Partisan US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Just Mustard's second album is her first for Partisan Records. It is a coherent but widescreen exploration across 10 tracks that all add up to a great whole. Her magic vocals, scything guitars and brooding rock drums all make for intense and scintillant listening. Tracks like 'Seed' roll up and down on lumpy drums with gauzy guitar textures, while there is a more ethereal sound to 'Early' which floats up amongst the stars. 'In Shade' has a catchy post punk rhythm and 'Sore' is dense and caustic shoegaze style rock that drags you with it into a world of questions.

Review: Afrobeat legend, cult bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Fela Kuti recorded his Open & Close album in Lagos in 1971. Originally released on the Nigerian His Master's Voice imprint, it now gets a full reissue on Partisan. It consists of only three track, and once again finds Feld riding his own grooves off into the sunset. There are twists and turns along the way and of course some fantastic horn work to compliment the sounds, but never do you grow detach from that underlying pulse. This might not be as politically or socially charged as other LPs from Fela, but musically it is right on point.