Releases from January–February 2018

Great albums from around the world

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Find releases from 2019 | 2017.

Also check out some of the great reissues of classic albums.

The hottest pre-sale releases

Pre-sale of the week is Oceanside Countryside by Neil Young, out on 14 February.

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Releases for 23 February 2018

We have six of the very best for 23 February to recommend to you. Plunge carries a supernatural charge from beginning to end. Fever Ray’s voice and chiming parallel fifths are enough to make the hairs on your arms stand on end: hit ‘play’ and be instantly transported to a world of heavy skies, visiting magpies, velvet mites. The Wants List 4 features some great in-demand tracks from the ’70s that were rediscovered and cherished by the UK’s rare groove and modern soul scenes from the mid-’80s onwards, some being reissued for the first time ever. Tony Banks’s name is synonymous with stellar musicianship and an impressive, eclectic catalogue of music. His new album, 5, is just what you would expect from him: stunning, evocative, beautifully-orchestrated, and timeless, a shining gem of sonic beauty that truly deserves your attention. On 29 November 2002, the first anniversary of the passing of George Harrison, the tribute Concert For George took place at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring George’s own songs and music he loved, performed by a line-up including Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr and more. Following two highly praised albums with Iamthemorning, Russian virtuoso pianist Gleb Kolyadin affirms his musical authority with his self-titled debut album, an emotive exploration of self-identity, a story of two parts with interweaving leitmotifs.

Our album of the week may be familiar. We featured Alela Diane’s latest two weeks ago, but it was delayed. One happy result of this delay is that it’s had repeated listens. Cusp was recorded when Diane was alone for the first time since becoming a mother. A broken thumbnail meant she had to abandon her signature finger-plucking, resulting in the most piano-driven album of her career, fuelled by that energy that only comes with facing and falling in love with something new.

- Alela Diane Cusp
Alela Diane returns with new album Cusp, the long-awaited follow-up to 2013’s critically acclaimed About Farewell. Cusp was written in a small cabin deep in the woods, when Diane was alone for the first time since becoming a mother. A broken thumbnail forced her to temporarily abandon her finger-picking style and write songs instead on a piano. This is a driven album that’s fuelled by the energy of facing and falling in love with something new.

- Fever Ray Plunge
Plunge carries a supernatural charge from beginning to end. Fever Ray’s voice and chiming parallel fifths are enough to make the hairs on your arms stand on end, as though you had been visited by a ghost. Karin Dreijer’s vivid sonics and imagistic lyrics tend to conjure entire worlds: hit ‘play’ and be instantly transported to a world of heavy skies, visiting magpies, velvet mites.

- Various Artists The Wants List 4
The Wants List 4 has been compiled in response to heavy customer demand, ten years after Wants List 3. It features some great in-demand tracks from the ’70s that were rediscovered and cherished by the UK’s rare groove and modern soul scenes from the mid-’80s onwards. Several of the tracks are appearing on a compilation for the first time and some are being reissued for the first time ever.

- Tony Banks 5
Tony Banks’s name is synonymous with talent, stellar musicianship and an impressive, eclectic catalogue of music. His new album, 5, is therefore just what you would expect from him: stunning, evocative, beautifully-orchestrated, and timeless. 5 is a shining gem of sonic beauty that truly deserves your attention and a round of emphatic applause.

- Various Artists Concert For George
On 29 November 2002, the first anniversary of the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and Eric Clapton organised the performance tribute Concert For George. Held at the Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George’s songs, and music he loved, performed by a line-up including Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison and more.

- Gleb Kolyadin Gleb Kolyadin
Following the success of two highly praised albums with Iamthemorning, Russian virtuoso pianist Gleb Kolyadin affirms his musical authority with his self-titled debut album. Gleb Kolyadin is an emotive exploration of self-identity; a story of two parts with interweaving leitmotifs. The album’s central concept weaves through an elaborate tonal and thematic structure, built around the extraordinary rhythm section of Gavin Harrison and Nick Beggs, and is accented at its focal points by guest appearances from Steve Hogarth, Jordan Rudess, Mick Moss and Theo Travis.

