Releases from March–April 2023

Great albums from around the world

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Pre-sale of the week is Talkin to the Trees by Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts, out on 13 June.

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Releases for 28 April 2023

Josh Ritter kicks off 28 April’s soaraway six with Spectral Lines, in which he finds shared experiences in songs that push beyond the bounds of his previous work: it’s an album full of wonder and light as Ritter considers the ideas of love, devotion and what it means to be connected, to each other and to ourselves. strong>Neil Gaiman and FourPlay String Quartet have been firm friends and collaborators for more than a decade, and Signs of Life is gorgeous, ground-breaking and genre-bending: part songwriting, part poetry, part story-telling; all-encompassing, all-engaging, all beautiful. The Orb’s pulsating discography grows ever more huge with Prism, on which they continue to rollick freely without inhibition across ambient, house and dub, but also tangent into poetry, pop, full-blown drum ’n’ bass and actual reggae. The Future Never Waits is an outstanding addition to Hawkwind’s varied and celebrated catalogue, providing old and new fans alike with the intense and concentrated fusion of musical styles they’ve come to expect and celebrate. The title track of The Hypnogogue, a darkly psychedelic six minutes that slowly spirals into a menacing descent, is one of the most breath-taking that The Church have released in years, and it serves as a reminder of how vital they remain after four decades.

Our release of the week is First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, which is anchored by evocative melodies and an enthralling lyrical narrative and signals a thrilling new chapter in the The National’s discography. The 11-song album features guest appearances by Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, and channels the group’s revitalised chemistry into a body of work that beautifully balances elegant musicality with their more idiosyncratic impulses.

- The National First Two Pages Of Frankenstein
Anchored by evocative melodies and an enthralling lyrical narrative, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein signals a thrilling new chapter in the The National’s discography. The 11-song album was produced by the band at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York and features guest appearances by Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens.
The follow-up to 2019’s top-5 hit album I Am Easy to Find channels the group’s revitalised chemistry into a body of work that beautifully balances elegant musicality with their more idiosyncratic impulses. It was initially stalled while lead singer Matt Berninger navigated “a very dark spot where I couldn’t come up with lyrics or melodies at all, and that period lasted for over a year. Even though we’d always been anxious and argued quite a lot whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end.”

- Josh Ritter Spectral Lines
Josh Ritter’s 11th album, Spectral Lines, finds shared experiences in songs that push beyond the bounds of his previous work. Recorded with longtime collaborator Sam Kassirer producing, it’s an album full of wonder and light as Ritter considers the ideas of love, devotion and what it means to be connected, to each other and to ourselves. “I think it’s important for us to share some of our most basic and common experiences with each other, however we can,” he says. “That’s kind of what we really, really need right now.”

- Neil Gaiman & FourPlay String Quartet Signs of Life
Since selling out the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House in 2010, Neil Gaiman and FourPlay String Quartet have been firm friends and collaborators. Together they have toured the world together, released a New York Times best-selling book and record, sold out Carnegie Hall and, most importantly, recorded a new album, Signs of Life. Reflecting the fact that both Gaiman and FourPlay have always refused to be pigeon-holed in their creativity, together they have created something remarkable and unique. Signs of Life is a gorgeous, ground-breaking and genre-bending collaboration between an iconic author and a unique musical ensemble. Part songwriting, part poetry, part story-telling; all-encompassing, all-engaging, all beautiful.

- The Orb Prism
The Orb’s pulsating discography grows ever more huge with their 18th album, Prism – the third helmed by core duo Alex Paterson and Michael Rendall. Despite the connotations of its title, here they continue to rollick freely without inhibition across ambient, house and dub, but also tangent into poetry, pop, full-blown drum ’n’ bass and actual reggae.

- Hawkwind The Future Never Waits
The Future Never Waits follows Hawkwind’s critically acclaimed 2021 album Somnia and 2022 double live album We Are Looking in on You. The band’s 35th studio album is an outstanding addition to their varied and celebrated catalogue. Opening track ‘The Future Never Waits’ delivers a ten-minute instrument-led space-age march, before progressing into the guitar-driven follow-up ‘The End’, featuring Dave Brock’s trademark vocals and chugging machine-gun riffs. Innovative additions to the Hawkwind canon such as ‘Aldous Huxley’ and ‘They Are So Easily Distracted’ introduce a gradual, almost lounge-like quality, with deliberate piano, audio samples and saxophones lamenting over a futuristic backdrop and roaming guitar solos. Other tracks like ‘Rama (The Prophecy)’ and ‘I’m Learning To Live Today’ sit tightly in the Hawkwind groove, providing old and new fans alike with the intense and concentrated fusion of musical styles they’ve come to expect and celebrate.

- The Church The Hypnogogue
Let it first be said that the title track of The Hypnogogue, the first new album from The Church in six years, is one of the most breath-taking they’ve released in years, a darkly psychedelic six minutes that slowly spirals into a menacing descent. That alone is reason to keep this one on your radar. The Australian neo-psych band have been going for over 40 years, with around a half dozen classic albums and zero bad ones, yet their ability to keep evolving and uncovering new aspects to their sound and approach only serves as a reminder of how vital they remain after four decades.

