There has always been a broad picture in general of the scope of music that has come out of the Bristol and Bath areas at the west/south west end of the M4 and M5. The boys (and girls) from the region have always made a right old variety of noise! It hasn’t always been accompanied by mainstream acceptance with the resulting sales. It may surprise observers that some of that heady creativity included the more commercial end of straight up pop music and the ‘take’ that could be put on it, with the hope that acclaim and more could follow. The ‘take’ could also take the genre into new dimensions. Did it lead anywhere, or have any merit? Were they, the acts, any good? Did they get any exposure and recognition? If not, why not?

Nessa Barrett’s sophomore album, AFTERCARE, explores all of the complex emotions surrounding love,sex and the aftermath. AFTERCARE DELUXEi ncludes 6new songs on the album including “LOVE LOOKS PRETTY ON YOU” and “AMERICAN BEAUTY”. The album showcases the wide range of emotions that one experiences through physical and romantic relationships.

This fills in another of the gaps on our strand of R&B and country collections associated with Acrobat's highly popular 'America's Greatest Hits' series, this one focusing on the top R&B records in the US Billboard charts during 1955.

choke enough, the full-length studio debut from French artist Oklou, is a patient, masterful execution of ephemeral soft club electronic and texturally alluring indie pop. Features Bladee, underscores, with production from Danny L Harle, A. G. Cook, Nick Le?n, and more. Her critically acclaimed mixtape, Galore, led her on tours with Caroline Polachek, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Sampha, before being coined "a taste of the future of pop music" by NME.

Omar Dykes, of Omar & the Howlers, pays tribute to blues icon Howlin' Wolf on Runnin' with the Wolf. All of the tracks on this disc were written by either Wolf or Willie Dixon except for the Omar original "Runnin' with the Wolf." Dykes stays close to the original versions of these songs, which most listeners have heard in some form or other: "The Red Rooster," "Back Door Man," "Smokestack Lightning," "Wang Dang Doodle," and "Killin' Floor." That doesn't mean these are straight covers. The passion in the performances is undeniable, but so is the fun these musicians are obviously having. Dykes has the perfect voice for this project and is complemented by Derek O'Brien on guitar, Ronnie James on bass, Ted Roddy on harp, and Wes Starr on drums along with Mark Kazanoff and Les Izmore on saxophones, Nick Connolly on organ, and Mike Buck on percussion.

Squid’s new album Cowards is about evil. Nine stories whose protagonists reckon with cults, charisma and apathy. Real and imagined characters wading into the dark ocean between right and wrong. Cowards is Squid’s most courageous album: simultaneously growing in scope and returning to basics. The band recorded Cowards at Church Studios in Crouch End with Mercury prize winning producers Marta Salogni and Grace Banks. On additional production is longtime shifu and collaborator Dan Carey, who recorded the band’s first two albums. The record was mixed in Seattle by John McEntire, before being compressed by the rich analogue chain of Heba Kadry’s mastering in Brooklyn, New York. Squid have come a long way since forming in 2016 as an instrumental jazz band for a monthly night in Brighton. Their debut album Bright Green Field (2021) arrived as the world was starting to open up after the pandemic and they broke into the top 5 in the UK chart. In 2023 they released their sophomore album, the brooding O Monolith, which took the band all over the world and broke new ground that hardly seemed possible years prior.

Renowned guitarist-composer Tomer Cohen, at 27, is set to captivate audiences with his second album, "Story of a Traveler". Collaborating with a stellar ensemble featuring Shai Maestro on piano, Cyrille Obermüller on bass, and Gert-Jan Dreessen on drums, Cohen embarks on a musical journey exploring emotions, memories, and cultural influences."Story of a Traveler" promises a rich and varied musical journey. Each composition, from the wistful "Moving Pictures" to the energetic "Falafel" and the breathtaking "A View", unveils a unique chapter in Cohen's evolving narrative. Tributes like "Orev (Craw)" express deep emotions, while the title track "Story of a Traveler" symbolizes Cohen's personal and musical journey, using a short melody as a metaphor for constant evolution.

Two traditions coalesce in Casanova e l’Albertolli (1937), the third of the four operas by the Swiss late-Romantic composer Richard Flury (1896–1967): Italian bel canto and the Swiss Festspiel – high art and popular culture. Styled a ‘Commedia lirica’, it invests the comic intrigue onstage with sweeping melodies of Puccinian richness, combining them with choruses based on Ticino folksong – it even has a yodelling chorus – in an engaging hybrid that deserves to be far better known. At the end, of course, evil is banished and love rewarded, but the entire score is dappled with happy inspirations that will bring a smile to the listener’s lips.

