CMAT – ‘Euro-Country’ (Indies Exclusive Butterfly Effect Double Vinyl LP)
The Hives – ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives’ (Limited Gold Vinyl LP)
The Stone Roses – ‘Turns into Stone’ (Double Vinyl LP)
The Clash – ‘Hits Back’ (Triple Vinyl LP)
CMAT – ‘Euro-Country‘ (Indies Exclusive Butterfly Effect Double Vinyl LP)
It’s almost inconceivable that it’s only five years since the arrival of CMAT, as she approaches the release of her third album, Euro-Country. This BRITs / Mercury / Ivors-nominated acronymic star feels like she’s been part of the culture forever – and what has endeared fans to her heart-sore tunes and humour is CMAT’s ability to combine contradictory themes and moods: wide-eye drama with self-deprecation.
Country music has always been a lynchpin for CMAT, but this is country in an augmented, reimagined way. Mixed with classic indie and affirmative soul-pop, it resists the music industry’s desire to pigeonhole artists as one genre. Not only is there a palpable tonal shift, Euro-Country also feels like a huge step-up creatively. There is a sense of determination, of urgency, of ‘gather round and listen up’.
From re-evaluating where you come from (geographically, metaphorically) and the impact of economics on a small country, to the attention that comes with increased fame (not all of it good) and being a woman in the music industry.
The Hives – ‘The Hives Forever Forever The Hives‘ (Limited Gold Vinyl LP)
The Hives, the best live band on the planet and still your new favourite band, are an international rock sensation. They are lauded on all continents for their masterful skill and reckless abandon in the rock music field.
They have once again, sooner than expected, created a new body of work the likes of which have never been heard or indeed probably will again. Their seventh opus, The Hives Forever Forever The Hives, is a new record full of energy, joy, anger, and life that will make you question reality as you have known it.
Every single song on this album is a hit, with every hit a direct hit in the face of the man. This long-playing album consists of thirteen pieces of music crafted with commitment, abandon, and skill in Sweden in cohorts with the esteemed producers Pelle Gunnerfeldt and Mike D of Beastie Boys.
The Stone Roses – ‘Turns into Stone‘ (Double Vinyl LP)
‘Originally released in 1992 (as a single LP), ‘Turns Into Stone’ pulled together many of the Stone Roses’ finest non album tracks – early singles, B-sides and extended versions – into one compelling collection. It begins with their first release from their ultimately turbulent tenure at Silvertone Records, ‘Elephant Stone’ and includes perhaps the band’s finest moment, ‘Fools Gold’. An essential companion to their timeless debut album, like the latter it contains some of best British guitar-driven pop/rock of the era, here spread over four sides of vinyl, the better to showcase the stretched-out grooves that helped them to become, for a time, probably the most exciting and influential band in the country. An 11x track Double Black LP Vinyl catalogue reissue.
The Clash – ‘Hits Back‘ (Triple Vinyl LP)
‘The definitive best of collection from ‘the only band that matters’, ‘Hits Back’ was originally released in September 2013 and sequenced to replicate the set played by the band at the Brixton Fair Deal (now the Academy) on 10 July 1982, with the addition of some essential numbers that were not included in the set that night. A 32x track Triple Black LP Vinyl catalogue reissue.
