Juno Recommends Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s November 2021

Review: RECOMMENDED
The remix album is probably pretty hard to crack in terms of putting it together. On the one hand, you want a broad selection of producers to take the work and make it new again. But there's also a very real risk of winding up with a bunch of random tracks with no real coherent thread to ensure the LP is actually going to get enough people buying to warrant engineering, mastering, and pressing costs.

Khruangbin have certainly cracked it with these takes on tracks from their most recent and perhaps most lush long form outing to date. We have sophisticated micro house, percussive slo-mo disco, slick-to-the-touch downbeat grooves and surrealist pop, all of which work both individually and together, the result being a record that not only knows its own mind, it can easily convince others, too.

Review: The War on Drugs have pleased fans by tightening up their sound somewhat on this newest album, I Don't Live Here Any More. This firth studio long player was proceed by stadium sized singalong rock song 'I Don't Live Here Anymore' and follows it up with music that celebrates life. Bandleader Adam Granduciel is in fine form with daydreaming verses and soul-stirring choruses that are never less than epic. There are a wealth of thrills to be had here for fans old and new and the most common line about the records is that the Philadelphia band sound more like themselves than ever.

Review: She might be more well known these days for her open letters to Miley Ray Cyrus or public struggles with mental health, but this So Far The Best of reminds us just why Sinead O'Connor is so famous in the first place. It brings together the very best tunes from her four albums and was originally released in 1997, so of course, includes her ubiquitous and global smash Number 1 'Nothing Compares 2 U' is included, as are earlier singles 'Troy' and 'Mandinka', all of which showcase her fearless style and a rich array of emotions. 'Heroine' and 'Just Like U Said It Would B' are included for the first time having in the past only been available on the US version.

Review: There is, quite simply, so much to like about Vanishing Twin. In many ways they can be your everything, providing that everything is sitting in a room packed with psychedelic patterns, contemplating mind expansion beyond opioids. If you're looking for abrasive sounds, this ain't for you. However, those searching for a woozy combination of 1960s hippy and weird prog folk will find themselves at home.

Even that description feels reductive. 'Light Vessel', for example, sounds like the unearthed tapes from electro-pop year zero. Or not. 'Tub Erupt' is a spy film intro on adrenalin, while 'The Lift' comes across like a religious cult got lost and wound up at Woodstock. Or maybe Woodstock was the cult? Either way this is one of those 'buckle up' jobs.

Review: This cutely entitled Demodelica double album brings together a load of different versions of classic cuts from Primal Schemas Screamadelica album, which itself has been the subject of a big anniversary reissue this year. All of the 16 tracks here are previously unreleased demo versions that offer a real insight into how the final album came together. The works in progress versions are just as interesting and the whole thing comes with some new notes from Jon Savage. Whether it's the rawness of 'I'm Comin' Down' (Isle Of Dogs Home Studio) or the intensity of 'Movin' On Up' (Hackney Studio demo), fans will be keen to hear this one.

Review: The Spaceman Reissue Program from Fat Possum Records and Spiritualized now gets the last in the series with Let It Come Down, the band's epic fourth album. This record was the first from a rather new-looking lineup for the band after the previous members melted away following intensive tours around Ladies And Gentlemen.... John Coxon's studio is where the band laid down the initial framework for these tunes before a total of 115 different musicians were reportedly enlisted down at Air and Abbey Road Studios to hone what ended up as these 11 songs. They have always been a widescreen band, but Spiritualized outdid even themselves on this one.

Review: The blissful, heart wrenching, emotionally captivating Sufjan Stevens teams up with one of California's finest lo-fi indie artists, and a chap who has warmed up for him on a number of occasions; Angelo De Augustine. No doubt you can already picture in the mind's ear what this collaboration will sound like, and you'd be right. But it's far more difficult to figure out where they're coming from with this release.

Allow us to divulge, then. Beginner's Mind is a record at once inspired by some excellent movies, and then also some not-so-excellent ones. Each track on here owes something to the world's foremost visual culture (sorry, gamers), from 'Reach Out' referencing Wings of Desire to 'Lady Macbeth in Chains' nodding to All About Eve. In every case the link is nuanced, rather than direct, but this is only testament to the staggering songwriting at play.

