May the spring of amazing music sourced from the original UK DIY scene never run dry. Similar to other widespread, years-long U.S. macro-scene equivalents like mid-’60s garage rock or early 1980s hardcore punk, the well of UK DIY seems to be an inexhaustible resource. We owe a debt of gratitude to labels like Minimum Table Stacks, whose first foray into archiving UK DIY yielded a superb EP from long-lost Welsh group Violin Sect. It’s not an easy process tracking down band members, securing the rights, digging up unheard material, remastering the audio and presenting it with just the right amount of reverence — but not too much. After all, this cheeky, arch music was made by a generation that grew up watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus and…
Category: *editions*
Bruce Springsteen is out to save America with rock and roll. On Friday night, in a Moda Center packed with screaming, singing fans, it felt like he might just do it.
At 7:30 p.m., long lines still snaked around the Rose Quarter. So it was about 10 minutes after the planned start time that Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage for the second stop of their Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour.
It was the only hiccup in what became a high-intensity all-American political-musical-spiritual experience for the rapturous crowd.
The show began with a thesis statement. “The America that I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is…
…The anniversary edition expands the original 11-track record with three bonus tracks.
Portland rockers Summer Cannibals step up their game on Full of It, their label debut for Kill Rock Stars. A solid pair of self-released LPs and countless touring miles have earned them plenty of respect in the Northwest and beyond, and they make the most of their heightened exposure by delivering their tightest outing yet. Led by singer/guitarist Jessica Boudreaux, the group sports a streamlined new sound courtesy of both producer Chris Woodhouse (Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees) and a retooled lineup that features bassist Jenny Logan and drummer Devon Shirley alongside longtime guitar man Marc Swart. There are certainly elements of fuzzy garage pop in…
Tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson brings out the soulful side of Bob Dylan on his 2026 covers album, Jackson Plays Dylan. One of the final members of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Jackson plays with a big warm tone and lyrical harmonic style that evokes a pure balance of both John Coltrane and Joe Henderson. While he’s never been shy about underscoring his influences, he’s been deliberate about tribute projects, releasing one Coltrane album in 2012 and unexpectedly pairing with poet/activist Nikki Giovanni for two covers albums that creatively expanded the format. Tackling Dylan feels less out of the blue, yet no less inspired, as Jackson takes on some of the iconic folk singer’s best-known songs, transforming them into something that feels as earthy…
“I find the Scritti Politti syndrome absolutely hysterical,” said Duran Duran’s fedora-topped bassist John Taylor, reviewing the singles for Melody Maker in September 1982. “All these… radical Rough Trade bands suddenly deciding they want to be pop stars. They seem to have everything right but the songs. They have no perfect pop writers.” Taylor could speak with commercial authority at least, but the tell was he’d heard about Scritti Politti and their scheme to invade and master pop. Green Gartside’s new doctrine had spread in mere months.
Only in May, Green had laid out his starry ambitions to Lynden Barber, again in Melody Maker. “I think [Songs to Remember] is… a bit of a milestone in British pop,” he claimed.
Making music that’s jittery, neurotic, darkly comical, but also powerfully catchy, the Violent Femmes are a pillar of the American underground movement, and one of the best early examples of alternative rock.
40th anniversary reissue of their long out of print third album The Blind Leading the Naked. Features fan favorites “I Held Her In My Arms” and “Old Mother Reagan” along with their classic cover of the T-Rex song “Children Of the Revolution.”
A more mainstream effort courtesy of producer Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads). Gordon Gano returns to his troubled teen persona and the Violent Femmes rock harder than on their previous two releases. A nice cover of the T. Rex classic “Children of the Revolution”…
With the release of Great As Ever: Live In Philadelphia ’86, a theme is beginning to emerge in the chronological issues of this archival series. Notwithstanding how this package lives up to its title–it’s actually a reference to the loyalty of the audience from the leader of the band–Gregg Allman’s self-assurance and pride in his work is too obvious to ignore throughout the third edition of concert recordings from the late Southerner’s vault, this one captured on January 11, 1986, at Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, PA.
From the very opening of “Don’t Want You No More”/”Ain’t My Cross The Bear,” the segue taken from the ABB studio debut, much of the set consists of well-known selections from the Allman Brothers’ discography.
