Ignition Vinyl & CDs

Review: Manchester indie icons The Courteeners - second only to Oasis in their home city - treated fans to a retrospective promo run in 2023 after releasing the 15th anniversary edition of the album that made them stars: St. Jude. And they landed their first number one in the process. Riding off the back of that success, Liam Fray and co. have an album of all new songs for 2024 and have done it in tandem with the aid of a new generation of indie risers and more established names. This, their seventh studio album, is easily their most collaborative work to-date. Stone Roses-esque Aussies the DMA's, hotly-tipped indie pop singer Pixey, The Coral-backed singer Brooke Coombe were handpicked to be featured artists, while the likes of The Coral's Ian and James Skelly and Blossoms' bassist Charlie Salt are on the record too. One of The Courteeners biggest strengths is their ear for a hook that sticks and in this respect listeners to the new album won't be disappointed. The single 'Solitude On The Night Bus' is a major case in point. It will have you whistling it long after it's stopped playing. Elsewhere, 'The Beginning Of The End' is euphoric with soaring vocals and lush instrumental arrangements. Perhaps they've taken after the Coral in doing so but the introduction of steadier tempos and their nods to Phil Spector's wall of sound technique is something they wear well. Their best since St. Jude.

Review: Whether you're a big Stereophonics fan or not, there are two fundamental truths. One - 'Local Boy In the Photograph' wonderfully encapsulates a period in our lives we will treasure forever, and remains a tune to this day. Two - Kelly Jones is one of the finest singers of his generation, capable of moving between melancholia and euphoria in equal measure, all with a whisky-raw delivery that positioned him as experienced veteran long before he'd even cracked a single crow's foot on those wise eyes. Inevitable Incredible is the latest proof he's still got it. Yes, this is very easy going stuff and aimed squarely at a kind of middle-soft-rock-folk-leaning-country-indie audience. But, also yes, everything here hits with real emotional resonance and the songwriting is superb. Tender, vulnerable, resolutely human, if this is what happens when Jones hauls up on a Norwegian island solo, and spends six days recording on his piano, we'd like that to happen more often.