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Aftersome refers to that suspended moment of wonder, when you realize you’ve been led here by a chain of unexpected events and small decisions — so improbable they almost feel preordained. Between chance and destiny, it is a fragile state where emotion and reflection intertwine.
This album by You Man embodies precisely that idea: each track is a step along this path, a resonance born of accidents and coincidences, ultimately shaping a coherent trajectory despite its improbability.
The work moves between techno, house and post-wave, infused with science-fiction and fantastical influences, constantly blurring the line between reality and imagination.
The experience is enriched by remarkable collaborations: Marc Almond (Soft Cell), Local Suicide, Jérôme Voisin, each bringing their own brilliance to this odyssey.

aisie returns with a transformative descent into the darkness, assembled entirely from snippets of obscure educational science shows, ghost station radio transmissions, vinyl record detritus and blown-out microscopic field recordings.

Twisted into mystifyingly revelatory aural documentations of moments that never were, it unfolds like a dream sculpted out of shadows. Enchanting, enigmatic and elusive like the origins of the source material used for its creation.

A serious private-press rarity gets its long-overdue reissue here for the first time ever. Formed in California in 1979, Freeway blended soulful grooves, jazz melodies and powerful horns into something that stood apart from the era's contemporary Christian scene. The cut just one self-released album in 1981 for New Born Records before disbanding. Originals now regularly fetch upwards of £400 on the resale market and this 45th Anniversary Edition marks a reissue that is going to fly off the shelves, complete with newly written liner notes and rare photographs telling the band's story. From funky jazz to boogie-inspired grooves, this is a previously hidden treasure now getting the light it deserves.

Sofía Viola and Chancha Vía Circuito unite on Oro en Ti, a deeply spiritual collaboration shaped by their shared roots in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires. Blending Latin American folk traditions with hypnotic percussion, ambient textures, and Eastern influences, the album explores themes of nature, faith, humanity, and inner connection through a warm, meditative lens. Chancha Vía Circuito brings significant international profile to the project, built through years of globally acclaimed DJ sets, nearly 200 million cumulative streams across DSPs, and strong physical sales over the past decade. His work has been championed by outlets including Resident Advisor, Pitchfork, Billboard, The Guardian, NPR, and The Fader.

Since emerging from the Buenos Aires underground,Sofía Viola has built a strong reputation across Latin America and Europe through her singular songwriting and live performances, earning selections to major international showcase festivals including IMESUR, Circulart, FIMPRO, BIME Pro, and MAPAS. Oro en Ti captures the chemistry between both artists through devotional songwriting and richly textured production, offering an emotionally resonant and transportive listening experience that feels both timeless and deeply connected to the present moment.

Keyboardist/composer Doug Carn was the
biggest star on the legendary Black Jazz Records
label, with four releases to his credit (all reissued
by us at Real Gone Music), and remains a
touchstone for spiritual jazz fans and musicians
alike. But very, very few folks have heard his
debut record, cut for the venerable Savoy label
back in 1969. In fact, it’s so rare that we couldn’t
even find a copy to use for artwork, so, with
Doug’s help, we enlisted his daughter Eroniffa
Ibrahim to create illustrations for our reissue
based on the original cover photos. But you know
what we did find? That’s right…the original master
tapes! So, not only is this the first LP reissue for
The Doug Carn Trio, but it’s an all-analog edition to
boot, pressed at Gotta Groove Records with their
proprietary GrooveCoated stampers to minimize
high-frequency loss with each successive pressing.
And, we’ve added an insert with liner notes by Aaron
Cohen based on an exclusive interview with the man
himself. As for the music, it’s a tight organ trio set
that starts cooking right from the get-go with a groovin’ cover of Gus Cannon’s “Walk
Right In,” which became a folk hit for The Rooftop Singers. Carn’s fluid, forward-thinking
playing anticipates Larry Young’s future keyboard forays, and originals like “Butter from
the Duck” and “Yna Yna’s Delight” presage the compositional prowess he flashed on the
Black Jazz releases (note: that’s Don Hales on guitar, not Gary Starling as credited on the
original record). The opening salvo from a scintillating career, finally available again!

Juicy Fruit is as succulent as the name suggests - a feast of flavour served up by Dutch masters Kraak & Smaak. Their fifth studio album is one that sees them sonically revisiting the roots of their first releases, producing an organic and warm electronic disco and funk album packed with hot property collaborators including Mayer Hawthorne, Eric Biddines of Golden Rules, Parcels, Gallowstreet and Cleopold to name a few.

Effortlessly flitting between outright dancefloor boogie and meditative mellow moments it's a record that captivates the listener from start to finish, blending the timeless appeal of disco and electro with the best in indie dance and electronica.

Severed Heads reattach themselves to Dark Entries for an expanded reissue of their 1991 opus Cuisine (With Piscatorial). As originary Aussie industrial legends – although founder Tom Ellard would balk at being branded as such – Severed Heads shaped the continental subcultural sound with their kitchen electronics, chaotic tape loops, and infectious nursery-rhyme-esque melodies. Cuisine (With Piscatorial) was the long-running project’s ninth album, and is a commentary on the state of music. Ellard explains: “The whole food joke is really about what music's about and how disposable it is; people have records like they have cups of coffee.” The album also presents a turn away from the dancefloor formalism of the era, which Ellard dismissed as already sufficiently explored. Cuisine brings us punchy pop kernels of the prime Heads variety, all clocking in around three minutes. Cuts like “Pilot in Hell” and “Ugly Twenties” rank among the band’s best through their deadly skewering of synth pop tropes. But the album also offers us a Piscatorial section, where Ellard felt free to “go fishing for ideas.” Here we get a taste of the project’s demented cut-up sensibilities, like on the “Quest for Oom Pa Pa” suite, where vintage jazz records are collaged into an angular nightmare. This double-LP reissue is the first time that Cuisine (With Piscatorial) will appear on vinyl, with a previously unreleased early version of “Seven of Oceans.” Also included is a 6-page booklet with liner notes, lyrics, and press clippings.

Special gatefold LP + 12-page booklet attached to the sleeve, featuring in-depth essays, archival photography and historical material. Fully licensed from the Soliano family.

