Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

English singer-songwriter, frontman of The Only Ones and record producer Peter Perret is back with his new album ‘Humanworld’ and the band includes his guitar and bass playing sons Jamie and Peter Jr, drummer Jake Woodward, Jenny Maxwell (Microkorg synthesiser, viola, BVs) and Lauren Moon (keys, drums, BVs) - a tight-knit bunch who have honed this album and the previous one with choice live performances here and in Europe.

Peter resurfaced in 2017 with ‘How The West Was Won’ and was one of the recent past’s most unexpected comeback stories. ‘How The West Was Won’ an album that saw him chart in the UK, star on BBC Newsnight, sell out rooms at Electric Ballroom and Islington Assembly Hall and collect accolades across the board.

In this new chapter, Peter continues to dissect romance and politics with his trademark sense of sardonic wit and wry humour, if not with more vigour even and a palpable sense of immediacy.

He is not unshackled from his past, however: “I would say that power within is positive but that pessimism has heavy connotations. I have to look for duality in everything. No matter how bad things are there is always salvation in any given situation. There used to be a part of me, maybe still is, that doesn’t give a fuck about anything; hence my escapist nature. But having children has changed that. Hence the name of the album. You have to look for the good in the world. A romantic belief perhaps.” “I’m fully aware there are a lot of people who never even thought I’d get to make another album, let alone two, in such a short time.”

‘Humanworld’ features a production credit for Peter’s son Jamie who also contributes a song to the album (‘Master Of Destruction’) and the story of knitting a family back together, following a history of chaos and addiction, now takes a step closer to centre stage.

Label Review.

2019 album.

Our Overview.

John Floreani - frontman of Austrailian punk rock outfit Trophy Eyes - is releasing his first full length solo album entitled ‘sin’, which is his first release since his 2016 solo single “Cleveland, OH” and hot on the heels from Trophy Eyes promoting their latest record ‘The American Dream’ 2018.

Talking about his solo project which will no longer go by the name Little Brother and instead just John Floreani, the young vocalist said, “This project serves as an authentic, deep knee jerk reaction to the shallow lyrical themes of modern pop.” An album on which John explores the acoustic, melodic, and eccentric side of his songwriting in this emotional collection of songs. With powerful vocals and catchy melodies, ‘sin’ celebrates the beauty in romantic tragedy.

With musical influences ranging from indie pop/alt rock to folk/Americana, the 8-track album is the highly anticipated follow up to Floreani’s previously released EP ‘Terrace’ (2014). It’s a lyrical deep dive into heartache, addiction and self-loathing, stylistically portrayed as Johnny Cash dipped in Neon.

Floreani dropped the first single and music video from sin for fans to enjoy. “Echoes” is a cinematic anthem full of string arrangements and unique percussion that build into massive choruses. On the track, Floreani shares “Echoes is about the memories, love and emotion one leaves behind in a home after moving on. My partner and I lived in North Sydney for a while, and when she moved back to Texas, I had to go and clear the house of our furniture and belongings. As I walked through the house, I could see her dancing in the kitchen, drinking wine on the couch and inviting me to bed from the hallway.”

Recorded and mixed by Shane Edwards (Trophy Eyes, Hans Zimmer), the 8-track album is the pursuit of happiness and all that is good, built on a foundation of vice and evil-doing. “This project serves as an authentic, deep knee jerk reaction to the shallow lyrical themes of modern pop” shares Floreani on the upcoming album.

Label Review.

1967 album with 7 bonus tracks. Digipak.

Our Overview.

The legendary British 60s R&B band The Pretty Things were cult heroes who created some of the most exciting and innovative records of the sixties and early seventies. “The Pretty Things always made ‘The Stones’ look tame, and I think the time has come for their renaissance” - Dave Gilmour, Pink Floyd.

Winners of the Hero award at the 2009 Mojo Honours, the band have been a massive success and a huge influence on artists as diverse as David Bowie, Aerosmith, The Ramones, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, The White Stripes, Kasabian and many, many more. The 1967 release 'Emotions' bridged the gap between the R’n’B era of The Pretty Things and the psychedelic Sergeant Pepper and Pink Floyd era of their ‘68 release ‘SF Sorrow’. The album is almost an exact snapshot of swinging London at its purest.