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Releases for 21 April 2023

Opening our six stormers for 21 April is Angels in Science Fiction, the stunning fifth album from Alabama genre-benders St. Paul and The Broken Bones, which builds on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&B of their more recent releases. The legendary Jethro Tull return hot on the heels of 2022’s top-10 album The Zealot Gene with their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte, reminding the world of the iconic sound that the band brought to rock music. Ian Hunter, known for his high-profile collaborations with artists such as David Bowie and Queen, reflects on his musical journey while looking forward to the next chapter in his storied career on his new album, Defiance Part 1, backed by a star-studded group of fellow legends. Alfa Mist, one of the UK’s most focused, in-demand and distinct musical voices, achieves his most fully realised, expressive musical work to date on Variables, coupling his keen ear for looping and memorably emotive piano melodies with intuitive grooves and free-flowing jazz improvisation. 43 years since the release of The Selecter’s seminal debut album Too Much Pressure, they keep the fire burning with Human Algebra, a stellar collection of hard-hitting tracks in the band’s own inimitable style, covering ‘fake news’, keyboard warriors and the scourge of knife crime as well as human relationships more generally.

Our release of the week comes from Everything But The Girl. Having pursued solo careers since the release of Temperamental, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt – acclaimed for their tender-tough lyrics, Thorn’s unique voice and Watt’s arrangements – have reformed and bring us their hugely anticipated and long-overdue brand-new studio album, Fuse – their first for over two decades, would you believe!?

- Everything But The Girl Fuse
Having pursued solo careers since the release of Temperamental, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have reformed Everything But The Girl and bring us their hugely anticipated and long-overdue brand-new studio album, Fuse – their first for over two decades, would you believe!? Thorn and Watt formed EBTG in 1982. Acclaimed for their tender-tough lyrics, Thorn’s unique voice and Watt’s arrangements, they released a string of UK gold albums throughout the 1980s, experimenting with jazz, guitar pop, orchestral wall-of-sound and drum-machine soul.

- St Paul and The Broken Bones Angels in Science Fiction
When Paul Janeway learned he was going to be a father, he felt struck by divine inspiration. Following the tradition of greats like Aristotle, William James and John Steinbeck, who wrote letters to their future sons, the singer decided to scribe his own thoughts – of joy, of fear, of confusion – as messages to his then-unborn daughter. Those letters ultimately became Angels in Science Fiction, the stunning fifth album from his band, Alabama genre-benders St. Paul and The Broken Bones. The album stretches the band’s limbs further out from their early southern-soul style, building on the shadowy psychedelia and intricate, experimental R&BB of their more recent releases.

- Jethro Tull RökFlöte
The legendary Jethro Tull return hot on the heels of 2022’s top-10 album The Zealot Gene with their 23rd studio album, RökFlöte. The twelve tracks here remind the world of the iconic sound that the band brought to rock music, recorded with the current line-up of Ian Anderson, David Goodier, John O’Hara, Scott Hammond and Joe Parrish James.

- Ian Hunter Defiance Part 1
A rock-and-roll trailblazer for over six decades, Ian Hunter reflects on his musical journey while looking forward to the next chapter in his storied career. Known for his high-profile collaborations with artists such as David Bowie and Queen, Hunter continues this tradition on his new album, Defiance Part 1. Backed by a star-studded group of fellow legends, Hunter rocks on all-new original tracks like ‘This Is What I’m Here For’ and ‘Bed of Roses’.

- Alfa Mist Variables
Alfa Mist achieves his most fully realised, expressive musical work to date on Variables, coupling his keen ear for looping and memorably emotive piano melodies with intuitive grooves and free-flowing jazz improvisation. Since the release of his first full-length project, Nocturne, in 2015, Alfa has established himself as one of the UK’s most focused, in-demand and distinct musical voices. Artists look to him for his unique blend of intimate bedroom production and expansive jazz-group orchestration, since Alfa is yet to be boxed into a specific genre: his music spans everything from hip-hop beat-making to producing for artists such as rapper Loyle Carner, composing neo-classical works for the London Contemporary Orchestra and reworking tracks from composer Ólafur Arnalds and pioneering jazz label Blue Note.

- The Selecter Human Algebra
It’s been 43 years since the release of The Selecter’s seminal debut album Too Much Pressure and, while it still inspires and resonates today, their new studio album Human Algebra keeps the fire burning with a stellar collection of hard-hitting tracks in the band’s own inimitable style. Human Algebra is a word from the wise – from questioning ‘fake news’ (‘Big Little Lies’) to pointing the finger at keyboard warriors (‘Armchair Guevara’) and the scourge of knife crime (‘Human Algebra’). Human relationships are also touched upon (‘Boxing Clever’), along with a touching tribute to the late great Ranking Roger from The Beat (‘Parade the Crown’). As ever, The Selecter are led by iconic frontwoman Pauline Black OBE and co-fronted by original member Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson with original drummer Charley ‘Aitch’ Bembridge.