Habibi Funk’s new sister label Audible Beauty Records debut release: A landmark collection retelling the untold story of Malaysian jazz featuring 11 songs from the legendary composer, arranger and pianist Alfonso Soliano, originally recorded for Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) and only released in a run of a few dozen copies for radio broadcast. Widely regarded as one of the foundational figures of Malaysian music, Soliano blended jazz, Latin influences and traditional Malay musical forms into a uniquely local sound of all original compositions. The recordings also feature contributions from some of Malaysia’s most important musicians and composers of the era, including Johari Salleh and Ahmad Nawab. For fans of Salah Ragab, Ahmed Malek, Mulatu Astatke, Dollar Brand and co. The release includes extensive liner notes and previously unpublished archival photographs documenting Soliano’s life and legacy.

Special gatefold LP + 12-page booklet attached to the sleeve with extensive liner notes and previously unpublished archival photographs documenting Salleh’s career. Fully licensed from the Johari Salleh.

Habibi Funk’s new sister label Audible Beauty Records second release: A landmark collection retelling the untold story of Malaysian jazz featuring 9 songs from the legendary composer, arranger and trumpet player Johari Salleh. Salleh played a crucial role in shaping the sound of modern Malaysian music across radio, television, film and live performance and has composed dozens of popular songs in his decades long career. His personal musical passion always was jazz, reflected in this deep selection of jazz works that were previously unavailable unless you had one of the few dozen copies pressed locally in the 1970s. The album doesn’t only highlight his musical statue as a composer but also as a outstanding trumpet soloists bringing together jazz, spiritual undertones and Malaysian folkloric themes balancing slower pacing deep, modal grooves with more upbeat jazz funk leanings. For fans of Salah Ragab, Ahmed Malek, Mulatu Astatke, Dollar Brand and co.

- After the collector 2024 Record Store Day 35th Anniversary edition & Special CD boxset of the seminal 1989 album, the album will be available again to everyone from July 31st , 2026 as 1CD & 1 LP Black new permanent editions.
- Produced by Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, The Cranberries, New Order).
- Vinyl mastered by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works

- July 31st also marks the long-awaited return of legendary Manchester outfit The Durutti Column, with "Renascent" their first new studio album in over fifteen years which already get a very strong response & support from key traditional media - with major features confirmed for Pitchfork, The Guardian, MOJO, Monocle and Record Collector to name a few.

- Many new champions citing the band as an influence (Blood Orange, Harry Styles, The Avalanches, Mark William Lewis).

There is something to be said about being both popular and prolific enough to be anthologized—it’s a space that soul music stalwart Kelly Finnigan and his latest release, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems, occupies with intent and fire. Serving as a mile marker pacing the 15 year collaboration between Finnigan and Colemine Records, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems is an easter egg moment for new and long-time fans to collect rare takes and flip sides in one spot, while unearthing Finnigan’s evolution as an artist, producer, and vocalist.


From his earliest explorations to one of the first tracks cut at his new studio in Ohio, this travelogue in sound both brings the listener forward to the present while laying out Kelly Finnigan’s road ahead.


“Colemine has grown so much, I've grown so much… I think this collection is a chance to take a little look back and share that with the people, the fans, the music lovers, the Colemine lovers,” says Finnigan.

There is something to be said about being both popular and prolific enough to be anthologized—it’s a space that soul music stalwart Kelly Finnigan and his latest release, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems, occupies with intent and fire. Serving as a mile marker pacing the 15 year collaboration between Finnigan and Colemine Records, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems is an easter egg moment for new and long-time fans to collect rare takes and flip sides in one spot, while unearthing Finnigan’s evolution as an artist, producer, and vocalist.


From his earliest explorations to one of the first tracks cut at his new studio in Ohio, this travelogue in sound both brings the listener forward to the present while laying out Kelly Finnigan’s road ahead.


“Colemine has grown so much, I've grown so much… I think this collection is a chance to take a little look back and share that with the people, the fans, the music lovers, the Colemine lovers,” says Finnigan.

There is something to be said about being both popular and prolific enough to be anthologized—it’s a space that soul music stalwart Kelly Finnigan and his latest release, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems, occupies with intent and fire. Serving as a mile marker pacing the 15 year collaboration between Finnigan and Colemine Records, B-Sides, Singles & Forgotten Gems is an easter egg moment for new and long-time fans to collect rare takes and flip sides in one spot, while unearthing Finnigan’s evolution as an artist, producer, and vocalist.


From his earliest explorations to one of the first tracks cut at his new studio in Ohio, this travelogue in sound both brings the listener forward to the present while laying out Kelly Finnigan’s road ahead.


“Colemine has grown so much, I've grown so much… I think this collection is a chance to take a little look back and share that with the people, the fans, the music lovers, the Colemine lovers,” says Finnigan.

Best known as a member of the electrifying 'Hagstone rock' four-piece The New Eves, Winder- Lind 's solo work channels the same raw intensity and liberatory spirit while revealing a more intimate, deeply personal side to her songwriting. Expanding on the world introduced through her 2023 EP The Spirit Is Carnal and first poetry collection Rod Ska Jag Leva (2025), Wild Love is an ambitious and emotionally expansive body of work from one of the most enthralling new voices in music today. Though connected to the fierce communal energy of The New Eves , Wild Love inhabits its own distinct emotional landscape. Across eleven songs, Winder- Lind brings together the wealth of her experiences and passions and reflects them back outwards, distilled with shimmering intensity. The album spells out a liberatory vision which she refuses to compromise, one rooted in emotional honesty, ecstatic expression and unfettered selfhood.

2026 LP Pressung auf weißem Vinyl. Ursprünglich 1968 aufgenommen und für eine Veröffentlichung bei Sire Records vorgesehen, blieb Microminiature Love von Michael Yonkers, der Ikone des Outsider-Folk und Psych-Rock, unveröffentlicht, bis es 2002 von De Stijl Records wiederentdeckt und als limitierte, ausschließlich auf Vinyl erhältliche Auflage herausgebracht wurde. Damals hat die San-Francisco-Institution Aquarius Records es besser beschrieben, als wir es je könnten: ,Ein obskurer Visionär der späten Sechziger, der seiner Zeit weit voraus war, bekommt mit dieser LP-Neuauflage endlich die Anerkennung, die er verdient. Yonkers' Sachen waren anders als alles, was man damals (oder eigentlich auch heute noch) gehört hatte: abgedrehter Garage-Psych mit wahnsinnig genialen Texten und verrückter, von Acid durchdrungener Gitarre. Yonkers, eine legendäre Figur aus der Gegend um Minneapolis, baute seine eigenen Effektpedale, sägte seine Fender Telecaster auf die Breite eines Bretts herunter und spielte wie niemand sonst je zuvor. Mir fehlen die Worte, um das zu beschreiben. Es ist irgendwie eine Mischung aus reduzierten Black Sabbath, The Troggs, Pere Ubu und The Cramps??" Sub Pop veröffentlichte das Album anschließend auf CD und brachte 2011 eine limitierte Vinyl-Auflage heraus, die seit vielen Jahren vergriffen ist. Leider verstarb Michael Yonkers 2026 während der Planung dieser Neuauflage. Er war ein unglaublicher, wahrhaft einzigartiger Künstler und einer der liebenswertesten Menschen.

