BoC are back, and the world is a better place for it. Nostalgic, unsettling, sprawling and diverse: 4 words I can use after just a single listen of this album. Please do yourself a favour and get this into your playlists now!

Let's face it; there are only a small handful of artists offering a consistently exciting and varied output within the genre across a career spanning 30 years . This is no exception. For anyone wondering why the first half is mixed and the rest isn't, it's cos it was a vinyl-friendly release. It takes nothing away from the tracks that aren't mixed as they all lift the album as much as the others. Lead off single 'No Reason' is superb and a CB standard banger of a tune. 'Live Again' ... read more

Okay, let's have it right: this was purely an opportunity to cash in on the anniversary for the record label. The additional tracks and outtakes add literally nothing to the legacy of Daft Punk who were - up until RAM - a formidable and quite brilliant group. I myself was totally sucked in by the teaser marketing and videos back in 2003 but when I reflect back now I genuinely don't listen to or regard this album as their greatest. I revert back to Homework, Discovery, Human After All and ... read more

I love the way old 90's Electronic acts continue to innovate and scare the living crap out of the new pretenders. Leftfield are no exception and what Neil Barnes has done here is nothing less than exceptional. Yes, bringing in 'everyone's darling' Grian Chatten from the immense Fontaines DC never hurts, but frankly it would have been a strong track without his vocal. Sensible nods to the roots of the Leftfield sound, cleverly avoiding most of the aesthetic of the (mostly awful) Rhythm and ... read more

There's not really been a lot to shout about with Placebo for a few good years. For me personally, Battle For The Sun and Loud Like Love were mostly a little formulaic and Poppy, deviating from the angst and melancholy that formed Placebo's best work. Now, here's a thing: when you're writing about the state of the world post-pandemic, endless touring that requires you to retread the back catalogue again and again, and how life has changed since the early days of the band, you can turn out some ... read more

I was a latecomer to Fontaines DC having only seen them live last month at Victorious Festival. I cannot get either album off my playlist and this one follows up Dogrel brilliantly. It has a similar urgency, aggression and passion to it and I can't really separate them other than to say it is kind of more of the same....but that's TOTALLY fine. Televised Mind, A Lucid Dream, A Hero's Death and No are my favourites but it's all good. Go listen!

Near-perfect debut album from Fontaines DC. A love affair with Dublin and all the energy, aggression, love, passion and fun it brings. You just want to mosh when you hear it. The pacing is spot on and even the slower tracks like Roy's Tune and Dublin City Sky are poetic and lovely. Grian Chatten's half sung, half spoken vocals are perfectly pitched for the disaffected air he's purveying across the album. I bloody LOVE it!

This is smooth, gritty and bassy music at its best. The last VC-118A album kind of passed me by but this goes up a notch, with Samuel Van Dijk really investing in his craft. Easy to listen to, totally immersive and every beat, beep, scratch and pop feels well placed. It ranges from caramel smooth ambient dub to full glitch and everything in between. This guy really loves what he does, and you can tell. I won't call out top tracks - as I know some people hate that ;) - but sufficed to say I ... read more

I love this album, and after several stabs at grabbing my attention I feel like Scott Morgan has finally managed it. He combines a simple theme and variations on an orchestral piece with samples, loops, distortion etc. to produce 10 gorgeously immersive tracks. I have listened to this twice back-to-back today already and the thing I love about Ambient pieces is here in abundance: the subtlety of change from one part of the track to the next; how it all links as a single work, and how the rise ... read more

No idea why this has such rave reviews from the critics. I found it a little repetitive and over-indulgent with all the voiceover work, and don't get me wrong when it's done well, it works. This didn't. Avoid.

Immersive and very accessible Tech House from Logic1000. Looking forward to seeing more from her and to hearing it in the clubs when we're back!

I really like this album, and have listened to it 4 times in the last week. Ogboh's clever use of the sights, sounds and smells (imagination, people!) of Lagos are invoked through his compositions, and the heritage/aesthetic of Nigeria's music mixed with electronic samples and beats. It is hard to pick out a favourite, but opener Lekki Aiah Freeway certainly packs a punch.

Some nice moments here by Martin Gore, and my first exposure to his solo work. Favourite track is Vervet, as I like the way it throbs and builds. I agree with others though...it feels like unfinished business and it's a bit short, even though I know it is an EP, perhaps MG could've waited until an album's worth of material was here?

My personal album of 2020. Absolutely beautiful in every way. KLO has poured her heart and soul into this, and every track is a labour of love covering the full spectrum of house, techno and dream pop. Her vocals are so wonderful and the tracks flow and knit together wonderfully, ranging from bass driven club tunes to swirling dreamlike synth numbers. My favourite is Night. For a full review go to my blog. All the best people intern at XL Recordings!

An absolute masterclass from Downie and the Dust brothers. Some truly beautiful tracks here; some haunting and bleak, and others soaring and beautiful. They mix light and shade wonderfully and even the small snatches of works lasting mere seconds are not filler, but help to bind tracks and create the palette for their album. Lovely.