The Pretty Things were formed by Phil May and guitarist Dick Taylor in 1963. Taylor was hot from the first days of the Rolling Stones, the band he formed with Mick Jagger and Keith Richard, but left because it was time to go to art school; May was a hooligan disguised as a fellow student; and the rest of the band just picked things up from there.

Other bands played R&B, of course... the Kinks, the Yardbirds, even the Beatles tried their hand at it. But none of them played it like the Pretty Things. Their hair was long, their music was greasy, and they genuinely did not understand how to turn down the volume on their amplifiers.

“David Bowie worshipped Phil (May) - Phil had to write his telephone number in David Bowie’s book, and it was under ‘G’ for God!” - Dick Taylor, The Pretty Things.

2018 saw the release of a 50th-anniversary ‘S.F. Sorrow’ box set and the band’s final and extensive UK & European tour, which included a performance of ‘S.F. Sorrow’ in full at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Tracklisting:

1. Death Of A Socialite

2. Children

3. The Sun

4. There Will Never Be Another Day

5. House Of Ten

6. Out In The Night

7. One Long Glance / Growing In My Mind

8. Photographer

9. Bright Lights Of The City

10. Tripping

11. My Time

12. A House In The Country (Bonus Track)

13. Progress (Bonus Track)

14. Photographer (Bonus Track)

15. There Will Never Be Another Day (Bonus Track)

16. My Time (Bonus Track)

17. The Sun (Bonus Track) 1

18. Progress (Bonus Track)

Label Review. 

2019 album. Breezy pop songs captured with the timbre of old-time recording techniques. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Sadgirl the LA trio who craft exciting new takes on classic Americana, refreshing its clean-cut codes with eerie lo-fi energies and surf punk tunes are releasing their anticipated debut ‘Water’. There’s an enclave of the punk world where the music still sounds like an austere distillation of America’s forlorn dream. It’s the sound of an old jukebox spinning a Ronettes 45 through a broken speaker, the kid in the garage figuring out the 1-4-5 progression on guitar, the thump of the kick drum banging in 4/4 time through a dilapidated PA. LA’s SadGirl sound a lot those early American punks—the miscreants that preceded the nihilists. Their songs sound more rooted in the wake of Motor City soul and Pacific Northwest surf rock than in the formula laid out by The Ramones, but there is still something in their reverb-and-tremolo pop that feels like a reminder of America’s decay.

“If you want to learn about water, go to the desert.” It’s a little nugget of wisdom imparted from SadGirl’s recording engineer and friend Max Garland, but it made an impact on guitarist/vocalist Misha Lindes. “Here we are in Los Angeles, a desert, ping-ponging between drought and El Niño. This record is just an attempt to share a very small portion of my experience growing up and living here,” Lindes says about the album. “It’s basically just about the fluidity of water and its power and importance.” But Water isn’t a musical adaptation of a Frank Herbert novel, it’s a collection of breezy, upbeat pop songs captured with the timbre of old-time recording techniques. 

Songs like “Little Queenie” touch upon the cadence, yesteryear reverberations, and soulful longing of a Ken Boothe ballad. It’s a song for afternoons in the sun, not reflections on our mortality. Similarly, a classic tormented love song like “Miss Me” nearly transports the listener back to wholesome slow dances at a previous generation’s sock hop, only to be subverted by a chorus of “miss me with that bullshit.” It’s as if guitarist/vocalist Misha Lindes, drummer David Ruiz, and bassist Dakota Peterson want to conjure an idealised past only to remind us of our loss of innocence.

Before frontman Misha Lindes began making tunes for Sadgirl he was winging his way through Nirvana covers in the seventh grade battle of the bands. Born in London before moving to Southern California at the age of seven, Misha was raised by an American father (a musician who played guitar in Dire Straits) and British mother. After his high school battle of the bands earned serious seventh grade glory, Misha began more seriously devoting himself to music. He switched from bass to guitar, studying Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones solos with neighbourhood pal Dakota Peterson (SadGirl's bassist). 

Years later, he ditched art school in London and began working as a graphic artist at a screen printing shop back in LA, where he met Paul Caruso — a fellow printer who ran a small press operation out of his garage. "One time we were hanging out and Paul mentioned he played drums, but I kind of forgot about it. When I hit him up a couple months later to jam, we hit it off really well even though we'd never properly hung out." SadGirl was born right then and there. "We've played together every week since," says Misha. But Misha says it was his parents fondness for early rock that shaped his musical direction listing Little Richard, Elvis, Buddy Holly, Zeppelin, David Bowie, and the girl group compilations lining his dad's car — "Phil Spector stuff like The Crystals and The Ronettes" — as chief influences.

