Pre-sale of the week: Khruangbin – A La Sala, out 5 April

If 2020’s Mordechai, the last studio album Khruangbin made without collaborators, was a party record that enhanced the band’s musical reputation far and wide, then A La Sala is the measured morning after. It’s a gorgeously airy record completed only in the company of the group’s longtime engineer Steve Christensen, with minimal overdubs. It’s a…

Pre-sale of the week: Bill Fay Group – Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow, out 23 February

The Bill Fay Group is Fay’s most significant collaborative work; on Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow, he recorded as a member of a larger group, and the result summons a grander sonic scale, an elegent counterweight to Fay’s instincts for the understated. Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow brings to bear the galactic qualities of early rock, the…

Pre-sale of the week: The Reytons – Ballad of a Bystander, out 26 January

After conquering the charts and claiming the number one trophy last time out with What’s Rock and Roll?, Sheffield sensations The Reytons are back with their third full-length album, Ballad of a Bystander. “We’re once again releasing 100% independently, with no label backing. Let’s get out there and do it all again! #AllReytons” Note: The…

Pre-sale of the week: The Smile – Wall of Eyes, out 26 January

Wall of Eyes is the new album from The Smile, the supergroup consisting of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood with jazz percussionist Tom Skinner. The album was recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, and was produced and mixed Sam Petts-Davies. It features string arrangements by the London Contemporary Orchestra. The album is the…

Pre-sale of the week: Neil Young – Before and After, out 8 December

Before and After contains some of Neil Young’s favourites from his playbook, which he performs mostly alone on a solo acoustic journey into his music history. The songs blend into each other and morph with mesmerising clarity into a continuous flow of music, creating a pure and intimate 48-minute listening experience. The 13-track album spans…

Pre-sale of the week: Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?, out 1 March

Where’s My Utopia? is the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Leeds band Yard Act’s debut record The Overload, which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize after a slew of positive reviews, national radio playlistings and a placing at #2 in the Official Charts. Frontman James Smith has said that lead single ‘Dream Job’ “feels like an…

Pre-sale of the week: The Libertines – All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, out 3 March

All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade is the first new album in nine years from The Libertines and opens with the infectious new single, ‘Run Run Run’. On the album, the quartet of unlikely lads have gathered from their new-found homes in France, Denmark, Margate and London to solder a stronger-than-ever internal bond, and scale…