Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Happiest of birthdays to Super Spicy who celebrate half a decade in the game with an EP of irresistible tunes. Phunque kicks the party off with an old school vibe that pairs a superb male vocal with crisp, effective drums. Bob Musella brings sample magic on 'Baby Hot Stuff' and Ysheso, Ralo keep the disco-tinged house feels flowing with a percussive monster. After the smoother sounds of Ghosts Of Venice, the flip side brings a trio of funked-up and guitar-laced house grooves that take it back to the glory days of New York.

Review: Original Chicago house music hero Ron Hardy used to make and break tracks with ease. Decades on, we're still getting treated to them with this ongoing series and the latest opens up with a familiar sound. 'Love' is fairly stripped of its original vocals and is a casuistic, textured and intense electronic disco cut for peak times. 'The Night' slows down with some freaky vocals and heavy dub disco drums then '1-5-1' brings some jacked up acid house with monstrous 303 lines ripping up the groove and ice cold hi-hats keeping time. 'The Bass' is a raw drum track with moody Windy City vocals and dark energy.

Review: Bielefeld's RR has been rolling out house sounds for the last five or so years on labels like Story About You, Feuilleton Germany and Ad Sol, but this time lands on Eat More House. He kick off his latest with the sweaty, humid and chunky deep house dynamics of the title cut before 'Rolex' has more thudding low ends but wispy, fuzzy synths and plenty of funky percussion. 'Dienstags Disco' ups the energy further then '81 12' sinks Ito a deeper vibe with smooth chords and rolling, dubby drums. 'DUNDR' leans into a serene sound with Motor City machine warmth and cuddly low ends. Plenty of ground is covered here, all of it with a stylish touch.

Review: Zinc was a busy busy boy in the 90s. Especially those foundation years. His work with Hype and Bizzy B around this time was legendary but besides his UKG moniker Jammin' years later, less is spoken of his various aliases. Jack Ruby had a cool run of cuts in 94 and 96 including this almighty slab of breakbeat drama 'Ophelia'. Big pads and a breath-taking arrangement. It's your quintessential deep or atmospheric jungle cut that has all the hallmarks of a Good Lookin jam. 'Beyond Reality' (which came out in 95 under his Tyranny alias) follows a similar sweeping sense of triumph but a little jazzier and cooler in its roll-out. Timeless.

Review: Razor-N-Tape's white label series serves up its first-ever various artists collection here, and it opens with Windy City master Glenn Underground. His 'Happy House' is a joyous disco stomper with florid strings and lung-busting vocals. Rahaan adds his own edit to 'Be Cool', which is a jazzy dancer with magnificent guitar work and brassy horns. 'Hot Damn' (JKriv edit) keeps the love flowing with funky disco house energy and an air of hands in the air celebration and The Patchouli Brothers flip 'Love Explosion' into a strident, front foot wafered and pumping disco funker with gorgeous vocals. There I so much sunshine and joy in these tunes that they melt even the stoniest of hearts.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Light In The Attic teams up with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive for a thrilling retrospective, Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964-65. An expansive selection of songs all written by Lou Reed, during his mid-60s stint as the staff songwriter for the long-defunct label Pickwick Records, this is a rare glimpse of a master rock musician stepping out of the limelight over the course of 25 songs, yet still letting the form and contour of his voice and sensibility be heard. All this was achieved before Reed had at all launched his career with the Velvets; it may indeed be said that this pubescent 60s period was the firelighter to Reed's flame, as the label specialised in soundalike records that emulated the major pop hits of the day - it's no wonder Reed would absorb such emulations and take them in as his own, albeit with a Century-defining twist. Channelling everything from teenybopper pop to soul-inflected garage rock, whether byJeannie Larimore, The Hi-Lifes or The Hollywoods, we get a thorough look-in here as to what made Reed and his contemporaries tick, and what Reed made tick in turn, before the fame.

Review: Marc Ribot's latest LP draws on decades of work and reflection, gluing fragments recorded over years back together to form a coherent whole, and finally foregrounding Ribot's own voice in the process. Sparked by a memory of one of his daughter's childhood drawings, Map Of A Blue City perambulates states of disorientation and openness, tracing the emotional topography of loss. Stark truths pivot against tender storytelling, at once producing an intimately distant space. "Recording production is really complicated," he says, "but it all boils down to what kind of room the listener feels they're standing in." Not quite autobiographical, it's a record built on the long, unresolved tension between what changes and what doesn't.

Review: Max Roach's Again is a compelling double LP capturing two of his finest live performances from 1960 and 1961, both of which spotlight the drummer's rhythmic brilliance and collaborative prowess. Side A features 'This Night Mountain' and 'Ceciliana' which highlight Roach's synergy with Tommy and Stanley Turrentine. Later, you find 'Who Will Buy?' with Abbey Lincoln's captivating vocals adding emotional depth and the album culminates with 'Stop Motion' on Side D, which is a testament to Roach's innovative percussion. With contributions from Clifford Jordan, Julian Priester and Coleridge Parkinson, Again stands as proof of Roach's trailblazing jazz artistry.

Review: Formed in the heart of Belfast in 1975, Rudi were the Northern Irish punk band that time forgot, eclipsed by the success of their peers in Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones who would both go on to have major label success in the UK while sadly, apart from a few early singles released via Good Vibrations, the band would sign to The Jam's own personal record label not long before Paul Weller would call it quits, leaving Brian Young and his cohorts deflated and eventually disbanding in 1982. Captured live at the McMordie Hall, Belfast on Jan 26th 1978, this live collection showcases their New York Dolls/Johnny Thunders glam-punk inspired vision in its rawest form while coming complete with an A4 12-page booklet featuring unseen articles, photos and detailed liner notes.