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Review: Emotional Rescue label boss Stuart Leath is particularly excited about this release, and it's not hard to see why. While Spanish singer/songwriter Javier Bergia is not widely known in the UK, his releases - either solo, or as part of the Finas Africae and Arium Musicae groups - are held in high regard by those of a Balearic persuasion. Eclipse is something of a treat, gathering together the best of Bergia's solo work from 1985 to the present day. Featuring Bergia's spoken and sung vocals atop a mix of gentle acoustics, atmospheric strings, delay-laden percussion and subtle global rhythms, Eclipse impresses from start to finish. It should be essential listening for anyone with even the tiniest interest in Balearica.

Review: 
LINKIN PARK A THOUSAND SUNS WARNERS BROS /CINRAM
2LP 9362496318 0093 6249 6318 9 £18.00
DEAL 15 RELEASED: 15.11.10
TRACKLISTING: 1. The Requiem 2. The Radiance 3. Burning In The Skies 4. Empty Spaces 5. When They Come For Me 6. Robot Boy 7. Jornada Del Muerto 8. Waiting For The End 9. Blackout 10. Wretches And Kings 11. Wisdom, Justice, And Love 12. Iridescent 13. Fallout 14. The Catalyst 15. The Messenger

Review: A year shy of its 40th anniversary, Inspiration Information enjoys a reissue and it's still as sparkly and soul-laden as it was in 1974. Ranging from the guitar-twanging smoky blues funk of "Rainy Day" to the sultry, strutting title track, it's largely regarded as Otis's most comprehensive work of that time. According to legend it took him three years to create... 39 years later and it still sounds as good as this? We'd say that's time well spent!

Review: There was naturally much excitement when A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead's surprise ninth studio set, popped up on streaming and download services back in May. Here it gets a CD release, offering those who prefer physical products a chance to bathe in its' woozy eccentricities. Seen by some as a return to their arty rock roots following an extended period spend exploring electronics, the album's 11 tracks draw on a variety of influences (krautrock, ambient, Pavement, James Blake, Stockhausen, intense melancholia etc.), with predictably impressive results. Occasionally elegant, string-laden and grandiose, always beautiful, and sometimes intensely moving, A Moon Shaped Pool is undeniably up there with the band's best work.

Review: "In Rainbows", Radiohead's seventh album, finally gets a physical release! It's one thing downloading this landmark album, but to actually hold this is something special. Not only do you get increased sound quality, but you also get the amazing artwork from Stanley Donwood. This album includes "Nude", a live favourite for many years that was originally written during the "OK Computer" sessions. More minimal that their "Kid A" period, "In Rainbows" does something that very few albums have done - its sound is distinct from previous Radiohead albums, but is still clearly Radiohead. Hail to the kings, they are back on top form.

Review: Motorhead's eponymous debut album roared onto the scene with unapologetic ferocity, setting the stage for the legendary career of Lemmy Kilmister and his bandmates. Released in 1977, this seminal record embodies the raw power and relentless energy that would become synonymous with the Motorhead sound. From the thunderous rhythms of 'Motorhead' to the electrifying riffage of 'Iron Horse/Born to Lose,' each track delivers a sonic assault that leaves an indelible mark on the listener. With its gritty production and no-frills approach, Motorhead's debut remains a timeless testament to the unbridled spirit of rock 'n' roll rebellion, cementing its status as a classic.

Review: Now approaching a half-century of artistic life as the closest we have to a living personification of rock 'n' roll, Iggy Pop nonetheless also continues to carry himself with more class and style than most any lifer that springs to mind. Yet it has to be said that few were expecting the cadaverous king to make his greatest album for thirty of those years, and this is what 'Post Pop Depression' his collaboration with a dream team involving luminaries such as Josh Homme, Dean Fertita and The Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders is exactly that - a wry, restrained and ice-cool meditation on carnality and mortality without cliche or rehash, this album is all primal satisfaction and righteous revelation.

