Back catalogue: Indie/Alternative

Review: 2025 is the year they gave the people what they wanted and overcame one of the biggest rifts in pop culture history to bring Oasis back to the stage. It's no accident, then, that we're getting archive material releases coming out. This 7" is taken from a radio broadcast recorded in 1994 and sees Oasis performing stripped back acoustic versions that are much more humble in sound than the Mark Coyle-mixed studio versions. It's great to hear the songs sounding close to the way Noel Gallagher would have been playing them before bringing them to the studio and the band. And with them being two of Oasis greatest ever tunes, there's a lot to get along with here.

Review: A limited edition (300 only) coloured vinyl collection of tracks from early Oasis days rendered in acoustic, unplugged style, culled from a variety of sources - the Simon Mayo Show, Gary Crowle and Mark Lamarr's GLR shows, the Orpheum Theatre, Boston, a Creation Records Birthday Party at London's Royal Albert Hall and the BBC Radio1 Live Lounge. From 'Wonderwall' to 'Live Forever', the songs are the most cherished and celebrated among the Mancunians' canon. They're no less strong as a result of these stripped down arrangements, though, and this compilation sheds a new light on an already much loved period in indie rock history.

Review: The 11th full-length from California pop-punk royalty The Offspring comes three years on from 2021's Let The Bad Times Roll, and shall serve as their first project to feature bassist Todd Morse as an official member as well as multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy and drummer Brandon Pertzborn (who has previously toured with Black Flag, Marilyn Manson and Suicidal Tendencies), while drumming duties were split with the legendary Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle). 10 tracks, spread out just over a half hour, Supercharged looks set to live up to its title following the band's road break and creative pandemic-enforced respite, with a succinct in-anthem-out mantra.

Review: Oklou is a French musician and is known to her parents as Marylou Mayniel. She dropped her debut album back in February and on it collaborates with artists such as Bladee and underscores, while some expert studio contributions from producers like the revered A.G. Cook, plus Danny L Harle and Casey MQ. Choke Enough blends Y2K influences with medieval melodies to reflect Oklou's evolution from her 2020 mixtape, Galore. This new long player offers up a deep dive into her meticulous approach to electronic, modern, 'hyper' pop while incorporating classical rigour. Standout tracks like the title track and 'Endless' are great reflections of her unique artistic vision while balancing formal complexity with subdued emotional impact.

Review: It's hard to imagine the esteemed Jagjaguwar label without Angel Olsen. The American singer-songwriter feels like a central figure. She epitomises the absolute quality that they put out year-in, year-out. Her long-standing partnership with them has led to her landing a new imprint named somethingscosmic. Here she's given free reign to release when and how she wants, with help from Jagjaguwar. An absolute dream for her no doubt. This, the second release on somethingscosmic, it's billed as a compilation reimagined as a dialogue; the A-side features artists chosen by Olsen, with each artist choosing their own song for the collection. Side B is a collection of songs from the same artists, but chosen by Olsen and recorded by her. Of the artists on there, Poppy Jean Crawford's 'Glamorous' is dark post-punk with a Kills-esque vocal... it feels like what the definition of rock n' roll should be. Meanwhile, Coffin Prick's 'Blood' (Yep, you read that right... what a band name!) is a great example of reckless psychedelic fuzz. And Sarah Grace White has a stunning, magnetic voice and the music is pared back to let it shine at the forefront of the mix. Olsen clearly has A&R clout and magical release ideas - long may her new venture thrive.

Review: Citirax's next outing takes the form of a debut album from Los Angeles-based duo OP-ART. This pair, like so much great music of recent times, is born out of the creative isolation of lockdown and features Andrew Clinco, who you may know for his work with Drab Majesty. The alias they have adopted is an acronym of "Oblique Pleasures Amidst Rough Times" which they say reflected the challenges of their formation. Musically the duo is inspired by the 1960s visual art movement so embraces layered, psychedelic soundscapes with a minimalist approach and takes cues from New Wave artists like John Foxx and early OMD. OP-ART in particular focuses on analogue synthesis and gear like the Arp Odyssey and Moog Rogue while exploring time, romance, and existential themes with real emotional depth.