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Releases for 9 February 2018

We’ve picked six of the best releases for 9 February for you. Transangelic Exodus, the second album from Ezra Furman, is “not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. The music is intense and dramatic, full as ever of brilliant hooks. The Wombats’ fourth studio album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, sees the band pushing the boundaries of alt-pop innovation with a lush, ultramodern indie soundscape. Joan As Policewoman’s fifth solo album, Damned Devotion, bypasses the luscious elongated jams of her preceding two albums and returns to the starker drama of her earlier work, while still retaining echoes of her recent work. Will Varley’s fifth album, Spirit Of Minnie, marks a distinct change of direction for the singer-songwriter, being the first time he has recorded with a full backing band, but retains his gift for painterly, affirming and immediate lyric-writing.

Release of the week is Always Ascending, which is nothing short of a rebirth for Franz Ferdinand. The album’s 10 songs are a triumphant recasting of the group, bursting with fresh ideas and vigorous sonic experimentation, as exuberant as it is euphoric.

- Franz Ferdinand Always Ascending
Always Ascending is nothing short of a rebirth for Franz Ferdinand. The album’s 10 songs are a triumphant recasting of the group, bursting with fresh ideas and vigorous sonic experimentation. Always Ascending shows Franz Ferdinand broadening their palate, as exuberant as it is euphoric, creating a sound that singer Alex Kapranos refers to as “simultaneously futuristic and naturalistic”.

- Ezra Furman Transangelic Exodus
Transangelic Exodus, the second album from Ezra Furman, is a new landmark for the American singer-songwriter: “not a concept record, but almost a novel, or a cluster of stories on a theme, a combination of fiction and a half-true memoir,” according to its author. The music is an intense, dramatic event, full as ever of brilliant hooks.

- The Wombats Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life
The Wombats’ fourth studio album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, sees the band continuing to assert themselves as one of the biggest and best guitar-pop sensations of our time. The album finds The Wombats pushing the boundaries of alt-pop innovation with a lush, ultramodern indie soundscape wrapped in Blade Runner synths, future grooves, celestial solos and space-age melodies.

- Joan As Policewoman Damned Devotion
There is a sense of going backwards to move forwards with Joan As Policewoman’s fifth solo album, Damned Devotion. It bypasses the luscious elongated jams of her preceding two albums and returns to the starker drama of her earlier work, while still retaining necessary echoes of her more recent albums, and it’s lovely.

- Will Varley Kingsdown Sundown
Will Varley’s fifth album, Spirit Of Minnie, follows on from 2016’s much-praised Kingsdown Sundown. The new album marks a distinct change of direction for the singer-songwriter, being the first time he has recorded with a full backing band. Spirit Of Minnie expands on the pared-back musical palette of Varley’s previous work, all the while retaining his gift for painterly, affirming and immediate lyric-writing.

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Releases for 2 February 2018

The first of our 6 of the best from 2 February is Whatever It Takes, the sixth album from The James Hunter Six. They have already established themselves as a fixture in the world of rhythm and soul, but James Hunter’s voice has never been more compelling, his songs never more elegantly crafted than here. Walk Between The Worlds is the 20th (!!) studio album by Simple Minds, revisiting the glassy crystalline guitars and new-wave dance grooves of the post-punk era alongside several songs featuring dramatic orchestration. Microshift, the third album from Hookworms, marks a seismic shift in the Leeds band’s sound, dynamic, songwriting and production, while still bearing all the ferocious energy, intricate musicianship and bruised but beautiful song-craft of earlier releases. Saxon isn’t wasting any time: following the critically acclaimed Battering Ram in 2015, the heavy metal giants release Thunderbolt. “It’s a storming smashing thundering collection of tracks. Stand clear and fasten your seat belts!” says Biff Byford. Leave Alone The Empty Spaces is a stunning showcase of I Am Kloot songwriter and frontman John Bramwell’s skilful, widely acclaimed song-writing and unique voice. It’s inspired by the spirit of liberty, independence, adventure and solitude that John found while travelling around the UK and Europe in a VW camper van with his dog Henry while performing more than 300 intimate solo gigs.

Release of the week is Field Music’s sixth album, Open Here. If you thought the world made some kind of sense, you may have questioned yourself a few times during the strange and turbulent two years since Commontime was released. And that questioning, that erosion of faith – in people, in institutions, in shared experience – runs through every song on their new album.