A 100 minute glimpse into the mind of Lovely Dave.

The first of many from LD, a sterling set of oddball curiosities and deadly curveballs, courtesy of one of the finest to ever do it. Dubbed-out cosmic, post-punk anomalies and ethereal wave - all on a dark and stormy night.

High-bias 100 minute mixtape, on body printing and design by Femke Campbell

Featuring Robert Roth, the visionary songwriter and frontman behind Truly, alongside Hiro Yamamoto, co-founder of Soundgarden, and Mark Pickerel, founding drummer of Screaming Trees, Twilight Curtains captures the collaboration of three influential figures from Seattle's underground music scene. Gathering rare, unreleased and alternate recordings from 1991-1997, this long-overlooked collection documents the band's most creative years and is available on vinyl for the first time ever. Originally released in 2000 as a CD-only collection, Twilight Curtains gathers rare, unreleased and alternate recordings captured between 1991 and 1997, documenting the band during its most creative and exploratory period. More than simply another Seattle group, Truly forged a singular sound that blended heavy psychedelic rock, grunge-era intensity, damaged pop and expansive melodic textures. Featuring the contributions of three key figures from the Pacific Northwest underground, this collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the band's evolution through alternate versions, lost recordings and previously unavailable material. An essential companion to Fast Stories_ From Kid Coma and Feeling You Up, Twilight Curtains finally makes this missing piece of the Truly catalogue available on vinyl.

Roy Montgomery, a key figure in the experimental underground rock scene, lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, just a short drive from the sea. Avant-garde vocalist and songwriter Martha Skye Murphy is based in London. Though geographically worlds apart, the pair inhabit an intimate and almost tactile shared sonic world. Their collaboration feels transformative, like the gradual shifting spell from night to day.

What draws them together is the emotional force of each other’s music. Montgomery’s cyclical, decaying compositions are shaped through intricate guitar and piano work, blending post-rock, folk, and drone. Murphy, meanwhile, possesses a rare gift for transformation, from the intimate cracked whispers of 'At Dawn' to the hypnotic drift of 'The Play of Dark and Light'. On the latter, she evokes old maritime folk tales of fishermen lured into the darkness by the sea’s siren call. The song both seduces and warns, finding something magical and frightening in the temptation of drowning. Though her vocals often resemble fragments of words, consonants, or vowels, they frequently function as pure sound, drawing on glossolalia and prioritising feeling over any ‘learnt’ language.

Emotion and intuition are the driving forces behind Nebular, an album that oscillates between the intimate with the unknown. This spirit is reflected in its artwork. Murphy shared a painting by Irish artist Simon English depicting a solitary house bathed in dusky blue light, and the pair quickly settled on it as the cover image. Both were captivated by its atmosphere. Montgomery related it to the isolated, seemingly uninhabited houses he encounters while travelling through rural New Zealand—places that inspire a desire to knock on the door and discover what lies beyond. “Terra incognita springs to mind. A search into the unknown,” Murphy agrees.

The nocturnal and remote nature of the artwork mirrors the process of making Nebular. With Montgomery in New Zealand and Murphy in London, the album was created entirely through remote correspondence, with stems exchanged via email. Their messages were often written and read at different times of day, and, because of the time difference and the demands of daily life, replies usually were sent late at night and the music too often composed at nocturnal hours. Their exchanges took on the quality of pen pals sending letters across great distances. This suspended sense of time is echoed in Nebular’s sound, with its feeling of temporal drift and timelessness.

On Nebular, Montgomery and Murphy have harnessed raw emotion and launched it into a time capsule bound for the stars. It allows you to drift, to be present, and to feel; creating something timeless.

TRACKLISTING

Classic Me First And The Gimme Gimmes reissued: The Gimmes roll into town for a 12-song shootout with Country & Western. These Blue-State bandits are gonna show Kenny Chesney how it's really done. But now the demanding bunch are back, and this time, it's country that gets a kicking. More C&W-styled numbers are easy targets, be it the ever popular "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky," which here gallops straight into hardcore, "Desperado," which will never escape this incendiary melodic punk rock arrangement, and "On the Road Again," which is delivered up in a similar sizzling style. "Jolene," having already suffered the indignities of a goth make-over, is now manhandled by the Gimmes, who storm Dollyland with utter abandon and a barrage of guitars and battering drums, all the better to keep their man -- hmm, shades of Brokeback Mountain. "Annie's Song" is dragged off of John Denver's country roads, and dumped center stage in the middle of a rock concert, which is just where it belongs. Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" gets even more inspired treatment, including a bagpipe! Even a seemingly straightforward punk do-over like "Goodbye Earl" provides some scintillating moments, from the Rancid meets the Clash styling to the bright harmonies and soaring lead guitar licks. The musicianship really shines through on this set, the guitars blaze, the bass becomes assaultive, and the rolling drums sound like the thunder of mortar in the distance, while the production is equally notable. But hey, the Gimmes can play country, too -- well almost -- the first half of "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" boasts some fine fingerpickin' guitar, although the country styling keeps sliding into surf: hey, your roots are showing, guys. Now this is country music everyone can enjoy, gimme more! The 20th anniversary edition comes in a yellowish, more brown Mustard colored vinyl.

This album is about the feeling of wanting something more than anything else in life. That looks different for everyone, but for me, it looks like wanting a life that truly feels like it belongs to me. Not an occupation, not money, not a social status. I love making music and being in rooms where that’s celebrated, and if I want to use the life I didn’t ask for to do that, I should be able to. This record is about what it feels like to do that, putting everything else second and the dream first. I think we were able to express all of that in these songs. Musically, this record includes everything we love about rock music. Big guitars, catchy leads, intense vocals, and honest lyric writing. This is the most collaborative Chico release to date

There are two version of the LP - limited to 100 numbered copies with transparent wax and classic black wax edition. Both 180g with special OBI strip.

