No Songs Tomorrow: Darkwave, Ethereal Rock and Coldwave 1981-1990 (Cherry Red)
Variety and diversity are the hallmarks of No Songs Tomorrow: Darkwave, Ethereal Rock and Coldwave 1981-1990, a new four-CD compilation from the UK’s Cherry Red Records. Besides the genres listed in the title, the boxed set encompasses early dream pop, goth, industrial, and electronic dance music. Few artists represented on the compilation fit neatly into prescribed categories. Neither are all of them are especially dark. “Wild World” by Germany’s Days of Sorrow might have become a major pop hit with the right promotion. “Pierrot Lunaire (Malice Pt. 2)” by France’s Cuddly Toys would not be out of place on an upbeat playlist among the likes of the B-52’s and Devo.
Perhaps the greatest value in No Songs Tomorrow is the set’s recovery of seminal and obscure tracks well deserving of belated recognition. Among the many highlights are the proto-EBM track “Say It Isn’t So” by American group Executive Slacks, the ominous “The Crawler” by Canadian industrial combo Psyche (a forerunner of Skinny Puppy), the brash “Give Me a Name” by all-female Swiss group the Vyllies, and the impossibly catchy “Poupée Méchanique” by French coldwave innovators Die Form. – Peter Thomas Webb
Oasis – Definitely Maybe (Deluxe Edition) (Big Brother)
The 30th anniversary of Oasis’ groundbreaking debut Definitely Maybe was a monumental occasion, not the least of which was the band reuniting for a worldwide tour that has already lived up to the billing based upon surrounding fanfare and drama. The two-CD/four-LP set includes previously unreleased versions from the Monnow Valley sessions, which were famously discarded because the recordings didn’t sound right. As one of the producers, Mark Coyle, put it, the recording “just sounded soft… there was no edge to it”.
This release lets listeners be the judge. It also includes outtakes from the Sawmills Studios recordings and a demo of “Sad Song”, a traditional Noel track sung by Liam. Altogether, the package serves as an opportunity to reconsider the earth-shattering impact of Definitely Maybe from a new vantage point. As one of the best debut albums ever, it has remained in our collective consciousness all these years and still sounds fresh today. – Patrick Gill
Punk 45s: There Is No Such Thing as Society (Soul Jazz)
In honor of its tenth anniversary, Soul Jazz re-pressed their influential compilation of UK punk rock and post-punk from the pivotal years of 1977 through 1981 to colored vinyl, fleshing out its original obscurantist track listing with an additional five tracks along with Soul Jazz’s signature in-depth liner notes. It essentially charts the genre’s evolution, going from the Year Zero primitivism of 1977 to the eventual vaporization of insane casino synths and boot sale beat machines. Despite laying out a clear, well-defined, and easy-to-follow narrative from amped-up, aggro pub rock to incomprehensible, uncommercial art moves, you’re unlikely to know the great bulk of the bands on Punk 45s We Live in a Society. Even hardcore indie obsessives might not be that familiar with bands like 23 Skidoo, the Mekons, or Josef K, each of which would make bigger splashes in other genres.
Soul Jazz excel at putting out records you can just leave on the turntable, dropping the needle back at the beginning once the grooves run out. Their compilations fall somewhere between a particularly clever mixtape and lost and untold histories. Punk 45s We Live in a Society is true to form, being required listening for people who’ve worn out their copies of their Damned and Clash LPs as well as anyone hearing of punk rock or post-punk for the first time. – J. Simpson
Chappel Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (Anniversary Edition) (Island)
It took quite some time for Chappel Roan to gain the audience and success she deserves. Working since 2014, Roan finally found her place in the pop zeitgeist last year with the release of her first LP. She capped off a great 2024 with a brilliant performance on Saturday Night Live, her rendition of an early single, “Pink Pony Club”, becoming a classic moment on the venerable sketch variety show. The anniversary edition of this dizzying, colorful debut is a great way to re-introduce this singular and unique artist to audiences.
An artist like Chappel Roan is as much about visuals as the music. Influenced by drag culture, 1980s New Wave and the New Romantic movement, and burlesque, Roan’s presentation of her art extends not only to the visuals but also the packaging, which makes this new edition of the album an essential for vinyl collectors, especially those who seek out deliriously campy artifacts. The anniversary deluxe edition stretches the album’s 14 tracks over three vinyl sides, colored a bright coral pink. The music on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is brilliant, splashy, flamboyant pop that matches the gaudiness of the repackaging. – Peter Piatkowski
Sonic Youth – Walls Have Ears (Room on Fire)
Walls Have Ears is the latest in a series of archival releases that have revisited Sonic Youth at different points in their career. It is a reissue of an unofficial bootleg recorded during the UK tour for Bad Moon Rising (1985) and first released in 1986. It captures what might be called their late adolescence. “Please put more of this guitar here,” Moore instructs a sound technician at the start of “Kill Yr. Idols”. This comment could preface this entire release. During their early period, Sonic Youth were, if anything, an effort at deconstructing the possibilities of the electric guitar, rendering it more a tool than an instrument. Consisting of material from three shows, this double LP is uneven and abrasive – the sound of a band still finding itself. Yet, taken together, Walls Have Ears is a wild, unvarnished listen that gets back to the difficult, defiant essence of Sonic Youth. – Christopher J. Lee
Swervedriver – 99th Dream (Sonic Wave Discs)
Radiohead’s OK Computer and Spiritualized’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space headlined a slate of great progressive British indie albums released in 1997. 99th Dream should have been among them. But the Swervedriver fell victim to major label cost-cutting and were dropped just weeks before the scheduled release date. When 99th Dream eventually saw daylight in 1998, it was on an indie label that would go belly up shortly thereafter.
