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Review: Originally released in 2013 and celebrating its ten-year anniversary just a little late, Bloodsports was the sixth full-length and much needed return to form from London's glam-centric alt-rock staple Suede. Arriving more than a full decade after 2002's A New Morning, the LP marked the longest gap between projects from the group as issues stemming from addiction as well as the commercial underperformance of the aforementioned album led to a seven-year hiatus. Reuniting with longtime producer Ed Buller, for the first time since 1996's Coming Up, while re-enlisting former keyboardist Neil Codling who originally departed in 2001, the end result would be not only their most acclaimed work since their last outing with Buller but rejuvenate the Suede camp entirely, as we've since been treated to three more subsequent LPs, with the most recent, criminally underrated Autofiction lading in 2022.

Review: A live Greatest Hits from Alphaville's 40-year band history: Live from the Berlin Philharmonic Hall with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Packed in a DVD sized digipak, contains a DVD-9 and 2 CD's.

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Review: At 66 years young, Guiding By Voices main man Robert Pollard has a whopping 3,000 songs registered to his name with BMI, while outside of his primary project, he's released 22 solo albums as well as a plethora of lesser known works put out under obscure aliases. His latest alter ego, Rip Van Winkle, features a backing band shrouded in mystery on their debut EP The Grand Rapids, which redirects Pollard's eccentric and unique penmanship down the realms of neon-hued post-punk and frosted cold meets new wave machinations.

Review: Following on from 2022's critically acclaimed, Mercury Prize nominated debut LP The Overload, crossing over the bridge provided by last year's absurdist, Black Mirror-indebted eight-minute stand alone single 'The Trench Coat Museum', everyone's new favourite Leeds based post-punks Yard Act are set to capitalise on their momentous winning streak with the highly anticipated sophomore effort Where's My Utopia? Recorded in collaboration with Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr handling production duties, sonically the band have opted to open their playful dynamic to as many sprawling influences as possible, simultaneously leaning into synth-laden new wave territory whilst citing Fela Kuti's political messaging and worldly psychedelia as an integral aspect. As lyrically snide and sharp as ever, the reliable brand of tongue-firmly-in-cheek socio-political commentary reaches ludicrous new heights when unpacking the band's success to date, their self-awareness of being signed to a subsidiary of a subsidiary of another soulless corporation aggressively at odds with the members' personal ethos, and even the increasing admiration/begrudgery that stems from the ascension within the eyes of their supporters. It's all clever, dense, humorous and delivered via an onslaught of razor-focused bangers. In essence, it's Yard Act.

Review: A triumphant return for modern synth-pop chart-toppers Everything Everything, Mountainhead is an album-length analogy for our present condition, and an oozing forth of slick, joyous music at that. "Making a mountain out of a molehill" is certainly lent a positive spin when considered in light of "starting from nothing", i.e. music career-making; Everything Everything did just that in the mid 2010s when they charmed their burgeoning audience with their sophisti-synth prowess, and this is a sophistication that can only be continually reinforced hereon. For their latest concept album Mountainhead, all of society is imagined as working towards the creation of a manmade mountain; at the top is rumoured to be a huge mirror that reflects endlessly recurring images of the self, and at the bottom of the pit is a giant golden snake; the primal fear of all believers. Everything Everything make joyous work of the dreaded maxim, "the taller the mountain, the deeper the hole", delivering glitzing, falsetto'ing gems in the form of 'Cold Reactor' and 'R U Happy?', both of which transcend their initial synthpop reveries to become more than their constituent sum.

Review: For indie heads of a certain vintage, this album - a first full-length collaboration between Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher and former Stone Roses guitar-slinger John Squire - is one of the most hotly anticipated of the year. It was recorded in Los Angeles over a three-week period last year, with former Foo Fighters and Gorillaz studio don Greg Kurstin handling production. As you'd expect, the album is undeniably nostalgic, with Squire's variously funky, raw and bluesy guitar licks and Beatles-esque backing tracks providing a fitting vehicle for Gallagher's distinctive lead vocals. For proof, check recent singles 'From Mars To Liverpool' - where Squires' solos towards the end seemingly soar above reverb-laden backing vocals that accurately pay tribute to the Fab Four - and the more psychedelic Roses-meets-Oasis flex of 'Just Another Rainbow'. There are no surprises, but fans will love it.