Maciej Envee Goliński is an artist who probably needs no introduction. He has been working with U Know Me practically since the label's inception. His last album ("Time & Light") made a huge impact worldwide, but we had to wait eight years for the next vinyl release. In the meantime, Maciej has certainly been busy – he has released numerous club singles under several aliases, and has helped record and mix numerous albums from the world of jazz, soul, and electronica. "Wyszymory" is a carefully crafted concept album, inspired by our roots. "Wyszymory" is an album on which every open-minded listener will find something that has been playing in their soul for a long time...


"Of all things visible and invisible, my life is most filled with music and a fascination with sound. It matters not whether they are natural or artificial, isolated or resonating through space. Sounds that evoke
memories, as well as those entirely new. Some of them have resonated unchanged for thousands of years. Certain resonances and rhythms have remained unaltered for generations so distant that they have left no other trace in human civilization.

This bond with our ancestors truly fascinates me. Ever since I realized it, I have become more attuned to inspiration. Listening to traditional and classical music, I kept finding new anchor points. I was constantly surprised by new invitations to ponder what connects – or divides – the pulse of our region’s traditional music with the rhythms of Africa, the tribes of the vast East, or the frozen North. My great authority, Tomasz Stańko, in interviews conducted by Tomek Michałowski, used beautiful parables of love and creativity to bring me closer to the ­Cro-Magnon cave artists. The Icelandic literary magician Andri Snær ­Magnason, in his book On Time and Water, captivated me with the fascinating observation that through emotional contact, words, ideas, or memory, we reach back and forward two or even three generations – spanning a period of about 270 years. Then there is Sam Kowalski, who with his wonderful obereks played on the gitalele, took me on a hypnotic journey, from which one returns with a deep admiration for the art of musical storytelling, passed down from generation to generation. Finally, my own children surprise me with talents, behaviors, and increasingly distinct features of those generations that now dwell only in my hazy memory and on old photographs.

I wanted the protagonists of this album to be the very phenomena that modern humans share with their ancestors, ­regardless of the level of civilization. Most vital among them is the relationship between humans, nature, and their own emotions. Wyszymory has nothing to do with an academic study, though I did delve into Slavic mythology, archaeology, and history in search of inspiration. Nor is it an album of traditional music, even if such music is present thanks to wonderful instrumentalists. I managed to invite artists who cross boundaries daily, working not only with Polish music but also with Hindu and African traditions, and even jazz, with its long history of blending influences. Naturally, the album became a kind of sonic comic book, where individual scenes and stories – the sounds, pulsations, and ideas on how to use them – came to me over time, often under unique circumstances and in inspiring contexts."
Envee

The amount of quality music Burnski has produced, A&Red and released in recent years is off the charts. His labels are some of the most played in the underground right now, but that hasn't stopped him from starting another one here with Silhouette. Mundy is a new name to us, but has some serious chops on display here with six stylish cuts that explore the intersection of garage, tech and minimal. The synths are silky and the vocal samples are expertly placed to give each groove real character. 'Real Love' is deep and r&b tinged, 'Find You' has a dark low end and 'The Middle' is all about the filthy bass. Pure heaters.

Melaina Kol, das Pseudonym des in Nashville lebenden Musikers Logan Hornyak, ist ein Projekt, das sich ständig wandelt. Es ist heute nicht mehr wiederzuerkennen im Vergleich zu dem, was es beispielsweise 2018 war, als er das Lo-Fi-Twee-Pop-Album ,Bird Kill Worm" veröffentlichte, und es hat sich auch von den Folktronica-Songs auf dem 2021 erschienenen Album ,AMOSAT" weiterentwickelt. Hornyak mag es nicht, sich auf eine Sache festzulegen; jedes Album soll anders sein als das vorherige. ,Ich greife gerne Motive oder Ideen auf, so wie ein Thema, und ich ändere gerne jedes Mal die Art und Weise, wie ich aufnehme", sagt er. Für sein neues Album ,Okay that's a great idea because if I do that then" hat Hornyak beschlossen, fast ganz auf Gitarre und Elektronik zu verzichten. Stattdessen brachte er sich selbst Cello und Harfe bei und kehrte zu seinem Klavierunterricht aus Kindertagen zurück. Er wollte seine langjährige Liebe zur klassischen Musik mit seinem Interesse an Ambient- und House-Musik verschmelzen, mit der Idee, ein Album zu schaffen, das den Ansatz der elektronischen Musik mit organischen Klängen verbindet. Klassische Instrumente werden zerhackt, geloopt und um einen rhythmischen Puls herum geschichtet. Der Effekt kann verwirrend und aus dem Gleichgewicht bringend sein, ist aber gleichzeitig entwaffnend schön. Hornyak nahm das Album zwischen seinem Zuhause in Tennessee und einem nahegelegenen Studio auf. Es war das erste Mal, dass er für Melaina-Kol-Songs ein richtiges Studio nutzen konnte, und er wollte, dass der Sound hochauflösend ist. Bei all seiner rastlosen kreativen Energie repräsentiert ,Okay that's a great idea because if I do that then " Hornyak in einer ruhigeren Lebensphase. ,Es ist viel ruhiger als die letzten beiden Alben. Ich habe all diese Alben in meinen frühen 20ern gemacht, als ich manische Phasen durchlebte und mit Drogen und so anfing", sagt er. ,Aber ich würde sagen, dieses Album ist sozusagen das andere Ende davon - das Herauskommen aus dieser Phase, würde ich sagen. In meinem Leben fühle ich mich viel friedlicher, und ich habe das Gefühl, dass das Album das widerspiegelt."

