Search results: On TV

Review: It's only been three years since TV Priest formed in London, a city well-known the world over for nurturing incredibly forward thinking, groundbreaking acts. In many ways, TV Priest fit that model perfectly. Having played just one gig, they managed to get signed to the cult and rightly revered label, Sub Pop, and delivered their startling debut album, Uppers, in the height of Britain's Covid-19 nightmare, landing in February 2021.

Here we are, just over one year later and in a different world, albeit one that's arguably just as uncertain. Not least in music, with skyrocketing overheads, sluggish ticket sales, and competition in the form of other events including three years of delayed weddings and family reunions all conspiring to put the only real remaining income source for artists at risk. My Other People is a raucous and unapologetic album for our times, then, throwing guitar cacophonies, surreal theatrical moments, gritty chug, and hyper-emotional overtures into a rock 'n' roll powerhouse that feels at once dejected but determined.

Review: Much like the Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow were as much a product of Malcolm McLaren's commercial nous and love of provocation as they were a band, but with the passage of time you can hear their music in a different light. Made up of former Adam & The Ants members and teenage singer Annabella Lwin, they whipped up a powerful twist on the new wave template in which Burundi-style drumming, twanging Americana and post-punk scratchiness collided with pop hooks. If you can't get enough of that era of music, you will surely love discovering or re-discovering this breakthrough album from one of popular music's true curios.

Review: If you assumed it was possible to live without a ska version of the James Bond theme tune then prepare to be taught one of life's great lessons. Assumption is the mother of all f**k ups, basically. Fear not, though, what was a one-off pressing by Soul Jazz for Record Store Day in 2020 is once again available, only this time on gatefold LP rather than five 7" singles. Perhaps not as authentic or ideal for DJs, nevertheless the contents are just as captivating. Celebrating, in part at least, the bond between Bond and the Caribbean - author Ian Fleming lived on Jamaica and several stories are set in the region, and filmed on said island (Dr No, Live & Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, No Time To Die) this is evocative stuff. Stick it on, kick back with a Martini, and picture yourself casing out a mark at some beachside party spot, stunning partner in hand, senses subtly on high alert.

Review: A few years ago, Studio One explored the links between Jamaica and James Bond (where the famous fictional spy's creator, Ian Fleming, famously lived) on Studio One 007, a limited-edition box set of seven-inch singles. Now they've revisited and expanded the compilation, adding more ska and rocksteady interpretations of Bond themes (as well as Bond-inspired Jamaican music used on other films of the late 1960s) and the label's usual extensive liner notes. Our picks of a great bunch include the Soul Brothers' ska interpretation of the 'Thunderball' theme song, their collaborative take on the main Bond theme with Jackie Mittoo, a young Lee Perry on the mic (alongside Bob Marley's backing band, the Wailers) on 'Pussy Galore', and Roland Alphonso and the Studio One Orchestra's 'From Russia With Love'.

Review: This is a must have for all us hapless vinyl obsessives who love the more weird and wonderful records out there. It is a top class collection of all of TV's best theme tunes from over the years. All the classics are included and each one will take you back to some exact moment in time from your past and flood you with feelings of nostalgia and joy. It was a simpler time back then, with just a couple of channel that everyone sat down to watch together ratter the endless dreaming and digital options we have today. This one comes on splattered vinyl for the very first time.

Review: Philadelphia DIY ska-punks Catbite may cite the likes of The Specials, The Selectors, and Elvis Costello over more partisan, Americanised influences such as Less Than Jake or Reel Big Fish, but that's possibly due to their punk pulse thumping subtly under rocksteady nuances.

Last August's sophomore blast and aptly titled, 'Nice One' served as a perfect summer wind-down with the reserved, chilled grooves of 'Bad Influence' rolling along after the bop-punk of 'Call Your Bluff' and 'Excuse Me Miss'. Now, after the slight vinyl delay pinch practically all artists have been experiencing, these summertime vibes are just about ready to be dusted off yet again.