What’s more, the album was considered something of a black sheep in Swervedriver’s awesome 1990s catalog because it dared to mix the group’s trademark hard-driving, effects-heavy guitars with more straightforward, sometimes Britpop-influenced arrangements and melodies. The brilliance of the resulting “space travel rock’n’roll”, as the band called it, is readily apparent on this supple new master. The addition of some great B-sides, demos, and a killer live show makes for an extremely generous—and essential—package. – John Bergstrom
Talk Talk – It’s My Life (40th Anniversary Edition) (Rhino)
There is a certain incorrect narrative about the British group Talk Talk: They had a few hits as a fairly anonymous but marginally interesting band in the New Romantic vein in the early and mid-1980s before bandleader and singer Mark Hollis turned them into a post-rock collective and released two albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, that were way ahead of their time, and completely different from (and better than) anything else the group had ever done.
One listen to It’s My Life, Talk Talk’s second album, can dispel much of this received wisdom. This LP, just re-released by Rhino Records on its 40th anniversary, shows that Hollis was already breaking away from any genre boxification on their second album. – Matt Cibula
Talking Heads – 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) (Rhino)
Back in 1977, Talking Heads led the vanguard of New York new wave music with their first release, the year of release boldly ensconced in the title to showcase its modern credentials. Almost 50 years later, the album’s name reveals its authenticity. For those outside Gotham City, the record announced something fresh had been launched, a musical buzz bomb against the dinosaurs of rock and roll. Along with Ramones and Television, Talking Heads showed that British acts such as the Clash and the Sex Pistols were not alone in challenging popular music conventions.
The four-CD set contains a brand-new remaster of the original album, a collection of outtakes, rarities, and alternate versions of songs, and a previously unreleased recording of the band’s final show at CBGB’s in New York City on 10 October 1977. An 80-page hardcover book includes new liner notes from the four original members and rare and unreleased photos and ephemera from the group’s history. The deluxe edition also contains reproductions of the four Sire Records 7”s from that year, including “Love → Building on Fire / New Feeling”, “Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town / I Wish You Didn’t Say That”, “Psycho Killer / Psycho Killer (Acoustic)” and “Pulled Up / Don’t Worry About The Government”, all with picture sleeves. – Steve Horowitz
Peter Tosh – Mama Africa (Reissue) (Juno)
The reissue of Peter Tosh’s Mama Africa brings vitality to the reggae icon’s 1983 album. Remastered with sharp instrumentation, tracks like “Stop That Train” and “Johnny B. Goode” radiate with energy. The latter uses the already energized Chuck Berry rock ‘n’ roll classic to connect Jamaica and Africa. In doing so, Tosh recontextualizes the track and its lyrics into a reggae anthem celebrating heritage and global unity.
The album’s re-release arrives at a time when Tosh’s focus on decolonization and empowerment resonates more than ever. As he reminds listeners in “Not Gonna Give It Up”, “I’ve got to be fighting / I will be fighting / Til Africa /And Africans are free.” The reissue is emblematic of the continuous need for resistance and activism, echoing past and present global movements. Tosh’s defiance against oppression and his call for justice imbue each track with a sense of urgency that transcends the era.
Mama Africa is a reminder of Peter Tosh’s unparalleled talent while inviting listeners to revisit and engage with the revolutionary ideals that shaped his music. More than just a remastered collection of songs, this reissue is a testament to Tosh’s revolutionary spirit and enduring relevance. – Elisabeth Woronzoff
Neil Young – Archives Volume 3 (Reprise)
When Kurt Cobain took his life 30 years ago this past April, one line revealed from his suicide note was the unattributed adage, “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” Neil Young’s name was not mentioned, but everyone knew the line’s source. Young had been ordained the godfather of grunge during the early 1990s, though the origins of this reputation go back to the 1970s when he recorded Rust Never Sleeps (1979).
Punk had provided an unlikely path out of his “Ditch” era. Archives Vol. III (1976-1987) documents this transitional period when Young faced a fateful fork in the road between repeating what he had done before and going in a new direction. With 198 tracks, including 136 that are either previously unreleased or unreleased versions of songs, Archives Vol. III is full of mid-career classics. It is a testament to how Young has leaned into himself and his songs whenever uncertainty presented itself. – Christopher J. Lee