When this started I was initially wondering if it would be able to keep up the brilliance of the glitchy ambient fuzz of that unreal opening track Made In Hong Kong, and on the other side now I'm pleased to report it absolutely does. I just want to hear this over and over again now.

The late 1970s to early 1980s was an incredible period for music, and during this period some absolutely incredible experimental debuts were released into the world - Entertainment! by Gang Of Four, the first SPK EP, self-titled by This Heat, Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, Kollaps by Einstürzende Neubauten to name a handful of the strongest. However I can't name many debuts as thrillingly out there as Y by The Pop Group, an album that revels in being wonky and off-kilter and works ... read more

A one-two punch of excellence that serves as a nice introduction to The Pop Group for me. I have a good feeling about Y.

My first R.E.M. album, and certainly won't be my last. The songs are just written and performed beautifully, and it now stands as a favourite for 90s alt-rock.

Lost In The Dream is not a record that contains much in the way of profound lyricism or high level deeper meaning, but what it does do is achieve this incredibly wide feeling by virtue of having instrumental arrangements that just sound giant. Absolutely monumental album that stands out in a big way - wish this is where Arcade Fire would've gone with their sound after their first four records.

These recordings are so warm and cosy, and the live aspect really sells the best aspects of John Fahey's musical ethos and sound. Just a superb live album, and yet another amazing release from this truly one of a kind musician.

While Blind Joe Death is representative of humble beginnings, the music here is dense and beautiful in its own way. Truly the best precursor to modern folk imaginable.

GBV had been steadily improving with every record they made since their second album Sandbox, with the somewhat conceptual and strange Same Place The Fly Got Smashed delivering many of their finest tracks to date. However there's no doubt that Propeller is where the band really took off, with this very intriguing mixture of lo-fi slacker rock cuts making for brilliant and occasionally thrilling listening. What sets albums like this and Bee Thousand apart from other GBV records is the lack ... read more

Instrumentally this is amazing, but the lack of comprehensible vocals - of course, necessary at the time - does put a bit of a blight on what is a very interesting album that I'm sure would've had a lot to say. Some of these tracks are surprisingly musically challenging and leave bold impressions, while others come and go more subtly.

Dear god this is very bad. Would've been a weak track on Bully, an album I already don't like very much. The flow is stunted and weak, the beat feels like it's about to take off but never does, and I'm just left very cold to this.

It's not quite on the level of Songs Of Pain, but 1990 is an emotionally heavy and occasionally bewildering listen that stands as a pretty vital part of lo-fi music. Daniel Johnston was a truly individual soul.

As one continues to work further back from Fare Forward Voyagers, there are constant signs that John Fahey was always a genius. This album is certainly one of them, with rougher recordings but an immeasurable potency.

Rating is for the full expanded edition, or the originally intended double album format. If there is one thing John Fahey is better than almost anyone in any genre at, it's conveying the notion of movement within a wide space, and after a series of beautiful pieces to start the album, this movement comes through immediately when the title track plays, and keeps up for the remainder of the album. A masterclass.

Nightmarish almost to a fault, but still thoroughly enthralling and wild in its weird spoken word stupor. Really impressive.

Although in some aspects I think she outdid herself with Nobody's Son when it comes to her strongest song, this is one of the most undeniable hits of the decade so far. The loosely chillwave sound gives the song more identity than what is contained in its brilliant chorus.

Iannis Xenakis composed with a fearlessness unmatched by most in the avant-garde sphere of music, crafting works that feel impenetrable yet atmospheric enough to sink properly into while listening. His electroacoustic output remains radical and thrilling today, and this compilation constitutes the full scope of his work in this realm. As such, it is a four-hour masterpiece, where every single piece feels utterly vital and daring. Obviously there are universal highlights contained on ... read more

Nearly ten years on from that legendary pair of records Steve Albini recorded as frontman of Big Black, one of the greatest bands in more extreme rock (and maybe my favourite), the first Shellac album was released as a perfect display of Albini hanging onto that noise and visceral sound, but in a more post-hardcore adjacent way. The result is an album that is not as exciting as, say, Atomizer, but holds its own among the canon of 90s noise rock records. Great stuff.

Not one of the very best Sonic Youth albums, but the more indie rock and post-rock leaning sound here is a great variation on the sounds the band had been mastering for upwards of 20 years at the point of Murray Street being released. Very good indeed.

Featuring a slightly more accessible sound than albums prior, Daydream Nation is right up there with their best albums and absolutely breezes by given its runtime. Absolutely fantastic from front to back, and while Sister and EVOL still have my heart, this record is still remarkable.

The transition Sonic Youth made into a more alt-rock sound was executed at the highest level on their masterpiece album Sister, a truly phenomenal album in every regard where being more cut and dry in their approach worked flawlessly.