Various artists

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Reviewed by Levi Tubman

Album released 13th March 26

Manchester is famous for its musical heritage and the legendary bands that emerged from the city. Rochdale, however, is rarely mentioned in the same breath when people talk about great music scenes. Yet one road in the town, Kenion Street, played an important role in that history. It was home to two recording studios, Suite Sixteen and Cargo Studios, where some of the best works of bands such as OMD, Inspiral Carpets, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and Joy Division, there some Manchester big hitters there. To celebrate Rochdale’s status as one of Greater Manchester’s Cities of Culture, a group of local artists were invited to record reimagined versions of tracks connected to that Kenion Street legacy.

The album opens with a cover of Joy Division’s Atmosphere. The original is dark, intense and beautifully tense, with Ian Curtis’ voice dripping with anguish. This version leans heavily on the songs vocals, lifting them up, giving them space and reach with almost gospel backing vocals. In sections the backing drowns out the lead, laying bare its influences of the original, twisted on its head to bring happiness to a song that has never known it before. There are moments where vocal lines repeat a little too much for my taste, though that’s largely a personal preference. Within the electronic drum framework the song remains recognisable, but only just. It’s a genuine reworking rather than a straight cover.

Desyfer & Emma Konnanov -cover of the Happy Mondays Twenty Four Hour Party People starts off at a rave, you're right down the front jumping in time to the thumping drums. The original, with its slow groove never felt it lived up to its title, going for a laid back carefree party. This version fully embraces the party concept. It channels the 90s club scene, evoking a 24-hour night in Ibiza or more likely The Hacienda, where chilled sections give way to waves of synths, samples and driving drums. For me, this actually improves on the original

The Chameleons Up The Down Escalator is a classic Madchester indie number, given a rework by Leo HC. 

The original is a fun energetic indie classic, with such a distinctive vocal tone there’s no questioning which city this comes from. This time, we get a picked acoustic guitar intro with a little electric lead, it melts away into a beautiful stripped back melody. Gentle vocals come in layered, maybe a little overly in places, with backing vocals, its energy and drive is gone, in its place is a beautiful delicate peace. I wont say this is better than the original, or worse, its too much of a different animal to compare, there’s room in the world for both of these versions.

Having given us a stripped back cover, Medley  takes the New Order number Dreams Never End and gives it the full electronic makeover. The original is the classic upbeat happy melody with unmistakable downbeat aching vocals, another number that doesn’t hide where its from. Medleys version, follows the Manchester sound by producing a song that would fit perfectly in the Hacienda. Music and vocals, to a lesser extent, are happy and full of movement, I couldn’t keep still listening to it, you could hear it and not twig that it’s a cover, dating itself 30 years in the past it holds false nostalgia.

The Falls Totally Wired, is a simple song, limited instrumentation with a lot of the vocals more spoken then sung driven by a bassline that takes lead throughout.  I expected either another acoustic simple picked number or a full electronic makeover, but instead Jennifer Reid takes the vocal style and runs with it. While the bass has dropped away the drums embody the spirit of the original, ferocious with long tom fills, it still harks back to the originals simplicity just dialled up a few notches. The vocals are at times distorted, almost spat out at the listener, it feels part punk part angst driven spoken word poetry slam. The ferocity of the vocals still ties it back to the original but while one is an old familiar friend, this one might make you cross over the road if you saw it coming towards you.

I’ll admit that on paper I couldn’t see the appeal, local artists doing their oven versions of classic Manchester bands? Surely that’s been done by students in bars across the country? Instead these are creative interesting and most importantly different. They are not covers they are re workings, reimagined by people who know the originals but have their own sounds. Here you have some that, to this listener, are better than the originals, some that are just as good and others that don’t quite make it to the same level, which is to be expected, but made me look into them more. A lot of this album, like most music, is subjective but its different and fresh! 

I get the argument that ok this isn’t new music, I hear you there, but it is new music, it might not be new songs but the music is new. Many of these tracks would be barely recognisable without their lyrics. The result is a fresh and inventive album that celebrates a slice of musical history while still sounding creative and modern. It’s unlikely I’ll hear another record quite like this this year, but I’d be happy if I did. Wonderfully different.

