Juno Recommends Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s: February 2023

Review: Scottish indie-pop darlings Belle and Sebastian are back with a second album in a year. Late Developers is their 10th overall and came as rather a surprise out of the leftfield when it was first announced at short notice. The first single 'I Don't Know What You See In Me' is a big, rousing, infectious pop tune that reminded us that this band is far from done yet. It is a creative powerhouse that comes some 25 years after their first release and is full of the magical hooks this band is so well known and loved for. From big and energetic cut to dance-ready jams via a co-write with young pop composer Pete Ferguson, this is a real doozy.

Review: St. Jude is known as the Christian patron saint of lost causes, which is ironic, because The Courteeners' musical career over the years has been anything but. This reissue celebrates the 15th Anniversary of the Mancunian band's debut album, and features an exclusive crock of more recent recordings made in L.A. Festival-ready indie pop is clearly set to make a comeback.

Review: Southampton-based band Delays burned bright through their six-year tenure, sadly now shadowed by lead singer Greg Gilbert passing away in 2021. Rough Trade are winding back the clock to 2004, when they first burst onto the scene with their debut album Faded Seaside Glamour. It's an album which embodies the indie boom of that era, loaded with bombast and heartfelt songwriting which nodded to the past without being beholden to it. You might hear the epic strokes of Joshua Tree-era U2 in the likes of 'On', or the jangly pop of The Cure at their breeziest. This deluxe edition comes pressed on orange vinyl.

Review: Ten years on, and Coexist has lost none of its charm. The anticipation around The xx's sophomore effort was high following their widely acclaimed debut, and the band were assured enough to not just play it safe with a repeat performance but instead evolve their sound in new directions. There was space for lighter, pop-informed moments to match the more sombre approach they became best known for, and standout moments like 'Angels', 'Reunion' and 'Swept Away' have since become classics in the band's canon. This commemorative pressing comes on clear vinyl - an understated celebration of an essential album in the indie-pop sphere.

Review: You know a band has iconic status when not only their LPs but all their singles get a fresh repress. If there's one group who warrant such indulgence, it's New Order, and amidst the many classics being spruced up for a new audience here is the evergreen The Perfect Kiss, originally released in 1985 and interestingly the first New Order single to have also been included on an album, Low-life. As well as the title track, there are some essential B-sides in the form of 'The Kiss Of Death' and 'Perfect Pit', but really it's about the special extended version of 'The Perfect Kiss' - a shining emblem of everything great about the 12" single.

Review: Geese tend not to be many twitchers' favourite taxonomic family of bird, but when it comes to music, many of the best artists pay homage. Goose, for example - the Connecticut indie folkers with a penchant for jammy freakouts - have unveiled the Undecided EP, a four-track studio collection of live favorites. The album tends towards the instrumental side of things, with climaxes emerging out of minimal slow jams, culminating in great brown washes of guitar and sumptuous, melodious crooning. Or honking, if you will; emotive and cathartic stuff.

Review: Gaz Coombes is a bonafide national treasure. When you think back to his years as main man in Supergrass, while the band were up there with the most iconic of the time, they were very much of that time, and didn't necessarily give that much inclination as to the innovation and boundary pushing nature of the lead singer's future solo oeuvre.

Turn the Car Around is the latest case in point. As a record, it's remarkably broad yet totally coherent. It's epic and polished but notably gritty. Tracks like 'Long Live The Strange' veer from theatrical rock 'n' roll choruses to more intimate pared back verses, while 'Feel Loop (Lizard Dream)' is a swaggering slice of garage guitar stuff where the strained six strings act as second voice in duet with artist's vocals. Just two examples of the mastery at work, this is a modern classic.

Review: Stoner rockers Kyuss were epitomisers of the sound in their day, but after a respectable spate of four albums, the band went their separate ways in 1995. After all bitternesses and resentments bowled over, they found it in their hearts to look back - and this selection of 15 rare tracks brings together the best cuts of live material, B-sides and more. This is fast-paced, moody and fearsome rock.

Review: As part of the Low-Life 'Definitive Edition' release campaign, New Order reissue the 12" singles from the album, first released in May 1985 at the height of their controversial exploitation by Factory Records. 'Sub-Culture' is one of its lead singles: originally released on white label (infamously, graphic designer Peter Saville allegedly deemed the song unworthy of his talents), this functional synthpop banger reeks with and oozes of FM-farty glitz, and lyrically concerns a nocturnal protagonist, disaffected with the modern, measured day-night cycle. The B 'Dub-vulture' pulls a similar instrumental trick with a varied melody.