Label Review.

2019 album.

Our Overview.

Philadelphia based foursome Big Nothing are releasing their debut album ‘Chris’. Big Nothing - Spraynard, Pat Graham, Liz Parsons and Chris Jordan - who have been playing around Philadelphia for the last two years, after releasing a 7” on Asian Man Records, are hardly new to the D.I.Y. punk scene.

Their members cut their teeth in Leigh Valleys Spraynard (Jade Tree), Gainesvilles Young Livers (No Idea) and New Jerseys Casual (Dead Broke) but all found themselves in Philadelphia in 2016 without a band. After taking in their 7-inch on Asian Man Records, it became perfectly clear this right here was more or less a super group without the pretentious tag of really being super. However, if it's one thing that is super is the music Big Nothing churns out.

Big Nothings debut is eleven tracks of indie-rock and pop-punk thats inspired as much by the power pop records of Teenage Fanclub as the straight ahead big choruses of Superchunk. With three songwriters taking turns seamlessly, ‘Chris’ is an easy listen full of big hooks and smart lyrics.

While almost every single song is a buzzy, '90s alt/indie rock singalong, Pat's just a rotating vocalist in a band that sticks to its simplicity and its strength, spinning the wheel to near perfection. It’s easy to get lost in the melodic, fist-pumping propulsion of “Chris,” but beneath the surface layer strengths there is a lyrical framework that the entire album is constructed upon, making this a band who knows how to approach songwriting from all sides of the build.

Label Review.

2019 album.

Our Overview.

The unassailable force that is Michel Camilo is releasing his new album ‘Essence’ , which will also mark his 25th in total. The artistry and virtuosity of - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic born creative, whose career spans three decades and two hemispheres - Michel Camilo bridges the genres of Jazz, Classical, Popular and World music. He is a composer and pianist extraordinaire. He is a bandleader, lecturer, and visiting professor. He is a chart-topping producer; a Grammy, Latin Grammy and Emmy award winner. He is the recipient of his native country's highest civilian honours.

Michel Camilo is all of these things and more, wrapped in a human being of boundless enthusiasm, musical passion, and love of life. He is a pianist with a brilliant technique and a composer who flavours his tunes with the spice of Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmonies.

Says Michel of his latest title “'Essence’ marks my 25th album. This milestone recording is a celebration of the flowing dynamic creativity and interactive energy between my rhythm section and a top-notch horn section, as we explore together the challenging virtuoso passages and exciting unexpected turns in some of my most well-known compositions which are now here presented in a larger format. The exhilarating “ensemble tightness” captured on these superb performances have always been an important signature element of my musical stylings. Recording this special project was BIG FUN and I am really thrilled to share it with all of you!”

Michel has developed a reputation as one who enjoys breaking barriers. His compositions have been performed by some of the top Jazz and Latin Jazz artists ranging from Dizzy Gillespie to The Manhattan Transfer, from Paquito D’Rivera and flamenco guitarist Tomatito to Classical pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque. Camilo has performed with many of these artists as well. He was featured in the award-winning Latin Jazz documentary film Calle 54 and has recorded for various film soundtracks.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Korean music. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Jambinai announce their new album ‘ONDA’, released via Bella Union. When the three founders of Jambinai decided to “communicate with the ordinary person who doesn't listen to Korean traditional music,” few outsiders anticipated an extraordinary fusion with metal, post rock and noise. “Most people expect Asian traditional music to make something smooth for yoga or meditation,” says band spokesman Lee Il-woo. “We wanted to break all of that.”

The first big wave arrived in 2010 after traditional music students Lee (guitar and piri, a bamboo oboe), Kim Bo-mi (the bow-stringed haegum) and Sim Eun-young (geomungo) joined forces and released the ‘Jambinai’ EP. The trio’s debut album ‘Différance’ won Best Crossover Album at the 2013 Korean Music Awards, triggeringseveral overseas tours and the second wave of Jambinai - an international deal with Bella Union and a second album, ‘A Hermitage’. At the time, Lee cited the influence of bands like Metallica, Mogwai and Sigur Rös but such was the trio’s energy levels, they seemed to draw more on thunderstorms, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, blizzards and desert winds - a force of nature more than a band.