Review: Bleachers return with their self-titled new album, released via Dirty Hit. Following up their debut album Strange Desire in 2014, the band are seen to continue building on a huge, passionate following across three studio albums, renowned for their impressive live show and infectious camaraderie. There's a rich depth to the sound on Bleachers, laid out in bright, soulful technicolour. The album is frontman Antonoff's distinctly New Jersey take on the bizarre sensory contradictions of modern life, on his position in culture, and the things he cares about. Sonically, it's sad, it's joyful, it's music for driving on the highway to, for crying to and for dancing to at weddings. There's something reassuringly touchable and concrete about its sentiment: exist in crazy times but remember what counts.

Review: The Cuckoo Storm might never have been, were it not for a social media post Adrian Crowley wrote on a wintry late-night walk in a quiet neighbourhood of Dublin during lockdown. Struck by Waterson's previous album Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love (co-written with David A Jaycock), Crowley wanted to mark the moment, and so pressed 'send' into the ether with no way of knowing what would follow. Drawn to his voice and seeing a kindred spirit in his poetic lyrics, Waterson was touched by his message and responded by asking if he would be interested in working together. His answer was a resounding 'yes.' Cuckoo Storm followed; a deeply compelling album and serendipitous collaboration comprising eleven beautifully crafted songs, sung by two matching voices that are a powerful match. Waterson's brilliantly distinctive voice is underpinned by Crowley's rich baritone, and together it's an intoxicating mix.

Review: A genuine treat for goth-rock fans, here, as Laser Media presents a six-disc box set featuring live performances - all originally recorded for radio broadcasts - by arguably the genre's most famous and celebrated band, Leeds legends The Sisters of Mercy. It moves back and forth through the years, with the earliest recordings (featured on disc five) dating from 1981 - when they'd yet to fully define the "goth" sound - and the most recent 1991 (discs three and four). It's a good reflection of their live sound and career evolution, with fine renditions of singles and fan favourites being joined by deeper cuts and covers of such classics as 'Knocking On Heaven's Door', 'Gimme Shelter' and 'Jolene'.

Review: When Air's Moon Safari first landed on terra firma in 1997, it was a revelation that flipped the French touch boom on its head. Swapping discoid thrust for sensual lounge, Nicolas Jean Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel kept a certain sophisticated nostalgia in their sound which tracked with their compatriots, but they absolutely weaved their own spell with it. The hits caught on for good reason, from the dirty grind of 'Sexy Boy' to the swooning romanticism of 'All I Need' featuring Beth Hirsch on vocals, but the moments in between merely added to the spectacle, lodging Air in the hearts and minds of a whole generation. This special anniversary edition adds a second disc of B-sides, remixes and session tracks, plus a Blu-ray disc featuring the iconic videos and a documentary from the Moon Safari era.

Review: Julia Holter has subtly shifted focus on new album (her sixth in total) Something In The Room She Moves, moving away from exploring memory and dream-like states to instead focus on (in her words) "the complexity and transformability of our bodies". To create this rather distinctive (and rather good sound world), she added her own ethereal vocals to self-created backing tracks rich in electric fretless bass, warming wind and reed instruments, and distinctive synth sounds plucked from a Yamaha CS060. The results are predictably immersive and soul-enriching, with highlights including stunning opener 'Sun Girl', the percussively inventive 'Spinning', and the pastoral, dreamy 'Evening Mood'.

Review: French dream pop breakthrough Halo Maud follows up her debut record Je Suis Une Ile (I Am An Island) with her second ever LP, Celebrate, which lives up to its name in fantastic fashion. Evidently less introspective than her last, the sonic palette throughout this dozen sunbursts suggests Maud has found her inner John Donne; indeed, opener 'Terres Infinies' is a massive crasher of a three-pronged shoegaze, synthwave and art pop sensibility, and both sonically and titularly suggests a new, deterritorial antithesis to the first album's sense of introspection. Organic, well-rounded instrumentation hears Maud traverse infinite terrains of bright tambourines and detuned synths thereafter.

