Pre-sale of the week is The 1966 Live Recordings by Bob Dylan, out on 11 November. This extraordinary 36-CD (yes, 36 CDs!) monster box set features every available live performance by Bob Dylan from 1966 – a pivotal moment in rock’n’roll history – and works as a great companion piece to last year’s 1965–1966 studio…
It’s been harder than ever to whittle down the wealth of new releases out on 30 September to just 8 to recommend, but here we go! Sir Van Morrison possesses one of the finest voices in all music, and he uses it to good effect on his 35th studio album, Keep Me Singing. By way…
Pre-sale of the week is Lodestar by Shirley Collins, out on 4 November. Lodestar is legendary singer Shirley Collins’s first album in over 35 years, and is a collection of English, American and Cajun songs dating from the 16th Century to the 1950s, all recorded at Shirley’s home in Lewes. We’re offering Lodestar at special…
The quality new releases just keep rolling in! First up for 23 September is Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea, another fine album of ethereal folk from singer-songwriter Michael Rosenburg, better known as Passenger. Live At The Greek is the latest in a lengthy list of live albums from surely the hardest-working man…
Pre-sale of the week is the essential compilation Soul Togetherness 2016, out on 30 September. Expansion’s most successful and longest running compilation series returns with a 2016 edition. Soul Togetherness has been an annual event since 2000. The concept remains the same: fifteen must-have modern soul-room gems taken from the year’s biggest dancefloor spins and…
Once again it’s been a real struggle to get down to just eight recommended releases. First up for 16 September is The Handsome Family with Unseen, which is Americana Gothic of the highest order – you can practically see the tumbleweed blowing whilst listening. The ever prolific Dawes release the cheerfully titled We’re All Gonna…
Pre-sale of the week is Game Show by Two Door Cinema Club, out on 14 October. Two Door Cinema Club have announced details of their third album. Gameshow follows 2012’s Beacon and their 2010 debut Tourist History, along with their Changing Of The Seasons EP in 2013. The new LP was recorded in Los Angeles…
It’s been a squeeze trying to reduce all the great releases due on 9 September to just eight, but we managed it eventually. To kick off, Teenage Fanclub make a long-awaited return and – to our complete non-surprise – their 10th album is a beauty, chock-full of songs about the stuff that really matters: life…
Pre-sale of the week is Requiem by Goat, out on 7 October. Sweden’s enigmatic Goat may qualify as the greatest modern pop-culture mystery. Who are these masked musicians? Are they truly members of the Arctic community of Korpilombolo? Are their songs part of their isolated communal heritage? Their third studio album, Requiem, offers more questions…
September looks like being a monumental month for new releases. Our recommended eight for 2 September start with Ward Thomas, whose startling new album, Cartwheels, they say themselves, is not just a country album. Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy is one of the UK’s most accomplished and distinctive songwriters, and he’s in fine form…