Back catalogue: All genres

Review: The third full-length from one of the UK's "big four" thrash metal acts, Xentrix, was quite the controversial project upon its initial release in 1992. Leaning into a more progressive metal influence saw the band abandon some of their metallic potency in search of more texture and artistry. They've since gone on to refer to the work as the biggest mistake of their career, while it also led to the departure of vocalist/guitarist, Chris Astley, until his 2006 return after the band reformed. Like most albums steeped in artistic self-deprecation and early fan backlash, 'Kin', has gone on to find its audience, with expectation and anticipation now removed from the conversation, the group's attempt to strive for material beyond their integral make up is as refreshing as it is forward thinking for an early nineties thrash record.

Review: 1992's Nonsuch is the ninth in a series of XTC classics to be issued on 200g vinyl. It is often thought to be one of the more mature and sophisticated albums this band put out, and it was also the last they did for Virgin. It was never that widely available first time round, and certainly not on a good quality pressing, so now it has been mastered by Jason Mitchell at Loud Mastering with full approval from the band. The sleek on this version has also been fully restored and expanded to gatefold to accommodate the nice and heavy wax inside, plus full lyric sheets.

Review: The legacy of XTC simultaneously reveals the inner workings and inflexibility of the music industry and how easy it is to be incredibly talented and forward-thinking yet still languish in relative obscurity. Of course most musos are pretty familiar with these New Wavers, but at least some of that knowledge has been garnered retrospectively, through revisiting and reappraising.

'Oranges & Lemons', first released in 1989, is the band at their smash hit-potential best, and also on the cusp of their eventual decline. It's as fresh as any that came before - far more than just New Wave happening here (synth pop, DIY indie), and nobody was looking to reign anything in, allowing the sprawling contents to span two whole discs unabridged. Another piece of compelling evidence to say that XTC's main problems were the fact managers and labels didn't really get what they were aiming for, musically, rather than their notorious avoidance of tours.

Review: A whole series of XTC classics are being reissued right now and the latest is Mummer. It has been freshly cut at Loud Mastering and pressed up onto an eye waveringly good 200g vinyl. It was the sixth record from the British rock outfit and was released in 1983. It was the last record to feature the drumming of Terry Chambers and though it didn't have much album chart success it did spawn singles 'Great Fire', 'Wonderland' and 'Love on a Farmboy's Wages', which managed to hit No. 50 on the UK singles chart.

Review: XTC's cult 1984 album 'The Big Express' was essentially just that - a 'big expression' of brash indie noise, tempered by the shadow of the industrial old Wiltshire town in which the band grew up, Swindon. In true post-punk fashion, the band combined the electronic Linndrum with guitar, bass and vocals. But the 'Express', in their words, wasn't just self-expression; electronic rock, to XTC, also reflected the quite literal concept of the 'railway express', reflecting Swindon's reputation as one of the core towns behind the UK's railway system. A remarkable album, and a slice of history at that.