- Field Music Open Here
Field Music release their sixth album, Open Here. The two years since Commontime was released have been strange and turbulent. If you thought the world made some kind of sense, you may have questioned yourself a few times in that time. And that questioning, that erosion of faith – in people, in institutions, in shared experience – runs through every song on the new Field Music album.

- The James Hunter Six Whatever It Takes
Whatever It Takes is the sixth album from The James Hunter Six. They have already established themselves as a permanent fixture in the world of rhythm and soul with their five previous albums, each more poignant and well-executed than the last. However, Whatever It Takes has buried them all. James Hunter’s voice has never been more compelling, his songs never more elegantly crafted.

- Simple Minds Walk Between Worlds
Walk Between The Worlds is the 20th (!!) studio album by Simple Minds, and their first collection of new material since 2014. Walk Between The Worlds is an album of two halves, revisiting the glassy crystalline guitars and new-wave dance grooves of the post-punk era alongside several songs featuring dramatic orchestration recorded at Abbey Road.

- Hookworms Microshift
Microshift, the third album from Hookworms, is the Leeds band’s first new work in over three years. The album marks a seismic shift in their sound, dynamic, songwriting and production, while still bearing all the ferocious energy, intricate musicianship and bruised but beautiful song-craft of the earlier releases that have quietly made them one of the UK’s most revered young bands.

- Saxon Thunderbolt
Saxon isn’t wasting any time. Following the critically acclaimed Battering Ram in 2015, the heavy metal giants release their latest studio album, Thunderbolt. This is album number 22 (!!) “It’s a storming smashing thundering collection of tracks we’ve been crafting with producer Andy Sneap. Stand clear and fasten your seat belts!” says Biff Byford.

- John Bramwell Leave Alone The Empty Spaces
Leave Alone The Empty Spaces, the first studio solo album from I Am Kloot songwriter and frontman, John Bramwell, is a stunning showcase of his skilful, widely acclaimed song-writing and his unique voice. It’s the first completely new collection of songs by John as a solo artist. The album has been inspired by John’s travels around the UK and Europe while performing more than 300 intimate solo gigs. Travelling in a VW camper van with his dog Henry, the experience allowed John to explore parts of the country hitherto unknown, develop his solo sound and ideas. The album is inspired by the spirit of liberty, independence, adventure and solitude that John has enjoyed on the road, as well as the diverse emotions that escape and travel can bring about from sadness to exhilaration. It’s about rediscovering the romance, intimacy and magic of the live music experience, one to one with the audience.

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Releases for 26 January 2018

The year has really kicked into action with loads of releases for 26 January. Our first recommended release is All Melody from Nils Frahm, whose new bespoke studio has allowed him the freedom to explore a wealth of musical flavours without restriction. This album really is all about the melody. London folk five-piece Stick In The Wheel’s debut, From Here, was Mojo’s folk album of the year for 2015. Their second Follow Them True, examines rituals and cycles. It’s a record of real vitality that rips apart the preconceptions surrounding folk music and retrieves its tender, beating heart. After the brilliant, rave-shaped grooves and expansive arrangements of its predecessor, Django Django’s third album, Marble Skies, is a more concise and focused offering which recalls the dynamic, genre-blurring music of their debut. Black Coffee, the new album from powerhouse singer Beth Hart and blues-rock guitarist extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa, is a collection of (mostly) not-so-familiar songs by familiar artists. Its earthy, electrified reinventions breathe new life into old numbers while giving the guitarist and singer plenty of room to show off. Ty Segall’s latest, Freedom’s Goblin, is thick with deep songwriting resources, be it stomper, weeper, ballad, screamer, banger or funker-upper, all diverted into new Tydentities – each one marking a different impasse, in the name of love and loathing. The Thread That Keeps Us, the ninth studio album from Calexico, captures their stylistic variety and unpredictability while still finding solace in limitless creativity. It reveals Calexico’s confidence in song-writing, ultimately setting a whole new standard for the band. Catharsis is the ninth album from metal titans Machine Head, and it’s actually an amazing thing: The Burning Red (1999) meets Through The Ashes Of Empires (2003), resulting in the most diverse and important 75 minutes of Machine Head’s career to date.

Release of the week just has to be Invisible Storm, the latest from Turin Brakes, what with them playing in-store on the 30th and everything. Click here to listen to their Radio 2 session with Dermot O’Leary on 15 January.

