. Releasing just one album - this one, from which that song was taken - diving into the full record now, 24 years on, is intriguing.

While that statement track might have convinced many otherwise, newcomers will find that Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too is actually a pretty wild ride through psychedelic-leaning poppy rock. Or rocky pop, it's hard to know which order to punt for. Fundamentally, though, this is a way more complex and fascinating outing than That Big Anthem would have you expecting, nodding to early-Aerosmith, INXS and more.

Review: First released in 1997 as his sixth and final LP project, Colin Newman's Bastard came to the innovative "post-everything" label Swim a good while after the Wire member and electronic experimentalist had already made several splashes in the mitts of the infamous Cartel, the arch-distributor and de facto trade guild giving rise to labels like 4AD and Beggars. Keeping in close knit to such sonic romanticists helped propel Newman's sound into dreamier realms over the years, and this seven-tracker functions as the pinnacle of this tendency. First coming across as a more convincing analogue to contemporaries like Lush, Newman's sound here is less polished and thus more "authentic"-seeming, basking in militant breaks and techstep entrainments and which come blent with incredible pad and amped-up guitar washes. In the in-betweeny moments, we're also met with trip-hop delights resting on the lower-ends of the spectrum; the alien middle finger on the cover says it all, a veritable "fuck you" gestured by an early subject of dance music, a genre that Newman recalls was a misunderstood, much-maligned genre at the time.

Review: The last album by Colin Newman, Bastard came almost a full decade after his establishing panhandle of albums, released across Beggars Banquet, 4AD and Crammed Discs. A driving left turn into dance music, Bastard hears Newman come into his own, not only hearing him embrace then-emergent styles like trip hop and breakbeat for the first time, but also breaking through as the first full-length effort for his very own record label, Swim, established after a parallax-shifting abandonment of conventional song formats and welcoming a new, largely minimal/ambient electronica posse; the likes of Lobe and Silo. The tracks on Bastard reflect an early embrace of dance music in a time of ambivalence towards the arch-genre as a whole, reflecting the wilful keeping-ahead-of-the-curve that Newman and his partner Milka Spigel had by then cultivated.

Review: The only album Nico gave us that didn't feature John Cale was a visionary piece of work. Not for a moment suggesting the absence of her regular collaborator improved things, but Drama of Exile certainly saw the iconic German musician, singer and songwriter move in some different and very new directions. Enlisting the help of Philippe Quilichini, a Corsican bassist, and introducing a Middle Eastern rhythm section definitely helped, but ultimately you can't help feeling this was an album she was always supposed to make. That voice, once described by the critic Richard Goldstein as sounding like "a cello getting up in the morning", was perfect for what had come before, but as the focal point of experiments in coldwave, synthwave, goth and new wave, it seems to take on new resonance and power. A thing of obscure beauty that deserves every bit of this repressing.

Review: Nico's Marble Index was the first album to establish the German musician's home in the avant-garde; the story of the fashion model turned "legitimate" artist is as old as time, yet is rarely told today. In contrast to her first album, Chelsea Girl, which consisted almost entirely of pop chansons, Nico's sophomore LP here tracks nicely with her working introduction to John Cale in his harmonium era, drawing inspiration primarily from modern European classical music, not three-minute hookcraft. Long out of print, this slow-burner of a critical classic now hears a worthy reissue via Domino.

Review: As part of a new looking back on German art rocker Nico's esteemed career by the indie label Domino, Desertshore chronologically follows The Marble Index, and is her third album, following the prior project's establishing her as an avant-garde artist with one foot in the mainstream, in stark defiance of the the prejudiced poo-poohs that followed her first (baroque pop) album, Chelsea Girl. Desertshore is more of a reconciliation of her prior two projects, bringing back the initial western pop sensibility while now firmly basking in a newfound weirdness-and-she-knows-it. From the opening dark waves of 'Janitor Of Lunacy' to the piano-balladic injection of sadness that is 'Afraid', this is another avant-garde masterpiece by the musician, never justifiably passed over.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


As part of a new looking back on German art rocker Nico's esteemed career by the indie label Domino, Desertshore chronologically follows The Marble Index, and is her third album, following the prior project's establishing her as an avant-garde artist with one foot in the mainstream, in stark defiance of the the prejudiced poo-poohs that followed her first (baroque pop) album, Chelsea Girl. Desertshore is more of a reconciliation of her prior two projects, bringing back the initial western pop sensibility while now firmly basking in a newfound weirdness-and-she-knows-it. From the opening dark waves of 'Janitor Of Lunacy' to the piano-balladic injection of sadness that is 'Afraid', this is another avant-garde masterpiece by the musician, never justifiably passed over.

