Heavenly 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: At different times in his life, Baxter Dury has railed against, and embraced, the long shadow cast by his iconic father, Ian. 2021's Chaise Longue book, in which he recounted his - as he puts it - "unfortunately fortunate" childhood - indicated a level of acceptance that had previously eluded him. I Thought I Was Better Than You is, in Dury's words, a musical extension of that. Produced by Paul White and featuring a variety of guests, its blends of laid-back funk, subtle nods to dub, post-punk sensibilities, Chaz Janckel-esque audio imagination and spoken word vocals that - yes - recall his dad at his best, it's a confident, entertaining and lyrically revealing outing of the sort that his old man used to knock out in his sleep.

Review: Although it didn't make huge waves commercially on its initial release in the early 90s, East Village's sole album, Drop Out, has long been considered a cult classic by observers of British indie music in the pre-Britpop era. Listening back three decades on, it's easy to see why. The band's sound was simultaneously nostalgic and contemporary, combining wide-eyed late 60s psychedelic pop flavours, minor chord-heavy 80s alternative jangliness and nods to soul-inspired Mod stompers with the distinctively loose, funky and loved-up MDMA-pop so beloved of indie bands at the turn of the 90s. This anniversary reissue does a great job in celebrating both band and album, with the original ten-track set coming with a bonus disc of singles and alternative versions. Throw in on-point sleeve notes by Jon Savage and you have an irresistible package.

Review: Mildlife's reputation has soared since the release of their last studio album, 2020's Automatic, with the Melbourne trio's every musical move now being watched with bated breath by a global fanbase. Chorus is built on a concept of sorts - "a coming together of disparate elements" and "cosmic compatibility and chemistry" according to the band - but as ever it's the quality of the music on offer that really hits home hard. Warm and optimistic, with nods to West Coast jazz-rock as well as space rock, kosmiche, blue-eyed soul and jazz-funk, it sounds more nuanced, sonically detailed and wide-eyed than their previous work. Highlights include, but are in no way limited to, the yacht rock-leaning 'Yourself', the cosmic disco-influenced wonder of 'Musica', and epic recent single 'Return to Centraus'.

Review: The latest in Heavenly's colossal milking of the late Andrew Weatherall's extensive remix career comes in the form of a CD bundle of the first two collectible vinyl compilations, the Weatherall Remixes Volumes 1 and 2. The man occasionally known as Lord Sabre provided plenty of reworks for the London-based imprint over a 30-year period, and you'll find most of his greatest here, including the legendary two-part dub of St Etienne's 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart', his peerless, 15-minute peak-time 1992 take on Flowered Up's 'Weekender', a delightfully dubbed-out, Asphodells-style rework of Gwenno from 2015, and a stunningly spaced-out dancefloor dub of Mark Lanegan's Band.

Review: Having devoted volumes three and four of the ongoing 'Heavenly Remixes' series to reworks by the late, great Andrew Weatherall, this double-disc follow-up offers a more eclectic selection of reworks drawn four almost four decades of Heavenly Recordings releases. As with its predecessors, it's a fantastic collection packed to the rafters with highlights, from the shuffling synth pop-goes-dubby nu-disco flex of Ewan Pearson's dub of Out Cold's 'All I Want' and the squelchy, acid-fired indie-dance excitement of Confidence Man's rework of The Parrots' 'Let's Go To Bed', to the psychedelic big beat brilliance of the Chemical Brothers 1996 take on St Etienne's 'Like a Motorway', the 80s new wave-goes-industrial funk excellence of Trevor Jackson remixing Raf Rundell, and the creepy late night techno hypnotism of Daniel Avery's inspired revision of David Holmes.