- Turin Brakes Invisible Storm
Turin Brakes don’t hang about. After seven studio albums and a million records sold worldwide, they could’ve been excused a bit of downtime … but 2016 saw them return with critically acclaimed album Lost Property, coupled with 18 months touring. But along the way new songs just kept on bubbling through, and the band made a hasty return to the studio to strike while the inspiration was buzzing … no downtime!
The music on Invisible Storm starts as it has since the beginning – with voices and guitars, and evolves outwards from there – the journey ‘Invisible Storm’ takes runs from the acoustic centre of the band’s sound in tracks like ‘Deep Sea Diver’ and ‘Don’t Know Much’, through to the indie-pop groove of ‘Wait’ and ‘Life Forms’ and far beyond into wide-screen space with ‘Would You be Mine and ‘Other Side of the Sun’.
“The idea of an invisible storm came to me as a theme during the end of writing the album,” says Olly Knights. “I’ve always loved the quote ‘everyone you meet is fighting their own war, so be kind’. Invisible Storm comes from that sentiment, that we are all at the mercy of our own internal weather systems despite outward appearances that may paint different pictures.
“The album tries to trace a line between these tense internal struggles and what’s happening outside of ourselves. Perhaps even suggesting a link between the invisible storms of our inner worlds and the outer tensions and social and political storms that seem to be sweeping the world these days.”

- Nils Frahm All Melody
All Melody is Nils Frahm’s 7th studio album, and was born out of the freedom Nils’s new bespoke studio provided has allowed him to explore without restriction. Merging musical flavours like jazz, house and dub all orbit Frahm’s classically influenced core. This album really is all about the melody.

- Stick In The Wheel Follow Them True
London folk five-piece Stick In The Wheel release the follow-up to their debut album, From Here, which was Mojo’s folk album of the year for 2015. Their second album, Follow Them True, examines rituals and cycles; how we have the power to change ourselves and the world around us, the past repeating itself, ghosts and death, land and place, thieves and beggars. It continues to question the notion of what folk music is, and what it means in 2018.
On a record of real vitality, Stick In The Wheel rip apart the preconceptions surrounding folk music and retrieve the tender, beating heart at the centre of so much traditional culture.

- Django Django Marble Skies
Django Django return after Born Under Saturn with their third album, Marble Skies. After the brilliant, rave-shaped grooves and expansive arrangements of its predecessor, Marble Skies is a more concise and focused offering which recalls the dynamic, genre-blurring music of their debut. It’s a return to form; an album which finds them returning to the handmade, cut-and-paste approach of the past.

- Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa Black Coffee
Black Coffee, the new album from powerhouse singer Beth Hart and blues rock guitarist extraordinaire Joe Bonamassa, is all about hard-hitting, rocking soul music. A collection of (mostly) not-so-familiar songs by familiar artists, its earthy, electrified reinventions breathe new life into old numbers while giving the guitarist and the singer plenty of room to show off, all within icy-tight arrangements.
It’s been 4 years since their critically acclaimed, Grammy-nominated, No. 1 Billboard Blues album Seesaw was released. They have now reunited for another collection of scorching interpretations of soul gems that pair Hart’s breathtaking vocals and Joe’s masterfully expressive playing. This album features classics made famous by Edgar Winter, Ray Charles, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Lucinda Williams and more.

- Ty Segall Freedom’s Goblin
Ty Segall’s latest, Freedom’s Goblin, is thick with deep songwriting resources, be it stomper, weeper, ballad, screamer, banger or funker-upper, all diverted into new Tydentities – each one marking a different impasse, like a flag whirling into a knot, exploding and burning on contact, in the name of love and loathing.

- Calexico The Thread That Keeps Us
The Thread That Keeps Us, the ninth studio album from Calexico, is a timely snapshot of the Arizona-bred band: a family portrait capturing their stylistic variety and unpredictability while still finding solace in limitless creativity. In bringing the album to life, vocalist/guitarist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino found a spiritual home in unusual surroundings – not in Arizona, but on the Northern California coast in a home-turned-studio called the Panoramic House. Built from debris and shipyard-salvaged timber, and dubbed ‘The Phantom Ship’ by the band, the grandiose house and its edge-of-the-world-like ambience soon made their way into the songs. The spectre of California also had a powerful effect: as both dream state and nightmare, its infinite duality is mirrored in the music, giving Calexico a new direction and new edge.
With less polish and more grit than ever before, The Thread That Keeps Us both honours enduring traditions and reveals Calexico’s confidence in song writing, ultimately setting a whole new standard for the band.

