Elliott Smith – An Introduction To…
It's hard to believe that he's been gone 7 years now. This collection attempts to define one of last great songwriters of the 20th Century.
Various Artists – SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers
A star-studded cast pay tribute on this anniversary compilation, but who invited Times New Viking?
Various Artists – futurePOP 2.0
It's the future of pop... or is it? Featuring The Cardigans, Faker, The Ting Tings, The Presets, Ladytron, MGMT et al.
Various Artists – Dark Was The Night
North America's finest show their charitable side with this awe-inspiring collection. Just call it "No Alternative Part 2".
Factory Records – Communications 1978-1992
Long-overdue retrospective from the label that brought you the Happy Mondays, but don't hold that against them...
Various Artists – Be True To Your School (A Fortuna Pop! Compilation)
Fortuna Pop!, 2008 [7/10] Fortuna Pop! is the pre-eminent label for those special acts that can't find a home anywhere else. Think of it as a shelter for the abandoned, misunderstood band either bursting with unrecognised talent or just looking for a place to crash. The sticker on the CD says "25 SMASH HITS from
Jay Reatard – Matador Singles ’08
Matador, 2008[rating:7/10] Memphis native Jay Reatard (Jay Lindsey) has been making a name for himself since the late 90s, in bands like The Reatards and Lost Sounds, mixing up garage rock and synth punk. Recently signed to Matador Records under his own name, his output with them to date has been a succession of hit
Liquid Liquid – Slip In and Out of the Phenomenon
Domino Records, 2008 [6/10] Post punk, new funk, even if its old junk, it's still rock and roll to me. Call it what you want, but history shows that Manhattan's Liquid Liquid were essentially a dub/groove-based band that while in their short lifespan became incredibly influential on the New York music scene both then and
Camper Van Beethoven – Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty
Cooking Vinyl, 2008 [7/10] Listening to a Camper Van Beethoven CD is like opening a time capsule to an era where the alternative music scene was more of a nascent beast than what it is now, where bands like REM, The Replacements and Husker Du reigned supreme. The Zappa-influenced Camper Van Beethoven fell somewhere inbetween,
The Monochrome Set – The Independent Singles Collection
Cherry Red, 2008 [7/10] England 1979 -- punk was morphing into the more experimental post-punk and saw landmark releases from PiL, Gang of Four, The Cure, Joy Division and The Pop Group. And then...then there was The Monochrome Set. Instead of vitriolic and/or depressive lyrics, distorted guitars and dub and funk influenced bass The Monochrome
Miss Li – Best Of 061122-071122
National, 2007 [rating:7/10] The twelve month period denoted by the title of this compilation (that's how the logical Swedes write the date) was an ultra productive period for Stockholm's Linda Carlsson otherwise known as Miss Li. Her debut album Late Night Heartbroken Blues, released in November 2006 established the Miss Li blueprint: a simple piano
Adorable – Footnotes 92-94
Cherry Red, 2008 [rating:8/10] How does a band become a "favourite?" Some acts are found and then loved via recommendations from press, blogs, radio or friends. Some have an extensive back catalogue ready to be devoured and devoted to. Others quietly creep up behind and sucker punch you with a single song leaving you stunned and