It’s hard to believe but ‘ONDA’ is even more dynamic and rhythmic, with the permanent addition of Jaehyuk Choi (drums) and B.K Yu (bass), fixtures of Jambinai’s live band since 2017. The way the quintet “sticks together like gears of a clock or machine,” says Lee, is celebrated on ‘Square Wave’, a breathtaking example of Jambinai’s ability to alternate between ambient serenity and molten ferocity.

Label Review.

12 tracks including 2 unreleased tracks from 2013. Topic.

Our Overview.

British folk singer, fingerstyle guitarist and fiddle player Nic Jones, was one of the most acclaimed artists to emerge from the British Folk Revival, Nic’s sensibility and approach to the arrangement of traditional folk songs has been a major influence on the folk scene since the early 1970’s. An ‘An Introduction To’ is a definitive 12 track entry point to this classic English folk singer and includes two exclusive, previously unreleased 2013 studio tracks; extensive sleeve notes by Colin Irwin (Roots, TheGuardian) and an introduction by Nic himself.

Not only is Nic Jones credited with a fine body of solo work and being the inspiration for countless bedroom guitarists to attempt his indefinable style, he’s also won awards galore and played alongside the likes of June Tabor, Martin Carthy, Richard and Linda Thompson, Peter Bellamy and Shirley Collins, to name but a few. 1980 saw the release of his classic Topic Records album, ‘Penguin Eggs’ but less than two years later, a disastrous car crash left him with virtually every bone in his body broken. The battle to rebuild his life was long and tortuous. Surely a return was impossible?

Except, eventually – almost thirty years later - he did return. Encouraged, protected and inspired by his wife, Julia, he was able to put the pieces back together again. Firstly, lured to play a few festivals and then in 2013, with the help of his son Joe Jones and Belinda O’Hooley (of Yorkshire folk duo, O’Hooley & Tidow ), to record a handful of new studio tracks - two of which (‘I Only Spoke Portuguese’ and ‘Now’) appear here for the very first time.

Nic insisted on compiling this introduction to his work, a mix of material from the Topics remarkable ‘Penguin Eggs’ and ‘Game Set Match’ albums. The tracklisting here includes the seminal ‘Humpback Whale’, ‘Seven Yellow Gypsies’,‘Dives of Lazarus,’ in addition to the two magical, beautiful, never-before released 2013 studio recordings.

“Nic Jones has been and continues to be one of the most influential English acoustic guitar players of all time. His playing is a benchmark in the history of the development of accompaniment of English song.” – Martin Simpson

“As an interpreter of ballads Nic is sans pareil” – June Tabor

1. Courting Is A Pleasure

2. Hamburger Polka

3. Isle Of France

4. Billy Don’tYou Weep For Me

5.  Dives And Lazarus

6. Barrack Street

7. Farewell To The Gold

8. Rufford Park Poachers

9. Seven Yellow Gypsies

10. Humpback Whale

11. I OnlySpeak Portuguese

12. Now

Label Review.

1994 album. Lavish box set which includes vinyl version of the original album in gatefold sleeve cut at 45rpm over two discs; 'Tiger Bay - Remains Of The Day', a 12 track vinyl compilation of rarities and demos; 'Tiger Bay - Tapestry', a 13 track CD album of stripped-back versions and unreleased arrangements taken from original master tapes and complied by Pete Wiggs; a 28-page booklet featuring a wealth of unseen photographs plus an essay about the making of the album; a 12 x 24 reproduction of the original album poster and a reproduction of the original press release and biography from 1994. Also includes sticker and digital download album code. Also available on deluxe edition CD.

Our Overview.

To mark its 25th anniversary, Saint Etienne announce details of the release of a very special box set of one of their most critically acclaimed albums, ‘Tiger Bay’. A ground-breaking blend of electronica and orchestration with traditional folk melodies, ‘Tiger Bay’, their third studio album, was originally released on 28th February 1994 on Heavenly.

Like most bands founded by former music journalists, Saint Etienne were a highly conceptual group. The trio's concept was to fuse the British pop sounds of '60s London with the club/dance rhythms and productions that defined the post-acid house England of the early '90s. Led by songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs and fronted by vocalist Sarah Cracknell , the group managed to carry out their concept, and, in the process, Saint Etienne helped make indie dance a viable genre within the U.K.

