Juno Recommends Rock / Indie / Folk / Metal / Punk / 50s / 60s: May 2024

Review: The opening track from the second Ramones album, Leave Home, gets an outing on 7", despite never being a single at the time. It sounds every bit as fresh as when it originally emerged in January 1977, the New Yorkers' love of 50s bubblegum combining with trademark brutal punk riotousness on a song that manages to namecheck Charles Manson and turn the traditional love song on its head. Dirty, speedy punk pop thrills aplenty.

Review: Morning Star marks The Prisoners' triumphant return after nearly four decades, showcasing their timeless blend of garage-punk, soulful vocals, and electrifying Hammond organ. Recorded in just two days, the album captures the raw energy and chemistry of the original lineup, reminiscent of their seminal debut, A Taste of Pink.
Their gig at The Roundhouse in London on May 24th promises to be a celebration of their storied career and the release of this long-awaited album. The band's influence on subsequent generations of musicians is evident, with their sound serving as a blueprint for Brit-Pop and beyond. While James Taylor's Hammond prowess gained widespread recognition post-Prisoners, Graham Day and Allan Crockford's musical journey continued through various projects, each echoing the spirit of their groundbreaking band. Morning Star stands to honor The Prisoners' enduring legacy and reaffirms their status as pioneers of the DIY music movement. It's a reminder that some things truly are worth the wait.

Review: Kaleidoscope's Tangerine Dream stands as a quintessential English psychedelic album, often ranked among the most important and influential works in the genre alongside iconic releases like Sgt. Pepper's, Forever Changes, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. Despite its rarity and collectability, with mint copies fetching hefty prices, the album has surprisingly lacked a proper reissue and remastering treatment for over five decades. However, after three years of determined effort, negotiations with major label executives and stroke of luck, the album is finally receiving its long-awaited official reissue. Thanks to painstaking detective work and fortunate encounters with Universal archivists, the original master tapes, previously languishing in the vaults, have been unearthed. Moreover, Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3 fame has meticulously remastered the album from these original tapes in his Lisbon studio, ensuring that it is presented to listeners as intended. This reissue will undoubtedly be a must-have for fans and collectors alike, offering the best audio quality version of the band's early psychedelic masterpiece.

Review: This new long player from Ministry of Sound is their contribution to Record Store Day 2024 and it takes the form of a bunch of mixes of London Grammar's various different tunes. Global house outfit Camelphat feature a couple of times with some nicely emotive and upbeat sounds, 'Strong' gets a jump up drum & bass rework from High Contrast, Henrick Schwarz brings his emo house touch to 'Wasting My Young Years', MK adds some dance-pop sheen to 'Oh Woman Oh Man' and Dennis Ferrer remixes 'Sights' into a tense tech cut with snappy drums.

Review: The reissued record Paradise Now by Death Cult serves as a vital transmission from the era of shamanic post-punk gothic futurists. Curated by Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy to celebrate The Cult's 40th Anniversary, the releases shows the band's influential sound with tracks originally released under the Death Cult moniker. Available on crystal clear vinyl with a striking white and black splatter, the album looks as good as it sounds. Here you find the power of the band in their early stage that would help them becoming superstars in the world of rock music. Paradise Now offers both longtime fans and new listeners a captivating glimpse into Death Cult's enduring legacy in the realm of alternative music.

Review: In celebration of its 45th anniversary, Paste Magazine's esteemed #1 synth-pop album, Sparks' No. 1 in Heaven, receives an exclusive double vinyl release this Record Store Day. This seminal work, produced by Giorgio Moroder, set an early standard for electronic music. Accompanying this masterpiece is Sparks' lesser-known gem, 'Is There More to Life Than Dancing?' produced for LA-based singer Noel in 1979. Together, these albums epitomise the Maels' innovative electronic spirit and visionary foresight into the next decade. Revered by bands like Joy Division and Duran Duran, No. 1 in Heaven was hailed as the greatest synth-pop album ever by Paste Magazine. The anniversary release comes on coloured vinyl and rightly commemorates Sparks' enduring creativity.

Review: Jim Rafferty's long-awaited remastered version of 'I See Red' finally sees the light of day on a new 7" single, via Drag City. Known for his sophisticated, melodic style reminiscent of his brother Gerry Rafferty's work, Jim delivers a sleek pop gem with an irresistible hook. Originally penned for Frida's 1982 solo album, Jim's rendition outshines subsequent covers by artists like Clannad and even Gerry himself. On Side-2, 'Fear Strikes Out,' also gets its due, showcasing Jim's impeccable arrangement and sharp instrumentation. After decades in obscurity, these superior versions of Jim Rafferty's originals are a surprise and delight for fans of sublime pop music worldwide.

