XL 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: By now, you should all know the story of Atoms for Peace, the new all-star leftfield rock outfit founded by Thom Yorke and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. Amok is the five-piece's full-length debut, following a couple of well-received singles on XL and 50 Weapons. While there are obvious similarities with the path Radiohead have taken over recent years - curious beats influenced by dubstep and IDM, haunting soundscapes and intoxicating compositions - there's far greater warmth and vibrancy to the songs than some of Yorke's other projects. Ultimately, it sounds like what it is: a bunch of experimental-minded mates getting together to make music. It comes highly recommended.

Review: Since turning his hand to music production midway through the last decade, XL Recordings owner Richard Russell has delivered a couple of predictably hard to pigeonhole, guest-packed albums as Everything is Recorded. Russell, of course, has an admirably bulging contacts book and as deep a knowledge of British music - be it hip-hop, grime, rave, jazz, experimental electronica or otherwise - as anyone. The depth of both is naturally evident on third album Temporary, with Russell and a dizzying list of guests delivering atmospheric, sample-rich fusions of head-nodding, hip-hop leaning grooves, field recordings-heavy sample collages, woozy dream pop, sub-heavy nods to UK bass, slow-motion neo-folk, blunted trip-hop, contemporary UK jazz, hazy Americana and much more besides. That it works as a coherent and sonically adventurous album is testament to Russell's increasing skill as a producer and standalone musical artist.

Review: Fontaines D.C's Romance is their most ambitious and inventive album yet. The band's fourth studio effort marks their debut collaboration with producer James Ford and follows the success of 2022's Skinty Fia, which topped the UK and Irish charts. The lead single, 'Starburster,' showcases a dramatic shift in the band's sound. Inspired by frontman Grian Chatten's panic attack at St Pancras station, the track blends feral breaths, a propulsive beat, and shifting lyrical tones that transition from raw intensity to almost-psalmic introspection. Accompanied by a cinematic video from Aube Perrie, 'Starburster' highlights the album's cathartic and visceral edge. Romance reflects the band's evolution from their early punk roots to explore grungier breaks, dystopian electronica, and dreamy shoegaze textures. The album's title symbolises the band's journey from Irish-centric themes to broader existential explorations, influenced by diverse genres and experiences. With deeper, more spiritual undertones and a sonic palette that includes elements of hip-hop and heavy metal, Romance promises to challenge and expand the band's musical identity. Fontaines D.C. will support the album with a world tour, including appearances at major festivals like Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds.

Review: Following the runaway success of their Mercury Music Prize nominated 2014 debut album, Jungle moved to Los Angeles to record the follow-up. It didn't work out for a variety of musical and personal reasons, so they headed back to London and recorded "For Ever" instead. While some of the lyrics reflect on their musical and personal issues during that time, the resultant songs are as soulful, polished and jaunty as you'd expect. Check, for example, the sun-kissed disco-pop of "Heavy California", the sumptuous lo-fi soul shuffle of "Cherry", the head-nodding grooves and lyrical melancholy of "Happy Man" and the grandiose, bittersweet brilliance of "House In LA".

Review: "In Rainbows", Radiohead's seventh album, finally gets a physical release! It's one thing downloading this landmark album, but to actually hold this is something special. Not only do you get increased sound quality, but you also get the amazing artwork from Stanley Donwood. This album includes "Nude", a live favourite for many years that was originally written during the "OK Computer" sessions. More minimal that their "Kid A" period, "In Rainbows" does something that very few albums have done - its sound is distinct from previous Radiohead albums, but is still clearly Radiohead. Hail to the kings, they are back on top form.

Review: Twenty years ago it sounded like an oddly poignant evocation of pre-millennial tension. Two decades later it stands as an eerily prescient glimpe into the technological alienation and dislocation of of a new era. Yet more importantly, OK Computer is no more or less than a sparkling, dramatic and moving collection of songs that haven't lost any of their impact in the interim. The sound of a band stubbornly refusing to follow up the stadium-strafing stylings of its predecessor The Bends - and instead bursting headlong into experimentation and wild creativity -is portrayed in still more vivid colours by the alarmingly strong collection of out-takes and B-sides collected herein, Yet there's no getting away from the chill and spark that marked out OK Computer from everything surrounding it in the post-Britpop malaise, and continues to do so in the pre-Brexit counterpart.

Review:  The latest of Radiohead's reissues is an utter avalanche of material. 'Kid A Mnesia' itself is an 'album mashup' between their two albums Kid A and Amnesia; both projects are remastered and released side-by-side on the same LP. It doesn't stop there: for the fanatics, there's an exclusive third disc, Kid Amnesiae, which contains formerly unheard material both recording sessions, as well as Kid Amnesiette, a cassette of B-sides. This ultra-deluxe edition is, decidedly, one for the ultra-fans. Besides the radical electronic fever dreams making up both projects, this version contains the never-before-heard song 'If You Say The Word' on the bonus CD. Remastered on vinyl and cut at half the speed of the original LP, it's an audiophile's banquet. Also watch out for the exclusive booklet of drawings that come with the special edition of this special edition.

Review: There was naturally much excitement when A Moon Shaped Pool, Radiohead's surprise ninth studio set, popped up on streaming and download services back in May. Here it gets a CD release, offering those who prefer physical products a chance to bathe in its' woozy eccentricities. Seen by some as a return to their arty rock roots following an extended period spend exploring electronics, the album's 11 tracks draw on a variety of influences (krautrock, ambient, Pavement, James Blake, Stockhausen, intense melancholia etc.), with predictably impressive results. Occasionally elegant, string-laden and grandiose, always beautiful, and sometimes intensely moving, A Moon Shaped Pool is undeniably up there with the band's best work.

Review: Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner (Sons Of Kemet) finally deliver on their much-hyped The Smile project, blending the anxious and synaptic tones of Radiohead's anthemic indie-electro with the bluer party tones of UK jazz. The new album features a slew of tracks with swelling strings recorded by the full brass section of the London Contemporary Orchestra, as well as a band of jazz players like Theon and Nathaniel Cross and Robert Stillman.

Review: Cutouts continues the three strong supergroup's exploration of diverse sonic landscapes, the new ten-track project reaffirming The Smile's commitment to pushing musical boundaries. The trioicomprised of Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood alongside drummer Tom Skinnericrafted Cutouts in Oxford and Abbey Road Studios, with production by Sam Petts-Davies. Preceded by the singles 'Foreign Spies' and 'Zero Sum,' the album promises a blend of styles, from jazz and Krautrock to progressive rock, all while maintaining a raw, experimental edge distinct from their work with Radiohead. The Smile have already captivated audiences with these tracks during their recent UK and European tours and as with their previous releases, Cutouts merges complex musical influences into a cohesive and intriguing sonic experience.

Review: Given their Radiohead connections Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood make up two thirds of the band), there's always been an enormous amount of interest in The Smile - a lockdown-born project that has plenty of potential. Wall of Eyes, the trio's second album, is certainly impressive. For proof, check the moody, suspenseful and slowly unfurling title track (all pulsing, low-slung semi-acoustic grooves, eyes-closed vocals, dense electronic textures and soundtrack strings), the heady, subtly jazz-flecked wall of sound that is 'Friend of a Friend' (listen out for the music concrete-style sound collage sitting in the background of the White Album era Beatles-esque 'Friend of a Friend'), and the lo-fi, string-laden headiness of the largely beat-free 'Bending Heretic', whose cut-glass horror strings and Nine Inch Nails style guitars are impressively intense at times.