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Releases for 14 April 2023

To kick off 14 April’s bangers, the multi-award-winning Feist returns with Multitudes, born out of two life-altering events that left her needing to refind her songwriting voice, and this batch of songs is rooted in a raw and potent realism touched with otherworldly beauty. Exotico takes place in an impossibly utopian island dreamed up by Kettering-bred Temples – a resplendent collage of psychedelia, krautrock and time-bending dream-pop, affirming Temples as one of today’s most forward-thinking and endlessly inventive rock bands. The Tallest Man On Earth (Kristian Matsson) is a guitar-slinger rooted in the troubadour ballad tradition, and Henry St, his sixth studio album, is full of vivid imagery, clever turns of phrase and devastating, world-weary observations. Everything Is Going to Be OK came out of a time of turbulence and loss for GoGo Penguin, when the studio offered the band a sanctuary from real life, and the resulting album is vibrant and vivacious, drawing strength from a shared understanding and empathy – everything is going to be ok. 72 Seasons – the first 18 years of our lives – form our true or false selves, and Metallica explore how those core beliefs and attitudes continue to affect our perception of the world today, how much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to those childhood experiences – are we prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry?

Our release of the week is Keep Your Courage, a collection of nine original songs by Natalie Merchant plus an interpretation of ‘Hunting the Wren’ by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. Full of lush orchestrations, this is a song cycle that maps the journey of a courageous heart.

- Natalie Merchant Keep Your Courage
Keep Your Courage is Natalie Merchant’s ninth solo studio album and her first of new material since 2014’s self-titled record. An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features two duets sung with Abena Koomson-Davis of Resistance Revival Chorus, contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinettist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are lush orchestrations throughout by seven composers including Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobson and Megan Gould. Keep Your Courage comprises nine original songs by Merchant as well as an interpretation of ‘Hunting the Wren’ by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. It is a song cycle that maps the journey of a courageous heart.

- Feist Multitudes
Multi-award-winning, hugely influential musician Feist returns with Multitudes, her sixth solo album and first since 2017’s Pleasure. The album took shape soon after the birth of her daughter and sudden death of her father, a back-to-back convergence of life-altering events that left the Canadian singer/songwriter with “nothing performative in me anymore.” As she cleansed her songwriting of any tendency to obscure unwanted truths, Feist slowly made her way toward a batch of songs rooted in a raw and potent realism that is touched with otherworldly beauty.

- Temples Exotico
Produced by Sean Ono Lennon, Temples’ fourth album takes place in a mystical setting: an impossibly utopian island dreamed up by singer/guitarist James Bagshaw, bassist Tom Walmsley, keyboardist/guitarist Adam Smith and drummer Rens Ottink. With its resplendent collage of psychedelia, krautrock and time-bending dream-pop, Exotico brings that world to life in crystalline detail while exploring an entire spectrum of existential themes: impermanence, mortality, our connection with nature and the wild immensity of the mind. Equal parts cerebral and celestial, the result is a truly immersive body of work, fully affirming Kettering-bred Temples as one of today’s most forward-thinking and endlessly inventive rock bands.

- The Tallest Man On Earth Henry St
Kristian Matsson has never remained in one place for very long. Having spent much of the last decade touring around the world as The Tallest Man On Earth, Matsson has captivated audiences using every inch of his long guitar lead to roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away. Matsson is a guitar-slinger rooted in folk, and his songs are troubadour ballads at heart. Now, he returns with Henry St, his sixth studio album following 2012’s There’s No Leaving Now: full of vivid imagery, clever turns of phrase and devastating, world-weary observations.

- GoGo Penguin Everything Is Going To Be OK
Everything Is Going to Be OK is born from a time of turbulence and loss for GoGo Penguin. During an oppressive grieving period, the studio offered the band a sanctuary from real life. The resulting project, given such vibrant life here, draws its strength from a shared understanding and empathy. Life has many great aspects to it and, despite the lows, we should be mindful and grateful to celebrate the highs at every turn. Through our hardships, we will emerge stronger – everything is going to be ok.

- Metallica 72 Seasons
Metallica’s James Hetfield says: “72 Seasons. The first 18 years of our lives that form our true or false selves. The concept that we were told ‘who we are’ by our parents. A possible pigeonholing around what kind of personality we are. I think the most interesting part of this is the continued study of those core beliefs and how it affects our perception of the world today. Much of our adult experience is reenactment or reaction to these childhood experiences. Prisoners of childhood or breaking free of those bondages we carry.”

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Releases for 7 April 2023

7 April’s spring sparklers start with Drop Cherries, which marks the first time that Yorkshire-born Billie Marten has both written and co-produced one of her records and whose title is taken from a tale she heard in which the gift of cherries is a metaphor for offering someone your love. A sense of driving through tunnels has led Emma Tricca towards something expansive and far-reaching: an entirely new and experimental collection of songs on Aspirin Sun, ebbing and flowing, continually unfurling. The award-winning Oklahoman Carter Sampson shares the essential sounds and heartfelt feelings that have always resonated wholly and entirely from America’s heartland on Gold, a set of songs reflecting her continuing passion and purpose. Seattle-based foursome Mudhoney take aim at the absurdities and stupidities of modern life with typically barbed humour and muck-encrusted riffs on on their 11th studio album, Plastic Eternity – the apocalypse is stupider than anyone could’ve predicted! A tree may lose its leaves but will continue to grow, and Good Time / Hard Time sees Teleman – now a trio – evolving as a force of nature, entwining musical and lyrical streams of consciousness to make sense of a world in chaos.

Our release of the week is Stereo Mind Game, the third studio album by Daughter and their first for seven years, which germinated while the trio were jamming in Los Angeles after a hiatus and which grapples with what it means to be separated: from loved ones, but also from yourself.

