Review: Tim Bergling's music as Avicii was loved enough in his lifetime, but it doubly shook the world after his untimely death in 2018. This career-spanning compilation brings together 19 key tracks by the Swedish DJ and producer, zooming back in mainly on the key works by Berg under the Avicii name, on top of another unreleased tune, 'Let's Ride Away' with Elle King. Avicii's instinct for brain-lodging hooks is on full display here, from the anthemic and unforgettable 'Wake Me Up' to the introspective of 'Heart Upon My Sleeve'. Also included are fan favourites like 'The Nights', 'Without You' feat Sandro Cavazza, and 'Lonely Together' feat Rita Ora, tracing his evolution from bedroom producer to international headliner.
Review: Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the enigmatic steel pan group from Hamburg, made waves in 2024 when their cover of 50 Cent's 'PIMP' was featured in the Oscar-winner film Anatomy Of A Fall. The track played a key role in the movie's success and led to the first-ever steel pans in the orchestra pit at the Academy Awards, further boosting the band's saliency. And yet despite global recognition, 'PIMP' is just a glimpse of their catalogue, which is already rather extensive. Since signing with Big Crown in 2014, Bacao've released four albums and numerous singles, and Big Crown Vaults Vol. 4 flaunts many of these dishings-out, with covers of Bob James' 'Nautilus', Khruangbin's 'Maria Tambien', and the uptempo original 'Kaiso Noir'. It serves as a tantalizing bud-whetter, too, before their oncoming fifth studio album.
Review: Described as "the bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one night stand", London's Bad Nerves take the early 60s rock n' roll power pop that birthed the later punk scenes and bend them into an ouroboros of tail-eating, hook-laden punk rock swagger. Following on from their 2020 self-titled debut full-length, their aptly titled sophomore effort ("that was never meant to exist") Still Nervous arrived in 2024 armed to the teeth with fuzzier riffs, bigger hooks, more breakneck pace and an endorsement from Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. Boasting cuts such as the mega anthem 'You've Got The Nerve', this is as to-the-point, unpretentious and garage-punk as it gets.
Hohnen Ford - "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (2:56)
Matilda Mann - "There Will Never Be Another You" (3:10)
Dodie - "Old Devil Moon" (2:56)
Puma Blue - "It's Always You" (3:13)
Poppy Daniels - "I've Never Been In Love Before" (4:33)
Ife Ogunjobi - "Speak Low" (4:20)
Benny Sings - "Time After Time" (2:45)
Stacy Ryan - "Like Someone In Love" (4:27)
Matt Maltese - "My Funny Valentine" (2:59)
Mxmtoon - "I Fall In Love Too Easily" (3:15)
Grentperez - "But Not For Me" (2:10)
Delaney Bailey - "While My Lady Sleeps" (4:33)
Review: This staunch collection of songs compiled by Decca hears the very best works of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker "reimagined" by a varied selection of international talent, celebrating the legacy of one of American jazz's coolest ever piston-valvers. It's no surprise that Baker earned himself the name "Prince of Cool" as the concept of cool overtook the jazz world in the 50s and 60s; likewise, the artists chosen to reimagine Baker's many sweet treats here each epitomise that same offhand effortlessness which typified Baker's playstyle. Highlights include Dodie, who leads with a Latin percussive rekeying of 'Old Devil Moon', and mxmtoon, who brings equable guitar lurches to Baker's rather lost-his-cool confession of loving excitement, 'I Fell In Love Too Easily'.
Review: Craft Latino celebrates the 50th anniversary of the landmark 1975 salsa album by Ray Barretto with a deluxe reissue. This remastered edition of Barretto features the debut of Ruben Blades and Tito Gomez and includes iconic tracks like 'Guarare,' 'Ban Ban Quere' and 'Canto Abacua.' It has long been considered a cornerstone of the genre in which Barretto blends rich Afro-Cuban rhythms with lyrical depth and masterful musicianship from legends like Sly & Robbie and Augustus Pablo. It's a real bit of Latin music history that shines bright and is packed with shuffling rhythms and the sort of expressive percussion and horns that take you to a different continent in an instant.
Review: Electropop pioneer Andy Bell, who is best known as the lead vocalist in late 80s and early 90s group Erasure, releases his new solo album. The release is his first solo album since 2010s Non-Stop, Ten Crowns. Not one to settle for less than the best, the producer of this album, Dave Aude, has more number ones on the Billboard Dance Club chart than anyone else. Aude's also big in the pop world having worked with the likes of Britney Spears, Madonna and U2. This solo album's standout is a collaboration with Blondie's Debby Harry, titled 'Heart's A Liar'. Plus, 'Breaking Thru The Interstellar', which flicks back and forth between cosmic, introspective layered sonics and barnstorming electro pop that puts a kick in your step. Looking for some life-affirming pop music with conviction and style? Then look no further...