Review: As part of the Low Life 'Definitive Edition' release campaign, New Order reissue the 12" singles from and around the album, first released in May 1985. 'Shellshock' the perfect name for the thousand-yard-stare of satiation we experience on relistening to this glitzy and glamorous electro tune, packed with 16th note rimshots, not a buzzing master bus that few synthpop acts could rival back then. The B-side 'Shellcock' snips the hidden jockstrap on, meanwhile, on an instrumental dub of the tune, much in the fashion of what Depeche Mode were doing contemporaneously.

Review: In the midst of a slew of high-end reissues of New Order's classic material (including represses of the singles, no less), here comes a mouth-watering deluxe edition of their 1985 album Low-life. It's always a bold statement to call a release 'definitive' but it's hard to imagine topping this lavish box set with a 180 gram pressing plus a double CD, double DVD and accompanying book. There are full live performances from 1985 in Japan and Belgium, and every possible remix, outtake and demo version you could possibly dream of. And that's not even saying anything about the original album itself - a true totem of 80s synth pop in all its glory.

Review: It has been hailed as "the first great guitar album of 2023" by at least one taste making and era-spanning UK music publication. Dublin's extraordinarily good, yet still somehow not world famous outfit The Murder Capital have certainly packed this full of bold ideas, welcome surprises, and enviable musicality, making us next in line to laud over the package.

Of course, this is only their second album, which puts two things into context - we shouldn't expect groups to break the world with one LP, if they want a chance at longevity, and anyone who can make an amazing long-player-number-two clearly means serious business. Big, powerful, moving, danceable and purposefully aimed directly at the heart, this is indie rock with touches of synth and pop, not to mention a few nods to early-Killers theatricality.

Review: Arlo Parks is now a hugely successful indie artist with many great tunes to her name. One of them came back in 2019 in the form of her Cola EP back when she was just 18 years old. It showcased her smoky, soulful and mournful vocal skills with gentle guitar accoutrements and plenty of dusty vinyl crackle for added authenticity. That title tune is here in all its tender glory while on the flip is 'George' which is yet another standout single that has slightly more upbeat lyrics and prouder production. What a talent she is.

Review: It has only been seven years since Guided By Voices reunited. And when we say that, we mean it has only just been seven years. Getting back together in 2016, evidently the event was long overdue given how many ideas they seem to have had ready and waiting to go.

Between then and now, the band - whose oeuvre dates back to 1983 - have dropped no less than 15 albums, which is the kind of work rate that should make you question your own and whether or not you could ever keep pace with these veterans. La La Land is the latest to arrive and proves they're not merely resorting to churn and burn. Instead, this new collection is a great example of the spiky punk rock 'n' roll that first got them noticed, albeit perhaps with extra depth and certainly an air of artistic patience.

Review: LA-based contemporary dream pop artist Winter (Samira Winter) has unveiled her second album at the right time - we all need a hint of blue in our shoegaze to match the drear of the winter months. Deceptively retro-seeming yet sonically new, 'What Kind Of Blue Are You?' invites us to unlock the door of personal individuation and liberty, handing us the skeleton key that is shoegaze. I'm more of a turquoise myself. Clean and breathy vocal dubs are central to the album's sound: 'good' is an earnest slow-jam of trust in a relationship, while the industri-gaze banger 'write it out' is a paean for written catharsis, the therapy of journaling. A stellar album that eases up on shoegaze's reputation for potato-quality mastering; it's enjoyably pure.

Review: Mercy is John Cale's first new music in a decade, which is already a treat for the ears of his fans. And they are numerous given his former role as a founding member of the cult Velvet Underground band. The Welshman has remained a tirelessly inventive artist throughout his long career whether making gnarly rock, bewitching chamber music or raw electronic sounds. This record finds him crafting dead-of-night electronic sounds with their own sense of soul. Helping him make this beguiling mix of tender love songs and dark visions of the future are top talents like Actress, Laurel Halo and Animal Collective amongst many more.

Review: Definitely not to be confused with Swansea, Wales-born three piece Who's Molly?, Molly have the privilege of hailing from Tyrol, Austria, a historic Alpine region that looks and most likely smells exactly like you'd imagine, or hope. Also known to those who actually know them as Lars Andersson and Phillip Dornauer, the multi-talented and multi-instrumentally-astute duo blend post-rock with a distorted, twisted sibling of shoegaze, built specifically - it would seem - for the modern age (and listener).

