Back catalogue: Rock (All)

Review: Manchester mavericks A Certain Ratio have been on a rare run of form of late, with 2023's 1982 counting as one of their most vibrant and endlessly entertaining albums for decades. Of course, all their albums are of a consistent quality, but It All Comes Down To This genuinely crackles with energy. From the word go, the veteran band's inherent funkiness is present, but this time it comes cloaked in fuzzy funk-rock guitar riffs, acid-fried effects, and vocals that are amongst the most forthright they've committed to wax (or, in this case, CD). In many ways, it is - as the band and producer/Sopeedy Wunderground boss Dan Carey intended - a 'back to basics' sound that focuses on the key aspects of ACR's sound. When those 'basics' are so strong, it's no surprise that the results are this impressive.

Review: Six years is ages for a band to go without releasing an album or doing very much. But for AC/DC, whose work rate has always been ridiculously high, it's a very, very long time. Between then and now, the band lost their lead singer, Brian Johnson, to hearing difficulties in the middle of their last tour, and saw drummer Paul Rudd arrested in New Zealand for 'attempting to procure a murder'. Talk about impetus to finally call time.

But then these are the guys responsible for one of history's greatest heavy rock triumphs, 1980s's Back In Black, released just months after formative frontman Bon Scott tragically passed. So it's no surprise Power Up, another post-traumatic release albeit an act of reunification with now (relatively) healthy Johnson and innocent Rudd returning, is among their best in the 40 years since. A comeback record that sounds exactly like AC/DC should - ballsy, bluesy, boozy riffs.

Review: Grief can be intensely painful, overwhelming and hard to process, but also provide inspiration for those who make creative expression their life. For Pakistani-born, Brooklyn-based artist Arooj Afhab, the death of her beloved brother provided the inspiration for what some reviewers have called her greatest work yet: beautiful, poignant and soul-aching 2021 set Vulture Prince, which here returns to stores via a deluxe edition that boasts an extra track (the stunning 'Udhero Na'). Deeply emotional, the set pushes her weighty, emotionally inspiring vocals to the fore, with Afthab swapping experimental electronics and leftfield beats for a mixture of acoustic guitars, heavenly string arrangements (harp, violin, uptight bass) and traditional Pakistani instruments. The results are rarely less than stunning.

Review: When Air's Moon Safari first landed on terra firma in 1997, it was a revelation that flipped the French touch boom on its head. Swapping discoid thrust for sensual lounge, Nicolas Jean Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel kept a certain sophisticated nostalgia in their sound which tracked with their compatriots, but they absolutely weaved their own spell with it. The hits caught on for good reason, from the dirty grind of 'Sexy Boy' to the swooning romanticism of 'All I Need' featuring Beth Hirsch on vocals, but the moments in between merely added to the spectacle, lodging Air in the hearts and minds of a whole generation. This special anniversary edition adds a second disc of B-sides, remixes and session tracks, plus a Blu-ray disc featuring the iconic videos and a documentary from the Moon Safari era.

Review: A live Greatest Hits from Alphaville's 40-year band history: Live from the Berlin Philharmonic Hall with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Packed in a DVD sized digipak, contains a DVD-9 and 2 CD's.

Universal code: 0 (universal)

Review: Emerging from Germany's psychedelic and progressive rock underground in the late 1960s, Amon Duul was a freewheeling collective named in honour of the "art commune" in Berlin in which they not only came together, but also recorded their turn-of-the-seventies albums - most notably the 1972 double album Disaster Luud Noma. Here reissued in fully remastered form, the album is highly significant - and not just because it is now counted as one of the earliest expressions of what would become known as krautrock. Built on dense, layered percussion and rhythms beaten out by multiple drummers, its' hard-to-pigeonhole sound drew on fuzzy psychedelic rock, twisted jazz-rock and the collective's own radical experimentation. It remains an utterly insane record, but a brilliant one at that.

Review: We're not quite sure how to "navigate" an ashtray in and of itself, but this new album by Ashtray Navigations might hint at true executions of the art. A long-running experimental rock project led by Leeds' Phil Todd, Ashtray Navigations have been active since 1991, releasing dozens of albums and EPs on various labels and formats, often in limited editions. Their music is eclectic and unpredictable, spanning psychedelic rock, drone, noise, ambient, folk, and electronica. One From Then Another compactly sums up Todd's diverse and adventurous approach to sound creation in double-sided single form, with 'Drink The Moment/Thin Fox Legs' coming as a dubious space jam for flute, bass and bloop, and 'Return Of The Sun Of DR Artur' bringing up a beatless, Afrofuturist rear.

Review: The latest offering from serial collaborator and cross-genre tastemaker Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint is a tender filigree bureau of acid folk sketches from Tokyo's Ai Aiso. Across seven tracks, she patiently meanders through broken and phased chord progressions, her simultaneously pure and wavering vocal lines forming elegant arcs over sparse beds of instrumentation and washes of room tone. Some tracks are bookended by applause, and it is this ostensibly 'indoorsy' atmosphere which lends the mini LP a great deal of charm; the delicate atmospherics seem to issue from an intimate and isolated space. Indeed, Bandcamp user Everyvillianislemons317 describes it as "The perfect album for a lonely night in the city." We're more than inclined to agree.

Review: The Cuckoo Storm might never have been, were it not for a social media post Adrian Crowley wrote on a wintry late-night walk in a quiet neighbourhood of Dublin during lockdown. Struck by Waterson's previous album Death Had Quicker Wings Than Love (co-written with David A Jaycock), Crowley wanted to mark the moment, and so pressed 'send' into the ether with no way of knowing what would follow. Drawn to his voice and seeing a kindred spirit in his poetic lyrics, Waterson was touched by his message and responded by asking if he would be interested in working together. His answer was a resounding 'yes.' Cuckoo Storm followed; a deeply compelling album and serendipitous collaboration comprising eleven beautifully crafted songs, sung by two matching voices that are a powerful match. Waterson's brilliantly distinctive voice is underpinned by Crowley's rich baritone, and together it's an intoxicating mix.