Track Listing:

1. Micah Stalgic ft. Local Vocals - “Atmosphere" (Joy Division)
2. K-Estate - "Damaged Goods" (Gang of Four)
3. Desyfer & Emma Konnanov - "Twenty Four Hour Party People" (Happy Mondays)

4. P*STARR - "Keep The Circle Around" (Inspiral Carpets)

5. Leo HC - "Up The Down Escalator" (The Chameleons)
6. PoolEra - “Electricity" (OMD)

7. Medley - Dreams Never End (New Order)

8. Blvckout - "All Night Party" (A Certain Ratio)

9. The Velvet Shadow ft. Maisie Thompson - "All Tomorrow's Parties” (Nico)

10. Jennifer Reid - "Totally Wired" (The Fall)
11. From The Ground Up ft. Bloom Music Community - "Elephant Stone" (The Stone Roses)

Sonic PR

Reviewed by John McEvoy

Album released 6th March 26

There’s a particular kind of confidence that comes from making a “concept record” late in a career: you stop chasing novelty for its own sake and start building worlds that feel inevitable. 

The Sisterhood 2 finds Sarah Jane Morris—joined again by guitarist, co-writer and co-producer Tony Rémy—expanding the song-cycle she began in 2024 with The Sisterhood. Released on 6 March 2026, just ahead of International Women’s Day, this second volume offers 11 new originals written as portraits of trailblazing female singer-songwriters: not impersonations, not pastiche, but affectionate character studies shaped by musical fingerprints.

Morris’ voice is the album’s constant—big, grainy, and theatrically precise—while Rémy supplies the changing light. His guitar work slides between steel-string intimacy, jazz-leaning comping and blues bite, often acting like a second narrator. Around them, the arrangements move with relish: keys (including Rhodes and organ) bring warmth and sway, brass pops up to underline the groove, and strings arrive when the story needs lift rather than decoration.

The opening track sets the bar high with “Longing To Be Free (for Peggy Seeger)” and plays like a spirited biographical anthem, its narrative drive nudged along by a rootsy pulse and an insistence that feels earned rather than sloganised. “Oh Mother My Mother (for Sinéad O’Connor)” pivots to a Celtic-tinged elegy, carried by strings that hover like mist; Morris sings with restraint, letting the melody do the heavy emotional lifting. 

Then comes “I Can Hear Jesus Weeping (for Tracy Chapman)”, which is a measured, morally alert piece whose folk-soul guitar language nods to Chapman without reducing her to a reference point. The lead single, “The Edge Is Where The Magic Is Found (for Amy Winehouse)”, leans into jazz balladry—spotlighting artistry first, tragedy second, and Morris threads the line with tenderness.

Elsewhere, the portraits broaden the palette. “Love Wit & Stardust (for Dolly Parton)” catches that particular Parton mix of humour, sparkle, moral clarity—without reaching for country clichés. “Always Both And Never (for Joan Baez)” is quietly spacious, built for clear diction and long lines, while “Sweet Mama Raitt (for Bonnie Raitt)” brings a satisfying grit, with slide guitar touches that push the track into after-hours blues-rock. “Let Only Love Remain (for Joan Armatrading)” is one of the album’s most direct statements, its economy of arrangement giving Morris room to land the lyric’s resolve. 

Later, “Crazy Angel (for Patti Smith)” adds a wirier edge, and “Also Known As Etta James (for Etta James)” swings with brassy swagger, proving the duo can celebrate power without over-singing it.

It’s fitting that the finale, “The Dignity Of Love (for Janis Ian)”, is an opus with classical guitar and strings lending an almost chamber-like poise, it feels less like a tribute track than a closing argument for the whole project: songwriting as witness, and craft as a form of respect. 

The Sisterhood 2 succeeds because it doesn’t treat these women as monuments; it treats them as artists, each with a voice, a conscience and a set of musical decisions. 

Morris and Rémy have honoured honour that legacy by making an album that’s thoughtful, richly played, and alive to the idea of influence as something you carry forward, not merely point back to.

Reviewed by Huw Williams

Album released 27th March 26

From the outset, New Stages feels like an album caught between worlds. Mark Wade and his trio blur the lines between jazz and classical music—and, to be fair, that much is intentional. Wade positions the record as a “meeting point” between his classical background and modern jazz improvisation, even insisting that it “refuses to settle into a tidy label.”

The question is whether that refusal to settle works as a strength, or leaves the album feeling a little unanchored.

It opens convincingly enough with The Good Doctor, which leans firmly into jazz. There’s a lightness of touch to Tim Harrison’s piano, echoing the elegance of Ellis Marsalis, and a gently strolling bass line that gives the piece warmth and direction. It’s relaxed, confident, and, crucially, clear in its identity.