Saint Etienne set themselves a bold challenge for their third album. No more records about London; no more samples - of music they loved, or snippets of film dialogue between tracks. They would change the genes of their music, swapping the helix of Madchester meets Swinging London meets indiepop for one in which Belgian techno was spliced with folk music.

‘Tiger Bay’ was intended to be nothing less than the sound of folk music reimagined for the last years of the 20th Century. Their brilliant reinvention of folk rock for the electronic age might not have resulted in an invitation to headline Fairport’s Cropredy Convention but it gave them their best album yet.

‘Tiger Bay’ slipped beneath the sands - neither an indelible hit nor a memorable flop - but that gives it a staying power, perhaps, that its predecessors lack: it doesn’t sound of its moment in the same way ‘Foxbase Alpha’ and ‘So Tough’ do. It sounds as if Saint Etienne had finally broken free of pop time, to create something that floated above pop trends, borrowing and squeezing together elements that should never have blended. It might even be their masterpiece.

Self-produced by the band and engineered by longtime collaborator Ian Catt, the album also features input from Underworld’s Rick Smith, orchestral arrangements by renowned composer David Whitaker (Serge Gainsbourg, Marianne Faithfull, Air) and vocal contributions from Shara Nelson and Stephen Duffy amongst others.

The band are set to perform the album in its entirety at a number of shows across the UK including a performance at the Barbican in London accompanied by the London Contemporary Orchestra. Never before performed with a full orchestra, the show will also feature a set of hits and deep-cuts from their back catalogue. The other UK shows see the band accompanied by a pared back 6-piece string section.

Label Review. 

Near complete round-up of Ronnie’s post Faces career. Four complete albums and more: Anymore For Anymore (with 10 bonus tracks), Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance (with 9 bonus tracks), One For The Road (with 10 bonus tracks), See Me (with 8 bonus tracks) plus Rockpalast 1980 with 10 bonus tracks from various sources. Final disc contains recordings from his later years in Texas. With hardback book, lyrics and poster. There is also a single CD or double vinyl distillation.

Our Overview. 

Finally, more than 20 years after his death comes the first solo career anthology of the former Small Faces / The Faces bass player, singer and songwriter. After bursting onto the scene with the Small Faces in 1965, for the next three years Lane, in collaboration with lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott co-wrote a clutch of classic 1960s hits and recorded three albums along the way including the ground-breaking ‘Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake’ in 1968.

Following Marriott’s departure the remaining Small Faces brought Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood into the band from the Jeff Beck Group. Re-named The Faces, they were one of the top rock bands of the early 1970s recording four albums and scoring more hits. By 1973, Lane had grown tired of the group and Stewart’s solo career taking precedence over band activities. It was time to go solo and lead his own band: Slim Chance. This new box set / best of picks up his story from here and about time too as his post Faces legacy has been haphazardly handled over the years, not helped by the recordings having numerous owners.

The bulk of the set is taken up with Ronnie’s four albums dating from 1974-1979 which all come with copious bonus tracks. Especially pleasing is the re-emergence of his debut solo album ‘Anymore For Anymore’ which has been out of print for many years. It came out on a small label at the time and has not been ‘in the racks’ for over ten years - it’s last reissue was in 2001! The next two Slim Chance albums came out on Island (now owned by Universal) and this period was anthologised in 2014 on the 2CD set ‘Ooh La La: An Island Harvest.

Following an attempt to reform the Small Faces in 1976 Lane instead teamed up with Pete Townshend for a duo album in 1977. By now Lane had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and playing would start to become difficult for him. For now, he continued and released another solo album in 1979: ‘See Me’. A live recording for the German ‘Rockpalast’ show in 1980 is featured in the box. Some recordings with his old mate Steve Marriott followed in 1981 before Lane bowed out with a benefit show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1983 to raise money for Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis (ARMS).

Lane moved to the United States in the mid-80s and settled in Texas where it was hoped the warmer weather would make life a little easier for him. he returned to recording and even performing and tracks from this final period are featured on the sixth and final disc.

As Pete Townshend surmises, “Here, in these songs, collected with such love and care, he is found again. Probably at the height of his rebellious and chaotic powers, where music had to be immediate and uplifting, or else heart-breaking – but always real.”