Es sind fünf hektische, chaotische, zermürbende, völlig durcheinander gewirbelte Jahre. Es sind all die mühsamen Missverständnisse einer fünfjährigen Beziehung, verzerrt und zu einer absurden schwarzen Comedy-Miniserie auf Vinyl gedehnt. Es ist der Klang all unserer Streitgespräche, die gleichzeitig erklingen. Es sind mehrere aufeinanderfolgende Sprachnachrichten, die nicht angehört, sondern stattdessen als Transkript gelesen wurden. Es sind fünfzehn Songs des ikonoklastischen Rappers Mike Eagle und des innovativen Produzenten Kenny Segal. Es ist das weltweit erste halb skurrile Trennungsalbum. Es ist "DOOMED!", es ist auch LA. Vielleicht nicht in erster Linie, aber Los Angeles ist tief in der Gegenwart und der Geschichte dieses Albums verwurzelt. Die Geschichte jeder Großstadt ist auch eine Geschichte von Zugezogenen. DJ Premier in New York, Tupac in Kalifornien. Wenn man es aufbaut, werden sie kommen. Mike und Kenny kamen beide als junge, aufstrebende Künstler nach LA, angezogen von der Szene rund um die bahnbrechende Rap-Crew Project Blowed. Sie sind seit fast zwanzig Jahren befreundet - und arbeiten gelegentlich zusammen. Trotzdem ist "DOOMED!" das erste Mal, dass die beiden ein komplettes Werk gemeinsam geschaffen haben. Aber alles geschieht zu seiner Zeit, und das Schicksal hat sie genau in dem Moment zusammengeführt, der es dem Duo ermöglichte, etwas Außergewöhnliches zu schaffen. Mike, der gerade eine Reihe von Alben mit mehreren Produzenten hinter sich hatte und das Ende einer turbulenten Beziehung verarbeitete, brauchte eine kreative Katharsis. Kenny hingegen hatte sich nach einer Reihe von hochgelobten Kollaborationen - nicht nur mit Rappern wie billy woods und K-the-I??? - sondern auch mit dem Jazz-Trio Human Error Club und dem bluesigen Indie-Rocker Benjamin Booker - auf seine nächste Herausforderung festgelegt. "In den letzten Jahren machte Kenny sehr deutlich, dass er nicht einfach weiterhin ein oder zwei Beats für meine Projekte beisteuern wollte; er wollte etwas aufbauen", erklärt Open Mike Eagle. "Ich konnte ihn davon überzeugen, mir ein paar Beats für Neighborhood Gods Unlimited zu überlassen, mit der Maßgabe, dass wir uns als Nächstes auf unser gemeinsames Projekt konzentrieren würden. Dann zerbrach meine Beziehung, gerade als wir mit der Arbeit begannen, und ich dachte mir: Perfekt, dazu habe ich eine Menge zu sagen."

There is an ecstatic melancholy in Dent May’s music. The bedroom pop auteur’s songs are both bittersweet and exuberant, breaking your heart while you can’t help but sing along.

Over six albums, May has built a wildly diverse discography spanning 17 years. He has typically worked alone, assembling perfect pop gems on his laptop, playing nearly every instrument himself. But when he began preparations for his new album, May’s tried and true process suddenly felt stale.

The Big One brings together both the scrappy DIY ethos of Elephant 6 Collective and early The Magnetic Fields with May’s lifelong affinity for the great ’70s singer-songwriters like Harry Nilsson and Ram-era Paul McCartney. The songs balance a clear-eyed view of the world with a cautious optimism, looking at the everyday experiences of disappointment and heartbreak with a sense of possibility for the good that may still come. Things might seem bleak, May tells us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be thankful for our brief time here on Planet Earth.

The title track is the beating heart of the record. Over a steady drumbeat, piano, and accordion, a melancholy May sings, “The big one’s coming, the big one’s on its way,” promising disaster. But May won’t wallow in the misery: “Thank the Lord for all my friends/We can make it ’til the end/No we can’t stop now/Who knows? Tomorrow it all could turn around.” For May, hope comes in the form of others.

It’s with this joyful melancholy Dent May draws in the world. Everything might be ending, the planet could be careening off into chaos, but tonight there’s a party down the block and you’re invited. Be sure and bring your friends.

Cheap Trick - At Budokan: The Complete Concert is the the full version of the famous best-selling live album by the American rock band Cheap Trick. The louder, roaring versions of classics like "I Want You to Want Me" and "Surrender" connected to a wide audience in the late 1970s.

The recording became the band's best-selling album and captures the performance exactly as it was experienced on stage. Their raw-powered riffage and three-chord songs, combined with the posterboy looks of singer Robin Zander and the outrageous guitars played by Rick Nielsen made an impression all over the world. After this recording in Japan, and releasing an abridged 1-LP version of At Budokan, Cheap Trick became instant rock stars.

In 1998, the full Budokan show was finally released on CD, followed by a double vinyl release on Music On Vinyl in 2016. Both Cheap Trick fans and rock lovers in general will need this document of the band's most celebrated concert.

Cheap Trick At Budokan: The Complete Concert is available now as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on yellow vinyl and in packaged a gatefold sleeve.

Crossing borders between traditions, sonic territories, and instruments, musicians Tomáš Niesner and Aldana Duoraan created their first collaborative album Plot. The sound of khomus meets guitar melodies simplified into pentatonic scales, intertwining in a dialogue that remains playful while moving between meditative passages and bewitching, hypnotic moments. Solid yet ever-changing, these melodies explore a delicate relationship between the present interactions, their past, and possible futures. “I feel that the essence of our collaboration is not to close the songs off, but to leave them open so that they can develop and be interpreted a little differently each time, depending on the circumstances,” Niesner explains when describing the duo’s artistic approach. The recording therefore captures only the most essential moments and ideas, which continue to unfold in new directions during live performances.

Each segment of Plot, word meaning “fence” in Czech, while also referring in English to a narrative structure or hidden plan, represents a different constellation shaped by the pairing of specific khomuses and guitar tuning. The track titles, such as The Key of Radiance or The Key of Humbling, are inspired by the ancient Chinese text I Ching (usually translated as Book of Changes). Like the classical cosmological text itself, the compositions meditate on similar fundamental principles. The ideas explored in the chapters of the I Ching are thus loosely translated into musical language. Themes of Radiance, Attending, or Nearing thus loom over the reflective realm of Aldana and Tomáš.

The two musicians first met in 2021 through a collaboration organized by Konektiv, an event series that aims to create new connections between genres and musicians with diverse backgrounds. Aldana Duoraan is a Prague-based artist born in the Sakha Republic, whose experiments with the khomus (also known as the jaw harp) draw on the traditional music of her homeland. Tomáš Niesner, a sound artist and guitarist based in Brno, navigates the realms of American primitive guitar while incorporating influences ranging from folk to drone. Because the duo rarely finds themselves in the same city, an important moment in the development of Plot was a showcase at Cafe OTO, organized by mappa. The album, capturing the fleeting energy of this encounter and several others, has now been released on the Slovak experimental label, which helped bring the collaboration to life.