From there, though, the ground begins to shift. Cakewalk - a re-working of Debussy’s piece - shows the more classical phrasing before drifting into jazz improvisation, while The Storm swings the pendulum back towards a more classical sound, underpinned by Wade’s trademark innovative bass. Later, Transition quietly bridges into At Rest via a brief drum-led moment, one of several points where the album feels more like a sequence of ideas than a continuous arc.

Midway through, Iberia Part I & II leans into that hybrid ambition. It’s cinematic, detailed, and technically impressive. It gives Wade the space to deliver a virtuosic bass performance through Part I, before Part II brings back Harrison in upbeat mode along with Scott Neumann’s dynamic beats. There’s a story through this pair of tracks that delivers hazy-feeling heat, much like Morning in Peer Gynt.

Waltz and Variation: opens in a haze of Debussy-like impressionism, moves into waltz territory, then breaks into jazz and drum flourishes that feel almost like a reset.

Elsewhere, Lament introduces a sense of urgency, slightly unsettling, more emotionally direct, while Jesu, drawing on Bach, closes things with a reflective, almost reverent tone. It’s another stylistic shift, handled with care, but again reinforcing the sense of an album moving between identities rather than fully integrating them.

None of this is to question the quality. The musicianship is consistently high, and the trio’s chemistry is evident throughout. They listen, they respond, they shape each piece with understanding and sensitivity. But while the intention to merge classical influence with jazz freedom is clear, it feels a little episodic.

New Stages is undeniably ambitious, and often beautiful. But in trying to be many things at once, it doesn’t always feel like a single, fully articulated statement.

Stepney born and bred bass player/singer John Joseph Wardle - far better known by his  stage name of Jah Wobble, was a founding and key member of Public Image Ltd from their inception and throughout their late 1970s/early 1980s hugely influential peak period.

Since moving on from PiL, Wobble has released a staggering 39 albums, not to mention another 35 including collaborations, Invaders of the Heart and live releases - that's quite some strike rate, by anybody's reckoning.

This time around, Wobble is releasing his latest album 'Automated Paradise' with long time collaborator and key live band member Jon Klein, primarily known for his seven years as guitarist with Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Wobble and Klein Initially joined forces to work on and tour 'Metal Box - Rebuilt in Dub' a reworking of the seminal Public Image Limited album 'Metal Box' to great effect. But on this latest album, their third together, they're delivering a whole new collection of songs.

It's an interesting and varied collection of tracks, all produced by Wobble/Klein and and mixed/engineered by Klein.

The opening track washes in as if from a place far away, somewhat ambient - there's definite hints of Bowie on a couple of tracks as well as unsurprisingly a general post-punk feel across the album. 

'Automated Paradise' is a well produced, likeable and interesting album, but the quality of songs does vary somewhat in terms of strength. I can't help feeling that perhaps if Wobble was just a little less prolific with his output, that maybe the quality of his albums such as this one might be significantly stronger.

Track listing for Automated Paradise (out on 27 March via Dimple Discs):

Fading Away

Make It Stop

Who Wins?

Read Between The Lines

Automated Paradise

Terminal, Terminal The End

Endless Sky

Brockwell Lido

Jah Wobble will be touring with his band The Invaders of The Heart on the following dates:

APRIL

Thu 02 WIMBORNE MINSTER Tivoli Theatre

Fri 03 TOTNES Barrel House

Sat 04 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach

Fri 10 STOKE ON TRENT Artisan Tap

Sat 11 DARWEN Library Theatre

Sat 25 GWYNEDD Neuadd Ogwen

MAY

Fri 15 CAMBERLEY Login Lounge

Sat 30 LYME REGIS Marine Theatre

Reviewed by Stuart Condie

Album released 27th March 26

Shocking admission for a fellow Scot coming here, but I was only vaguely aware of Kyle Falconer before this new release dropped into my Inbox. Hailing from Dundee, where I spent the formative years of my career, Falconer, as everyone else is presumably aware, is the frontman of The View. With five studio albums behind them, the band announced a short hiatus in 2017 to allow members to pursue other projects. 

