Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Cigarettes After Sex's X's is the dreamy indie pop band's third album, following 2019's Cry, and hears a wistful array of new songs drawing on the same palette as ever, but with nonetheless a newfound personal bent drawing on the breakdown of a relationship and a move between cities undergone by lead singer Greg Gonzales. With every influence from Texan blues and Tejano music - the likes of Selena, Los Angeles Azules and La Mafia - to esteemd dream poppers Cocteau Twins, this is a fresh new fusion from the hypnagogic hopeless-romantics, sure to sate existing fans and draw in new ones alike.

Review: Washed-out gothic dream-popstars Cigarettes After Sex deliver their latest album, X's, building on the now prolific body of work that has so far propelled the band's lead brain Greg Gonzalez to fame. Whereas prior projects under the CAS ambit have revolved around only isolated vignettes of a hazy and monochrome - but decidedly sexual - nature, X's is the band's first record concerning a single relationship: the pain of losing an LTR, in stark contrast the string of sonic flings that came before. Led by the careful straddling of romantic fantasy and grimmer, nicotine-stained realities on 'Dark Vacay', such is the overarching mood; of sex amounting to a futile attempt to overcome the end of loving communication, and cigarettes plugging the hole that arises from this.

Review: Monochrome dream pop band Cigarettes After Sex release their third studio album X's, following up the pre-release 'Tejano Blue'. As romantic and wistful as ever, the album is an avowed haunt-jaunt through a series of 'slow-dance pop ballads' - no change there - albeit this time concerning the brutal reckoning with relationship breakdown and loss, personally borne by lead musician Greg Gonzalez during the recording of their prior self-titled album. Also a lover letter to Gonzalez' hometown of El Paso, Texas, the album draws on themes of the music scene and atmosphere of the city, in dialogue with a subsequent move to New York and the culture shock that followed.

Review: The Mercury Prize-winning British jazz group returns this September with the greatly anticipated follow-up to the award-winning 'Where I'm Meant to Be'. The first jazz group ever to win the prestigious accolade, their unique blend of jazz, calypso, afrobeat and roots has carried over into the two singles 'God Gave Me Feet For Dancing' and 'Ajala'.The former features up-and-coming star Yazmin Lacey, whose sudden scouting has made her a necessary one to watch in the British soul scene. Interpolating Nina Simones's 1965 classic 'Feeling Good', the track proposes the group's manifesto of dancing not just as an activity confined to the club, but as a God-given ability - an act of spirituality and community. 'Ajala', by contrast, is a fast-paced afrobeat-cum-bebop jam named after the Yoruba slang for being unable to sit still. Lucky fans were able to hear the recording live at the 'Beyond the Bassline' exhibition at the British Library - with some of the live adlibs and crowd work being included in the single version currently on streaming. Pressed on an indie-exclusive deep red stain disc.

Review: Dance, No One's Watching is a vibrant tribute to the joyous act of dancing and a night out from the anticipation of evening to the early morning hours. Written during Ezra Collective's whirlwind 2023 world tour, which saw them become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize, the album reflects the global dancefloors they experienced, from London to Chicago, Lagos to Sydney. Dance and rhythm unite us all, a spirit celebrated in these tracks. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the sessions transformed into a live celebration with friends and family, adding a communal warmth to the music. The album features collaborations with Olivia Dean, M.anifest, Moonchild Sanelly, and Yazmin Lacey, who sings on the lead single 'God Gave Me Feet for Dancing.' This new album follows their acclaimed Where I'm Meant to Be, and continues to showcase Ezra Collective's innovative contributions to contemporary British music.