Channeling the lessons of the experimental Porcupine into more conventional and simple structural parameters, Ocean Rain emerges as Echo & the Bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable effort. Ornamenting Ian McCulloch's most consistently strong collection of songs to date with subdued guitar textures, sweeping string arrangements, and hauntingly evocative production, the album is dramatic and majestic; "The Killing Moon," Ocean Rain's emotional centerpiece, remains the group's unrivalled pinnacle. The 2003 reissue of Ocean Rain features improved sound, new liner notes, loads of photos, and a wealth of bonus tracks. The bulk of the bonus tracks is made up of the Life at Brian's sessions, which found the band playing some of their "hits" like "The Killing Moon," "Stars Are Stars," "Silver," and "Villiers Terrace," as well as a faithful cover of the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" in a relaxed, acoustic but still very dramatic setting.

Possibly one of the most appropriately named debut albums in the power pop world, Starbelly's Lemon Fresh is an excellently sweet-and-sour confection of Big Star-influenced guitar pop. Led by guitarist/vocalist Cliff Hillis (also of John Faye Power Trip fame) and bassist/vocalist Dennis Schocket, this collection of 11 tracks written by three songwriters sounds not entirely unlike the legendary Grays release Ro Sham Bo. It's packed with memorable hooks, melodies, and melt-away background vocals. Nearly impeccable production (courtesy of Myracle Brah's Andy Bopp) and a flawless set of songs help make this set truly stand out from other power pop releases, and it is another high-water mark for NotLame. Highlights include the smooth pop of the opening "This Time," the summer single "She's So Real" (a song that should only be listened to on sunny 90 degree days), and the up-tempo, start-stop "When Will You See."

R.E.M. began to move toward mainstream record production on Lifes Rich Pageant, but they didn't have a commercial breakthrough until the following year's Document. Ironically, Document is a stranger, more varied album than its predecessor, but co-producer Scott Litt – who would go on to produce every R.E.M. album in the following decade – is a better conduit for the band than Don Gehman, giving the group a clean sound without sacrificing their enigmatic tendencies. "Finest Worksong," the stream-of-conscious rant "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," and the surprise Top Ten single "The One I Love" all crackle with muscular rhythms and guitar riffs, but the real surprise is how political the mid-tempo jangle pop of "Welcome to the Occupation," "Disturbance at the Heron House," and "King of Birds" is. Where Lifes Rich Pageant sounded a bit like a party record, Document is a fiery statement, and its memorable melodies and riffs are made all the more indelible by its righteous anger.

The Smashing Pumpkins’ thirteenth collection to date, Aghori Mhori Mei continues the prolific hot streak frontman Billy Corgan kicked off a decade ago. Just last year, the band released the third and final Act of their sprawling and adventurous rock opera ATUM, a sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/The Machines Of God. While some artists might take a breather after an acclaimed and ambitious triple album, Corgan went straight back into the studio to write, produce, and record this new 10-track body of work. As vital and vibrant a songwriter as ever, Corgan had quickly promised a 2024 follow-up on the horizon, which serves as the latest twist in Corgan’s careful commitment to how his art is presented. The band completed the recording of Aghori Mhori Mei amidst an expansive touring schedule across the last few years.

Green Day imploded after the December 2012 release of Tre, the final part of a triple-album project. The very unwieldiness of Uno, Dos, and Tre - all released in rapid succession in the autumn of 2012 - suggested that Green Day were perhaps suffering from a lack of focus, but the group wound up taking a forced hiatus once leader Billie Joe Armstrong entered rehab in the middle of the triple-album rollout. Given all this chaos, it's hard not to view 2016's Revolution Radio as a consolidation, a way for the band to shake off all distractions and get back to basics. Discarded alongside the mess and garage rock affectations that marked Uno, Dos, and Tre is any sense of concept at all - a marked departure from their work of the past 15 years. Green Day may no longer be writing rock operas, but despite a title that seems swiped from the Clash, Revolution Radio retains a sense of righteous indignation reminiscent of prime Who that the trio channeled on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown…

As part of The Stranglers' celebration of their Ruby Anniversary, the definitive collection of the B-side recordings they made whilst signed to Epic is released for the first time, via their own label. Appropriately, as befits a band marking forty years together, Here & There: The Epic B-sides Collection 1983-1991 gathers 40 tracks across 2 CDs and is also released as a 40 track digital package. The Stranglers released no less than 13 singles in the UK during this period, which saw them produce five albums: four studio and one live. The Stranglers signed to Epic Records in 1982 having been with United Artists / Liberty since 1977. The change of label coincided with changes in marketing policy across the UK industry - often dubbed "the Frankie Goes to Hollywood effect". Previously, The Stranglers' had released only one 12" single - an extended version of Bear Cage in 1980 - but from 2nd Epic single, Midnight Summer Dream until 1990, each release had a 12" version which required extra studio or, increasingly, live tracks to "add value" to the package.

