Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Sundries' Disco Goodies series, which rounds up the best of the label's digital releases and presents them on multi-artist EPs, reaches its fourth instalment. It hits home hard from the start, where Berobreo's 'Soul Driven Dynamics' provides an attractive mix of 1970s orchestral soul samples and rubbery deep house beats. Experienced re-editor Oldchap brings the goods with a lightly tooled-up and beefed-up rework of an orchestra-sporting disco gem ('Coloridos'), before X Gets The Crest delivers a percussive, hot-stepping and filter-smothered re-wire of a much-loved Cymande classic ('Still Come Home'). Over on side B, Alexny's heavy disco-funk re-edit ('People Says') is joined by a hazy and horn-heavy revision courtesy of Sould Out ('City Gal') and the pitched-up disco loop-funk of 'Since You Came' by Workerz.

Review: The wonderful new 'Womp In My Spirit' blends flashy 80s-inspired beats with smoothly delivered and rhythmic lyrics that together capture the essence of West Coast vibes with American Moniquea's distinctive vocals shining alongside masterful boogie beat maker XL Middleton's typically faultless contributions. Once again they have cooked up a gem for the modern funk scene and the instrumental version allows you to fully appreciate the depth of the production without the vocals. This one has already been getting bumped by renowned DJs like Walla P, Zackey Force Funk and Soul Clap and hits a perfect sweet spot between funk and hip-hop.

Review: Sweet Harmony is back with a compilation bursting with colourful shapes, textures and fresh techno rhythms. Anatole Serre's 'Hyperdulia' is a fast-paced fusion of drums, breakbeats and subtle allure that is followed by Xiaolin's 'Breath of Water,' a more ethereal yet still-driving percussive trip. On the B-side, Feenicks' 'All Fairies Tell Tall Tales' delivers an uplifting blend of trance and new wave that has a dreamlike energy and the closer from Alfred Czital is a fast, progressive wonder.

Review: Riviera's early momentum continues here with a punchy four-tracker from six on-point artists. Lewis Taylor kicks off with 'Non Stop' which is a straight up and funky peak time then pumper with bright chords and plenty of fun in the atmosphere, Cult keeps the energy high with 'Total Kill' and X Coast & DJ RaDa then offer the acid-laced and turbocharged bass stomps of 'Come Together.' LIL NASSTY then flips the script with some sleazy trap beats with menacing bars and futuristic synth patterns on 'Get It Up So' and DJ Pacifier shuts down with some high-speed ghetto-tech in the form of the relentless 'Fried Again.'

Review: X-Press 2 signed a deal with Acid Jazz that not only means all their back cat is now more widely available, but also that the legendary house outfit will release new music with them. However in the midst of that and a superb new album comes this, a reissue of a 1992 classic for Record Store Day 2024. It features two bold and anthemic treks that tap into their signature style which is raw, stripped back, driving and hypnotic with subtle but smart samples adding just enough detail to really keep you laced in for the ride.

Review: Following on from 2020's exceptional return to form Alphabetland, which saw the first full-length from Los Angeles punk pioneers X in 27 years (35 years with the OG line up), the incomparable four-piece of Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, John Doe and DJ Bonebrake finally get to go out on their own terms with the self-proclaimed swan song LP Smoke & Fiction. Between line up changes, differing visions, commercial flops and radio-baiting sonic shifts, the band's tumultuous 90's era would cause many a hiatus and add further blemishes to their early iconic catalogue, ultimately leading to an unsatisfactory conclusion to their life's work that they've managed to reclaim in a manner not many seasoned veterans ever get the chance. Ten bangers infused with their quintessential rockabilly-punk charm and elevated by Cervenka's still ludicrously intense cadence, with a coinciding farewell tour to come, this is the finale for X the band and we dear listeners have always deserved.

Review: Say the words 'pre-teen pop' to most people and they'll make for the hills faster than you can say "be afraid, be very afraid". In the case of X-Cetera, though, the presumption of garbage is inaccurate, albeit the underlying feeling of something being off i perhaps even unsettling i remains. Self-recorded in a very different time and a very different world, on the cusp of a new millennium and all its promises (lol), Jessica Hall, Ayden Mayeri, and sisters Janet and Mary Washburn give a wonderful example of how talented kids can be on Summer 2000. It's also a strange and weirdly i accidentally i trippy ride from beginning to end. Marrying elements of trip hop, r&b, indie, sugarcane pop and acoustic, the sickly sweet and naturally childish lyrics and delivery leave a macabre air lingering. Like the nursery rhyme in a horror movie, sort of. Once filed under chart hopeful, now avant garde.

Review: Serbian-born, NYC-based DJ and producer X-Coast returns with a new set of high-energy tracks designed for big arenas and main stages. As shown when remixing Shygirl's '4eva 'and DJ Gigola's 'La Batteria', he blends house, techno, electro, drum & bass and trance on labels like Steel City Dance Discs, Higher Ground and Mama Told Ya. X-Coast's signature sound fuses 90s and 00s rave nostalgia with modern production here and results in the tribal-infused 'Neapolis', soaring trance of 'Desert Storm,' and diva house energy of 'Hold Me Baby'. They all make for a dynamic collection which shows off X-Coast's genre-spanning versatility.

Review: One fateful night on September 6, 2008, London's Camden Roundhouse played host to the iconic punk rock/new wave legends X Ray Spex in all of their frenetic glory. Celebrating the 30-year anniversary of their singular classic album Germfree Adolescents, the sold-out show amassed an immensely fortunate 3000 souls in attendance including The Slits bassist Tessa Pollitt, Chrissy Boy of Madness and Eater drummer Dee Generate. With the untimely, tragic passing of punk pioneer frontwoman Poly Styrene in 2011, the show has gone on to become the stuff of London punk mythology, as history proports her beret-sporting swagger was on top form across the evening. Sleeve notes included by Celeste Bell, Pole Styrene's daughter, who also features on the encore of 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!', adding further weight and insight to an already iconic piece of musical history.

Review: Radiation Reissues has put plenty of effort into this welcome reissue of X-Ray Spex's seminal gig Live At The Roxy Club. It comes with remastered audio, updated artwork, and exclusive sleeve notes from original saxophonist Lora Logic almost fifty years after it was first recorded on April 2, 1977, at the legendary London venue. It was an early performance by the new wave punk icons ahead of the arrival of their debut single 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!' and their genre-defining Germfree Adolescents album. The setlist includes tunes that went on to become future hits such as 'Let's Submerge,' and 'I Live Off You,' which were both performed months before their official release. As such this record offers a rare glimpse into the band's vital formative days.