- Daughter Stereo Mind Game
Stereo Mind Game, the third studio album by Daughter and their first for seven years, grapples with what it means to be separated: from loved ones, but also from yourself. After releasing two studio albums, If You Leave (2013) and Not to Disappear (2016), and the video game soundtrack Music from Before the Storm (2017), the trio comprising Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella chose to take some time off. But not before jamming together in Los Angeles, in between a support tour with The National and their first headline shows in South America. It was here that their new album started to germinate.

- Billie Marten Drop Cherries
Recorded entirely on tape in Somerset and Wales late last summer, Drop Cherries marks the very first time that Billie Marten has both written and co-produced (with Dom Monks) one of her records. The title is taken from a tale she heard from a friend just before she was starting to create songs for the album, and the title track came soon after. The gift of cherries is a metaphor for offering someone your love: doing anything you can to make them happy.

- Emma Tricca Aspirin Sun
“It felt like I was driving through tunnels,” Emma Tricca says of her fourth album – her first for Bella Union – a sense of a phosphorescent panorama of undulating colour, shape and sound. As with any transformation, it is this sense of movement that underpins Aspirin Sun and its bold new form, ebbing and flowing, continually unfurling. The tunnels led the Italian-born, London-based singer-songwriter towards something expansive and far-reaching: an entirely new and experimental collection of songs.

- Carter Sampson Gold
Born and bred in Oklahoma, Carter Sampson is an award-winning singer, songwriter and performer who shares the essential sounds and heartfelt feelings that have always resonated wholly and entirely from America’s heartland. Her confidence and credibility reside in each of her albums, but never more so than in her new offering, the aptly-titled Gold. A set of songs reflecting her continuing passion and purpose for making music that can leave an indelible impression, it finds her once again conveying her inspiration through the music and its messaging.

- Mudhoney Plastic Eternity
The world is filling up with trash; humanity remains addicted to pollution; people are downing horse dewormer because some goober on television told them it cured Covid; the apocalypse is stupider than anyone could’ve predicted. Fortunately, the absurdities of modern life have always been prime subject matter for Seattle-based foursome Mudhoney, and the band take aim at all of them with typically barbed humour and muck-encrusted riffs on on their 11th studio album, Plastic Eternity, which was recorded over nine days in Seattle at Crackle & Pop! with longtime producer Johnny Sangster.

- Teleman Good Time / Hard Time
A tree may lose its leaves but will continue to grow. Teleman’s fourth album, Good Time / Hard Time, is their first as a trio and it sees them evolving as a force of nature as they navigate new beginnings with a wealth of experience behind them. With musical and lyrical streams of consciousness entwined, the album makes sense of a world in chaos and its words of wisdom are a vital reminder that even when things seem heavy, life is precious.

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Releases for 31 March 2023

The first of 31 March’s soaraway six is The Price of Progress, which stands as The Hold Steady’s most sonically expansive record thus far while also remaining unmistakably them, showcasing narrative rock’n’roll tales of ordinary people struggling and surviving in a modern world. Like Bennett Wilson Poole’s debut, I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away had a serendipitous beginning, with Robin Bennett and Danny Wilson writing new songs late into the night whilst on tour, and this time the music has been heavily spiked with ’60s British psychedelia. London Brew is a reimagining of Miles Davis’ legendary 1970 album Bitches Brew by the cream of the contemporary London jazz scene – Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Theon Cross, Dave Okumu, Benji B, Tom Skinner and others – and it reflects an emotional journey of the times. A Certain Ratio have always had gleeful disregard for the boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression; and, in spite of its name, 1982 is intently foward-looking. All Roads Lead Home is an album born out of pure inspiration as well as social necessity – forced to stay apart, Molina, Talbot and Lofgren each wrote new songs individually and then finally ‘came home’ to record with Neil Young, resulting in a wondrous consensus of unforgettable music.

Our release of the week is The Record, the debut full-length album from Boygenius – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus – who formed as a trio after meeting on various tours, during which the three lyrically and musically arresting singer-songwriters and kindred spirits got to know each other on their own terms.

- Boygenius The Record
The Record is the debut full-length album from Boygenius. Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus formed Boygenius after booking a tour together, but the trio had subconsciously been in the works for longer than that. Through a series of tours and performances together, along with chance encounters that led to friendships – including Bridgers’ and Dacus’s first in-person meeting backstage at a Philadelphia festival – greenroom hangouts that felt instantly comfortable and compatible, a couple of long email chains and even a secret handshake between Baker and Dacus, the lyrically and musically arresting singer-songwriters and kindred spirits got to know each other on their own terms.

- The Hold Steady The Price of Progress
The Price of Progress stands as The Hold Steady’s most sonically expansive record thus far while also remaining unmistakably them. The album showcases narrative rock’n’roll tales of ordinary people struggling and surviving in a modern world. The front and back of the album cover feature photographs by renowned Minneapolis-based photographer Alec Soth. “These are some of the most cinematic songs in The Hold Steady catalogue,” says singer Craig Finn, “and the record was a joy to make. I feel like we went somewhere we haven’t before, which is a very exciting thing for a band that is two decades into our career.”