Review: DIIV is an indie band from Brooklyn who first started recording in 2010 together. The band is a mix of post rock, lo-li, Indie with some shoegaze elements. The band has garnered some strong success for an indie band with their last album reaching the Billboard top 200 album list. Frog In Boiling Water is their fourth album and reminds many of 90s UK bands like My Bloody Valentine and Ride. Their first single 'Brown Paper Bag' was released on the same day the new album was announced just a few months ago. The lead single has all the marks for a classic shoegaze sound that should bode well for the band with their growing following of fans. This version is released on lime green vinyl

Review: 'I'm Totally Fine With It Don't Give A Fuck Anymore' reads the WhatsApp message on the front cover of the upcoming album of the same name by Scottish duo Arab Strap. Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton have been on a blazing nonstop run ever since they reunited the group in 2019. Confronting conspiracy theories, online addiction, and societal decay, the lead single 'Bliss' is a steady reminder of Arab Strap's multi-generational appeal - "It's about women being terrorized online; it's about cowardice and bigotry. It's about how we expose ourselves on social platforms while hiding alone at home. But you can dance to it too!" Moffat said on the press release. As the haunting melodies intertwine with Moffat's gritty regional vocals on the 15-track album, dimly lit dive bars and sketchy alleyways come to mind and not the cyberspace dystopia that many other musicians would go to. It's a unique take on a subject that needs unique takes, an explicit piece of sang prose in an age of censorship. Just the cover alone lets you know that Arab Strap is not going to be added to your easy-listening playlist. The icing on the cake? The cheeky decision to make the disc a bright emoji yellow.

Review: The legacy of the debut LP from X-Ray Spex - originally released in 1978, the year after punk supposedly died - has only strengthened in the years since it first emerged. Far from sounding its death knell, Germfree Adolescents heralded a plethora of new horizons for punk as it gradually began transforming itself into post-punk and new wave. Fronted by the incomparable Poly Styrene - cited as as massive influence on everyone from Bikini Kill all the way up to modern riot grrrl homegrown talent Big Joanie - whose ethos as a ballsy woman of colour in a predominantly white and male-centric scene still resonates to this day, the band have created a classic album every punk fan should already own. If it's passed you by then, now you've absolutely no excuse.

Review: Pink Floyd: Live At The BBC September 1971 (Special Edition) is a classic record that captures the legendary band's mesmerizing performance during a pivotal moment in their career. Recorded at the BBC studios, this special edition release offers a rare glimpse into Pink Floyd's early brilliance on nice pink gatefold vinyl. From the ethereal vocals to the transcendent guitar solos, each track showcases the band's unmatched musicianship and innovative soundscapes. This version has previously unreleased material and enhanced audio quality so is a must-have for any Pink Floyd enthusiasts.

Review: Michael Head is a veteran treasure of Liverpool's music scene with a background in bands like Shack, The Dance Party and The Pale Fountains, and for the past five years he's been indulging his immaculate songwriting with The Red Elastic Band. There's always a confessional lilt to Head's lyricism, and it comes through even clearer on Loophole as he enters an especially reflective mode ahead of the release of his autobiography. With many a story to tell, set to stirring and sentimental songs to carry with you through life, this is one of Liverpool's finest doing what he does best.

Review: Kings of horror punk Misfits first put out American Psycho in 1997. Their fourth studio album was originally going to be entitled Dead Kings Rise, playing (or should that be riffing?) on their original disbandment between 1983 and 1995, and reunification. This was their second LP after getting the old team back together, and launched from the starting blocks without a hint of apology. "Their goofy formula of lyrics inspired by bad horror movies, poppy vocals, and blasting hardcore is still excellent mosh pit fodder" wrote Entertainment Weekly at the time. Hard, if not impossible, to disagree, American Psycho encapsulated all that made the band so engaging to begin with. Breakneck tempos, tongues in cheek, blood on the dancefloor kind of stuff. Now, ask yourself: what more do you want?

Review: Los Angeles - city of angels, city of lights, camera and, perhaps less discussed outside the USA, city of the American record industry. But while the poster billboards sell us one thing about this vast and somewhat confusing urban sprawl, the reality on the ground is often far different. Or at last much less waxed and pruned, glossy and superficial. Jessica Pratt is a great example. LA has so much great music happening it's hard to keep up, and a lot of the most interesting things are closer to those grass roots in need of constant irrigation due to the southern California sun. In this instance, Pratt's fourth album uses myriad influences, from Bossa Nova to 1960s pop, but it's the quintessentially Los Angeline psychedelia that really carries things - a byproduct of Hollywood's inherent surrealism.