1. Miles Davis – When Lights Are Low
2. Sarah Vaughan – It Might As Well Be Spring
3. Sonny Rollins Quartet – I Know
4. Charlie Parker’s All Stars – Ah-Leu-Cha
5. Miles Davis – Jeru
6. Coleman Hawkins All-Stars – Bean-A-Re-Bop
7. Miles Davis – Weirdo
8. Miles Davis – Générique
9. Michel Legrand – ‘Round Midnight
10. Lee Konitz Sextet – Odjenar
11. Miles Davis All-Stars – Milestones
12. Cannonball Adderley – Autumn Leaves
13. Miles Davis – The Maids of Cadiz
14. Herbie Fields Band & Rubberlegs Williams – That’s The Stuff You Gotta Watch
15. Miles Davis Quintet – Solar
The excellent quintet WÖR utilises violin, bagpipes, accordion, guitar and saxophones to reimagine 18th-century tunes from the Flanders region of Belgium. Swedish women’s self-styled ‘Folk’appella’ quartet Kongero honour the folk traditions of their home region, Jämtland, in northern Sweden, in a similar manner.
Here, these two ensembles combine for a tantalising project. The sonic landscapes on display are beautifully produced and virtuosically played. ‘Var är du?’ rolls with bucolic wonder, the instruments of WÖR blending perfectly with the voices of Kongero. ‘Schoon Lief’ is a wistful, soft and gently evolving number evocative of winter mists and bright, clear skies, while ‘Ridder & Jungfrun’ presents a drifting…
If 2025 was the year the UK reclaimed its rock ‘n’ roll crown with the Oasis reunion, 2026 is officially the year Richard Ashcroft reminded us why he was always the movement’s beating heart. Fresh off his massive stint as the special guest on the Oasis Live ’25 tour, Ashcroft has dropped Live Vol. 1, a career-spanning collection that feels less like a standard live album and more like a victory lap.
Recorded during his triumphant run of shows following the stadium mania of the previous year, Live Vol. 1 captures Ashcroft at his most potent. From the opening chords, it’s clear his voice hasn’t aged a day; if anything, it’s gained a soulful, weathered depth that adds new layers to classics like “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Sonnet.”
The production strikes a perfect balance.
Before a single note of music was played at the opening night of the 2026 Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, it was clear this wasn’t going to be a typical Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert. In a break from decades of tradition, the band walked onto the stage in total darkness, visible to the crowd only in hazy silhouette. Springsteen came out last, and addressed the capacity crowd at the Target Center in Minneapolis, speaking much like he did at the city’s No Kings rally a few days earlier.
“I want to begin the night with a prayer for our men and women overseas,” he said. “We pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock & roll in dangerous…
…4CD deluxe edition include the remastered original album, previously unreleased demos, John Peel Sessions (some never broadcast), and unreleased 1979 concert from Troon.
…Originally released in 1979, Stiff Little Fingers were Ireland’s answer to both the Clash and the Sex Pistols. They had the personal and political stance of the former, and the noisy, pissed off, slash-and-burn musical aesthetic as the latter. Fronted by guitarist and songwriter Jake Burns (he collaborated with journalist Gordon Ogilvie), SLF took off with their two singles “Alternative Ulster,” and, for that time, the utterly out of control screaming that was “Suspect Device.” These two singles make the purchase price of the album a priority. They represent barely contained youthful…
Clearlight was formed in 1973 and was the vision of gifted pianist and composer Cyrille Verdeaux. The first work to appear under the Clearlight name was ‘Clearlight Symphony’, recorded in 1973 and 1974 and first issued by Virgin Records in early 1975. The album was notable for featuring Gong members Steve Hillage, Tim Blake and Didier Malherbe. The follow-up album, ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ was recorded in the summer of 1975 and featured a full band formed by Verdeaux and former King Crimson violinist David Cross guesting among others.
1977’s ‘Les Contes du Singe Fou’ was recorded with a full band who now included former Magma violinist Didier Lockwood and was a fine fusion of jazz, psychedelic…
…remastered edition with bonus tracks.