This six-tracker is certainly a good introduction to their wares, if one we're needed. Layer upon layer of guitar wonderment, packed with discordance, disharmony and melodies trapped behind grizzled walls of sound, epic vocal ends floating by like lost hymns from forgotten ages. Steeped in atmosphere, soothing without being sedate, and packing many great ideas, we recommend.

Review: First of all, what a great name for an album - it is so great it could also be the inspiration for a whole Instagram account if you ask us. Back when it was released in 2004 of course no one had ever heard of Instagram. But anyway Delays' mix of wonder and excitement has aged well despite the seachange the world has seen in the nearly two decades that have passed. Greg Gilbert's vocals are tightly intertwined with the synths of his brother Aaron, while Colin Fox's bass and Rowly's drumming all add up to affecting songs that are pop-leaning yet deeply emotive.

Review: The Courteeners mark a decade and a half since their landmark debut album St Jude with this new reissue across several different formats. As well as including all the original tracks from the album as it was back then, this version also has a brand new single 'It'll Take More Than A Weekend Away To Fix This Mess'. The tune was actually written at the same time as the album and was recently recorded in Manchester. The album hit number four in the album charts back in 2008 and contained three Top 40 singles, 'Not Nineteen Forever,' 'What Took You So Long?' and 'No You Didn't, No You Don't.'

Review: Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs have more than proven their music knowledge across a stellar run of prior compilations, including The Daisy Age, Fell From The Sun and English Weather. This time around, they're tapping into the freeform climes of the late 70s and early 80s, as punk exploded and a myriad of bands channelled the unique, downcast mood of Britain into wildly creative, nervously urgent songs. Across four sides we take in all manner of cult selections and outer limits largely in the loose fit realm of post-punk. It's flawlessly selected and programmed - another reminder of how immersive a proper compilation can be.

Review: American rock band Alabama Shakes - fronted by lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard - acclaimed debut long player Boys & Girls is 10 years old this year. To mark the occasion, Rough Trade Records commemorate it with a bumper two-disc deluxe edition. Rolling Stone called the original one of the best albums of 2012, and after it entered the charts at number one it went on to get Platinum certification and several GRAMMY nominations. This version features all the original tracks along with new, unreleased photos and an additional 11 live tracks from a performance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic."

Review: You can't help wondering what Atlantic Records were thinking when they rejected Little Earthquakes. Tori Amos' debut album, which finally saw the light of day in 1992, reaching 14 in the UK long form charts at a time when competition in the Top anything was ridiculously fierce, the record stands up very well on its own, trapped in your own listening capsule. More so, it marked the arrival of a truly unique voice who would go on to inspire a bunch of alt-pop sirens.
Of course, the finished article garnered praise from across the critical board, proving that what label executives don't know is often what the rest of us do - originality has far more longevity than a guaranteed number one. Producing timeless singles like 'Silent All These Years', 'China', 'Winter', and, of course, 'Crucify', it's a joy to hear again.

Review: Talk about starting the year on a positive note. We're barely a fortnight in and this iconic outfit are already bestowing a startlingly good new record on us - startling not least because it arrives hot on the heels of 2022's Top 10 LP, A Bit of Previous. Also startling just because it's plain brilliant, easily rubbing shoulders with its predecessor in terms of quality.

On their latest adventure we don't sit still for long, with a number of styles both familiar and bold fused together. There's high energy rough and readiness on 'Juliet Naked', psyche pop reigns when 'So in the Moment' drops, and jangling guitars do the business throughout 'When We Were Very Young'. Back with a bang, instant return delivered with aplomb, by this point you have to wonder how they keep doing it.

Review: ART is a much sought-after record amongst lovers of broken beat, soul, pop and indie. The Amsterdam-based artist Benny Sings dropped it back in 2011 and it has now been fully remastered for this reissue. It is the product of an artist who had fully found his feet after previous albums of musical exploration. On this one, he admits he was free to do whatever he fancied and had the skills to make it happen. He wrote three songs a day for months on end in order to drill down into the best sounds he could - and the results are glorious, with catchy melodies, neat little rhythms and his stylised and laidback vocals up top.

Review: Loaded is The Velvet Underground's second-most lauded album, after their scratch-n-sniffable debut LP. Among other things, it's also a cornerstone in the genre of extremely literal rock album covers, depicting a velvet red smoke wafting from an underground railway station. The album's title was an allusion to the fact that it was intended to be an appealing record, solely for radio play, hence it being 'Loaded' with hits. Glorious gems such as 'Sweet Jane' bound forward with TVU's usual euphemistic, ironic optimism, and this reissue is sure to nail the LP's full-bodied sound once more.