Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Seoul-based duo Salamanda clearly struck upon a persuasive formula when they first cropped up on Good Morning Tapes in 2020. Somewhere between delicate ambient and a modern kind of deep house, their music carries a tenderness which feels absolutely at home on Facta and K-Lone's eminently soothing stable, Wisdom Teeth. In Parallel builds on the sound laid out on previous records for Human Pitch and Metron by presenting a more focused duo seemingly conscious of their rapidly grown audience and considering how to best build upon their tender sound without losing the charm. Threading subtle pop elements into their gossamer-light constructions, this is a rich, satisfying listen from a duo it's so easy to love.

Review: "No-one knew the songs or what the plan was. We kept it loose and fun. This was the spirit of the sessions. No headphones, no playback, minimal overdubs, or bleed. Fast and loose," says Sam Evian of his latest record, the first to grace his new imprint, Thirty Tigers. If that's not enough to make you balk with jealously at not being invited, then the idea of Big Thief's Adrian Lenker and Sufjan Stevens, among others, debasing to Evian's house in the Catskills to examine a revamped studio, complete with vintage tape deck and console, then going wild swimming at midnight, just as snow fell, might seal the deal. The following day, work began on Plunge, a record with no real fixed direction or plan. In the end, it will - or, at least, it should - be remembered among Evian's finest offerings. A stunning collection of folk-leaning rock 'n' roll, Americana and jangly indie, you can almost smell upstate New York.

Review: Originally released in 1984 and celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Initium would serve as the debut full-length from death-rock horror-punk outfit Samhain; the brainchild of Glenn Danzig (or Evil Elvis). Opting to disband Misfits in favour of redirecting his creative juices into a project he maintained more rigid control over, with the title even translating from Latin to English as "beginning", the LP marked a simultaneous embracing of more metallic, gothic rock and malevolent balladry, distancing itself from the Misfits' breakneck hardcore chaos. Arriving less than a full year after Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood, the transitional growing pains are evident with deep cut 'Archangel' being originally penned with Misfits bassist Jerry Only, while 'Horror Biz' is actually a re-worked version of the early Misfits single 'Horror Business'. Featuring Minor Threat guitarist Lyle Preslar on several tracks, along with Reagan Youth bassist Al Pike making a singular appearance, four decades on Initium continues to resonate as a vital piece of punk rock/deathrock/horror-punk history with its laying of influential foundations.

Review: Saphileaum is an alias for multi-disciplinary Georgian artist Andro Gogibedashvili, who since 2018 has been unfurling reams of delicate, mesmerising electro-organic beat works for labels like Silent Season, Diffuse Reality and Constellation Tatsu. Hot on the heels of the wonderful Intrapersonal Experience for Good Morning Tapes comes this debut appearance on Slow Life, which remains true to his artistic arcs as well as the mellow, Adriatic mood of the label. This is meditative groove music from the modern age, revelling in the interplay between strident beat constructions and exotic sound palettes without ever disturbing the over-arching chill of Gogibedashvili's captivating project.

Review: House music producer, DJ and label owner, Seven Davis Jr brings us his latest, Stranger Than Fiction on his own Secret Angels record label. This full length is the artist's fifth in total and is in the similar vein as Romanthony or perhaps Jus ED. The blend of house heaters, vocals and injecting some soul into the mix, is the ingredients for the recipe. There are killer house bangers like 'Come Back To Life' and 'My Love Is Deep' while some others explore a deeper dubby groove like in 'Stranger Than Fiction' or the Hip-House inspired 'Wanna Find Out'. Plenty here for house fans to enjoy.

Review: Shabazz Palaces's Exotic Birds of Prey is a new seven-song mini-album that comes via Sub Pop and follows the huge success of Robed in Rareness back in October 2023. It is a rather enchaining listen that draws on many different rap eras and blends them into one new sound helmed by vocalist and producer Ismael Butler. Shabazz Palaces redefines hip-hop across decades here with the album blending the past, present, and future with warped sounds and fine collaborations from the likes of Stas THEE Boss and Japreme Magnetic who help to enrich this sonic journey. This special Loser Edition comes on creamy white vinyl.

Review: As one of the leading lights in Norwegian techno with guts, heart and soul, Skatebard has long skirted scene recognition to simply focus on slipping out his own strain of wayward machine matter. Given his track record with Sex Tags Mania, it's no surprise he'd trust DJ Sotofett with access to his archives, and so Spektral has come together as an exploration of long-buried recordings from the early 00s, edited by Sotofett and wrestled into a digestible form for this record. Capturing the best aspects of freeform jamming while cutting everything into shape, there's an inherent dirtiness to these recordings which instantly tells you it comes from an honest place.