Review: 40 years after the band's formation, The Jesus & Mary Chain have delivered their eighth studio album, their first full length release of new material for seven years. Admirably, the Reid brothers have refused to rest on their laurels and offer-up something undeniably nostalgic - catnip for long term fans if you will - but instead have fused elements of their familiar sound and style with plenty of fresh ideas. There are audible nods to Suicide, Kraftwerk and the improvisational practices of jazz, but also tons of fuzz, feedback and aural chaos. It's an invigorating mixture that's best exemplified by 'Jamcod', where the pair's red-raw guitars, low-slung bass and acid-fried vocals rise above a skittish electro beat, the slipped shoegaze-goes-dreampop flex of 'Chemical Animal', and the pleasingly spiky and punchy 'Girl 71'.

Review: This massive anthology box set compiles all five volumes of the Stereolab Switched On series: 94 non-album tracks and sought after deep cuts by the group. Beginning with the original Switched On compilation LP from 1992, the series that ensued - though entirely comprised of deep cuts - still makes for a comprehensive jaunt through the Anglo-French auteurs' oeuvre, which never once lets up on quality. Every track here could've appeared on a full-length, so it's a testament to the band's work ethic that they simply had this much material to follow up with. Warp's comprehensive new 8xCD includes experimental highlights such as the original weirdo-chanson 'Plastic Mile', an Autechre remix of 'Refractions In The Plastic Pulse' and the stripped back 'XXXOOO', among many other gemstones.

Review: During The Black Keys surprise revival of recent years, much of their music has been produced by Dangermouse. While he played no role on the duo's new album, Ohio Players - their 12th in total - his influence remains in the inventiveness of the production. The pair's new-found love of collaboration remains too, with Beck credited as co-writer on roughly half of the album's tracks. His influence is obvious in the funkiness and fuzz-fuelled psychedelia of 'This Is Nowhere' and 'Don't Let Me Go', as well as the quirky, horn-sporting cheeriness of 'Beautiful People (Stay High)' and the low-slung, effortlessly funky indie-rap hedonism of 'Paper Crown' (where he appears on vocals alongside Juicy J. The band's wholehearted love of hip-hop is also explored on the excellent Lil Noid collaboration 'Candy & Her Friends'.

Review: Skep Wax's first Under The Bridge compilation, released in 2022, reunited the bands, songwriters and producers who populated cult early '90s indie label Sarah Records. This hotly anticipated follow-up repeats the trick, presenting 20 recently recorded cuts from the Bristol-based imprint's original roster of artists. It too, is a hugely successful - and understandably nostalgic - exercise, with hi9ghlights including the bright-and-breezy indie jangliness of Action Painting's 'Just Who Are The Cockleshell Heroes', the shoegaze-influenced dream pop haziness of Soundwire's 'Everything Is Real', the near Balearic soft focus shuffle of 'Double Nine' by GNAC, and the saucer-eyed excellence of The Orchids' 'A Final Love Song'.

Review: Cranes were a British alternative band formed in 1985. Long before the Dream Pop subgenre name came out, the band earned a cult following culminating in 1992 opening for The Cure on their Wish tour of America. Strangely, there catalogue has been mostly untouched as far as reissues are concerned. But, the news of a remaster and reissue is even better! Originally released in 1986, their debut album Fuse was a cassette only purchase and for 38 years it has stayed that way. Until now! Fans of shoegaze, goth, dream pop and indie should pick this up without question to hear how ahead of time the band's music was.

Review: Jane Weaver describes her 11th solo album, Love In Constant Spectacle, as her most 'open hearted, direct and intimate' exploration of 'the British musical landscape'. It's certainly an impressive album, with the former Laura Kills vocalist fusing a wide range of nostalgic, pastoral, and analogue rich sounds, from Stereolab-esque krautrock revivalism, ;ate '60s dream pop, turn-of-the-90s indie-pop and crackly, organ-sporting folk-rock. Highlights include the deep and drowsy 'The Axis and the Seed', the fuzzy 'Is Metal', the head-in-the-clouds dreaminess of 'Romantic Worlds' and the hazy but picturesque headiness of 'Family Of The Sun'.