Bei HIGHSIGH - dem Trio aus Ro(b)//ert Lundberg (JOBS), John Dieterich (Deerhoof) und Matt Mehlan (Skeletons) - geht es genauso sehr um den Entstehungsprozess wie um das Endergebnis. Auch wenn der Bandname neu ist, wächst HIGHSIGH aus jahrelanger Freundschaft und Zusammenarbeit des Trios in anderen Konstellationen heraus - dem Zusammentreffen von Deerhoof und Skeletons in der Supergroup Congotronics International, Ro, der bei den Tour- und Aufnahmebands von Skeletons am Bass spielte, John und Matt, die beide auf verschiedenen JOBS-Alben mitwirkten und diese als Toningenieure begleiteten, sowie vielen gemeinsamen Kaffeepausen, Mahlzeiten und Wanderungen. Ihr Debütalbum ,Once Bend" präsentiert sich sowohl als entwaffnend vertraut als auch als seltsam undurchsichtiges Patchwork aus mutiertem Pop und abstrakten polyrhythmischen Klanglandschaften. In einer collageartigen Weise entstanden, brachte jedes Mitglied täuschend reichhaltige musikalische Fragmente ein, die aus anderen Projekten beiseitegelegt worden waren - fast wie kleine Fragezeichen, die die anderen Mitglieder entschlüsseln und interpretieren sollten. Diese Fragmente wurden frei und ohne konkretes Ziel unter den Mitgliedern ausgetauscht; jeder spielte damit herum und bastelte an dem, was er bekommen hatte, fügte Phrasen, Klänge und Texturen hinzu. Die musikalischen Schichten, die dabei entstanden, waren durchweg unerwartet und mitreißend. HIGHSIGH hatte nicht mit einem festen Schema begonnen, doch innerhalb jedes Songs entwickelte sich ein zusammenhängendes Patchwork - geschichtete Gitarren und gestrichener Bass stehen neben träge treibenden Synth-Klängen und knackigen, treibenden Akustik-Drums. Die Band erweiterte ihren Austauschkreis und schickte Tracks an Tim Barnes, Ben LaMar Gay, Max Jaffe, Lia Kohl, Booker Stardrum und Jon Starks, um Schlagzeug-, Cello- und Kornett-Parts einzufügen. Diese rohen Klangteppiche fanden ihre endgültige Struktur und Ordnung durch Texte, von denen einige von der Band selbst geschrieben wurden, andere von Macie Stewart (Finom) und Paige Alice Naylor. ,Textlich interessieren mich einfache Momente der Erkenntnis", sagt Matt Mehlan. ,Wie ist die Umgebung, wie ist das Gefühl?" Dieses Thema zieht sich durch das gesamte Album und verbindet die unterschiedlichen Stimmen, die mitgewirkt haben. Auf ,Once Bend" präsentiert HIGHSIGH ihre selbstgemachten musikalischen Patchwork-Decken - zusammengenäht aus Saiten, Schaltkreisen und Servern auf ganz Turtle Island.

Auf der sechsten LP von Radiator Hospital, ,Distorting Time", spielt Sam Cook-Parrott nicht mit Nostalgie - er geht ihr aktiv aus dem Weg. Im Laufe von fünfzehn Jahren hat er RH von einem Solo-Projekt, das er in seinem Schlafzimmer aufnahm, zu einem vollwertigen Rock-'n'-Roll-Quartett ausgebaut, wobei er am Rande des Mainstream-Erfolgs blieb und sich gleichzeitig einen Ruf als echter Außenseiter der DIY-Szene erarbeitete. Die Veröffentlichung von ,Can't Make Any Promises" im Jahr 2023 brachte Sam an eine Art Scheideweg - doch er war entschlossen, keine Zeit mit Rückblicken zu verschwenden, sondern stattdessen nur auf das zu blicken, was vor ihm lag. Aus heiterem Himmel wurde Radiator Hospital Ende 2025 eine Tour angeboten, was Sam dazu veranlasste, seinen Ansatz zu überdenken und das Gewebe seiner bisherigen Arbeit in eine völlig neue Form zu verwandeln. ,Ich beschloss, etwas Neues live zu probieren, was ich noch nie zuvor gemacht hatte: Ich nahm meine Begleitmusik auf einem 4-Spur-Kassettenrekorder auf und sang dann einfach dazu", erklärt Cook-Parrott. ,Distorting Time" - seine erste Veröffentlichung bei Lame-O Records - besteht aus 13 Songs, die bei Sam zu Hause auf einem 4-Spur-Kassettenrekorder aufgenommen wurden, mit zusätzlichen Elementen, die im Uniform Recording Studio von Jeff Zeigler in Philadelphia eingefangen wurden. Die Songs wirken gleichzeitig sanft vertraut und doch auffallend eigenständig; sie nutzen die Grenzen des 4-Spur-Setups aus und lassen sich gleichzeitig von Bands wie Young Marble Giants und Tall Dwarfs inspirieren. Thematisch beschäftigen sich die Songs mit dem seltsamen Gefühl des Vergehens der Zeit, insbesondere aus der Perspektive eines Künstlers und seines Schaffens.

After the wild Afro-jazz fusion of Trancedance (reissued as BT118) and the meditative solo Christer Bothén Donso n’goni (BT133), legendary Swedish multi-instrumentalist Christer Bothén returns to Black Truffle as part of a dream quartet completed by the three members of Ghosted: Oren Ambarchi (guitar), Johan Berthling (bass) and Andreas Werliin (drums). Recorded at a rustic studio built by Werliin and Hans Fredriksson in the sylvan surrounds of Hamburgsund, Sweden across a few days in September 2023, Serpentine offers up four generous slices of hypnotic repetition and shimmering resonance, cut through with wild bursts of Bothén’s bass clarinet.

The depth and ease of the quartet’s rapport is evident from the first moments of the opening title-track. Berthling’s resonant upright bass locks into a head-nodding ostinato that makes sensitive use of a prominent end-of-phrase rest, opening spaces through which Werliin’s continually shifting statements of the pulse shine through. Having worked together in various groups for many years, Berthling and Werliin are masters at playing subtle games of difference and repetition, creating a driving rhythmic flow animated by perpetually changing details: here, you can never step in the same groove twice. Weaving through it all is Ambarchi’s now-signature Leslie-cabinet guitar tone, sounding out long chords at times strikingly close to a Hammond, while also creating intricate cross-rhythms through the play of his tremolo modulations against the bass and drums. When Bothén enters five minutes in, the growl of his bass clarinet at first works deep in the collective brew, carving off brief staccato phrases and twisting them into fragmented melodies. As he moves into the instrument’s higher registers, Bothén’s playing becomes wilder, twinning with Ambarchi’s guitar in shimmering arcs like a 21st century update of the Garbarek-Rypdal pairing immortalised on Sart.