In fact, the reunion album, Exorcism of Youth, did not emerge until 2023. In the meantime, Falconer chalked up solo releases, No, Thank You in 2018 and No Love Songs for Laura in 2021 with an EP, Almost Pleasant coming out in 2019. In the period since the most recent band release, he also produced The One I love The Most in 2025 and now, this year, Lovely Night of Terror. So, all in all,10 studio albums since 2007. That’s going some, particularly when you start to think about some of his other collaborative work including work with Mark Ronson and more recently writing a musical.

Falconer has made no secret of his influences and if The View is casually labelled as “Indie Rock”, it becomes clear even on an initial listen that there is a healthy respect for The Beatles and later classic acts without that tipping over into parody or pale imitation. 

So, what of this new album? For a start, it was recorded written and recorded in Alicante, where Falconer and family have been based since 2024. While Dundee has many things going for it, the climate isn’t one that springs to this reviewer’s mind. Typically though it appears that the move hasn’t resulted in our man sitting back and taking things easy in the sun and his La Sierra Casa studio has become a means for Falconer to work with friends and collaborators as well as encouraging musicians yet to hit the big time. Overall then is this a sun-drenched celebration of things going well? To a point, yes.

I mentioned collaborations and there are some well known guests in evidence here. The lead single, Midas Touchfeatures Peter Doherty of Libertines and Babyshambles renown – more of that below – but you also get Justin Hawkins (The Darkness), Jamie Webster, Lottery Winners and Dave McCabe of The Zutons cropping up. 

The album leads off with the title track, a short dreamy vocal sitting over a strummed guitar chord pattern you feel you should know, but I can’t quite place. From there we move into Worlds Away featuring Justin Hawkins. From the off this is upbeat with a big prominent drum sound, police sirens off in the distance and big hooks all the way. The really attention grabbing and positive insistence of the music is totally at odds with the doubts and confusion running through the lyrics. Undoubtedly pessimistic or low mood lines like, “I love you too but I like it when I’m lonely” or “I know the issues I’ve got, I know the problems are plenty, but each night I’m left feeling empty” should probably jar with the pop feel of the song, but it works. No mean feat.

Next up is I'm Lost (You're Dead) featuring Jamie Webster which keeps the driving momentum going from the previous track. It’s all moving along at such a pace that I only noticed some of the adorning guitar and keyboard figures that muscle their way into the mix on the second or third play through. Again we have the contrast of heady pop rhythm and some less than cheerful lyrics. “I’m lost, I’m totally lost, but you never even bothered to come and find me”. I love the way the arrival of the chorus is set up with a mighty drum fill.

Lady Coachella featuring Lottery Winners kicks off (and ends) with a simple synth backdrop (think Soft Cell) before erupting into another huge chorus. It all gets stripped down a bit after a short instrumental passage but before you know it we’re right back into punching the air dancing stuff which deserves to be played a lot if we have even a halfway decent summer this year.

Midas Touch featuring Peter Doherty is the lead single for the album. I have to say that this was the first track on the album where I really even noticed a bass line and, in other environments, you could legitimately call it funky. There’s a generally lighter feel to this track, reminiscent of Wham in places, but with a chord progression that puts me in mind of some of the great 60’s pop songwriters. There’s clever and appealing wordplay on show here too. I happened to like, “I’ve got all the issues, so send me a bunch of tissues” but there are lots to choose from.

Madness featuring Dave McCabe starts off in a slightly more mellow laid-back way than previous tracks with acoustic guitar high in the mix but it’s not long before we’re back in singalong chorus territory complete with a crowd effect “Don’t get me started” to contrast with the very effective solo voices in the verses.

From this point on we lose the advertised collaborations to see the album out with five tracks from Falconer alone. 

The first of these is Trace Of Me. Although the longest song on the album, at 4:48 we’re not talking Porcupine Tree here. There’s a noticeably stripped back feel to the production of this song, a definite whiff of Americana and a generally  less buoyant attitude on display.  Can't Swim (Do It Again) lightens the mood again even if “I’m trying to keep my head ‘cos I can’t swim” is much more about getting through the day rather than getting through 25 metres.

I could see Ego becoming a crowd favourite if only for the chorus which is both memorable and driven along over eight in the bar bass notes creating a real sense of urgency.  Martha's Imagination is a story of “a regular debutante” but it’s clear that things just didn’t work out. “I don’t ever want to hear her name again” is pretty definitive but there is still a sense of loss and regret, albeit with a catchy backbeat.