Review: He will forever be known as the frontman of Pulp, but for many music lovers Jarvis Cocker has also won our affections with his erudite selections for his BBC 6 Music show. Entitled Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service, it ran every week from 2010 to 2017 and now a selection of his personal favourites get the compilation treatment. Reflecting the mood of most Sundays, the music is soothing, soft and mellow, but always high quality. There are stunning covers or Beyonce by Anthony & the Jonsons and Gary Numan's "Cars" on steel drums, plaintive piano pieces from John Baker and a classic from Nina Simone amongst a whole treasure trove of gems.

Review: Osibisa's magnificent The Lost 70s Live Shows resurrects the pulsating energy of the Afrobeat and highlife fusion that defined the band's vibrant sound. Released as a testament to their dynamic live performances in the 1970s, the album captures the group's fierce genre-defying spirit with infectious rhythms, hypnotic percussion, and spirited horns. It is with these that the group create an immersive experience that transcends time with multicultural influences abounding throughout. Osibisa's lost live shows showcase their ability to ignite stages with an infectious blend of African, Caribbean, and jazz elements so do not sleep on this reissue.

Review: After what seems like an eternity (four years to be exact), Aim and Niko have fired up their ATIC Records imprint to release the latter's first album in nine years. Produced by Aim, Electric Union is a pleasingly eclectic affair that rightly puts the Seattle-born singer front and centre. After opening with a dash of futurist, house-fired synth-pop ('It Could Be Love') and shiny new wave revivalism (the Goldfrapp-esque 'The Palace Discotheque'), the set sees Niko and her long-time producer sashay between analogue-rich electro-pop, kaleidoscopic downtempo loveliness and thrill-a-minute D&B ('You Used To Have Her'), all shot through with neon-lit synth sounds and crunchy machine beats.

Review: Kilo Kish (aka Kish Robinson) is an interdisciplinary artist and performer who has worked with Vince Staples, Miguel, Jean Dawson and Jesse Boykins III and this, her sophomore album. It's a psychedelic piece of pop art with infectious hooks and industrial beats that muses on the issues of identity, status, and race. The production is often maximalist in a fun 80s fashion with ice-cold staccato raps, self-assured bars and playful elements that keep you locked. This first pressing comes on special transparent blue vinyl via Diggers Factory.

Review: Definitely one for The Stooges Geek Den, or whatever the inner circle of fans is actually called (let's face it, probably not that). A Fire of Life doesn't actually contain any songs that we're not already familiar with, but it's how the songs were recorded that makes all the difference here. Each was captured directly into one mixing desk or another during the band's original iteration, back when guitarist Ron Asheton was still playing guitar.

Some of these were studio sessions, others live shows, all of them remind us of their unbridled and unfettered talent. Spread out across two vinyls, we have all the big anthems from the first two albums, with many not just re-recorded but full-blown alternative versions of tracks. Released to coincide with the now-legendary 1972 King's Cross concert (another in-the-know fact that will appeal to many), it's a special edition to behold.

Review: Given that they warmed up for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park two years ago and won the 'Rising Stars' award at the 2023 BRITS, it would be fair to say that The Last Dinner Party are one of UK indie-music's most hyped bands. As a result, interest in Prelude to Ecstasy, their debut album, is sky-high. It was produced by James Ford - arguably one of the most in-demand studio knob-twiddlers of recent times - and has a concept of sorts: a musical exploration of the extremes of human emotions, with confessional lyrics written after band-members dug out and re-read their old diaries. They've certainly delivered on that project, creating immersive sound worlds (in part via the use of strings and trippy electronics as well as their usual instruments) that variously draw influence from mid-70s Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, funky post-punk rock, art-rock and vintage West Coast AOR.

Review: Now's ongoing Yearbook series has reached 1973, a 12-month period in which saw an Oil Crisis, the opening of the World Trade Center in New York, and the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam. Musically, as the four-disc set proves, pop was being pulled in different directions, with new stars emerging (David Bowie, Elton John, Roxy Music, David Essex and various members of the Osmond family) former 'Fabs' settling into their new solo careers (John Lennon, Paul Wings), Glam rock increasing in popularity (Mud, Sweet, Wizzard, T-Rex, Slade), and soul beginning to evolve into disco (the Spinners, Michael Jackson, the O'Jays, Diana Ross, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes). Throw in a few massive hits from megastars (Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Elvis Presley), and you have an on-point pop summary of 1973.