As the title suggests, Akira Kosemura‘s entrancing Polaroid Piano is a wistful meditation for minimal piano and field recordings, bleached out with old light. The glitchy electronics of Kosemura’s prior work are gone. The music is so hushed you can hear the action of the pedals, the keyboard shifting in the body of the piano. This quiet rumpus serves as a relaxed rhythm track — one suspects Kosemura mic’d the piano to capture these extraneous sounds, drawing them purposefully into the music. The gesture is Cagean, but the questioning, wonder-filled style is pure Satie. The cover art captures the mood perfectly, although a blue sky filled with kites and balloons would have been just as apt.
This tenth anniversary edition of Venetian Snares’ ‘Traditional Synthesizer Music’ adds ten bonus tracks and alternative versions originally available only on limited edition compact disc from the artist’s Bandcamp.
For an artist whose recordings typically consist of intensely edited, sample-heavy sonic constructions, the “traditional” way to go about making music is to spend countless hours programming an overwhelming modular synthesizer system that takes up an entire room. Aaron Funk has explored analog synthesizer music before, but he usually saves this type of work for his Last Step moniker, which veers toward acid techno rather than the frenetic breakcore of his more well-known guise, Venetian Snares.
Let’s look at the numbers: John Williams has been on this mortal plane for 93 years, and has been composing for visual media for 73 of those years. Compact discs have been a part of music lovers’ collections for at least four decades, and the “art” of John Williams on CD – a real, curatorial approach to his iconic film scores – began in earnest more than 30 years ago, when the 4CD box set Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology hit record stores in 1993. From basic compilations like Greatest Hits 1969-1999 to hefty box sets covering his material recorded with The Boston Pops and other orchestras on two labels between the ’80s and the ’10s – not to mention the Herculean restoration work of remastering and expanding Williams’ scores beyond…
Live and Acoustic presents Trey Anastasio at his most stripped-back and introspective, capturing a series of performances from his sold-out 2025 Spring Acoustic Tour. Produced by Vance Powell and featuring longtime collaborator Jeff Tanski on keyboards, the album offers a focused and intimate listening experience.
Spanning 22 songs drawn from across Anastasio’s four-decade career, Live and Acoustic highlights the strength of his songwriting in its purest form. Without the expansive arrangements often associated with his work, the songs are allowed to breathe, revealing their melodic core and emotional depth. Fan favorites such as “Stash,” “Waste,” “Divided Sky,” and “Pebbles and Marbles” take on a new dimension in this setting…
The Gathering, originally released in 2007, returns in an expanded edition that reaffirms the lasting significance of Marianne Segal’s long-awaited comeback. This reissue not only revisits the album but also casts new light on a work that already proved her artistic voice remained as compelling as ever after decades away from the spotlight.
Best known for her work with cult ‘70s outfit Jade, Segal used The Gathering to reconnect with the spirit of that era while subtly updating it for a more contemporary audience. In this expanded form, the album’s depth and craftsmanship become even more apparent, offering listeners a fuller picture of her creative vision.
The record moves effortlessly between traditional folk balladry, roots…
VOLUMES: ONE, the first non-studio release from Bon Iver, captures 10 distinctive live performances, recorded between 2019 and 2023, showcasing Justin Vernon and his band at their most whole. There’s a warmth and exuberance across the album, as well as the sort of muscular sound you can really only get at a live show. For the uninitiated and die-hards alike, these recordings could well be the defining versions of the tracks, no doubt made possible through the essential live engineering of Xandy Whitesel and performances from bandmates Jenn Wasner, Sean Carey, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, and Andrew Fitzpatrick.
Vernon began working on VOLUMES: ONE in 2020, and he spent a considerable amount of time combing through concerts…
When Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel took over the curation for the May 2026 issue of MOJO, they didn’t just pick a few favorite songs—they built a bridge between the Foo Fighters’ legendary past and their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy.
Foo.Fm functions as a 15-track “musical odyssey.” It’s a rare look behind the curtain at the records that fueled the band’s recent creative pivot back to their punk-rock roots.
The tracklist is a masterclass in balance, weaving together the “holy trinity” of their influences: legacy pioneers, contemporary heavyweights, and the new guard of alternative rock.
The compilation kicks off with a heavy nod to the underground. The inclusion of Hüsker Dü and Kim Gordon acts as a reminder…