- Machine Head Catharsis
Catharsis is the ninth album from metal titans Machine Head, and it’s actually an amazing thing, best described through the prism of two key Machine Head albums: it’s The Burning Red (1999) meets Through The Ashes Of Empires (2003). The result is the most diverse and important 75 minutes of Machine Head’s career to date.

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Releases for 19 January 2018

The number and quality of new releases continue to rise as we get into the year proper, and our 6 recommend releases for 19 January run the usual gamut from quiet to very loud! The Go! Team still has faith in the power of music to make things better, and we need them now more than ever. For their new album, Semi Circle, Ian imagined a school marching band gone rogue, chucking away their sheet music to blast out Northern soul stompers, Japanese indie-pop swooners and old-school hip-hop jams. The effect is a kaleidoscopic cacophony, almost as if the sound itself is bent and refracted in the metallic curves of a trumpet – comforting and intoxicating at the same time. Tommy Emmanuel releases Accomplice One, an album of duets performed with stars including Jason Isbell, Mark Knopfler, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Amanda Shires, Ricky Skaggs and David Grisman. As Tommy says: “It’s been such an honour to work with some of the greatest artists I know, and some of the most inspiring people in music, today. I wanted to record an album of duets that could showcase my love of many styles.” Tune-Yards – officially now a duo, with Merrill Garbus joined by long-time collaborator Nate Brenner – release I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life as a follow-up to their acclaimed 2014 album Nikki Nack. Their new album tackles race, politics, intersectional feminism and environmental prophecies head on. In the billows of intense subject matter the album is their most immediate and upbeat yet – this is Tune-Yards making music to dance to. Lost On The Road To Eternity is the 20th (!!) studio album from rock legends Magnum, and it’s majestic hard rock at its best. The band’s compositions all ooze a magic that’s difficult to describe, an enchanting ambience created by Clarkin’s poetic lyrics that create rich sonic images. Of Mice & Men’s new album, Defy, sees the band entering a new era. The songs are all fast and heavy and the band’s strongest work to date. If you thought you knew these guys, check again – this is Of Mice & Men at full throttle!

Our release of the week is Ruins from Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit, and it’s the 2018 album we’ve been most excited about. This time the sisters are a bit older and wiser, and it shows in an intense album that I think we will be playing A LOT!

- First Aid Kit Ruins
Ruins is the new and eagerly awaited album from Swedish sister duo First Aid Kit. This new album finds the duo as you’ve never heard them before: wounded and biting back hard. While Ruins follows the traditions of the classic folk-rock sound that First Aid Kit revived via their breakthrough album Stay Gold (2014) and previous releases The Big Black And The Blue (2010) and The Lion’s Roar (2012), the difference is that this time they’ve lived, and the results are intense.

- The Go! Team Semi Circle
The Go! Team is a band that still has faith in the power of music to make things better, and we need them now more than ever. For their new album, Semi Circle, Ian imagined a school marching band gone rogue, chucking away their sheet music to blast out Northern soul stompers, Japanese indie-pop swooners and old-school hip-hop jams. To fully realise his vision, he knew he had to reach out and entice a group of unlikely new collaborators into the Go! Team fold. The effect is a kaleidoscopic cacophony, almost as if the sound itself is bent and refracted in the metallic curves of a trumpet – comforting and intoxicating at the same time. “It’s recognisable as a Go! Team record but it takes the sound to a new place,” he says.

- Tommy Emmanuel Accomplice One
Tommy Emmanuel releases Accomplice One, an album of duets. As Tommy says: “It’s been such an honour to work with some of the greatest artists I know, and some of the most inspiring people in music, today. I wanted to record an album of duets that could showcase my love of many styles.” The many artists who stepped forward on this musical journey include Jason Isbell, Mark Knopfler, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Amanda Shires, Ricky Skaggs and David Grisman.

- Tune-Yards I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life
Tune-Yards – officially now a duo, with Merrill Garbus joined by long-time collaborator Nate Brenner – release I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life as a follow-up to their acclaimed 2014 album Nikki Nack. Their new album tackles race, politics, intersectional feminism and environmental prophecies head on. In the billows of intense subject matter the album is their most immediate and upbeat yet – this is Tune-Yards making music to dance to.