Review: Build Something Better by Grace Petrie, produced by Frank Turner, is a powerful statement on contemporary societal inequalities and injustices. With a blend of punk-folk elements, Grace's acoustic guitar and vocals shine, supported by Ben Moss' captivating fiddle playing and Stuart Proven's excellent drumming. The album tackles themes of alienation, political disillusionment, and the struggle for truth in a post-truth world. Tracks like 'The House Always Wins' and 'Meanwhile In Texas' confront hard-hitting issues with poignant lyrics and infectious musical patterns. Grace's songwriting ability shines through in tracks like 'King And Country' and 'Earthwire,' where personal relationships intertwine with broader social commentary. The album culminates in the title track, 'Fixer Upper,' offering hope amidst the existential threat of global crises. Overall, Build Something Better is a musically rich and lyrically profound album.

Review: Few bands have sidestepped expectations as cannily as Mount Kimbie. Initially a duo but now expanded into a quartet, the British band has previously excelled in mixing, matching and fusing a wide range of experimental and left of centre electronic music influences. On The Sunset Violet, their first full-length as a quartet, they've shifted sonically once more, leaning into their indie-rock influences on a set recorded in California. The latter aspect - and the impact of being surrounded by sunshine and desert - is reflected in the warmth and haziness of the sound, which draws on the layered vocals and guitars of vintage shoegaze while also reaching for more familiar aspects of the band's previous experimental electronic sounds (for proof, check the ghostly musical vision that is King Krule collaboration 'Boxing').

Review: Texas-based trio Khruangbin returns with their highly anticipated album, A La Sala, blending Thai funk, psychedelic rock and world music influences. Laura Lee's funky basslines, Mark Speer's intricate guitar work, and Donald "DJ" Johnson's precise drumming define each hypnotic groove. Tracks like 'Farolim De Felgueiras' and 'A Love International' emit a laid-back aura, ideal for lazy summer days, while 'Juegos Y Nubes' adds Latin rhythms with a psychedelic twist. 'A La Sala' offers a rich journey through diverse musical landscapes, solidifying Khruangbin's mastery of genre fusion and their ability to create sonic euphoria.

Review: After an extended hiatus of nigh-on five years, Vampire Weekend has finally got around to recording a new album. Only their third studio set in total, Only God Was Above Us sees the trio muse on the weight of history - their own as much as anything else - while fretting about what lies ahead for the human race. Musically, much of what's on offer is densely layered and impressively loud, with loads of intricate musical detail (check the jazz horns and mad stereo panning of 'Classical' and the string-laden, White Album-era Beatles nostalgia of 'Capricorn') working in unison with their attractive, harmonic, saucer-eyed vocals. It's a bit of a triumph all told and one that proves that there's plenty of life yet in Vampire Weekend.

Review: Mute's latest offering, Extra, unveils a treasure trove of live recordings and remastered tracks from the enigmatic post-punk outfit These Immortal Souls. Led by the inimitable Rowland S. Howard, known for his pioneering work with the Birthday Party alongside Nick Cave, the band's Australian roots infuse their London-based sound with a unique edge. This album, accompanied by detailed sleeve notes by original member Harry Howard, serves as a companion piece to the 2024 remasters of their seminal debut Get Lost (Don’t Lie!) and sophomore effort I’m Never Gonna Die Again. The tracklist is a akin to the band's eclectic tastes, featuring visceral renditions of classics like Alice Cooper’s 'Luney Tune' and Iggy Pop & James Williamson's 'Open Up and Bleed.' With Rowland S. Howard's distinctive vocals leading the charge, complemented by the masterful musicianship of Harry Howard, drummer Epic Soundtracks, and keyboardist Genevieve McGuckin, These Immortal Souls deliver a sonic journey that transcends time and genre boundaries. Formed in 1987 after departing Crime & the City Solution, These Immortal Souls carved out their own sonic niche, blending raw energy with haunting melodies. Extra offers a glimpse into the world of one of post-punk's most underrated gems.