The album bows out with Third Time Lucky which, although a perfectly serviceable slice of mainstream pop and boasting a chord sequence I couldn’t resist playing along to, is the weakest song on the album for my money. I can’t be sure – these things are subjective after all – but I think that’s because it’s the one with the least tension between the music and the lyrical sentiment. I can hardly begrudge the man a straightforward happy love song, but it does feel a little out of place compared to what went before.

It’s very tempting to look at this album, not least because of the running order, as being in two parts; the collaborations and the solo work. I’m not sure it really is that simple. There’s great songwriting craft on show across all of it and some truly uplifting choruses to test the tonsils, not to mention some big helpings of summer sun which are way more Costa Blanca than Tayside. If you are still in possession of such an archaic device, expect to hear some of this on a radio when the sun comes out.

Reviewed by Chris Morley

Album released 27th March 26

Imagine if you will Hot Chip going metal- you now have the essence of Pet Needs. 

Electronic smarts with surprisingly heavy riffs is what greets the uninitiated listener to Hey You Hey You, first single from their latest attempt to craft socially conscious pop punk, centred around a depressingly current trend- the idea of buying a career. 

Whether its prescient comment or biting satire will surely become clearer with time, but four albums in its clear that Pet Needs still enjoy playing the game. Why else remain despite the massive gamble they themselves admit is at the heart of an industry which may well break you?

And so runs the thread of conceptual punk- a niche genre perhaps with few entries, but a story well told with enough hooks to keep you interested.

Sonic PR

Reviewed by Levi Tubman

Album released 3rd April 26

Like many emerging bands, Bristol trio Masca came together during lockdown, but they’ve hardly taken the easy route since. With Love Letters written while vocalist Christina Maynard was pregnant, the band channels that intensity into a sound that swings between shimmering melodies and explosive riffs. It’s a blend that feels tailor made for listeners who like their music both thoughtful and unpredictable. Sounds just up my street!

Opening the album is Act My Age. With a distinctive guitar tone and processed vocals, the bass has a real head nodding groove to it. The bass stands out, driving the track with a groove that feels more melodic than purely rhythmic, hopefully this continues throughout the album. Picking up at the 2 minute mark, it transforms into a more energetic pop rock number, but with less than a minute to go, its more an extended outro, its interesting and feels different. It also doesn’t feel like its only 2.40, the transformation to the rock outro gives a fictitious length.

The second track, Elevate, is where the album feels to find its footing. Theres nothing wrong with Act My Age, I really like it,  but this feels like more of an album opener. A driving alt rock intro fused with catchy riffs. Singing about the pressures of modern life “There's a pressure to sink, and a pressure to fly” and “Just a little more tiktok time to waste” with the bridge ringing out Everyone’s doing just fine, it’s a song that hints not everyone is doing fine despite how it looks.

The title track, Love Letters, is described as “A song for my baby, or to music, or anything that soothes you. A song about waiting for something to come and change everything. A song that’s a love letter to the things in life that make you happy, your loves, with some literal lyrics of paper and pen and cradles, they band really have written a love letter framed with slightly darker gritter music as far as title tracks go it’s a good one! 

The stand out track for me has to be Oxytocin.  The opioid pain killer known for addiction and overdosing for me is a fantastic name for a song. It doesn’t have to be the drug itself, you can be hooked on a person who might cause the same side effects? With crooning out “sooth me sooth me” asking “Be my Oxytocin” you can find the calming pain relief in so many other places but often tinged with the same darker side. It’s a track that really shows off Christinas vocals, fusing lighter whimsical musical styles with heavier ringing out guitars, I could take an album of this all day long. This could be my song of the year.

Fitting In is another track that shows off Christinas vocal talents, louder soaring vocal sections of “Lonely lovely loneliness” over loud distorted guitars before dropping back down softer over picked guitars with the perfect amount of backing vocals. It screams of influences of Bush and Weezer, while keeping true to the bands own identity. To stop the listener getting too settled into the song the bridge is nothing like the rest of the song, its an ever so slight jarring feeling before it merges back into the song but with an added borderline almost discordant beautiful edge.

DWIW. Lofi distorted guitar intro, with a dirty rattling bassline with the snare pushed high in the mix, it’s a bit of a curveball, not from the same band as the rest of the tracks. It has an anger behind it, with the repeated line “Doing what I want” Like a lot of the album this is the band doing what they want, they don’t conform to any specific genre here. The simulated phone call in the middle with the vocals tinny and thin as if coming from an old rotary, while used many times before, fits in perfectly over the heavier guitar and drums. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the tracks on the album while managing to fit perfectly in the diversity of the album.