Fuoco Lento (with Bint Mbareh & Ottomani Parker) (3:58)
Cicadidae (4:26)
Presagio - He Thalassa He Kath'hemas (4:41)
Le Toille (XVII) (3:26)
Sticks And Stones (with Buster Woodruff-Bryant) (3:09)
A Juniper Tree Whose Roots Are Made Of Fire (with Bint Mbareh) (7:32)
Tu Estomago (XVI) (1:51)
In My Recurring Dream (Sekizinci Iblissin) (3:32)
Rinascita (with Yusuf Ahmed & Buster Woodruff-Bryant) (4:35)
Review: The debut album by Big Hands (aka Andrea Ottomani), is a deeply immersive and dream-born odyssey that blurs the boundaries between electronic and acoustic sound. Conceived during a stormy Mediterranean voyage and built from field recordings, tuned percussion and collaborations with a tight circle of musicians, Thauma is an emotional and textural triumph that takes in Palestinian artist Bint Mbareh’s haunting vocals and Buster Woodruff-Bryant’s serpentine sax lines. Each moment brings real spiritual depth while merging modular synths with bells, balafon and bamboo drums to evoke a mythic, place-bound nostalgia that is organic and otherworldly.
Review: Canadian rock outfit Big Wreck celebrates this year's Record Store Day with the first-ever vinyl release of their acclaimed Albatross album. This deluxe anniversary edition includes a bonus track, 'Fade Away', as well as alternate versions by Eric Ratz and Ian Thornley, plus a live recording from Suhr Guitar Factory. The original album came back in 2012 and saw Albatross earn chart-topping success and critical praise for its soaring guitar work and powerful vocals. They make just as much of a mark now, more than a decade on and with the addition of the new cuts, this reissue brings all new depth to the record.
Review: Prolific Italian maestro Black Loops returns to Freerange with Always Moving, a debut album steeped in high-grade dance heritage. Drawing on over a decade of production, he moves beyond club tools to something more personal and musical, with guest appearances from Harvey Sutherland, Byron the Aquarius and Marlena Dae. Rooted in funk, soul and 90s grooves, these are rich, warm tracks with fully authentic swing i with much of the percussion played live by the artist himself. The result is fluid and human, from the broken beats of 'CDMX' to the shimmering chords of 'Detroit Love Letter'. Marlena Dae adds her touch to several standouts, including the disco-leaning 'Electrical' and hazy deep house of 'Pleasure Ride'. Even at its most downtempo, like the closing 'Good Bye Berlin', the album stays focused and melodic. A confident and expressive full-length that shows how far Black Loops has come while hinting at where he might head next.
Review: Black Loops directs a welters' worth of experience into Always Moving, his debut full-length for Freerange. Far beyond club tools, this is a sensitive elusion of watery neo soul instrumentation and distant broken beat jazz, and we're not surprised in this breath to learn of Black Loops' own background as a drummer. Nor is it any wonder either that such auteur's disco house regals such as Harvey Sutherland, Byron The Aquarius and Berlin vocalist Marlena Dae all appear on the record, through 'CDMX' to the ever so eerie, Erie-downstream deep house of 'Detroit Love Letter'. 'Electrical And LSD' takes after such influences as Metro Area's disco house shimmer, while tracks like 'Pleasure Ride' and 'Good Bye Berlin' further locks down the abiding nighttime tension - that least comparable part of his sound.
Review: This essential metal album captures Black Sabbath at their most raw back in their formative years. It features their now-legendary April 1970 session for DJ John Peel and some visceral performances from Germany's Beat-Club in May of the same year. With early live renditions of era-defining tracks like 'War Pigs,' 'Iron Man' and 'Paranoid,' these tunes offer a gritty and unique glimpse into the band's rise as pioneers of heavy metal. With Tony Iommi's sludgy riffs, Ozzy Osbourne's haunting vocals and a rhythm section that redefined heaviness, it's easy to see how Black Sabbath's genre-defining legacy got its start.
Review: Originally released in 1990, Love Dub is a landmark in the dub landscape that reimagined the group's iconic material through a deeper sonic lens. With the legendary Prince Jammy at the controls, the album strips the majority of the vocals and amplifies the essence of the Black Uhuru sound-throbbing basslines, hypnotic rhythms and masterful use of echo, delay and reverb. Each track unfolds into a spacious, atmospheric journey that pushes the boundaries of reggae into more experimental terrain. Love Dub is more than a reinterpretation-it's a testament to Black Uhuru's legacy and Prince Jammy's visionary touch.
(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear (2:27)
Sunday Girl (2:20)
Denis (6:04)
Fade Away & Radiate (4:57)
Fan Mail (2:44)
Picture This (2:45)
One Way Or Another (3:53)
Heart Of Glass (4:16)
Bang A Gong (5:34)
Review: One of the key spots in Boston's vibrant student scene, the Paradise Ballroom was the place to be in 1978 with the likes of The Ramones, Thin Lizzy and Blondie gracing the intimate space with their hit-laden sets. And New York City's Blondie were at the peak of their powers in 1978, touring their Plastic Letters album and pre-empting their Parallel lines album, so it was a chance for fans to hear the likes of 'Hanging On The Telephone', 'One Way or Another' and 'Heart Of Glass' before they were released. With said tracks being classics on heavy rotation to this day, there's no denying that this Blondie show goes down in Boston's music history as one of the all time great performances.
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