Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Orville Peck's Stampede Vol. 1 is a choice blend of duets, marking his third album and the first part of a multi-part collection. The album opens with a serene rendition of 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other,' featuring Willie Nelson, setting a sweeping and airy tone. The pace picks up with 'The Hurtin' Kind' alongside Midland, an intense, rhythmic track with moaning steel and fervent harmonies. Elton John joins Peck for a scorching reimagining of 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting),' adding a vibrant energy. The Spanish-language 'Mienteme' with Bu Cuaron stands out, blending Peck's country style with traditional Banda music, honoring Mexican rancheros. 'Chemical Sunset,' featuring Allison Russell, evokes a 40s bar atmosphere with muted trumpet accents, while 'The Hurtin' Kind' references Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game,' fitting its heart-wrenching lyrics. Noah Cyrus's 'How Far Will We Take It?' is a twangy ballad, and 'Conquer The Heart' with Nathaniel Rateliff is a hazy, guitar-led tune. While the seven-track album leaves listeners longing for more, Stampede Vol. 1 is a powerful showcase of Peck's collaborative and evolving sound.

Review: Stampede, Orville Peck’s third album, is a formidable album full of talent and collaboration, completed by an impressive roster of guest artists. The album kicks off with a serene calm, led by Willie Nelson on the tender 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other,' setting a spacious and emotive tone. The sweeping strings and Peck’s haunting vocals create a vivid landscape that feels like the calm before the storm. The tempo picks up with the sultry, Midland-assisted 'The Hurtin' Kind,' where steel guitars moan and harmonies smolder, capturing a desperate intensity. The energy continues to rise with fiery tracks like 'Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting),' featuring Elton John, and the heroic Spanish-language 'Miénteme' with Bu Cuaron, both delivering the album’s promised impact. However, Stampede is not just about power. The latter half introduces more nuanced, intricate songs, including the haunting 'Back At Your Door' with Debbii Dawson and the groovy 'Death Valley High' featuring Beck. The album also closes strong with an electrifying cover of Glen Campbell’s 'Rhinestone Cowboy' and other standout duets. In its entirety, Stampede is a compelling blend of strength and artistry, solidified by its collaborative spirit. It’s an album that’s as emotive as it is powerful, proving Peck’s ability to craft an album that’s both expansive and deeply resonant.

Review: After nearly a decade in obscurity, Peter Cat Recording Co resurfaced from Delhi's smog with Bismillah in 2019 and re-announced their arrival on the global stage. Their transcultural sound is led by Suryakant Sawhney's songwriting and fuses elements from across time and continents to create modern hymns and timeless folk tunes that evoke a futuristic, otherworldly feel. With three prolific songwriters, Suryakant, Dhruv Bhola, and Kartik Sundareshan, the group crafts a legacy inspired by iconic bands like The Velvet Underground and The Beatles. PCRC's latest chapter unfolds with their new album, BETA, which is a tribute to drummer Karan Singh's son.

Review: Lacinia is the newest cycle of compositions by Italian composer and guitarist Stefano Pilia and it extends the metaphysical and mathematical explorations introduced in his acclaimed 2022 album Spiralis Aurea. Drawing from sacred geometry, number theory and ancient musical traditions, Lacinia unfolds as a series of immersive sonic meditations. Acoustic and electroacoustic textures from strings, horns, organ, percussion and synths are all carefully interwoven and Pilia creates cyclical, ritualistic structures that evoke composers like Arvo Part, Eliane Radigue and Sarah Davachi. Inspired by liturgical music and the eternal return of transformation, Lacinia aims to seek meaning through harmony, stillness and resonance. The

Review: KUM explores the work of Giusto Pio from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, which was a period of intense sound experimentation. The album features four pieces-'Rappel,' 'Alla Corte di Nefertiti,' 'MeDeA' and 'A.D.A.M. Ubi Es' which are all linked by Pio's collaboration with Franco Battiato. Their creative exchange helped shape Pio's post-avant-garde vision and blend new musical fragments and "astral counterpoints in frequencies and colours in time." Nearly 50 years later, KUM offers a philological perspective on these intertwined artistic paths that highlights the innovative approach that defined Pio's unique exploration of sound and composition.

Review: Port Almond, the alter ego of Norwegian singer-songwriter Rune Simonsen, faced various challenges creating his second album Little Ships. After the success of their 2018 debut, the recording session for this one was delayed due to the pandemic and a devastating fire that destroyed LowSwing Studio. Despite setbacks, Simonsen and producer Guy Sternberg persevered, recording the album in September 2021 at Emil Berlin Studios and mixing at Hansa Studios. Featuring British trumpeter Tom Arthurs, Norwegian bassist Dan Peter Sundland, and Tom Krimi, Little Ships presents ten surrealist songs. The album, cut directly to vinyl without digital processing, includes exclusive art prints by Israeli artist Nir Evron in a luxurious gatefold cover.

Review: John Powell could almost be seen as the Hans Zimmer of animated movies. His oeuvre to date includes Antz, The Road To Eldorado, Chicken Run, Shrek, Robots, Ice Age 2 and 4, Happy Feet, Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, the first two Kung Fu Panda films, and Mars Needs Moms, among many others. Including the entire How To Train Your Dragon trilogy.
Hugely successful, the action packed adventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III - a young Viking and heir to the throne of Berk - really needs equally exciting music to accompany it. That's exactly what we get here, with a classically-inspired swashbuckling score doing more than setting the scene: some tracks hark back to the golden days of kids movie soundtracks, when the songs themselves told large chunks of the narrative.

Review: Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer project has been giving the fans the good stuff since those heady days of lockdown by upping the ante on live stream performance. Even now they're back to real-world touring, they're continuing to explore the medium of reaching millions of fans globally by revisiting specific eras of the band's history. Parole Violator is the soundtrack to their filmed performance from the Wiltern Theatre in LA, and it finds them revisiting tracks from 2011's Conditions Of My Parole and giving them a fresh perspective. From acoustic renditions to heavenly new arrangements, there's a lot to savour for the devoted fans of Puscifer.

Review: This 3LP set commemorates 25 years of South Park, recorded live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Featuring creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, alongside Primus and Ween, the album includes the most memorable songs from the show, a special highlight among which is the guest appearance by Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, who perform 'Closer To The Heart' with Primus and Matt Stone. The set is pressed on black vinyl, capturing a landmark celebration of the show's legacy.