Label Review. 

2019 album also available on Black Vinyl and CD.

Our Overview. 

Dommengang’s spiritual home of LA makes its mark on their new album ‘No Keys’. The songs are fit for the late-night drive into the California desert, a real and metaphorical escape for a rootless band always searching for a balance between the city and the rougher expanses of nature. That restless spirit drives ‘No Keys’, finding voice in Bulgasem’s superb skill behind the kit, and the fuzzed-out guitar riffs of Wilson and the lyrics of Markham provide intense, cathartic release.

On ‘No Keys’, Dommengang channel the wailing, psych-rock abandon of their previous work into a lean, dark-edged record colored by loss. Guitarist Dan “Sig” Wilson, bassist Brian Markham, and drummer Adam Bulgasem have grown closer even as they live further apart. Shared personal loss and experience playing and touring has made time together both an escape, and a release. No Keys captures the raw energy of playing together: soaring, blues-rock made all the more potent by heartfelt lyrics that address loss and anxiety.

‘No Keys’ finds rock’s primeval power alive and well and answers its call. It is a soundtrack to a personal journey or to your next road trip. It speaks to the explorer, and to the abandon of those willing to go all in. It is for the rocker giving it all, living out of a van, without a key to a permanent home.

‘No Keys’ was recorded with guitarist and engineer Tim Green (Joanna Newsom, Howlin’ Rain, Sleepy Sun, Fresh and Onlys, Golden Void), a close friend of the band. Dommengang captures their spontaneous energy by recording live with minimal overdubs. Skittering reverb lends Sig’s guitar solos a cosmic quality, while rippling distortion add depth and weight to Markham and Bulgasem’s hypnotic grooves. Guest vocals from Camilla Saufly-Mitchell of Golden Void on “Jerusalem Cricket” add a perfect counterpoint to Markham’s cries of “No Keys”, while Adam Parks added buzzing organ overtones to album closer “Happy Death (Her Blues II)”.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Deluxe 3LP set pressed on red / grey / yellow 140s vinyl set in tri-fold jacket with printed innersleeves, 24 page booklet and 24x24 poster folder housed in printed plastic sleeve. Side 5 on the 3LP edition contains 22 minutes of music from the 'I Am Easy To Find' Original Film Score - exclusive to this format. Side 6 on the 3LP is an etching. Also available on CD and Black Vinyl 2LP.

Our Overview. 

‘I am Easy To Find’ is the much anticipated album from New York based indie alt-rock The National and the follow up to their critically acclaimed and Grammy award winning ‘Sleep Well Beast’ 2017. The bands - Matt Berninger, Scott Devendorf, Bryan Devendorf, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner - eighth studio album features vocal contributions from Sharon Van Etten, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Lisa Hannigan, Mina Tindle and more.

As the album’s opening track ‘You Had Your Soul With You’ unfurls it’s so far, so National: a digitally manipulated guitar line, skittering drums, Berninger’s familiar baritone, mounting tension. Then around the 2:15 mark, the true nature of ‘I Am Easy To Find’ announces itself: The racket subsides, strings swell and the voice of long-time David Bowie bandmate Gail Ann Dorsey booms out - not as background vocals, not as a hook but to take over the song. Elsewhere it’s Irish singer songwriter Lisa Hannigan, or Sharon Van Etten, or Mina Tindle or Kate Stables of This Is The Kit, or varying combinations of them. Also, The Brooklyn Youth Choir, whom Bryce Dessner had worked with before. There are choral arrangements and strings on nearly every track, largely put together by Bryce in Paris - not a negation of the band’s dramatic tendencies but a redistribution of them.

“Yes, there are a lot of women singing on this, but it wasn't because, ‘Oh, let’s have more women’s voices,’” says Berninger. “It was more, ‘Let’s have more of a fabric of people’s identities.’ It would have been better to have had other male singers but my ego wouldn’t let that happen.”

A companion short film with the same name will also be released with music by The National and inspired by the album. The film was directed by Academy Award-nominated director Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners) and stars Academy Award-Winner Alicia Vikander. Mills, along with the band, is credited as co-producer of the album, which was mostly recorded at Long Pond, Hudson Valley, NY with additional sessions in Paris, Berlin, Cincinnati, Austin, Dublin, Brooklyn and more far flung locations.