Review: The highly respected Northern English music journalist John Robb once described The Nightingales as "the misfits' misfits". In a small part, this is probably owing to the relentless changes in lineup the group have experienced since forming in Birmingham in 1979. However, that's really quite a reductive reading of the statement. Realistically, the post punk outfit just don't quite match their peers, with a take on the genre that incorporates elements of folk and gypsy rock.

Or at least that's our reading. Agree or not, In The Good Old Country Way was the outfit's third studio album, and at the time of its original release (1986), was recognised among their most polished and refined work. Nevertheless, it still sounds like a raw and rather uncompromising workout, sweat-soaked and dirty, experimental but really just aimed at making you spill your drink.

Review: "NINE INCH NAILS' GROUNDBREAKING DEBUT ALBUM
REMASTERED AND RE-RELEASED

Fans can now revisit the conception of Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor's Null Corporation has teamed with UMe/The Bicycle Music Company to release Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster on November 22, 2010. After completing the score for David Fincher's The Social Network, Reznor oversaw the digital remastering of Pretty Hate Machine from the newly unearthed original tapes with engineer Tom Baker (whose NIN credits include The Downward Spiral, Broken, The Fragile, With Teeth and Ghosts). This remastered version includes an eleventh track, a cover of Queen's ''Get Down Make Love,'' originally the B-side to the ''Sin'' single and produced by Al Jourgensen. Rob Sheridan, NIN's longtime art director, has also re-imagined the packaging of Pretty Hate Machine under Reznor's supervision.

As a young musician in Cleveland, Ohio, Reznor took a job at a local recording studio and employed unused studio time to develop his own material. The nascent album was later recorded with his favorite producers including Flood/Mark Ellis (U2, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey), John Fryer (Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil), Adrian Sherwood (Ministry, Cabaret Voltaire) and Keith LeBlanc (Tackhead). The result was the first Nine Inch Nails album, 1989's Pretty Hate Machine. All songs were written, arranged, programmed and performed by Reznor. The album featured the breakthrough singles ''Sin,'' ''Down In It'' and ''Head Like A Hole,'' and ultimately sold over 3 million copies, reaching Triple Platinum sales status. In the wake of the album's initial underground success, NIN soon developed a reputation as one of the best live acts in rock and joined the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in 1991. NIN have since sold more than 18 million albums, collected Grammy® Awards and headlined arenas, amphitheaters and festivals worldwide.

The Bicycle Music Company acquired the rights to Pretty Hate Machine from a division of Prudential Securities in the spring of 2010. It was Bicycle's intention from the onset to enable Reznor to regain some control of this lost piece of NIN's legacy, resulting in this artist approved 2010 reissue of one of music's most groundbreaking and influential albums.

Reznor is currently working on new music as a member of the group How To Destroy Angels, continuing his Nine Inch Nails efforts and composing for future film score projects.

TRACK LISTING:
1. Head Like A Hole
2. Terrible Lie
3. Down In It
4. Sanctified
5. Something I Can Never Have
6. Kinda I Want To
7. Sin
8. That's What I Get
9. The Only Time
10. Ringfinger
11. Get Down Make Love"

Review: "I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring," David Bowie famously quipped at his 50th Birthday concert in Madison Square Garden. That was 1997, and sadly we can now look back at the years between then and now as the last the icon would enjoy, although given the pantheons of unreleased material, music and other, we still have more than his legacy alone to learn from. He certainly kept his word, then, not least by opting to work with Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, a band that found inspiration in myriad styles and sounds, from Human League to Pink Floyd, carving out a 'industrial electronic rock' niche for themselves. In addition to tours and one-off shows, recordings of their collaborations are remarkable, generating fresh wholes from the enormous sums of these parts.

Review: 30 years on, the power of Nevermind has never dulled. Of course it's the most commercially appealing of Nirvana's albums, but it's no less daring for it no matter how many times you've heard it. Well, how to toast an album as world-changing as this one? By going all out on the lavish vinyl edition of course, which in this case means a mammoth eight-disc 180gm vinyl edition with a 40-page hardback book. If you want an altar at which to worship one of the definitive moments in popular music, this authoritative release is surely all the plinth you need.

Review: The third, controversial final album from Seattle's Nirvana should require little to no introduction. Repressed, remastered and redefined again and again, the Steve Albini-produced, mainstream-eschewing swansong has become one of the ugliest left-turns the 90's grunge scene ever spat up, and the subject of much heated internal fan debate over which is the definitive version. Celebrating its 30-year anniversary with a super-deluxe box set, boasting eight LPs made up of additional live performances as well as a myriad of memorabilia from the In Utero era, for the more lackadaisical collectors, there's this single LP gatefold pressing in a premium 'tip-on' sleeve similar to 2021's reissue of Nevermind, which comes with a bonus 10" of b-sides also featured on the monstrous deluxe edition.