- Magnum Lost On The Road To Eternity
Lost On The Road To Eternity is the 20th (!!) studio album from rock legends Magnum, and it’s majestic hard rock at its best. The band’s compositions all ooze a magic thats difficult to describe, an enchanting ambience created by Clarkin’s poetic lyrics that create rich sonic images.

- Of Mice & Men Defy
Of Mice & Men’s new album, Defy, sees the band entering a new era. The songs are all fast and heavy and the band’s strongest work to date. If you thought you knew these guys, check again – this is Of Mice & Men at full throttle!

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Releases for 12 January 2018

There are four recommended releases for release on 12 January that we didn’t want to get lost in the rush of upcoming new releases. First up are post-punk pioneers Skids, who release their fifth album, Burning Cities, four decades after they were formed in the summer of 1977. Founder member Richard Jobson says – with a typical lack of hyperbole! – “I’m incredibly excited about this album. This music is at the heart of everything our band is about: truth, revolution, loud guitars and a refusal to keep quiet as the establishment tries to smother chances for anyone other than its own.” Shame thrive on confrontation, whether it be the adrenaline-pumping chaos that unfolds at their live shows or the seething intensity that crackles throughout their debut album, Songs Of Praise. The band has built itself up through a DIY ethos, citing The Fall and Wire among their biggest musical influences. They have barrelled fearlessly into an angular, thrashing post-punk that ever pauses to catch its breath. To Kill A King’s third album, Spiritual Dark Age, is the last 3 years of frontman Ralph Pelleymounter’s life distilled into 40 minutes of music, he says. It has ballads, moments of disgust and anger as well as folk songs; hopefully, among the chaos and darker tales, there is an underlying message of compassion and how it just might save the day.

Our release of the week is Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s eighth album, Wrong Creatures. For a select few, rock’n’roll is a life sentence. It’s in every muscle in their body, it’s in every thought they have, it’s written all over their face. When you arrive at BRMC’s headquarters in East Hollywood, you know you’re sidling up to the home of some of rock’s most primal prisoners. In the driveway there are motorcycles. In the living room there is gear splayed everywhere; random bits of drum kits, a pedal steel guitar, stacks of vinyl. For the band this record proved to be one of the more tumultuous given the length of time it’s taken from start to finish.

- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Wrong Creatures
For a select few, rock’n’roll is a life sentence. It’s in every muscle in their body, it’s in every thought they have, it’s written all over their face. When you arrive at Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s headquarters in East Hollywood, you know you’re sidling up to the home of some of rock’s most primal prisoners. In the driveway there are motorcycles. In the living room there is gear splayed everywhere; random bits of drum kits, a pedal steel guitar, stacks of vinyl. For the band their eighth album, Wrong Creatures, proved to be one of the more tumultuous given the length of time it’s taken from start to finish. A hesitant sense of pride is shared among them. On a good day, BRMC remains a democracy. Their lifestyle is anti-establishment, and it’s reflected in their approach to being a band.

- Skids Burning Cities
Four decades after they were formed in the summer of 1977 post-punk pioneers Skids releases their fifth album, Burning Cities. Founder member Richard Jobson says, with a typical lack of hyperbole! “I’m incredibly excited about this album. This music is at the heart of everything our band is about: truth, revolution, loud guitars and a refusal to keep quiet as the establishment tries to smother chances for anyone other than its own.”

- Shame Songs Of Praise
Shame thrive on confrontation, whether it be the adrenaline-pumping chaos that unfolds at their live shows or the seething intensity that crackles throughout their debut album, Songs Of Praise. The band has built itself up through a DIY ethos, citing The Fall and Wire among their biggest musical influences. They have barrelled fearlessly into an angular, thrashing post-punk that ever pauses to catch its breath.

- To Kill A King The Spiritual Dark Age
To Kill A King’s third album, Spiritual Dark Age, is the last 3 years of frontman Ralph Pelleymounter’s life distilled into 40 minutes of music, he says. It has ballads, moments of disgust and anger as well as folk songs; hopefully, among the chaos and darker tales, there is an underlying message of compassion and how it just might save the day.

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Other releases for 2018

Find releases from 2019 | 2017.