Each of the four pieces explore different possibilities of a shared language. On ‘Antigorite’, another hypnotic bass riff emerges gradually from an atmospheric haze, eventually developing into a frenetic rhythmic workout propelled by Werliin’s cowbell. Berthling sits out for ‘Lizardite’, while Bothén moves from bass clarinet to the Donso n’goni, the sacred Wassoulou hunter’s harp he has studied for half a century; the resulting performance streamlines the approach heard on other tracks into pure modal propulsion, sparkling with harp-like arpeggios from Ambarchi’s guitar. On the closing ‘Chrysotile’, the bottom drops out, leaving a swampy, churning mass of wavering organ-like chords, roaming bass runs, and distant toms, over which Bothén floats bass clarinet figures by turns bluesy and abstract, the whole thing landing somewhere between classic ECM and the most blasted freeform moments of early Amon Düül II. Bearing a delicate calligraphic abstraction by Bothén on its cover and beautiful documentation of the recording sessions on its inner sleeve, Serpentine is a powerful reminder of the magic that can happen when inventive musicians just get together and play.

Purple Vinyl, limited to 200 copies. A Life Less Plagued, originally released in 2001, is a seminal release in modern hardcore by the California straight-edge band Carry On. Recorded at Godcity Studios by Converge's Kurt Ballou and clocking in at just under 20 minutes across 12 tracks, the album delivers unrelenting intensity, frantic tempos, and cathartic vocals. The album not only became a blueprint for the 2000s "West Coast Hardcore" movement, but was also the first proper full-length album put out by Bridge Nine Records. Carry On didn't live on much longer after their full-length album debut, but it became a definitive release for the label (and California hardcore) as each member went on to form the next wave of West Coast hardcore bands (such as Terror, Piece By Piece, Betrayed, Internal Affairs, and many more). Long out of print by the album's 10th anniversary, its legacy was further set in stone with a 2011 re-issue. Now Carry On is back playing a handful of shows over the 2026 summer and we've got another re-issue on deck. This is a record frequently cited by hardcore veterans and modern musicians as the absolute mold for 2000s American hardcore, so be sure to grab it if you don't have one in your collection yet.

Scum rock low-lives Louse return with their Sophomore LP, Buyer’s Remorse - an unrefined but levelled-up dip back into the murk, keeping it in the family one more time on Riot Season records (a label which now, fittingly, features genre luminaries Brainbombs).
More cohesive, more negative but no less disgusting than debut record Creep Call, the band have further enhanced their pummelling, single-riff ritual M.O. with even more strop-razor guitars, crank-fuelled slide-bass, strangled sax and sinister missives from the void.
Buyer’s Remorse includes unspeakable meditations on an unmatched litany of losers, including: inept hitmen/serial killers, snuff-flick refund naivety, disturbing fellatio lessons, burying yourself alive to escape the law (“you’ll never get me in the slammer”) and having a damn good time being chopped into luncheon (take a ride on the meat slide!)
Snubbed from all but the best festivals, Louse continue to eke out a steady stream of shows, with highlights such as glorious sweat-boxes in our beloved Torino, Monza and beyond in the EU with BRAK, being the first band to play Mickey Zogg’s Basement in Bristol with Beau Wanzer and multiple distinguished appearances at Café Oto with legend and fellow RS label-mate Shit & Shine.
Right-thinking taste-makers have decreed that Louse “exist in an alternate reality where The Fall and The Birthday Party are one and the same band”, and that their songs are “all at once unsettling, loose, filthy, untamed, distorted and fucked up, but most of all rocking, creative and unique”.
Buyer’s Remorse is no exception, having been wrangled into perfection by long-time collaborator James Atkinson (The Stationhouse Studio) and none other than Rectal Hygienics’ Matt Ibarra (STR Mastering) this is truly scum rock at its finest - all at once punishing, ugly and brutal; but listen to that groove (oh my!)
Louse are
The Captain - Vocals, Septic Pete - Guitar, The King of Sting - Guitar , Uncle Brutus - Guitar Mister P. - Drums, Dieta Di Patate - Slide Bass

Dead Best return on August 7th with God: Out of Order, their third and most fully realized album yet. Sharper, louder, and more melodic than ever, the record captures the absurdity, anxiety, and emotional whiplash of modern life through songs that are equally noisy and undeniably catchy. God: Out of Order finds Dead Best at their most fully realized — turning chaos into hooks, frustration into humor, and confusion into something worth shouting along to.

27 years later Me First and The Gimme Gimmes are still a drag, now a neon green (vinyl) one, and the sleeve is foiled! CD still available too. Though it doesn't sound like a brilliant idea, Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, an all-star cover band dedicated to regurgitating punk rock-style the most frothy music in their parents' record collections, are actually extraordinarily entertaining and can make the likes of John Denver and Barry Manilow sound not so bad. The lineup here includes Fat Mike of NOFX, the guitarist from the Foo Fighters, a couple of the guys from Lagwagon, and Spike Slawson, the Gimmes' sweet-voiced singer, who also plays bass for the Swingin' Utters. On their second record, Are a Drag, the Gimmes tackle all of their parents' favorite showtunes, claiming homage rather than satire. Most of their choices are songs that anybody even remotely into musicals knows by heart. Their cover of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" has more choruses than the original, rocks pretty damn hard, and is certainly worthy of a swirling slam pit. Though it's not as wild as John Coltrane's version, the Gimmes' "My Favorite Things" is raging enough to send Julie Andrews swan diving off the stage into a sea of sweaty punkers. They mess with the jazz standard "Summertime" by Gershwin, adding some fine surfy leads to a song that's been played a million times over. Also, there's their furious rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera." On Are a Drag, the Gimmes succeed at playing showtunes that punk kids can dig, no small feat.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes show that they have truly matured as song-thieves on this album! Running at 45 RPM, the 25th anniversary pressing comes with silver foil and silver 25th anniversary labels. But if you like you can buy the original CD still too. Punk pranksters, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, came forth with their third full length album, Blow In The Wind. That time around the band pays tribute to the tunes of the late 50s and 60s. Once again Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have woven their punk rock magic into the threads of the classics from the likes of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Del Shannon, and Cat Stevens, just to name a few. On Blow In The Wind, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes don't simply cover 13 songs whose future was dependent upon the AM dial, they breathe the breath of new life into songs that were on the verge of being forgotten! Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is comprised of the following punk rockers: Spike Slawson (Swingin' Utters), Joey Cape (Lagwagon), Fat Mike (NOFX), Chris Shiflett (ex No Use For A Name, present Foo Fighters), and Dave Raun (Lagwagon)

