Search results: Candy Girls

Review: The Mean Girls"soundtrack encapsulates the vibrant energy of the iconic teen comedy with a diverse array of tracks. From anthems like Renee Rapp's 'Meet The Plastics' to Auli'i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Angourie Rice, Tim Meadows & Cast Of Mean Girls's 'Revenge Party', the album mirrors the film's mix of humour and heart. Renee Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion 'Not My Fault' is another standout that complements the film's narrative and overall, the soundtrack serves as a nostalgic trip back to the early 2000s, capturing the essence of Mean Girls and its cultural impact in a catchy and fun compilation.

Review: This was where it all started, not only for arguably the most important feminist rock band of all time, but for an entire musical movement. Originally released on cassette in 1991, Revolution Girl Style Now was an incendiary squall of furious ire, set aflame by DIY spirit, rulebook-shredding rage and Kathleen Hanna's fearsomely magnetic charisma alike. To this end, this collection of mighty calls to arms has stubbornly refused to date, standing proud as more than an essential Riot Grrrl document, rather a thrilling and timeless testimony to the power of punk rock at its most righteous.

Review: Tatsuro Yamashita's It's a Poppin' Time is one of the many albums of his that are being reissued right now as part of a campaign focussing don his work for RCA. It arrives on nice heavy 180g vinyl and is the first of two live albums he put out. This one came in 1978 and an expanded remaster came in 2002. At the time he was an already established Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer who had very much helped to define the early city-pop sound that has endured to this day. He dropped a wealth of studio albums from the seventies onwards and as this one shows had more than enough skill to carry that magic over to the live arena.

Review: There seems to be a wealth of excellent hip hop LPs landing this month and right up there with the best of them is this gritty, streetwise collection from Amityville, New York MC Rozewood. His involving narrations are hugely detailed and make for an album packed with tight story telling. There is some rich melody to lighten the mood in most tracks, with serene strings, dusty beats and jazzy chords all adding richness and realness to the confrontational rhymes. Somehow thew album harks back to the golden 90s era of rugged boom-bap while also bringing something new and utterly contemporary. Essential stuff.

Review: Four years after it was first released, Ruben Johnson's fifth solo album as Rozewood returns to record stores on rather fetching lilac vinyl. It remains a hugely alluring set, with the New York-raised MC delivering fluid, dexterous rhymes (with typically thoughtful lyrics, including some surprisingly heart-felt recollections about love and life) atop dusty, layered and largely laidback beats sourced from an impressive range of underground producers (think Manu Beats, Dirtydiggs, Tropes and Grubby Pawz). These tend towards the cinematic and smoky, with occasional nods towards a more club-friendly boom-bap style.

Review: As the title makes clear, this three-disc, unmixed collection has one simple aim: to soundtrack kitchen discos, living room dances and long car journeys with a jam-packed selection of disco hits and disco-tinged pop favourites. It does a good job at that, even if some of the selections tend towards the lesser-known end of the commercial disco spectrum, with all three discs showcasing such disco must-haves and part-starting sing-alongs as Dan Hartman's soaring 'Relight My Fire' (famously covered by Take That in the 90s), Diana Ross's 'I'm Coming Out', Chaka Khan's inspired 'Young Hearts Run Free', Grace Jones' punk-funk Roxy Music cover 'Love Is The Drug', McFadden & Whitehead's epic 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and Cheryl Lynn's peerless 'Got To Be Real'.

Review: Hardened music nerds may roll their eyes at the thought of the Now That's What I Call Music series turning its attention to disco, but this quintuple LP compilation does provides a great starting point for those dipping their toes into the sound for the first time or looking to grow their disco collection. A few needless pop hits aside, the set contains a wealth of sing-along party favourites ('Car Wash' by Rose Royce, Diana Ross's 'Upside Down', Lipps Inc's throbbing 'Funky Town' etc.) and genuine disco anthems that still get regular airings on club dancefloors today (Thelma Houston's 'Don't Leave Me This Way', Candi Staton's 'Nights On Broadway', Cheryl Lynn's 'Got To Be Real' and Sylvester's 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)' included).

Review: .NOW's Yearbook series of quadruple CD sets reaches 1990, a year in which the currents of dance music's future dominance of the pop charts became stronger and more pronounced. Of course, this being a pop-focused collection, the musical story told is far more varied. So while there are suitably baggy, bowl haircut-sporting indie-dance numbers from the likes of Candyflip, Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses, as well as crossover club hits from the likes of The KLF, the Adventures of Stevie V and Dee-Lite, you'll also find synth-pop melancholia from the Pet Shop Boys (including 'Being Boring', arguably Neil Tennant's best song), boy band business from New Kids on the Block, a dash of Kylie Minogue, alt-rock hits from Faith No More and Bon Jovi, and a blast of Elton John.