Review: Amsterdam has two celebrated, long standing venues - the Paradiso and the Melkweg - and this 1979 broadcast caught the soon to be huge Cure in action in the latter, way more intimate one. It's a collection of the tracks that made the early part of their career as a wiry, lean three post-punk piece more than goth behemoth - 'Killing An Arab', '10:15 Saturday Night', 'Boys Don't Cry' and two speedy versions of 'A Forest' that both come in under five minutes (as opposed to the latter versions that are closer to ten) all figure. It's a period that has its own, rather different following to the normal Cure legions, and this display of sharp pop sense and its jagged approach to sonics showcases just why that is.

Review: David Bowie's Diamond Dogs is a seminal album in his career, released in 1974 amid the glam rock era. The album plunges into a dystopian world, with Bowie adopting the persona of Halloween Jack, a feral survivor in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Songs like 'Rebel Rebel' and 'Diamond Dogs' capture the album's raw energy and cynicism, while '1984' reflects Bowie's fascination with George Orwell's novel. Diamond Dogs remains a very important record to Bowie's artistic vision and musical prowess. While many remember the album as the transition period between Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke, the music is equally as memorable. Its themes of alienation, rebellion, and survival continue to resonate with listeners today, making this anniversary edition a valuable addition to any Bowie fan's collection.

Review: Aussie rockers The Church embark on a time travellers' dialogue with future band Eros Zeta And The Perfumed Guitars on their eponymous new crossover album. According to the album's liner notes, "Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars were formed in 2048 in Antarctic City in Antarctica," toured the post-war world incessantly during the early 2050s and were "troubled with personnel and substance abuse problems culminating in Eros Zeta's addiction to Sky." Time will tell what the latter statement means, but apparently, no grandfathers were retroactively killed in the recording of this album. Ostensibly a showcase of the latter band's music, this is apparently by no means an album's worth of Church material at all, but it uncannily shares their prolific, steamy prog ruminations to a T. It's almost as if a case of temporal identity theft has occurred. Try not to feel the secondhand deja vu; we bet you can't.

Review: Spell Blanket - Collected Demos 2006-2009 by Broadcast offers a rare glimpse into the creative process of Trish Keenan and James Cargill during the post-Tender Buttons period. This compilation features songs and sketches drawn from Keenan's extensive archive of four-track tapes and MiniDiscs, laying the groundwork for what would have been Broadcast's fifth album. The recordings showcase the duo's experimental approach to music-making, with Trish and James exploring new sonic territories and refining their distinctive sound. The photography used in the artwork is captured by Trish and James themselves, adding a personal touch to the collection. Designed by Broadcast's long-time collaborator Julian House, the artwork complements the nostalgic yet forward-thinking nature of the music.

Review: Hips & Makers takes us back to a great time for independent guitar music. The debut album from Kirstin Hersh is deceptively quiet and unarguably powerful, predominantly made up of acoustic numbers that really speak to how strong the rock-folk crossover was at this point. Adding the inimitable voice of REM's Michael Stipe to the opening track, 'Your Ghost', only accentuates this. A million miles from 'twee', while things here are often set at a volume that encourages reflection, in other moments they explode into an earthen celebration of passion and energy. Almost carnal. 'A Loon' and its campfire yelps and whoops, 'Close Your Eyes' with its rousing chorus invoking resilience and resistance. Even the sparseness of 'The Letter' makes a huge impact.

Review: It's 50 years since Diamond Dogs was released and it still sounds way ahead of the game. Not long after 1972 and the shock dissolution of the Spiders From Mars, this is the sound of Bowie discovering and developing both his most experimental side - see the spoken word dystopian opening 'Future Legend' or the sludgy spacerock workout 'Sweet Thing (Reprise)'- and a new groove-laden funkiness evident in the triumphant title track, the funk-inspired '1984' and the album's biggest hit, 'Rebel Rebel'. Bowie at the very height of his game, a place he would stay for quite some time after this tour de force.

Review: Brian Wilson's transformative journey led to the creation of Pet Sounds, a groundbreaking album that pushed the boundaries of production and composition. Inspired by The Beatles' Rubber Soul and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, Wilson crafted a cohesive masterpiece, employing session players and innovative instruments to achieve his vision. The album's meticulous production and seamless flow between tracks set a new standard for albums as cohesive art pieces. Its influence reverberated through music history, inspiring artists like The Beatles themselves. Wilson's genius shines through every aspect of Pet Sounds, cementing its place as one of the greatest albums of all time. Despite its toll on Wilson's mental health and the daunting challenge of following it up, Pet Sounds remains an enduring testament to his unparalleled talent and vision. This fantastic looking reissues comes on clear green vinyl.