Twenty five years of hits on a rather pointless CD compilation, saved only by the utterly brilliant bonus DVD that acts as an accompaniment.
Simon Rueben
I Like Trains – He Who Saw The Deep
Out with the history lessons, back with a more personal and intimate approach. And all the better for it. The new album from I Like Trains.
Dexys Midnight Runners – Searching For The Young Soul Rebels (30th Anniversary Issue)
“A soul group with a brass section, and all looking good”. On its 30th anniversary, one of the greatest debuts of all time gets a well deserved re-release.
Engineers – In Praise of More
A sensual and laidback affair from Engineers, a delicate collection of songs that have at times an exquisite fragility.
Chris Campion – Walking On The Moon, The Untold Story of the Police
A curiously bile filled book, pouring scorn on the entire career of Sting, Summers and Copeland. If you are a fan of The Police, then you will not find much here to like.
Robert Plant – Band of Joy
Any disappointment that this is no sequel to Raising Sand disappears in a second, as the wonderful new album from Robert Plant is a delight in every way.
The Art of Noise – Influence (Hits, Singles, Moments, Treasures)
An excellent and challenging two CD compilation from the undefinable Art of Noise, for the first time comprising both the ZTT years and their time on China Records – with many songs having never seen the light of day before.
Lloyd Cole – Broken Record
Those years in Massachusetts have obviously had an effect on the boy from Buxton, as Lloyd Cole turns in an album full of hints of Nashville.
Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records – James Nice
An incredibly detailed look at the rise and the messy fall of Factory Records, ideal reading for Manchester obsessed music fans and the casual reader alike.
Louise Wener – Different for Girls: My True-life Adventures in Pop
Not just a tale about Britpop – Louise Wener tells the story of how she made the transformation from bedroom pop fantatic to Indie stardom.
Cherry Ghost – Beneath This Burning Shoreline
Three years since his debut, Simon Alfded’s Cherry Ghost return with a new album of smoky melancholia and regret.
Kula Shaker – Pilgrim’s Progress
A blast from the past with their fourth album – and stop sniggering at the back, because it’s not all bad (but not that great).