"Stars of the Lid may have released two of the most important and influential ambient-drone albums of the 21st century, inspiring generations of musicians, authors, artists, and filmmakers, developing a cult following and near-mythic status, but back in 1995 they were nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere, they were in Austin, Texas, to be precise, a city that Adam Wiltzie describes as a “rock and roll village, mostly… We were 100% in a vacuum and there was absolutely nobody that even remotely enjoyed what we were doing.”

The Year Of The Radical Romantics is a document of the juicy, throbbing missives used to woo crowds from Sydney to Seattle on the globe-trotting There’s No Place I’d Rather Be Tour in support of 2023’s lauded Radical Romantics. The new album consists of live-to-tape studio versions of tracks from Radical Romantics in addition to highlights from 2017’s Plunge and massive new iterations of early classics performed by the musicians who accompanied Dreijer on tour — Minna Koivisto on keyboards; Romarna Campbell on drums; Maryam Nikandish and Helena Gutarra on keytars and vocals.

Drummer Joe Farnsworth leads a stellar intergenerational sextet on his dazzling album, THE BIG ROOM featuring Jeremy Pelt, Sarah Hanahan, Joel Ross, Emmet Cohen, and Yasushi Nakamura.

With the sad news today of the passing of Pete Brown, a task which seems to be happening on a daily basis now. I am re-running this piece, which was originally published in 2014. The sentiment remains the same; Pete Brown was a massive talent, whose life and work made their way into a lot of lives along the way. A brilliant and gifted artist who will be missed, but also treasured, knowing he roamed the earth while we were all on it.

As epitaphs go, Graham Bond couldn't have done much better, even if he had known this set was to be his final album. Perhaps because the multi-instrumentalist was working with his old friend Pete Brown, the entire album has a wonderfully creative frisson to it, all heightened by the ease with which the band play off each other. It's particularly noticeable in the way Bond's piano and Derek Foley's lead guitar intertwine on the splendid, gospel-fired "Amazing Grass," a hallelujah to marijuana, of course. The lyrical slyness is equal to the musical adventurism, which slides deftly across genres, but is anchored by Bond's invariably barreling R&B style. Pricking the skin of dubious record head "Ig the Pig," or reflecting on the horrors of war on "CFDT (Colonel Frights' Dancing Terrapins)," drug dreams infuse the album's themes while romance lightens the mood. But it's the funky, jazzy, rockin' blues Bond & Brown celebrate across this excellent set that makes it positively unforgettable.

Be-Bop Deluxe was the creative vision of Bill Nelson, one of Britain’s most creative and enduring musicians. Thanks to the championing of DJ John Peel (who had been an advocate of Bill Nelson’s work since the release of Bill’s rudimentary self-released solo album ‘Northern Dream’ in 1971), Be Bop Deluxe signed to EMI Records in 1974 and their debut album ‘Axe Victim’ was issued in June of that year, featuring fine material such as ‘Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape ‘Jets at Dawn’ and ‘Darkness (L’Immoraliste)’.

The debut album from jazz musician Ken McIntyre, Looking Ahead was originally released in 1961 and features fellow Saxophonist Eric Dolphy alongside McIntyre. Included on the album are 5 McIntyre originals plus the George and Ira Gershwin penned standard “They All Laughed”.

Gone With Golson was originally released in 1959 and is saxophonist Benny Golson’s fifth album. A great example of the Hard Bop genre, the album includes 4 Golson compositions, plus “Staccato Swing” by Ray Bryant, who plays on the album, and the jazz standard “Autumn Leaves”.

Alexa Tarantino’s fifth studio album The Roar and the Whisper is a spellbinding new chapter in the jazz musician’s evolution. The saxophonist, flutist, composer, and educator has long been lauded for her poise and precision—“a one-woman wrecking crew,” as Wynton Marsalis calls her. Now, Blue Engine Records captures the full breadth of her artistry: from spirited, up-tempo improvisations to intimate, ethereal ballads.

Two artists met at the perfect moment in their creative journeys and something extraordinary happened: They captured magic. Samantha e Adrian is more than just an album—it is the story of a profound artistic connection between Brazilian actress/singer Samantha Schmütz and American composer Adrian Younge. This record is the intersection where Rio and Los Angeles merge into a lush, cinematic, and deeply personal experience created by two musical soulmates.

The third album in the psychiatric trilogy by Luke Haines (The Auteurs, The Servants, Black Box Recorder) and Peter Buck (R.E.M) was recorded in Portland, Oregon, USA. It features a foot-down-to-the-floor-throttle-out style that promises a wild ride through churning psychedelic excursions. Listeners can expect to ponder questions such as: Have you ever been cold called by someone claiming to represent the Pink Floyd research group? Have you found yourself stranded on the moon with Papa John Philips, only to realize you were out of drugs? Can you tally up your nervous breakdowns on the paws of more than two dozen cats? Does it seem like all you ever do is answer questions?