Remember is an extraordinarily ambitious and dizzying live double album by the acclaimed American indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces. Released in 2008 by Thrill Jockey, this sprawling 51-track collection spans over two hours and offers a revolutionary rethink of what a live record can be. Spliced together from three years of concert recordings across four distinct touring lineups, the Friedberger siblings transform their extensive catalog into a seamless, hyperactive collage of avant-garde arrangements, abrupt stylistic pivots, and intricate medleys. Jumping wildly between raw garage punk, Latin funk, baroque pop, and progressive rock keyboard excursions, the album reimagines fan-favorite tracks from Blueberry Boat, Bitter Tea, EP, and Widow City. Eleanor Friedberger's adaptable vocal presence serves as the central anchor amid the band's dazzling instrumental dexterity, muscular rhythm section, and relentless experimental drive. Rather than presenting a conventional concert document, Remember functions as an immersive, highly creative mosaic that highlights one of the most unpredictable and inventive acts in modern indie rock.

Marking 40 years of The Jesus And Mary Chain, Glasgow Eyes was recorded at Mogwai’s Castle of Doom studio in Glasgow, where Jim and William continued the creative process that resulted in their previous album, 2017’s Damage and Joy, becoming their highest charting album in over twenty years. What emerged is a record that finds one of the UK’s most influential groups embracing a productive second chapter, their maelstrom of melody, feedback and controlled chaos now informed more audibly by their love for Suicide and Kraftwerk and a fresh appreciation of the less disciplined attitudes found in jazz.

R.E.M.’s eleventh studio album, Up, is being reissued for its 25th anniversary. The 1998 album features the singles ‘Daysleeper’, ‘Lotus’, ‘Suspicion’ and ‘At My Most Beautiful’ and was the band’s first album without drummer Bill Berry. The deluxe edition comes in 2CD and 2CD+blu-ray variants both with a previously unreleased, 11-song live set from the band’s ’99 taping for the TV series ‘Party of Five’. The blu-ray with the 3-disc edition is disappointing – it isn’t much different from the DVD-A issued 18 years ago. It includes the same 5.1 mix, a hi-res stereo mix and a few videos. There’s no new Atmos Mix, for example.

Released in 1991 by Rhino Records and Warner Special Products, Never Mind the Mainstream: The Best of MTV's 120 Minutes Vol. 1 & 2 captures the definitive snapshot of college rock, post-punk, and underground alternative music just before grunge reshaped the mainstream landscape. Serving as an essential companion to MTV's iconic late-night alternative show hosted by Dave Kendall, this 32-track double-volume compilation brings together influential classics from R.E.M., Joy Division, Depeche Mode, New Order, The Stone Roses, The Cure, Sonic Youth, The Violent Femmes, and Ministry. Compiled by Kurt Steffek and remastered by Bob Fisher, it stands as an unbeatable time capsule of smart, left-of-center '80s and early '90s music.

Released in 2001 on frontman Greg Sage's own Zeno Records, the Wipers Box Set is the definitive 3-CD collection gathering the legendary Portland trio's groundbreaking first three studio albums: Is This Real? (1980), Youth Of America (1981), and Over The Edge (1983). Remastered directly from the original analog master tapes by Sage, this anthology features 23 bonus tracks, including rare single versions, alternate mixes, raw rehearsal takes, and six previously unreleased songs. Defined by Sage's fiery, chorus-drenched guitar work, haunting melodies, and relentless rhythm section, these foundational recordings heavily influenced the '90s Pacific Northwest grunge explosion and remain absolute cornerstones of American post-punk.

Released in 2011 by Universal Music, this massive 11-CD box set serves as the definitive anthology of Sort Sol (originally formed as Sods in 1977), Denmark's most influential post-punk and alternative rock group. The set gathers remastered editions of all eight of the band's studio albums—tracing their legendary evolution from raw, energetic punk pioneers on Minutes To Go (1979) and Under En Sort Sol (1980) to atmospheric post-punk icons on Dagger & Guitar (1983) and mainstream rock powerhouses on Glamourpuss (1993) and Unspoiled Monsters (1996). Completed by three dedicated "Stamina" bonus discs filled with unreleased outtakes, early demos, soundtrack sessions, and live cuts, this collection stands as a monumental chronicle of Scandinavian rock history.

Mark E. Smith’s uncompromising vision reaches its final chapter with Post Script, the definitive last studio album from one of Britain’s most influential cult bands, The Fall. Featuring 9 previously unreleased tracks from the band’s later era, Post Script finds The Fall at their rawest and most restless. These songs carry Smith’s caustic wit, hypnotic repetition and jagged post-punk energy with the same snarling authority that defined the band for decades. Moving from fractured garage-rock grooves and bass-led mantras to eerie spoken-word turns and towering, ramshackle anthems, Post Script feels like both a fitting coda and an essential addition to The Fall’s singular catalogue. For longtime fans and new listeners alike, it’s a final statement from a band that never compromised.