This compilation of 39 tracks, rather arrogantly titled The Album, offers a good mix of current guitar-based pop, rock and indie with the bonus of Fatboy Slim's housey "Star 69" and Roni Size's "Dirty Beats" tacked on the end. This is the sort of album you could expect to hear down the student union bar with a range of songs to cover all bases for even the most fussy of compilation critics. CD2 holds the indie-rock lighter in the air with Coldplay's "Trouble" and David Gray's "Late Night Radio" sandwiched between tracks by likely lads Supergrass ("Movin'") and Blur ("Coffee & TV"). Less obvious inclusions are alt.country masters Grandaddy ("The Crystal Lake") and gentle folkies the Kings of Convenience ("Toxic Girl"). CD1 is the less easy-listening of the two with some rock guitar riffing from the Manics ("You Stole The Sun…"), JJ72 ("Oxygen") and perfectly hip Placebo's "Taste In Men". If you're not into dance and the latest compilation from clubland isn't your cup of tea, then this could well be The Album before a good night out.

VD Featuring the first ever official live film, from Brixton Academy + all BBC performances from Top of the Pops and Later… with Jools Holland, plus the “Nobody Cares When You’re Gone” documentary.

Mansun‘s second album SIX is being reissued as a four-disc 21st anniversary deluxe edition in March. The 1998 album has been remastered from the original tapes (by Jon Astley) and is presented alongside a disc of demos, rarities & outtakes (details TBC), the B-sides album ‘The Dead Flowers Reject’ and a DVD with a 5.1 surround mix of the album (along with hi-res stereo) and original promo videos.

Kscope will later this year issue Closed For Business an enormous Mansun box set to mark 25 years since the band emerged onto the UK rock/pop scene. The 24CD+DVD collection features an enormous amount of audio/video content and comes with three books, art prints, postcards and a lyric sheet SIGNED by frontman Paul Draper.