Eero Koivistoinen's debut album reissued in July Eero Koivistoinen is a wide-ranging composer and a talented musician – one of the all-time greats of the Finnish jazz. In 1965 Koivistoinen founded a trio that played avant-garde and fusion jazz together with Pekka Sarmanto and Edward Vesala. In 1967–68 he was a member of Blues Section – a group that is regarded as the first progressive rock band in Finland. Valtakunta (“Kingdom”) was originally released in 1968 and is Eero Koivistoinen’s first jazz LP. The songs of the album are based on the lyrics written by Finnish poets Pentti Saarikoski, Tuomas Anhava, Hannu Mäkelä and Jarkko Laine. The vocalists are Eero Raittinen, Seija Simola, Vesa-Matti Loiri and Koivistoinen himself. He also plays the tenor saxophone, piano and vibraphone, and is joined by a vast selection of legendary Finnish musicians, including Seppo "Baron" Paakkunainen, Pekka Sarmanto, Ronnie Österberg, Hasse Walli, Juhani Aaltonen, Antero Jakoila, Kaj Backlund, Esa Pethman, and Reino Laine among many others. All compositions are by Koivistoinen. The album reflects well the forthcoming compositional repertoire of Koivistoinen with its wide style spectrum. Valtakunta was reissued on vinyl in 2016 via Svart and the pressing quickly found a new home on the turntables of record collectors worldwide. After ten years, it's time to bring back this quintessential piece of Finnish psychedelia, avant-garde, free jazz, and progressive rock on wax and CD again.

Das 1966 bei Impulse! Records erschienene Album “Meditations“ fing John Coltrane in einer Umbruchphase
ein. Einerseits enthielt es die letzten Aufnahmen, die der Saxofonist mit der kompletten Besetzung seines
legendären Quartetts einspielte. Zum anderen präsentierte er auf dem Album mit dem Tenorsaxofonisten
Pharoah Sanders und dem zweiten Schlagzeuger Rashied Ali zusätzlich neue musikalische Weggefährten,
die Coltranes letzte Schaffensphase mitprägen sollten. In dem suiteartigen Programm fließt die Musik als
fortwährende Meditation über Transzendenz und kollektiven Ausdruck. “Meditations” hebt Coltranes Spiritual Jazz in höhere Sphären der Energie und Abstraktion. Das Album, das oft als spiritueller Nachfolger
von “A Love Supreme” bezeichnet wird, bleibt ein kraftvolles Dokument der Transformation, Intensität und
Hingabe in Coltranes musikalischem Vermächtnis

Original Jazz Classics celebrates Miles Davis’ centennial with the release of Cookin' with the Miles Davis Quintet. Originally released on Prestige in 1957 and one of four albums recorded during sessions at Van Gelder studios, Cookin’ features Davis alongside John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones. This new edition of the album is released on 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes at Cohearent Audio and a Stoughton Tip-On Jacket.

One of the early breed of US death metal acts, Autopsy formed in 1987 in San Francisco. Drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert had gained initial recognition with Floridian genre pioneers Death & his participation on the classic debut, ‘Scream Bloody Gore’ before this new morbid creation was birthed. Autopsy released 4 albums on Peaceville Records in the early part of their career - beginning with the legendary debut, ‘Severed Survival’, in 1989 - before disbanding in 1995, with members going on to become the stalwarts of sickodelia in Abscess.

Autopsy triumphantly & officially returned from the grave after a 15 year hiatus with the 2010 EP, ‘The Tomb Within’. This was followed by the release of the band’s fifth studio album, ‘Macabre Eternal’ in 2011, as the group celebrated a new era of popularity & creativity. This reverence continues to this day as Autopsy itself nears its 40th anniversary, & still features the longstanding core trio of Chris Reifert, Eric Cutler, & Danny Coralles.

‘Mental Funeral’ was Autopsy’s second studio album, originally released back in 1991, & is rightly hailed as one of the greatest death metal albums of all time with its unhinged & uncompromising collection of odes to brutality & depravity, wrapped up in its highly distinctive raw, organic production.

‘Mental Funeral’ was recorded at Different Fur Studios in late 1990, with engineering work conducted by Ron Rigler. The iconic artwork appeared courtesy of Kev Walker, who had already provided the (at the time) controversial cover for Autopsy’s debut, ‘Severed Survival’.

This special 35th anniversary pressing of ‘Mental Funeral’ is presented on a limited red/green ink spot vinyl, featuring newly remastered audio courtesy of current Autopsy bassist Greg Wilkinson at his Earhammer Studios.

15 pop songs about animals by 15 of the best indiepop bands in the world: Pets Sounds is as simple as that. Ranging from the playful (Sassyhiya, Gay Skeleton Club) to the heartbreaking (Caleb Nichols, Jetstream Pony) to the enigmatic (Railcard, Oh Hippo) to the satiric (The Magnetic Fields, Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires), there's more diversity on this album than you can shake a stick at. Or throw a bone at. The LP comes with a full colour insert and the CD comes with a booklet featuring artwork by Elodie Ginsbourg. Musicians spend a lot of time working at home, with their pets for company. The pets sit around, happy in their own worlds, sublimely indifferent to their humans' endeavours. As familiar as family members, but as unknowable as aliens, pets are the perfect muse. They can be treated as objects of adoration - `Rufus' by Tugboat Captain is an expression of pure joy - or they can be treated as metaphors. More reliable than lovers but less dangerous than heroin, pets are a great vehicle for singing obliquely about something else. Swansea Sound's `I Don't Like Men In Uniform' is about an ageing, irascible terrier, but it's also about men striving to maintain their potency as territorial aggressors. The Magnetic Fields' `Fido, Your Leash Is too Long' is a libidinous and unreliable partner, as well as a dog that likes sniffing other dogs' private parts. For the most part, animals come off better than humans on this album. In `Kings Of The Animal Kingdom', The Burning Hell dramatise our indulgent love of pets in order to expose our cruelty to other human beings. In `Bo's New Haircut', The Cords express the injustice and unfairness of an innocent animal having to submit to human demands. In `Crayon Potato' by Sassyhiya, the magnificent Crayon contemptuously rejects the gifts offered by her besotted human owners. In `Lola', the opening track, Lande Hekt tries to put this enigmatic human-animal relationship into words. And concludes that however much we love our animals, and no matter how much we manage to communicate with them, we can never really know them. A melancholy conclusion maybe, but the music - as with all the songs on this album - is expressive of the wonderment and the joy that comes from sharing your life with a member of another species. The tracks by Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires, Jetstream Pony and Railcard are previously unreleased. These three bands are also playing a launch show at The Water Rats, London, on 9th July 2026.