2LP edition pressed on 180g black vinyl.

Label Review.

2019 album.

Our Overview.

Minor Poet’s second record, ‘The Good News’, is a six-song collection that expands the boundaries of what constitutes the band’s sound. The songs take apart the standard formulas of guitar-based rock and infuse them with vibrance and energy. ‘The Good News’ was made over four days at Montrose Recording, in Minor Poet’s hometown of Richmond, VA.

After spending years writing and recording music by himself in various bedrooms and basements, Andrew Carter hit his stride with the debut Minor Poet album, ‘And How!’. Made on a creative whim with no outside expectations, the eleven-song collection combined Carter’s love of carefully-crafted pop with a loose, fun, off-thecuff recording aesthetic. The album was released in 2017 and developed a small but loving fanbase and Minor Poet has grown from a passion project into a cross-country touring band with write ups in publications such as American Songwriter, Magnet, The Wild Honey Pie, Impose and more.

In the past, Carter played all the instruments and handled all the production but he knew he that he had to reach outside himself to do justice to these songs. “I couldn’t capture the sounds I heard in my head,” Carter explains. “I wanted something that was vast and expansive but that at the same time could hit you immediately in the gut.” Paying homage to the ‘wall of sound’ techniques made famous by Brian Wilson and Phil Spector, Carter and co-producer Adrian Olsen (Natalie Prass, Foxygen) overdubbed layer after layer of Carter playing an array of guitars, pianos, organs, synths, and percussion, as well as singing all the harmonies. The members of Minor Poet’s touring band were brought in to perform the core rhythm section and local musicians stopped by to add crucial flourishes.

At the centre of everything is Carter’s voice, singing lyrics that seamlessly mix allusions to religion, mythology, art and philosophy as he questions himself, his place in the world around him, what he owes to his relationships and, in turn, what he needs to ask of others in order to stay healthy. Tabula Rasa is a concept that argues that humans are born blank slates, shaped through experience and environment. The last two years couldn’t have felt more applicable for Carter, who started out as a fresh face with little-to-no experience in the music industry and slowly grew into himself as a stage performer and bandleader through both good and bad times.During this period he began to come to terms with lifelong struggles, such as the depression that permeates ‘Tropic of Cancer’ and the social anxiety that runs through ‘Museum District’.

Rather than be one-dimensional, however, Carter dives deeper into himself and his motivations, such as in ‘Reverse Medusa’ when he sings, “Hide my love in poetic half-truths/never was one to dwell on my issues.”

Carter’s ability to balance emotional honesty with a tongue-in-cheek self awareness adds to the richness and originality of the music. Short but memorable, catchy yet meaningful, ‘The Good News’ is another promising step forward for Minor Poet.

LP includes digital download coupon.

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

‘Four Bibles’ is Hey Colossus’s twelfth studio album and the first to be released by London label ALTER, whose sole proprietor (the electronic producer Helm) encountered the group at their first gig in 2003. Recorded by Ben Turner at Space Wolf Studios in Somerset, it's their most direct album yet and follows a well-documented trajectory of evolution that began (in the truest sense) with 2011’s ‘RRR for Riot Season’ and continued across three albums for Rocket Recordings. Lead vocalist Paul Sykes sounds more in focus than before, dialling down the effects and using reverb / delay to carry his lyrics rather than smother. The band has also fine-tuned to leave some room for extra depth. Piano, electronics and violin (by Daniel O'Sullivan of This is not This Heat / Grumbling Fur) all find a way in amongst a familiar mesh of interlacing guitars, wrapped round a taut rhythm section. Like every other Hey Colossus record before, the line-up has altered and the sounds reflect this.

Coming out of London and the South West of England, Hey Colossus are one of Europe's great live bands. Since 2003 the 6-piece has been driving around the continent with their “pirate ship” backline of broken amps and triple-guitar drang, elevating audiences in every type of venue imaginable; a doctor’s waiting room in Salford, an industrial unit in Liege and a vast field next to a river in Portugal. Wherever they may roam.

From the weight of “Memory Gore”, to the subtlety and swag of “It's a Low”, via the sonic extremes of “Palm Hex/Arndale Chins” this is exactly as the band are live; raging & rail-roading but somehow in control. Grooves for those who want to dance or for those who want to hug a wall and nod...bleak dystopian imagery submerged in relentless rhythms and low-end rattle. The songs breath life and soul - Hey Colossus have never sounded fresher or more on point.