Review: Mute's re-release of These Immortal Souls' debut album, Get Lost (Don’t Lie!), marks a long-awaited moment for fans of post-punk excellence. Remastered from the original tapes by Lindsay Gravina, along with original band members Harry Howard and Genevieve McGuckin at Birdland Studio, this edition breathes new life into the iconic record. Originally unleashed in 1987 on the heels of their debut EP, Marry Me, the album encapsulates the band's raw energy and uncompromising vision. Led by the unmistakable vocals of Rowland S. Howard, renowned for his work with the Birthday Party, the band's lineup, including Harry Howard, Epic Soundtracks, and Genevieve McGuckin, solidifies their place in the annals of post-punk history. Clocking in at a concise 30 minutes, Get Lost (Don’t Lie!) remains a potent sonic statement, capturing the essence of These Immortal Souls' dark and brooding sound. From the haunting atmospheres to the frenetic rhythms, each track is a testament to the band's collective talent and creative chemistry. For both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers to the These Immortal Souls saga, this reissue serves as a fitting tribute to a band whose influence reverberates through the underground music scene.

Review: Mute's reissue of These Immortal Souls' sophomore album, I’m Never Gonna Die Again, is a long-awaited gem for fans of the band's dark and brooding sound. Remastered from the original tapes by Lindsay Gravina, along with original members Harry Howard and Genevieve McGuckin at Birdland Studio, this edition breathes new life into the haunting melodies and gritty textures of the album. Originally released in June 1992 after a hiatus due to Rowland S. Howard's writer's block, the album marked a triumphant return for These Immortal Souls. Lead single 'King of Kalifornia' set the tone with its gritty intensity, showcasing the band's evolution since their debut. Joined by Anthony Thistlethwaite on saxophone and slide mandolin, the band's lineup remained formidable, with Rowland S. Howard's distinctive vocals and guitar work leading the charge. Alongside Harry Howard, Epic Soundtracks, and Genevieve McGuckin, they crafted a sonic landscape that was both haunting and hypnotic. For fans of post-punk and dark wave, I’m Never Gonna Die Again remains a standout in These Immortal Souls' discography. With this reissue, Mute pays homage to the band's enduring legacy, ensuring that their music continues to gain new fans for years to come.

Review: It's been seven years since the tragic passing of Chester Bennington and the abrupt end of nu-metal legends Linkin Park, while their legacy remains praised and intact by avid fans. Papercuts offers up a career-spanning greatest hits collection, yet rather than sequencing each bundle of tracks chronologically in terms of specific album release, the cuts are mixed with the design of flowing as naturally as possible, with the anthemic 'Faint' from 2003's Meteora rubbing shoulders with their iconic Jay-Z Collision Course collab 'Numb/Encore'. Elsewhere, 'One Step Closer'; the breakout single from 2000's genre-defining debut LP Hybrid Theory is followed directly by 'New Divide', which served as the lead single from the Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen soundtrack. From their rap-metal beginnings to their signature style of nu/alt-metal to the their calmer accessible later era, this compilation delivers a succinct yet sprawling distillation of Linkin Park's most vital contributions to the several dynamic scenes they helped to elevate.

Review: The latest offering from serial collaborator and cross-genre tastemaker Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint is a tender filigree bureau of acid folk sketches from Tokyo's Ai Aiso. Across seven tracks, she patiently meanders through broken and phased chord progressions, her simultaneously pure and wavering vocal lines forming elegant arcs over sparse beds of instrumentation and washes of room tone. Some tracks are bookended by applause, and it is this ostensibly 'indoorsy' atmosphere which lends the mini LP a great deal of charm; the delicate atmospherics seem to issue from an intimate and isolated space. Indeed, Bandcamp user Everyvillianislemons317 describes it as "The perfect album for a lonely night in the city." We're more than inclined to agree.