Back catalogue: Rock (All)

Review: John Fitch & Associates were a one-shot curio from the tail end of the 60s who, on the strength of this record, should have ridden their wave of heavy, funky blues long into the 70s. What they did on their sole single was as strong as any of the more established and successful groups of the era, but of course the dusty archives of music history are littered with such mysteries and near-misses. Either way it's a treat to see this one get a fresh pressing, with the laid back but beautifully overdriven soul of 'Romantic Attitude' facing off with the hopped-up fuzz of 'Stoned Out Of It'.

Review: It had been five years since fans had received any new, original material from Marianne Faithful by the time Vagabond Ways landed, and it's safe to say the record was worth the wait. Containing both her own work, and re-interpretations of songs by the likes of Roger Waters, Elton John, and Leonard Cohen, if the track list is impressive then the delivery is astounding.

Continuing in her neo-cabaret persona, Vagabond Ways is a theatrical and dramatic piece of work to say the least. Packed with emotion and stage presence, to call this rock would be reductive. More a journey into a kind of surreal, experimental pop realm that's filled with mystery, beauty, and unease, this is an excellent example of how a record can invoke incredibly vivid imagery of your own devising.

Review: Demon Records have embarked on a project to put out four new vinyl reissues from Mark E. Smith and his cult band The Fall.The Infotainment Scan album landed back in 1993 on Permanent Records and went on to be the outfit's highest charting work, entering the UK charts at a frankly unbelievable #9. That said, it is the most accessible of all their records with its cover of Sister Sledge's 'Lost in Music' as well as tunes like 'Paranoia Man in Cheap Sh*t Room' and 'Glam Racket'. This is the first time it has been on wax in almost three decades.

Review: Family's final studio album, It's Only a Movie, celebrated its 50th birthday in late 2023. To mark the occasion, Esoteric has offered up this remastered, expanded edition. Disc one boats the original album, an extended fusion of blues, psychedelic rock, string-laden progressive rock and Country & Western-influenced Americana, as well as a handful of single B-sides, alternate takes and early versions of LP cuts. Over on disc two, we're treated to a mixture of BBC 'in concert' recordings (where their roots in the British blues explosion of the late 1960s are far more evident) and performances captured for BBC Radio One's legendary 'Top Gear' programme (which did much in the 1960s to bring Beatles performances to the masses).

Review: Film De Geurre aka Fred Laser, Max Whiteshoe, Victor Chon and Xenia dropped their self titled dark wave, post punk and minimal synth masterpiece back in 1981. It has become a cult classic ever since and is their one and only ever album. It now comes reissued with a 24"x24" poster & original insert with lyrics courtesy of Mental Groove. The rhythms throughout are stark but compelling, with jangling guitars layered up over the chilly synths and dark, deadpan vocals delivered up top in a matter of fact style. It has a steady pulse that keeps you locked in as the guitar strings ping about and the mood changes from curious and beguiling to more moody and direct

Review: An extremely tehchnical tech-death metal gem from French-Canadian band First Fragment. If there's any metal that 'Gloire Eternelle' deals in, it's mercury, because this band, since their formation in 2007, have always treated the genre with infinite malleability, wafting their talent for double-kicks and solos about the room like an inescapable gas. Even touches of flamenco and neoclassical epic storytelling touch on this wholly instrumental odyssey, which you can now catch for the first time in 'gold splattered' 2xLP form since its initial digital release.

Review: Everyone has their favourite Fleetwood Mac jams and that's because the band had such great versatility. That is displayed on this collection of BBC2 Sessions which were recorded between 1968-9. The 14 tracks all take in a mix of R&B, electric blues, acoustic blues and more. The sessions were originally recorded for a variety of TV and radio programs and these versions have never made it onto any studio album. This collection is a sister release to the official Live At The BBC album and includes tracks that have guest spots from Christine Perfect, who as Christine McVie became a big part of the band going forwards.

Review: London-based DIY label Fika are a trusted source of indie pop, and they're onto a winner presenting the first album from Fortitude Valley. They're fronted by Laura Kovic, who had served plenty of time in other East London bands like Tigercats before getting to steer the ship for this latest project. Although they're rooted in the UK and have a sound which nods to bands like The Beths and Lush, the name is actually a nod to the Brisbane music scene Kovic came up in. Whichever end of the earth you're listening from, the pop hooks come on fast in this irresistible album of jangly tunes with an indie bite.

Review: Josephine Foster and collaborator Daniel Blumberg produced Domestic Sphere as "an altar cloth of songs stitched together as liturgical music for a restless homestead." Foster plays only on the acoustic guitar and does wondrous things with her voice and a wide range of frequencies. She conveys true feelings with every note and it adds up to a rather transcendent experience. Field recordings reflecting daily life in a Spanish village are mixed into the music as is a cameo from her late great-grandmother. The melodies on this one will stay with you long after the record finishes playing.

Review: Robert Fripp's pioneering work in electronic music reached its influential peak with the so-called Frippertronics tour of 1979. Creating compelling soundscapes out of tape loops might not seem revolutionary now, but it certainly was at the time, and out of the tour came this limited and highly prized album, perhaps the most sincere recorded document of Fripp's creative breakthrough. Now Let The Power Fall is being pressed on vinyl for the first time since its initial release on Editions EG in the 80s, and it comes with additional versions of '1984' never heard before.

Review: A work that surely needs little to no introduction, 'Repeater', was the seminal debut full-length from post-hardcore visionaries, Fugazi. From the demise of emo pioneers, Rites Of Spring, and hardcore punk godfathers, Minor Threat, came the enigmatic pairing of Guy Picciotto and Ian MacKaye, with the latter's burgeoning artistry left fully untethered to conjure a work transcendent of post-hardcore or alternative rock. Mapping out the blueprint for punk and alternative music throughout the nineties, even predating the likes of Nirvana's 'Nevermind', or Pearl Jam's 'Ten'; few projects have stood the test of time or been cited as such an integral influence by a dynamic range of artists from Rage Against The Machine to The Dillinger Escape Plan to American Football. Aggressive, expansive and highly critical of issues still plaguing our world today, from drug abuse to greed and privatisation, the ethos of, 'Repeater', (quietly referencing The Beatles' 'Revolver') has only swollen with time.