Review: Five years after the second life of Death was started with the release of their revelatory 1976 album, "For The Whole World To See", "III" slams the door on the vault with a powerful set of songs that bring equal amounts of rock and ethereal soul-searching, in high-fidelity, rich bottomed, studio-grade sound. Alongside songs from 1975, 1976 and 1980, "III" contains two songs from 1992, as the Hackney brothers reconvened nearly a decade after they'd stopped playing together. The album serves as a companion piece of sorts to the "A Band Called Death" documentary, tracking the band's movement from spiritual young rockers to older and wiser, bruised-but-undefeated brothers, in pure musical terms. David Hackney's visual representation of Death was a triangle, where "spiritual", "mental" and "physical" formed the three angles. With this in mind, "For The Whole World To See" is clearly the physical corner, with its undeniable proto-punk power; "Spiritual-Mental-Physical" explores the mental axis, with Death working through some of their influences including The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and even ELO in their practice space. "III" is the spiritual end of the portrait, bookended by the dreamlike rock visions of David Hackney that created and propelled the band called Death.

Review: Food Stamps is a great example of a record that fell between the cracks on its original release back in 1982. The one and only release from Baltimore-based funk-rock explorer Billie Senger, it has achieved cult status amongst record collectors due to its obscurity (finding original copies is notoriously tough). This reissue - pressed on green vinyl with new cover artwork - should, then, prove popular. "Food Stamps" - a riotously loose and floor-friendly chunk of funk from the Rare Earth school of white funk-rock - is the real killer, though the MC5-influenced flipside "How Do I Know" impresses with its fuzzy, recorded-in-a-shed feel and extra-cosmic production.

Review: Music On Vinyl are our new best friends. With a wide range of music being reissued as of late, Yello's 1987 One Second is just spoiling us. Never being fully acclaimed when it was originally released, this is one album which really spans the full circle in terms of artistic ideas sonic experimentations. While being tagged primarily as a pop work, it's really more of a lesson in synth manipulations and nutty beat-making. "The Rhythm Divine" has to be out top track but do check the whole thing, it's magnificent...

Review: A musical polymath like no other, the late Arthur Russell turned his hand to a bewildering variety of different musical styles, from avant-garde torch songs to pounding disco, yet all imbued with his otherworldly songwriting skill and richly emotional voice. This posthumous compilation, however, collects together the more oddly accessible material that he created, in largely acoustic and country styles. The cowboy hat on the sleeve may be strangely appropriate here, but more than this, the blend of plaintive melancholy and freewheeling charm can only leave the listener wondering how Arthur Russell managed to avoid mainstream success in his all-too-brief career. A strange and beguiling transmission from a unique talent.

Review: Long-term Pumpkins fans might have been forgiven for thinking that Billy Corgan had taken leave of his senses of late, given his ventures into wrestling management and the eight-hour freeform modular synth take on Herman Hesse's Siddhartha that he baffled an audience with in his coffee shop recently. Yet fear not: on the evidence of Monuments To An Elegy, the combination of riff attack, fragile melody and plaintive melancholy that was at the heart of the Pumpkins' classic work is very much present and correct, not to mention Corgan's charismatic songwriting suss. Monuments To An Elegy is a fitting title, for both the rock solid and emotionally engaging elements of classic Pumpkins are here explored anew.

Review: The 21st Century has been quiet thus far for New Order, with only two full albums to date, and only an out-takes compilation in the last decade. Moreover, 'Music Complete' marks their first album to date without founding bassist Peter Hook, and the return of Gillian Gilbert to the ranks. Yet from this turbulence and inertia they've somehow managed to create a collection of songs that rank as their strongest set since 'Technique' in 1989. VIbrant, upbeat and colourful, yet driven by the same mix of electronic experimentation and effortless pop suss that characterised their '80s heyday, 'Music Complete' is the sound of a timeless and unique force newly revitalised.

Review: For all his iconic status in modern rock 'n' roll lore, Bobby Gillespie remains very much a fan, one whose humility regarding the music he loves and the influence it's had on him has never been far away from his public persona. With this in mind, we're in remarkably safe hands with this soothing collection of beatific charmers and laidback deep cuts, which offer a kaleidoscopic trajectory from the very birth of rock 'n' roll (Jerry Lee Lewis) through the '60s (Beach Boys) and '70s (Gram Parsons) via his own journey through punk and beyond in the process. One suspects Mr. Gillespie has had more than his fair share of late nights requiring just such a come down, thus it's little surprise to find the man knows exactly how to handle 'em.