Review: While Morrissey's outlandish opinions these days might have done plenty to denigrate his own personal legend status amongst fans, what he did with The Smiths will live in musical history forever. A Charming Man In Amsterdam is a concert that was arranged in order to mark the 50th anniversary of a Dutch magazine, Vinyl (imagine that happening today!). It was the iconinc Manchester band's first ever show in the Netherlands and they serve up a set revolving around their eponymous debut album and early singles, with 'Miserable Lie', 'I Don't Owe You Anything' and 'These Things Take Time' sounding particularly grand.

Review: Soffplaneten takes us deep into a world of downtempo delight with the Samlar Damm LP on Sunken Rock Recordings. It is an eight-track odyssey that veers from the gentle rhythms of the opener to the languid dub rotations of 'Kom Till Mitt Talt' complete with twanging guitars and soulful vocal seductions. 'Hoga Mamma Moln' is a more percussive and upbeat cut built from loose drums and tin pot percussion but held together with smeared and heat-damaged chords. 'Tunnelbanan' is a whacked-out and laid-back stoner joint while 'En Suddig Musik' gets more experimental and unusual in its sonic collage. A wonderfully irreverent new take on Balearic overall.

Review: Manchester genre bastardisers Sonic Boom Six have become renowned for their eclectic mashing up, and utter disregard for the parameters of genres such as ska, punk, metal, hip-hop, grime, dubstep etc. Whilst relatively creatively quiet since the release of 2016's fifth full-length The F-Bomb and the 2017 follow-up EP Cardiac Address, 2023 saw the release of the double A-side single 'Future Shock' b/w 'One Of The Boys'. Now it appears not only were those two new cuts designed to re-introduce listeners to the band, and whet appetites and beaks yet again, but rather they were the signifier of the arrival of the Re:Generation compilation, which places the two new bangers alongside a carefully curated batch of the band's personal favourite recordings from their definitive line-up over the past decade. What's more, there's also alternate mixes and freshly rejuvenated EQs of vital deep cuts and fan essentials. It mightn't be a new album, but it's the closest we're getting for now.

Review: Steely and Clevie were amongst some of the most supreme rhythm makers in all of Jamaica in the 1980s and on into the 1990s. They worked together at King Jammy's in the aftermath of Sleng Teng with Steely doing the synth work and Clevie making the magic on his drum machines. They wrote a wide array of essential rhythms for the day's best emerging dancehall tautens and At The Top is a collection of crucial digital dub workouts "that strips bare the computerised wizardry at the duo's core." These are essential dubs for fans old and new of dancehall.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record sleeve slightly damaged, product in working order***


Jumping back to the early days of Steely Dan, it's easy to forget they were still a rock band at heart. Drop the needle on Countdown To Ecstasy and let 'Bodhisattva' kick in - sure, the jazzy tendencies of Becker and Fagen elevate this above traditional bluesy fare, but it's still a kicking, overdriven sound on the guitars front and centre. Such obsessing over the details is part and parcel of Steely Dan, the band so fabled for their own obsessions in the studio, and so adored by nearly everyone in the world. There will never be enough reissues of these albums to reach the ears of everyone who needs them, but be thankful you can cop yourself a pristine piece from one of the greatest of all the bands.

Review: Paul Dickow has made some memorable and mesmerising music since emerging as Strategy 21 years ago, initially switching between much-admired experimental and underground labels (Kranky, Idle Hands, 100% Silk, Further Records) before establishing his own imprint (Community Library). Wet Room, his 20th full-length, is another fine collection of cuts in his distinctively deep, dubby and trippy sonic style. It's rooted in ambient, sound collage and experimentalism, but also touches on digi-dub, deep dub techno, trip-hop and the far-sighted, intergalactic electronics (if not the rhythms) of Motor City techno. Most of all, though, it feels like a coherent, immersive sonic journey, making Wet Room one of his most coherent and accessible LPs yet.

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


English alternative rock band Supergrass dropped their third album back in 1999, following on the wave of Britpop, their hugely successful debut I Should Coco and its successorIn It For The Money. It was another commercial hit, reaching number three in the UK charts and fondly being known as the 'x-ray album' because of the picture on the artwork. Mixing up the prevalent Brit-pop and indie sounds of the era, listening back to it now immediately takes you back to those days, although brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes, Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey also flaunted some of their 70s influences on these tunes, with many of them becoming classics in their own right (see Moving, Pumping On Your Stereo).