Parlophone US Vinyl & CDs

Review: American singer-songwriter and rapper Ashnikko dropped their much-anticipated debut album this August through Parlophone and Warner Records and has been teased with no fewer than fine well-received singles. It is a concept record based around "a commentary on environmental disaster and the rapid evolution of technology" which honestly seems not so much a concept as just a statement of our current reality. The artist displays plenty of rage both lyrically and in terms of delivery here, with industrial hip-hop and rap, nu-metal and trap all distilled into something confrontational yet triumphant.

Review: The original album artwork, designed by Tony Hung, features an ice cream in neon lights against a black background. For this special edition, Hung has reimagined the design, adding gold foil and embossed details. It's a beautiful reworking that goes well with the gold disc and shows a deeper connection to the music. The audio has been spruced up using a technique that is the holy grail of vinyl cutting. And in terms of the music, you might consider the tracks more deep cuts as they don't tend to decorate their live sets. But that ought to change as there's moments of pure genius. To name a couple: 'Lonesome Street' could have made any of Bowie's albums. And 'There Are Too Many of Us' sees Albarn dabble in Roger Waters-esque observations beautifully. Time has been very kind to The Magic Whip as it's aging really well.

Review: It was always going to be the case that Parlophone would press this one up to blue vinyl and so here it comes. As well as writing plenty of his own chart-topping original hits and doing the same for plenty of other artists, iconic French dance music titan David Guetta also loves to turn out a cover as he did last year with 'I'm Good (Blue)' alongside singer Bebe Rexha. It spent 55 weeks at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and is pure bait for younger crowds.

Review: Kylie Minogue's turn-of-the-2K electropop album mightn't be known to most music fans; they know it by its singles, the best-known of which include 'Spinning Around' and 'On A Night Like This'. Also a return to Kylie's pop roots, it follows her 1997 record Impossible Princess, on which Minogue had taken an experimental turn towards trip-hop and electronica, though this didn't pan out as well as it did for committed actors in the style on which Minogue drew inspiration, such as Bjork. Though the former record gained a cult status in hindsight - a "sexy and reliable secret weapon" by some critics' assessments - Minogue nonetheless rode the critical wave of the time, saying Light Years heard her do "what I do best... pop music is the kind of music that people want from me." It is not to be discounted either, its electric dance sound design serving a kind of eerie hyperreality that likely wasn't registered among her target demographic way back when.

Review: Dance pop's dynamic duo Pet Shop Boys bring out their 15th studio album Nonetheless, still showing that the group has what it takes to keep their fans wanting more. Neil's songwriting is clever and to the point, as always, and, expressive as ever, he croons about love that is lost, jealousy and excess. Chris Lowe's underrated ability to make techno pop is always the underlying reason for this band continuing on. Together, in perfect harmony, they can hit anthemic peaks like in their lead single 'Loneliness'. The band's ability to update the disco sound and infuse it into today's dance music trends is where they shine.

Review: French producer St Germain laid down a pretty untouchable deep house blueprint with his debut album Boulevard, then managed to go one better with Tourist a couple of years later. It had even more instrumental magic and jazz class to it, over the deep, driving yet cuddly house beats with plenty of spoken word tributes to house legends, hummable top lines and iconic flutes that have endured for more than 20 years since its release. The whole thing has been remastered and now arrives on translucent orange vinyl. A true classic that will never go out of fashion and works both at home and in the club equally well.