Review: It can be something of a surprise to know that Young Gun Silver Fox hail from modern-day London, as the sound of this album couldn't be more '70s-tinged and Californian if it was sporing sideburns, reefer-in-hand and discussing the Watergate scandal. Redolent of the like of Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and even The Eagles, 'West End Coast' thankfully has chops and talent to stand as much more than a mere retro curiosity or museum piece - ditties like 'You Can Feel It' and 'In My Pocket' channel vocalist Andy Platts' falsetto croon, heavenly harmonies and AM radio production to considerable satisfaction for all.

Review: The era in which Deftones could be judged as part of the nu-metal herd, dealing out hip-hop influenced riff-ballast with angst to spare, seem like another aeon in light of triumphs like this eight full-lengther, which builds on the brooding and incandescent strains of their most recent work to create a visionary display of art-damaged majesty which veers seamlessly from whisper to scream as only this band can, 'Gore' displays the kind of poise and elan that we've come to expect from this unique band, one who now stand proud alongside the likes of Radiohead and Sigur Ros as an entity whose reach and uncompromising artistry extends beyond genres and generations alike.

Review: Brighton troubadour Michael Rosenberg vaulted himself into the popular consciousness with 'Let Her Go', the biggest hit of 2012, yet rather than let this become a millstone around his neck, he's simply forged forward, elaborating on the heartfelt style that made his name whilst never losing the basic emotional connection at his music's core. This marks his seventh studio album to date, recorded in New Zealand at Neil Finn's Roundhead studios, and replete with the same kind of easy-going yet soul-searching ditties that marry lyrical campfire aesthetics to tasteful orchestral arrangements.

Review: Shango is the name for the Yoruba 'Thunder God' in Nigeria and Ojo Okeji, the leader of the Shango Dance Band was all about injecting military power and warlike energy in his own strain of Nigerian highlife and afrobeat. However, apart from all of Okeji's cult-like stories involving him and his part in the Nigerian army during a time of civil unrest in the late 60's and through to the 70's, and his often troublesome relationship with the great Fela Kuti, the truly special aspect of the Shango Dance Band album is that it was never properly released following its production in 1974. Comb & Razor have done the right thing here and, without them, this magical LP would still be locked away in the never-ending vaults of Nigerian music. This is very personal, incredibly singular African jazz-dance with a raucous psychedelic edge that lifts it high and mighty above the competition. A truly special album - DO NOT MISS IT.

Review: Treading an eclectic path through a twenty year career that's taken in everything from Detroit techno to vintage French ye-ye, from breakbeat-driven floor-fillers to krautrock epiphanies, David Holmes has made his name predominantly as an exemplary crate-digger and aesthete, whether soundtracking Steven Soderbergh movies or dishing our albums of his own. Thus, it comes as no surprise that this compilation - marking something of a personal journey for Holmes - is reflective of his status as an exemplary man of taste. Whether dispensing classics by the likes of David Crosby or Buddy Holly, unreleased original solo material or killer obscurities from everyone from modular synthesis cultist Keith Fullerton Whitman to Hollywood legend Jeff Bridges, this stylish nocturnal travelogue puts the listener resolutely in safe hands.

Review: The arrival of this first solo album from the My Morning Jacket frontman may have come as a surprise to some, given the fact that the band appears to be created so much in his image - what other sides of his personality exactly does he have to express? Quite a few as it turns out, as 'Eternally Even' crafts a seductive tapestry from narcotic mix of soul, funk and psychedelia, somewhere in spheres of consciousness between Isaac Hayes and The Flaming Lips, whilst offering his most explicitly political lyrics to date. The Trump victory may have rendered some of the sentiments herein a tad bittersweet, yet the hazy soundscapes and honeyed vocals have lost none of their lustre.