- Bennett Wilson Poole I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away
Nearly five years on from their acclaimed debut, Bennett Wilson Poole reveal the follow-up, I Saw A Star Behind Your Eyes, Don’t Let It Die Away. That eponymous first album was a serendipitous series of events which began with a late-evening session where the trio wrote a response to the murder of MP Jo Cox.
The new album has been a long time coming, but it came together in similar fashion; Robin Bennett and Danny Wilson started writing new songs late into the night whilst on tour to promote the first record – a tour which unfolded from a three-night residency in a London pub into a year-long odyssey culminating in a headline show in Hall One at King’s Place – and, before they knew it, they had enough songs to begin recording an unplanned second album. Where the first record drank deep from ’70s US west-coast folk-rock, the second has been heavily spiked with 1960s British psychedelia, even featuring a cover by legendary counterculture artist John Hurford (whose credits include ’60s artwork for Oz magazine and International Times).

- London Brew London Brew
London Brew is a reimagining of Miles Davis’ legendary 1970 album Bitches Brew. Produced by Martin Terefe and Downtown Music UK Limited, the record reflects an emotional journey of the times, having been recorded during the pandemic after many months of isolation and the inability to collaborate in person. Recorded in December 2020 at Church Studios in London, the recording session brings together UK jazz artists Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Theon Cross, Dave Okumu, Benji B and Tom Skinner, among others. As producer Martin Terefe explains: “Sometimes the music is uncomfortable, other times it’s familiar and joyous and other times it’s like deep meditation.”

- A Certain Ratio 1982
A Certain Ratio’s greatest strength has always been their unpredictability. They’ve always moved with gleeful disregard for the boundaries of style and genre, their eye fixed firmly on constant progression. It’s an ethos that’s open-minded over all else, and that’s seen them take everything from experimental electronica to vintage funk, filtered through their own Mancunian lens. And their latest studio album, 1982, is no different in its unpredictable multidimensional nature. It shoots off in every direction, whether via searing Afrobeat, mind-melting jazz breakdowns or moody electronic experiments – all with pop hooks and irresistible dance rhythms. It might be called 1982, but it’s no nostalgia trip, fearlessly facing up to the future and running at it with full speed.

- Talbot, Molina, Lofgren & Young All Roads Lead Home
All Roads Lead Home is an album born out of pure inspiration as well as social necessity. Molina, Talbot and Lofgren kept recording their original songs, each with other musicians and in various locations during the pandemic years. They were forced to change from working as a trio with Neil Young, and used that opportunity to see what their new individual configurations would lead to. And, of course, they led home. The three Crazy Horse members each recorded three songs apart and with different musicians, and by challenging themselves to see what they could do, all arrived at a wondrous consensus of unforgettable music. Crazy Horse has never made an album like this before.

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Releases for 24 March 2023

Heading up 24 March’s six stormers is Memento Mori, the first studio album from Depeche Mode as a duo of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore following co-founder Andrew ‘Fletch’ Fletcher’s death last year, which charts a vast expanse of moods and textures. Luke Combs continues to establish himself as one of country music’s most authentic and powerful voices on Gettin’ Old, as he reaches new lyrical depths. Pink Floyd celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side Of The Moon with the first official standalone release of the BBC recording of their legendary performance of the full album at Wembley. The 20th anniversary of Nickel Creek’s debut album promted the trio to get together and start creating again, and they realised that they had some new music to make, and Celebrants is the result. Fall Out Boy’s new album, So Much (For) Stardust, was teased with a mysterious ad in the Chicago Tribune, a claymation video and other tantalising tidbits, which have built huge anticipation among fans – and now it is here!

Our release of the week is Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, the ninth studio album from acclaimed singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, which comprises 16 tracks and interludes featuring guests including Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, Bleachers and more. It follows the prolific artist’s 2021 albums Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters.

- Lana Del Rey Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is the ninth studio album from acclaimed singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It comprises 16 tracks and interludes featuring guests including Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, Bleachers and more. It follows the prolific artist’s 2021 albums Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters.

- Depeche Mode Memento Mori
Memento Mori is Depeche Mode’s 15th studio album and its first as a two-piece lineup of Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, following co-founder Andrew ‘Fletch’ Fletcher’s tragic passing in 2022. Produced by James Ford with additional production work by Marta Salogni, Memento Mori’s gestation took place during the early stages of the Covid pandemic, resulting in themes inspired directly by that period. The album’s 12 tracks chart a vast expanse of moods and textures, from its ominous opening to its final resolution, running the gamut from paranoia and obsession to catharsis and joy, and hitting myriad points between.

- Luke Combs Gettin’ Old
Gettin’ Old is the fourth album from Luke Combs, following 2022’s Growin’ Up, 2019’s 3-times platinum What You See Is What You Get and his 4-times platinum debut, This One’s For You. Across these eighteen tracks Combs continues to establish himself as one of country music’s most authentic and powerful voices as he reaches new lyrical depths exploring themes of family, legacy, love and personal growth.

- Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon – Live At Wembley 1974
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Dark Side Of The Moon, one of the most iconic and influential albums ever, comes the first official standalone release of Pink Floyd’s legendary performance of the full album at Wembley as recorded by the BBC. The cover design is by Aubrey Powell at Hipgnosis and Peter Curzon at Storm Studios, and features the original 1973 line-drawn cover artwork by George Hardie.

- Nickel Creek Celebrants
While the Grammy-winning Nickel Creek – the trio of singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalists Sara Watkins (fiddle), Sean Watkins (guitar) and Chris Thile (mandolin) – had collaborated sporadically since 2014’s A Dotted Line, a 2020 interview pegged to the twentieth anniversary of Nickel Creek’s debut album ignited a spark. “It was fun to have a reason to wax nostalgic about some stuff that we’d done,” says Thile. “And then when we got together, it was just so clear, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ve got some new music to make.’” They certainly did, and Celebrants is the result.