Review: Much loved downtempo outfit Morcheeba nailed their own unique brand of sofa ready stoner sounds many years ago. One of their numerous long player successes was Antidote, which was the first record to features Daisy Martey on vocals and she replaced Skye Edwards. She brought with her a host of psychedelic influences next to the band's trademark blend of funk, soul, hip hop and electronics. This album was also recorded live and includes standouts like 'Wonders Never Cease' and 'Everybody Loves A Loser'. The album reached #17 on the UK Top 10.

Review: Happenstance can be a fortuitous element. A union-funded single discovered in a dusty store, a long disbanded band found, leads to unreleased post punk dubs in a box of unreleased demos.

Formed during the mid-80s in the downbeat town of Walsall, their music is a blend of disparate influences from 50's crooners, blues and reggae to Killing Joke and The Bunnymen; Ron's Neighbours were out of step with the perfect pop of the C86 indie generation.

Their only single - "To The Fight" - a split 7" was supported by the Trade Union Resource Centre, while many gigs were benefits for striking miners, leading to a loyal local following.

Engineered by Ozzy Osbourne's brother Tony, tracks were recorded at an 8 track bedroom / home studio, while a terraced house served as rehearsal space. Here Ron Next Door was born. When a tape recorder was left running it captured the long-suffering neighbour for posterity. His outburst gave the band and song, its name.

Experimenting with drum machines, the resultant jam track, here in its "Alternative Mix", languished unheard until now. Ron's 'Black Country' tones lead to driving bass / percussion against crashing Stratocasters and repeating, refrained vox - a post punk dub turned symphony.

The B side, Sitting On Top of the World, is an indie anthem, becoming their theme, a blend of grandiose and banal that characterised their songs.

Review: The Charlatans self-titled fourth album gets a lovely yellow make over for this reissue on Beggars Arkive. It's the first time for over 20 years new copies of this landmark album have been pressed, and Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road has taken care of the excellent mastering. The original release date was in 1995, and the album was the most ambitious of the band's career with plenty of number ones included along the way. The most successful of these of course was 'Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over'. It's a real piece of classic 90s indie that will always sound good.

Review: RECOMMENDED
There's always been an air of mystery about The The. Look through the band's history, which stretches wayyyyy back to the late-1970s, and the list of collaborators alone is enough to convince you they've been making moves in the right places for many, many years, striving to innovate and carve out their own space in the unarguably busy post punk landscape.

Everything Matt Johnson touches seems to turn to gold. Albeit a particularly scuzzy gold that exists solely in the darkest rooms of the least kept venues. Even on this accolade - a group getting a spot at The Royal Albert Hall is no mean feat - there's a sense of yellow-hued street lights and rain falling on concrete. But this is combined with a poetic element that's up there with the finest literary Romantics, and a commentary that will tell you all there is to tell.

Review: We're not sure what our answer to the question is exactly, but Honne seem intent on going out with a smile and a feeling of self-satisfaction, albeit not necessarily a bang. Hopeless romantics in the truest sense, Let's Just Say The World Ended A Week From Now What Would You Do? sees Honne wearing their upbeat, glass-half-full hearts on sleeves.

Of course that means it might not be for everyone, but naysayers will never be offended. As for those onside, this is quality saxophone-laden, lo-fi pop that has one foot in funk, another in R&B, and eyes firmly set on the broadest audience out there. If that sounds like something you've got a problem with, move on, but we guarantee you'll be missing out on something pretty special.

Review: Rhino have embarked on a grand reissue mission and plan to put out all of the Echo & The Bunnymen's first four albums. Here we have a remastered version of Ocean Rain on 180-gram black vinyl. It was the fourth of the band's albums and was related back in 1984. It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart thanks to singles like 'Silver', 'Seven Seas' and personal favourite 'The Killing Moon.' The album got the band back to the top of their game after the rather less than warm reception to previous album Porcupine the year before thanks to its new found romantic sweetness and the band's bittersweet melodies.