The album moves effortlessly between light, almost whimsical moments and heavier, grunge-tinged passages, all while maintaining a cohesive identity. Masca clearly aren’t interested in following a formula—each track feels distinct, creative, and purposeful.

The biggest compliment? It’s genuinely interesting. Nothing here feels recycled or predictable. This is a band confidently shaping their own sound, using production as a tool rather than a crutch. For me, Love Letters is a strong contender for album of the year and absolutely worth experiencing live, im certainly going to try get myself down there to see them! 

SEE MASCA LIVE: 

30/05 Southampton - Heartbreaker 

05/06 Sheffield - Sidney and Matilda 

06/06 Birmingham - Sunflower Lounge

Tracklist:

Act My Age

Elevate

Love Letters

Oxytocin

Cry Baby

Sucker

Fitting In

DWIW

Bones

Diggin'

Old Friend

Major Press

Reviewed by Dave Flerin

Album released 3rd April 26

This is a great, sneering, middle finger of an album from Jim Jones All stars; their first studio album since 2023’s “Ain’t No Peril”. Featuring the talents of musical luminaries such as Gloria Jones and The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, this is best played very loud indeed. And if you like MC5 and The Stooges, this will be your bag.

“Make it Rain” sets the tone early; like a more dangerous 80s Rolling Stones fronted by the MC5’s Rob Tyner, with a big, honking saxophone. And if you told me the music in “Exiled” was by Amy Winehouse’s band, I’d absolutely believe it. The influence of 60s US soul music is writ large all over it. And the further into this album you get, the more you’ll suspect the sax players get paid according to how dirty they make it all sound, such is the level of filthiness they can coax from their horns.

“Going Higher” taps into the spirit of early (i.e. when they were good) Kings of Leon, with lots of feral guitar and some unhinged vocals, segueing into an extended and very full sounding, chaotic (but satisfying) mish-mash of an ending.

Then they go and top that by going all Kinks-y with “Bekolah”, like one of those gems when Ray Davies was at his quirky, mischievous best.

The Tomorrow Never Knows drumbeat is (successfully) rolled out for “Gashman”; a stuttering, jerky little number. Lord knows what he’s alluding to on that and “Drink Me” which follows, but I’ll leave that to your imaginations (answers on a postcard to the usual address please). Both are fine tracks, and one can only imagine what they sound like live. As Jim sounds very much like Arthur Brown on “Drink Me”, maybe he should consider wearing some flaming headgear? Just a thought.

Towards the end of the record the band really embrace their funky side with “Chubby”, a real batty-swinger, if ever there was one; and the standard is maintained right through to the very end. It’s an album bristling with energy; unapologetically rooted in the past, and the complete antithesis of a modern album, but it’s very happy in its own skin and not ashamed to proudly wear its influences. 

The band are out on tour in support of this fine record’s release, and I suspect that buying a ticket will be money well spent. “Cat Fight” is out on April 3rd through Silver Arrow Records, and available to buy on CD, limited edition red vinyl and digital download.

Sonic PR

Reviewed by Neil Milner

Album released 24th April 26

The Prestige’s Isthmos is an album that wants to be many things at once, a moody, late‑night confessional; a bruising post‑metal statement; and occasionally, a misfired hardcore tantrum.

That tension, between restraint and aggression, defines the record. At their best, The Prestige sound dark, complex and deliberate, sketching mood rather than merely bludgeoning the listener. Minimalist, shadowy chords give way to something more artistic and considered; at times it feels like Siouxie‑and‑Banshees atmospherics colliding with Killing Joke’s menace. These moments gleam, occasionally even haunt. Unfortunately, they don’t always last.

It opens with the shimmer of “Léthé,” drifting in on an atmosphere that recalls late‑1980s Depeche Mode in its ethereal, layered, chilly beauty. That fragile beginning is one of the record’s clearest triumphs, making it an intriguing start, and when the band lean into texture, space, and subtlety, this album becomes genuinely absorbing.

However, overall, my reaction is mixed. Vocalist Alex Diaz alternates between a standard alternative rock delivery, which works well and allows the songs some emotional reach, and a guttural, hardcore growl that I personally don’t like, never have and never will. When the latter takes over, my attention drifts almost immediately. It’s less about heaviness than texture and more like a stylistic insistence that undermines otherwise compelling songs: the harsh vocals flatten nuance, replacing tension with blunt force. 