- Fall Out Boy So Much (For) Stardust
Anticipation for So Much (For) Stardust started brewing in November, after a mysterious ad appeared in the Chicago Tribune, and continued building with multiple teaser sites in December, including an animated video titled ‘A Claymation Fall Out Boy Celebration’ that included a quick audio preview of ‘Love From The Other Side’ for eagle-eared fans. So Much (For) Stardust is Fall Out Boy’s first new studio album since 2018’s MANIA, which garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album and marked their third consecutive and fourth overall #1 album in the US and their third consecutive #2 album in the UK.

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Releases for 17 March 2023

First out of 17 March’s box of delights is V, the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra car record, designed to play as one continuous movement and drawing on the rich traditions of west-coast AOR, yacht rock, weirdo pop and Hawaiian hapa-haole music. M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) altered his typical recording process for Fantasy to capture the exuberance of his dazzling live performances, returning to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us while being more personal than on previous albums. Inspiral Carpets release a newly remastered collection, The Complete Singles, which includes all of their biggest hits and features collaborations with Mark E. Smith and John Cooper Clarke. We don’t normally feature reissues in the newsletter, however this week there are two batches of notable reissues that we want to tell you about: First, three of Beth Hart’s signature albums – 2007’s 37 Days, 2010’s My California and 2019’s War In My Mind – are being released on vinyl; second, the trilogy of Eels albums released in 2009 and 2010 – Hombre Lobo, End Times and Tomorrow Morning – also get a lovely vinyl reissue.

Our release of the week is Songs Of Surrender, which features 16 new acoustic and re-imagined recordings from the U2 catalogue, produced and compiled by The Edge, including classics such as ‘One’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’.

- U2 Songs Of Surrender
Songs Of Surrender features 16 new acoustic and re-imagined recordings from the U2 catalogue, produced and compiled by The Edge, including classics such as ‘One’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’. The Edge said of the project: “Music allows you to time travel, and we became curious to find out what it would be like to bring our early songs back with us to the present day and give them the benefit, or otherwise, of a 21st-century reimagining.” The special 4-LP collector’s edition includes: ‘With Or Without You’, ‘Beautiful Day’, ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’, ‘One’, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ and ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’, alongside fan favourites such as ‘Stories For Boys’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Desire’.

- Unknown Mortal Orchestra V
V is the first double album from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the band led by Hawaiian-New Zealander singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ruban Nielson. Designed to play as one continuous movement and road-tested on dry California freeways, V is the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra car record. It’s also the fifth full-length album Nielson has released in twelve years. Across fourteen sunbleached songs – written solo or with his brother Kody – Ruban draws from the rich traditions of west-coast AOR, yacht rock, weirdo pop and Hawaiian hapa-haole music. Over a laid-back blend of singalong anthems and cinematic instrumentals, he evokes blue skies, afternoons spent lounging by hotel swimming pools and the alluring darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. It’s a duality expressed in the dilapidated sunset blues and the salt-corroded soul Ruban explores.

- M83 Fantasy
Over the span of two decades, M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) has firmly established himself as an artist whose work transcends mere escapism in favour of full-on worldbuilding. For Gonzalez, Fantasy’s direction and aesthetic were immediately clear, and he altered his typical recording process to capture the exuberance of his dazzling live performances. “I wanted this record to be very impactful live,” he says. “The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but it’s maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones.” Gonzalez also sought to continue a trend that has become more prominent in his recent albums: “I wanted to be more present lyrically and vocally,” he states. “I thought if I could achieve that, this album will be more personal than those that came before.”

- Inspiral Carpets The Complete Singles (1988–2015)
For the first time since their 2003 compilation Cool As, Inspiral Carpets release a newly remastered singles collection. The Complete Singles, which includes all of their biggest hits, features collaborations with Mark E. Smith and John Cooper Clarke. The 3-CD package also comes with a third disc of remixes, including a brand-new Go! Team 2023 remix of ‘This Is How It Feels’. The package features brand-new artwork and sleeve notes from band members past and present.

- Beth Hart Classic Vinyl Reissues
Three of Beth Hart’s signature albums are being released on vinyl.
- 37 Days 2-LP £28.99
The entire 37 Days album was produced like a live album and was recorded and mixed in that short time-frame, with a set of musicians who respected, trusted and loved each other. On red vinyl.
- War In My Mind 2-LP £28.99
With War In My Mind, she serves herself up so raw, on a record that embraces her merits and flaws, channels her bittersweet head-space and spins gold from her demons. On purple vinyl.
- My California LP £24.99
On My California, she reflects on the sweetness of success and clinging to a bottle in the gutter: being betrayed by her own mind and the bliss of mental balance. On red vinyl.

- Eels Classic Vinyl Reissues
The trilogy of Eels albums released in 2009 and 2010 get a lovely reissue on vinyl.
- End Times LP £24.99
End Times is the sound of an artist growing older in uncertain times, an artist who has lost his great love while struggling with his faith in an increasingly hostile world teetering on self-destruction.
- Tomorrow Morning LP £24.99
Tomorrow Morning is the brightest and most overtly uplifting work of Eels’ career, the final instalment of a trilogy.
- Hombre Loco LP £24.99
Hombre Lobo was written about desire – more blood and thorns rather than hearts and flowers – and keeps faith with the band’s established sonic template of downbeat pop shrouded in distortion.

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Releases for 10 March 2023

Kicking off 10 March’s stormers is visionary Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Fever Ray, who has finally returned to us with Radical Romantics, featuring a somewhat darker and more brooding mood and feel but so very rewarding, slamming and sonically rich – it’s fantastic! On Darkfighter, Grammy-nominated Rival Sons try to put a good word on people’s ears in a time of increasing isolation and division, with strong themes of loss of identity, preservation of joy, and beholding light and shape again. Van Morrison’s love of skiffle dates back to his childhood, and on Moving On Skiffle he takes that homemade style and infuses it with a level of sophistication and soulfulness that it didn’t always possess when it exploded across Britain in the mid-1950s. Hampshire-based duo Ward Thomas, the first and only UK country act to achieve a No.1 album, are back with Music In The Madness, which is both a harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters: love, family, unity and the healing power of music. And Mancunian electro art-rock quartet Dutch Uncles return with True Entertainment, which bears some of their most delightfully fun music to date, taking inspiration from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Prince, Steely Dan, Ennio Morricone, The Blue Nile, Kate Bush and Roxy Music.

Our release of the week is UK Grim, the most dancefloor-friendly release yet from Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods: an urgent and sage-like look at life, living and the gritty reality of our era. Angry yet artful, innovative yet possessing an instinctual energy that irresistibly moves bodies and minds, UK Grim is an erudite electronic vision that truly engages with times that have been anything but ‘precedented’.

- Sleaford Mods UK Grim
UK Grim is the most dancefloor-friendly release yet from Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods: an urgent and sage-like look at life, living and the gritty reality of our era. This is truly the sound of now, not only in terms of the ideas and issues Jason Williamson’s strong words invoke, but also thanks to the innovative and immersive production of Andrew Fearn, which on this release has seen the pair collaborate on songs with Jane’s Addiction’s creative powerhouse, Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro, and with Florence Shaw, the distinct and vital voice at the heart of British band Dry Cleaning.
Speaking of the forces that have triggered the poetic protest at the heart of this record, Sleaford Mods reveal that, as with their musical forebears like The Clash or The Jam, the outrage they feel is underscored by love for the people and places around them, making UK Grim as much a celebration of individuals and the idealists as it is an attack on ruling classes who pursue their own self-serving agendas with increasing desperation. Angry yet artful, innovative yet possessing an instinctual energy that irresistibly moves bodies and minds, UK Grim is an erudite electronic vision that truly engages with times that have been anything but ‘precedented’.

- Fever Ray Radical Romantics
Visionary Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Fever Ray has finally returned to us grateful fans with a splendid new long-player, some five years after their last outing (2017’s Plunge).
Radical Romantics is a return characterised by a somewhat darker and more brooding mood and feel. This work is most definitely drifting further from and plunging deeper than what we recognise and love as The Knife but my golly-gosh, it is so very rewarding, slamming and sonically rich – it is fantastic!

- Rival Sons Darkfighter
Grammy-nominated Rival Sons release their anxiously awaited new album, Darkfighter, their first new music since 2019’s Feral Roots. Vocalist Jay Buchanan shares: “Darkfighter represents the cultural mitosis of isolation, the pandemic, and the national fabric of the US getting looser and looser. We’re so divided, and you can’t step over the lines without offending someone. It certainly informed my writing. We recognised a responsibility to put a good word on people’s ears so there’s a good word coming back on their tongues too. We missed the joy of the live show and that magical interaction. When it was taken from us, that made me want to sing about topics that were important. There are strong themes on this record of loss of identity, preservation of joy, and beholding light and shape again.”

- Van Morrison Moving On Skiffle
Van Morrison’s love of skiffle dates back to his childhood. He would hang out at the famed Belfast record store Atlantic Records, where he’d hear early 20th-century folk, blues and jazz from the likes of Lead Belly and Jelly Roll Morton. So when he first heard Lonnie Donegan’s take on ‘Rock Island Line’ he intuitively understood the music he was hearing; before long, he was playing with a skiffle band in school. Moving On Skiffle finds him taking a homemade style that exploded across Britain in the mid-1950s and infusing it with a level of sophistication and soulfulness that it didn’t always possess the first time around.

- Ward Thomas Music In The Madness
Ward Thomas, the first and only UK country act to achieve a No.1 album – with 2016’s gold-selling Cartwheels – are back. After releasing their brilliant lockdown album Invitation, the Hampshire-based duo return with Music In The Madness – their fifth studio album. Music In The Madness is both a harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters. Love, family, unity and the healing power of music are recurrent themes on the album.

- Dutch Uncles True Entertainment
Dutch Uncles, the much-revered Mancunian electro art-rock quartet, return with their long-awaited sixth album. True Entertainment takes inspiration from Yellow Magic Orchestra, Prince, Steely Dan, Ennio Morricone, The Blue Nile, Kate Bush and Roxy Music. “True Entertainment behaves like it knows it’s been away for some time, and doesn’t apologise for that,” jokes vocalist Duncan Wallis. “Ultimately, it’s written with the mindset that on our sixth album, we’re only in competition with ourselves when it comes to finding satisfaction in our craft.” True to this mantra, True Entertainment bears some of the most delightfully fun Dutch Uncles music to date, paired with some of their most existential and introspective lyrics.

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Releases for 3 March 2023

We open 3 March’s box of delights with The Lathums, who state their intentions to supercharge their continued rise since the Number-1 success of their 2021 debut with the release of brand new album From Nothing To A Little Bit More. BBC Broadcasts is a selection of material from Genesis recorded by the BBC between 1970 and 1998, a treasure trove of rare and previously unreleased material that comes beautifully packaged, with extensive notes by respected music writer Michael Hann. Feline, which helped to cement The Stranglers’ place as one of Europe’s biggest bands in an ever-changing soundscape, is being released in a deluxe and epic expanded 40th anniversary edition, complete with ten extra tracks and rarities. UGLY – an acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself – shows a side of Slowthai that people haven’t heard before, plunging into rock music with as much singing as rapping and featuring a fluid combination of musicians, including his friends Fontaines D.C. Philip Selway has brought together an extraordinary number of gifted people for his new album, Strange Dance (24 Feb), whose 10 songs show him at the height of his songwriting powers; he has a gift for writing heartfelt lyrics that could relate to any number of human experiences.

Our release of the week is Brothers & Sisters, the most open, honest and vibrant solo record from Steve Mason to date. The album marries the personal and the political but does so in an emotive and uplifting manner. Written against a backdrop of fear and uncertainty, and at a time when those in charge lurched from one disaster to the next mismanagement with increasing regularity, Brothers & Sisters is in fact an incredibly joyous, even spiritual, listen.

- Steve Mason Brothers & Sisters
Brothers & Sisters is Steve Mason’s most open, honest and vibrant solo record to date. The album marries the personal and the political but does so in an emotive and uplifting manner. Written against a backdrop of fear and uncertainty, and at a time when those in charge lurched from one disaster to the next mismanagement with increasing regularity, Brothers & Sisters is in fact an incredibly joyous, even spiritual, listen.

- The Lathums From Nothing To A Little Bit More
Initial order copies of the album on all formats will be supplied with an exclusive polaroid picture of the band.
The Lathums state their intentions to supercharge their continued rise with the release of brand new album From Nothing To A Little Bit More. The album promises eleven brand-new songs, including ‘Sad Face Baby’ and ‘Say My Name’, and follows the Number-1 success of their 2021 debut, How Beautiful Life Can Be.

- Genesis BBC Broadcasts
BBC Broadcasts is an extensive collection of broadcast material from one of the biggest-selling recording artists of all time, representing the cream of Genesis’ work recorded by the BBC between 1970 and 1998, with contributions from all three of the group’s vocalists: Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Ray Wilson. The set was curated by founding member Tony Banks and the group’s long-time engineer and producer, Nick Davis.
The 3-LP set includes 24 tracks, all of which are making their first appearance on the format. The 5-CD set includes a 53-track treasure trove of rare and previously unreleased material and comes with a fully illustrated 40-page booklet. Both formats include extensive notes by respected music writer Michael Hann.

- The Stranglers Feline
Feline, the 7th album from The Stranglers, is being released in a deluxe and epic expanded 40th anniversary edition, complete with ten extra tracks and rarities. The Stranglers were unstoppable throughout the seventies and eighties, becoming one of Europe’s biggest bands, with Feline peaking at No. 4 in the UK album chart. The lead single, ‘European Female’, reached No. 9 in the singles chart and paved the way for the band’s transition in sound, helping to cement their place in an ever-changing soundscape.

- Slowthai UGLY
UGLY – an acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself – is Slowthai pulling himself apart and exposing his anxieties of the last couple of years. Musically, this new album may show a side of him that people haven’t heard before but he sees it as the fullest picture yet – and attentive listeners will have noticed this musical tendency before. UGLY is about reconnecting with first principles. Plunging into rock music with as much singing as rapping, it is both a striking departure for Slowthai and a return to the roots of Tyron Frampton. Recorded in producer Dan Carey’s home studio alongside frequent collaborator Kwes Darko, UGLY is a fluid combination of musicians, including Ethan P. Flynn, Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye, Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden, drummer Liam Toon and, on the dark and woozy title track, his friends Fontaines D.C.

- Philip Selway Strange Dance
Philip Selway has brought together an extraordinary number of gifted people – including Hannah Peel, Adrian Utley, Quinta, Marta Salogni, Valentina Magaletti and Laura Moody – for his new album, Strange Dance (released 24 February). Foregrounding this remarkable union of musical voices was 10 songs written by Selway at home on piano and guitar that show him at the height of his songwriting powers. As the album unfurls, it takes the listener through different weathers and seasons. Each song carries varied and diverse shades and textures of emotion. Lyrically, it is artful; Selway has a gift for writing heartfelt lyrics that could relate to any number of human experiences.
The deluxe boxset is limited to 500 copies worldwide and contains 2 LPs: Strange Dance and Liminal (a collection of previously unreleased soundtrack pieces that Philip made for the film Carmilla and for the BBC Radio 3 play Sea Longing), plus a series of art prints designed by Stewart Geddes (one of which will be signed and numbered) and a 20-page booklet.

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Other releases for 2023

Find releases from 2024 | 2022.