Review: It's been three whole years since we last encountered a new album from the man like Richard Ashcroft. The guy who once told us how the drugs no longer worked, only to then explain how lucky he was. In many ways, Acoustic Hymns Vol.1 is an extension of all that, a record that has come along at a time when he's clearly ready to reflect on the heady days of the Britpop and UK indie explosion detonated in the 1990s.

Whether you'd call this album a covers collection or original, new work is definitely down to opinion. Ashcroft has opted to turn his hand back to tracks released with his seminal band The Verve, and a few of his own solo bits, only reimagined and reappropriated. The latter word is the most accurate, though. Here genuinely new life is breathed back into the likes of 'Bittersweet Symphony', which, considering the scale of that particular hit, is no mean feat.

Review: It's Parquet Courts, but not as you necessarily know them. Seven albums in and the Brooklyn hipster punks prove they are more vital and adventurous than ever, delivering an 11-strong collection of songs that straddle genres and explore ideas effortlessly. A triumphant return to the release schedule to say the least.

Just take 'Marathon of Anger', for example. If you didn't look at what was playing everyone should and would forgive you for thinking this is some forgotten Talking Heads effort that deserved to be remembered. The fact it's smack bang in between the gritty, post-punk-edged 'Black Widow Spider', and the jaunty, artsy rock 'n' roll of 'Just Shadows', is precisely what we're talking about. Highly original and utterly unforgettable, Sympathy for Life is the kind of record that keeps giving, on every play, and feels built to stand the test of time.

Review: The Invisible Girls is the name of legendary new wave production duo Martin Hannett (famous for his work as producer for Joy Division, New Order and Buzzcocks) and Steve Hopkins's band, and also this new collection of rare and unreleased recordings made throughout their career. Many of them have reportedly never been heard before. In fact the first five tracks on the album are a selection of previously unreleased 'Moods' recorded at the famous Strawberry Studios between 1980 and 1987. Elsewhere there are rare solo tracks by Hannett plus fine collabs with Section 25, Pauline Murray, Nico and Crispy Ambulance.

Review: RECOMMENDED
In a word - epic. Nick Cave has never been one to shy away from presenting his work in commanding, theatrical, operatic ways, and this compilation of half-known cuts, covers, and barely heard tracks is probably the best example you're going to find of that, on record. Losing count at around 30 songs is just one case in point.

The collection is expansive to the point of becoming overwhelming, but more remarkably still, everything on here deserves to be loved. And we really do mean everything. Running through the highlights would be reductive, but stylistically this isn't an easy one to summarise either. As such let's leave it with this. From the raw, pared back percussion of 'Black Betty' to the heartfelt homage to The Pogues on 'Rainy Night In Soho', you can rest assured whatever your poison, it's on here.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Let's face it, White Blood Cells is the moment when The White Stripes really broke the mould. It's a continuation of Jack and Meg's garage rock aesthetic as fine-tuned over two previous albums, and wholeheartedly a straight up rock 'n' roll album. But the elements are so perfectly primed it's impossible not to rank this as one of the greatest long form outings of this century, so far. And we're not alone - Rolling Stone even reckons it's among the best LPs of all time. Pity the fool who disagrees.

From the racing 'Fell in Love With A Girl', to the beguiling mystery of 'The Union Forever', 'I Think I Smell A Rat''s meld of mariachi riffs and mosh stomp and the emotional piano closer 'This Protector', to the innocent acoustic joy of 'We're Going To Be Friends', this is a masterclass of songwriting and arrangement, tracks that evolve, perplex, surprise, and - most importantly - entertain.

Review: By now, there can be few people who don't own a copy of Primal Scream's iconic 1991 album Screamadelica, quite possibly the most loved-up indie-dance album of all time. Few though will have heard the various early recordings, demos and work-in-progress takes showcased on Demodelica, the final part of the band's celebration of Screamadelica's 30th birthday. It's a genuinely revealing affair, with many of the versions of familiar favourites such as 'Come Together', 'Higher Than The Sun' and 'Shine Like Stars' sounding vastly different to the now familiar finished versions. Even more excitingly, the inclusion of multiple mixes means that we can now hear how these much-loved songs evolved over the course of the recording process. In other words, it's a must for Primal Scream fans.