There is a book release to coincide with the album written by bass player (and founding member) Joe Thompson. It's part of a new series called “Sleevenotes” by Pomona Publishing and the first four are out this year. Joe’s book sits alongside other contributions by Bob Stanley (St Etienne), Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees/Solo), David Gedge (The Wedding Present) and contains a diary of the years leading up to the release of this record. Touring with bands Sumac and Grey Hairs through Europe, recording the album, line-up changes, the band's history and the big question is answered: Why? Hey Colossus are on tour throughout Europe this Spring / Summer. 

Label Review. 

All 6 studio albums recorded for Island Records remastered from the original tapes and presented in their original and highly collectible first Island pressing form (gatefold sleeves, pink eye labels etc), the set also includes a related and super rare facsimile promo poster for each album. ‘Mr Fantasy’, ‘Traffic’, ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’, ‘Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory’, ‘Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys’, ‘When The Eagle Flies’.

Our Overview. 

Formed in 1967, Traffic was made up of vocalist/organist Steve Winwood (still only 18 years old at the time and had tasted chart success with The Spencer Davis Group); drummer/singer Jim Capaldi; singer/guitarist Dave Mason and reed player Chris Wood. Decamping to the English countryside to jam and dream up material they were quickly signed up by Island boss, Chris Blackwell. Traffic’s debut single, “Paper Sun” reached the UK Top 5 in July 1967 to be followed by an even bigger hit, “Hole In My Shoe” in the October of that year. Their debut album, ‘Mr Fantasy’ was released in December 1967. Their hit singles bore little similarity to the album which was a pot-pourri of all sorts of rock from psych to blues to whimsy, whatever. Early the following year, Mason went then invited back to contribute to the second album ‘Traffic’ after which Winwood walked to form the short-lived Blind Faith with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech. The band disbanded for the first time.

In 1970, Winwood began work on a solo album. After inviting Capaldi and Wood to help out. Consequently, Traffic was re-born and the resulting album ‘John Barleycorn Must Die’ saw the group add some jazz and folk into their brew, prevalent with current trends at the time. Their support in the UK dropped off after this but they became a big draw in the US and their next three albums all went Top 10 Stateside mining the same mixture of sounds until Winwood walked out of the band for the second time in 1974 and this time the band broke up for good.

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

'Living Theatre' is the follow up to the eponymous debut from the musical duo Olden Yolk - Shane Butler and Caity Shaffer. The 2018 debut was an alluring concoction of hypnagogic folk & kosmiche rhythms, expanding and refining Butler’s work in his former band Quilt toward a more focused direction.

Olden Yolk chose to name their forthcoming album after the experimental thespian movement in New York of the same name. The movement involved actors breaking from tradition by “creating an experience of communal expression.” They set to record the album in three months after spending a year on the road touring. ‘Living Theatre’ touches on concepts of home, spirituality, and ancestry in today’s age.

The songs on ‘Living Theatre’ were written & recorded during a heavy time of transition and upheaval for the duo, with personal tragedies and a big move from their NYC home to a warmer climate in Los Angeles colouring the album’s inception. Thematically ‘Living Theatre’ tunes seem to be about how humans react to the ways life is coloured by both fate and the consequences of the conscious and unconscious decisions we make and the album more than lives up to its promise.

Musically, the duo’s songwriting has gelled into a unified front, relying more on the subtle shifts of melody and rhythm than a barrage of chord changes; “Living Theatre”s hooks lap at your feet like a babbling brook, rather than bowl you over like violent waves. The refinement in tunes like “Castor and Pollux”, “Grand Palais” and first single “Cotton and Cane” points to a new frontier for the group; soaring skyward toward the emotionally textural plateaus of trailblazers like The Go-Betweens or Yo La Tengo. There’s a discernible romantic feel to tunes like “Violent Days” or “Distant Episode”‘s lush arrangements with Shaffer in particular finding her own voice here; poetic, abstract & expressive. ‘Living Theatre’ showcases a band breaking free from it’s chrysalis, and embracing its next phase of evolution.

‘Living Theatre ‘was created with percussionist Booker Stardrum and co-producer Jarvis Taveniere in collaboration with Eliza Bagg, Frank Maston, Peter Wagner, and Benjamin Levinson