There are moments of technical artistry. The drummer, Thibaut Cavelier, is a revelation; his shifting patterns and off‑kilter fills don’t merely hold the songs together, they propel them, adding intelligence and momentum where the material needs it most. His playing actively enhances the songs, especially on tracks like Noire Nuit, where uneven pacing mirrors emotional unease rather than mere technical showmanship.

Thematically, Isthmos is relentlessly bleak. It’s an angsty, heavy record suffused with anxiety, inner conflict and an almost total lack of hope, which, depressingly, feels entirely appropriate for the times we’re living in. Tracks like Rose du désert reflect a world caving in, emotionally and socially, and while not everything here lands, the intent is rarely in doubt.

Isthmos is an album of conflicts suggesting an internal tug‑of‑war between restraint and release; beauty versus brutality; artistry versus genre obligation. When it gets that balance right, it’s compelling. When it doesn’t, then it simply washes over me.

Track listing:

1.  Léthé  

2.  Debris  

3.  Father of None

4.  Rose du désert  

5.  Sunborn  

6.  Noire Nuit

7.  The Ascend  

8.  Sacrifice

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Major Transmission

Reviewed by Andi Bridges

Album released 18th April 26

This collection of songs, an exclusive Record Store Day release for 2026, showcases Brian Wilson at his finest. Not just playing his Beach Boy songs, but also Brian’s ability to interpret others tunes as well. Full credit must also be given to the musicians he has surrounded himself with, which include across the collection - Darian Sahanaja (keyboards, musical director, arranger,- vocals), Jeff Foskett (guitar, vocals), Nick Walusko (guitar, vocals), Probyn Gregory (trumpet, French horn, keyboards, vocals), Scott Bennett (guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion, vocals), Mike D’Amico (drums & percussion), Bob Lizik (bass), Paul Mertens (woodwinds), Jim Hines and Todd Sucherman (drums), Nelson Bragg (percussion & vocals) and Taylor Mills (backing vocals & percussion), plus Andy Paley (keyboards, vocals), Brett Simons (bass),and Gary Griffin (guitar, vocals), along with orchestral contributions from The Stockholm Strings ’n’ Horns.

This collection was recorded over eight years and six different venues. There are none of the famous 60s songs that the casual listener would associate with Brian across this set, instead we get a much deeper dive into his back catalogue. Kicking off with – This Could Be The Night, a Harry Nilsson penned song and the oldest recorded tune on the record, being from Chicago in October 1999. An up-tempo ditty with bass and drums to the fore, However, it is the harmonies that make this really crackle. As you would expect. In fact, if it wasn’t for the audience clapping at the beginning and end it could almost be a studio cut. Kudos to Mark Linett who produced and engineered the record.

Other notable covers include a faithful rendition of Johnny B Goode, showing his roots in 50s Rock n Roll. A tribute to The Beatles – She’s Leaving Home, which underscores his love of Lennon and McCartney’s song craft. He and the band also tackle Dennis Wilson’s – Forever, which gets the reverence it demands.

Track 2, Side 1 – Our Prayer/Gee/Heroes & Villains, is a mini suite from the Smile album. In the seven minutes it lasts, the band throw everything at it. Starting with some Choral harmonies, that morph into some doo-wop, encompassing finger clicking and handclaps. Then we come to Heroes and Villains which in itself is an epic. Brought in by the horn section a very Beach Boy section follows before it slows down for a brief respite. Before once again gathering pace, followed by a piano and voice section. Finally, we go back to the chorus. Rumour has it that these songs appeared fully formed in Brian’s head, if that is true, and music arrangement is credited to Brian in the credits, I can fully appreciate why he suffered from mental health issues as the songs are so complex.

As an aside, I saw him on tour during this period. He played the Glastonbury Legends slot in 2005. All weekend it had lashed it down with rain. It was like the Somme underfoot. When Brian hit the stage, it stopped raining and by the end of his set (when he played 15 minutes of Beach Boy classics) the Sun was out. He absolutely stole the weekend. I’m not saying God is a fan, however……………. draw your own conclusions.

This record comes on multicoloured splattered vinyl. I recommend queuing up outside your independent record store at 5am tomorrow morning to get it, you won’t regret it.

Earshot Media