With nearly 25 albums under his belt, prolific Texas native and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Joe Ely returns with a timely collection of songs — both originals and others written by musical heroes, including Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Woody Guthrie. “I’m really appreciative of everyone’s help in putting this album together,” shares Ely. “To me, “Love and Freedom” is a reminder of the times we’re living in right now, and I hope it resonates with whoever takes the time to listen.” Co-produced with frequent collaborator Lloyd Maines (Miranda Lambert, Kris Kristofferson), “Love and Freedom” unveils songs from Ely’s recording vault, spanning several decades of sessions at Spur Studios, his home studio outside Austin. Ely recorded these tracks during time off the road, resulting in poignant renditions of classics like the Ryan Bingham-featured take on Guthrie’s protest anthem “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)” and the heartfelt Clark cut “Magdalene”.

Much has been made of Vashti Bunyan's 1969 unheard-at-the-time Just Another Diamond Day. Produced by Joe Boyd, it featured the singer and songwriter backed by a small string quartet. Discouraged by the sleazy ethics of the music biz, she retired and concentrated on raising a family, gardening, and other productive matters. The set was re-released on CD in 2000, and has been rightfully heralded as a classic by virtually everyone who has heard it. Sought out, she re-entered the arena, worked and collaborated with Devendra Banhart and Simon Raymonde, and was the featured vocalist on Animal Collective's fine Prospect Hummer EP. Thirty-six years later, Lookaftering, Bunyan's second album, was released by Fat Cat. Produced by post-classical composer and atmosphere impresario Max Richter – who co-arranged the set with Bunyan – it features many of her collaborators, including Banhart, Joanna Newsome, Adem, Adam Price, Robert Kirby (who arranged the strings on her first record as well as Nick Drake's albums), Otto Hauser, and Kevin Barker (Espers/Currituck County). This is not just some neo-acid folk gathering of the stars, however.

Following his acclaimed 2024 collaboration with the Messthetics on the unrestrained The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis, James Brandon Lewis's groove-heavy new studio album, Apple Cores, takes its name from a 1960s column by Amiri Baraka in DownBeat magazine. In one 1964 installment, for example, Baraka critiqued jazz club owners for their conservative booking policies. "They don't know anything," he wrote, describing them as "hip bartenders" who responded mostly to "the sound of the falling coin." He argued that "a new audience [was] just waiting for somewhere to go" and championed bold young innovators like Don Cherry, Albert Ayler and "a very strong beautiful tenor player from Little Rock, Pharoah Sanders."

Andy spent many years in Eric Clapton's band and this album demonstrates why he is guitarist of choice for the elite blues artists of our time. Andy's 'hit record' career has overshadowed his undeniable credentials as a great bluesman - a talent that hasn't escaped the notice of some of the world's finest artists who have drawn on his skills as a guitarist and singer. Eric Clapton of course heads the impressive list of former employers and collaborators from the blues world including, Jimi Hendrix (no kidding), Jeff Beck, BB King, Jimmy Page, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Van Morrison and many more. These guys know. Aside from his own work, the impressive list of discerning employers and collaborators he has played with includes, Bob Dylan, Roger Waters, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, David Crosby, The Band, Richard and Linda Thompson, David Gilmour, The Who, BB King, Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Donald 'Duck' Dunn, Jimmy Page, Ronnie Lane, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, The Impressions, Lonnie Donegan, Ringo Starr, Steve Gadd, David Sanborn, Benmont Tench, Warren Zevon, Stevie Nicks, Charlie Watts, Mary J. Blige, Dave Edmunds, Georgie Fame, Bonnie Raitt, Otis Rush, Phil Collins, Van Morrison, Gerry Rafferty, Chris Rea, Buddy Guy, Chris Barber, Jackson Browne, Bill Wyman, Sheryl Crow, Helen Watson, Charlie Dore, Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown, Pete Townshend, Kate Bush, Paul Weller, Mick Hucknall, Paul Young, and hundreds more.

Guitar-slinging, soul-singing blues and rock legend Tommy Castro gets back to his crowd-pleasing blues roots on Closer To The Bone. Tommy’s one of the most popular roots music artists in the world due to his infectious albums and one of the busiest live performance schedules in all of music. His 2021 studio release, Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, has scanned nearly 15,000 units.

Canadian violinist Robert Uchida presents I Can Finally Feel the Sun, his ATMA Classique debut recording. The program includes solo pieces from the standard violin repertoire alongside works that have grown from these roots. Pianist Philip Chiu joins Uchida for two works.Pieces for solo violin include a Bach Partita; a Papineau-Couture Suite, a Telemann Fantasy; a Sonata by Ysaÿe; Murray Adaskin’s Sonatine Baroque; and Carmen Braden’s I Can Finally Feel the Sun; and two works in which pianist Philip Chiu joins Robert Uchida: Igor Stravinsky’s Suite italienne from Pulcinella and Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano.

Live In Japan 1974 is the first live album to be released in over 50 years by freewheeling-funk/rock/soul/latin fusion musical outfit WAR that features all seven original band members. This thoughtfully curated 2LP and 2CD release is made up of a compilation of live performances by the band, as they traveled throughout Japan after spending the better half of 1974 touring the US and Europe. This collection of recordings includes classic WAR tracks like “The Cisco Kid”, “The World Is A Ghetto” and “All Day Music”, taken from live shows across Shizuoka, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe.