New releases on CD & DVD
Album: Twenty One Pilots - Breach
Sunday, 14 September 2025
For the past decade, the Ohio alternative superstars Twenty One Pilots have cultivated a deep lore starting with 2015’s Blurryface, and continued through the subsequent albums of 2018’s Trench, 2021’s Scaled and Icy, and seemingly concluded with last year’s Clancy. Yet the duo of Tyler Joseph (vocals) and Josh Dun (drums) left proceedings on a cliffhanger.
Album: Ed Sheeran - Play
Saturday, 13 September 2025
“It’s a long way up from rock bottom/There’s been times I felt I could fall further.” So runs the opening line of Ed Sheeran’s eighth studio album. It’s delivered with the quavering falsetto-voice-breaking that’s become default for sung emotion. Like much of the album, it’s a “poor me” lyric. A generation has grown up with popular music ruled by solipsistic whining, with Sheeran leading from the front.
Album: Motion City Soundtrack - The Same Old...
Friday, 12 September 2025
Everyone’s favourite angsty pop-punk nerds are back, balancing new with nostalgia and synths with guitars, this is exactly what fans have been...
Album: Baxter Dury - Allbarone
Thursday, 11 September 2025
Quite why Baxter Dury isn't already a national treasure is a mystery to me. Not for his nepo connections but for his perfectly pitched delivery and...
Album: Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget بنسى...
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
A lot is going on during Yasmine Hamdan’s third solo album. Despite all ten songs of I Remember I Forget بنسى وبتذكر drawing from the lyrics and...
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Blu-ray: The Sweeney - Series One
Influential and entertaining 1970s police drama, handsomely restored |
Album: Josh Ritter - I Believe in You, My Honeydew
The alt-country singer's latest isn't consistent but does hit highs |
Album: David Byrne - Who is the Sky?
Born to be weird |
Album: Faithless - Champion Sound
Three decades into their career the perennial dance duo nail a lengthy but likeable set |
Album: Saint Etienne - International
British pop institution’s final communiqué is an unalloyed winner |
Blu-ray: The Graduate
Post #MeToo, can Mike Nichols' second feature still lay claim to Classic Film status? |
Album: Brad Mehldau - Ride into the Sun
A sincere tribute to Elliott Smith |
Album: Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
Short but not so sweet |
Album: CMAT - EURO-COUNTRY
The flame-headed chanteuse with the comic touch hits pop perfection |
Album: The Hives - The Hives Forever, Forever The Hives
No power ballads, no acoustic interludes - just speedy rock’n’roll all the way |
Album: Benedicte Maurseth - Mirra
Haunting, intense evocation of Norway’s uplands and its wildlife |
Blu-ray: Finis Terrae
Bleak but compelling semi-documentary, filmed on location in Brittany |
Album: Nova Twins - Parasites & Butterflies
Exciting London duo turn inward and more introspective with their third album while retaining their trademark hybrid sound |
Album: Blood Orange - Essex Honey
A triumph for the artist who doesn't clamour for attention but just keeps growing |
Album: Wolf Alice - Clearing
Ten years from their debut, Wolf Alice once again make magic from the familiar |
Album: Deftones - Private Music
Deftones give us a glimmer of hope, but that's all... |
Album: Eve Adams - American Dust
Taking inspiration from the Californian desert |
Blu-ray: Who Wants to Kill Jessie?
Fast-paced and visually inventive Czech comedy |
Album: Adrian Sherwood - The Collapse of Everything
The dub maestro stretches out and chills |
Album: Dinosaur Pile-Up - I've Felt Better
Heavy rock power pop trio return after an unwanted lengthy break |
Album: Tom Grennan - Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn't Want To Be
British pop star's fourth exhibits ultra-pop oomph with mixed results |
Album: Emma Smith - Bitter Orange
The award-winning jazz singer brings new life to some classic standards |
Album: Marissa Nadler - New Radiations
The Nashville-based singer-songwriter explores disconnection |
Album: Rise Against - Ricochet
Have the US punk veterans finally run out of road? |
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