Monster Rally – Flowering Jungle
Looking for some escape from the doom and gloom of winter. Inspired, apparently by the sounds, visuals, and animals of a half-century's worth of travel and nature documentaries, perhaps this mixture of Hawaiian guitar, sampling and electronica, reminiscent of Lemon Jelly, will take you take you to a warmer, dreamier place. On Gold Robot Records.
Monster Rally - Tropico
NERD – No_One Ever Really Dies
Certainly the career of Pharrell Williams has reversed to curl up and shrivel away. It's hard to know quite what to make of this return to working with his old band, but there is some consistency of hip-hop style throughout, as well as political anger, even though the list of guests and collaborators is bewildering – André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Gucci Mane, Wale, Future, Rihanna, and er … Ed Sheeran.
NERD and Rihanna – Lemon
Horace Andy - Good Vibes
Before Christmas really kicks in, let's stuff the seasonal stodge right now. Here's 10 tough vocal and dub mixes with Horace at the peak of his late 70s form, all remastered at Abbey Road suite.
Horace Andy - Reggae Rhythm It's Gone Internationally
Virna Lindt – Shiver
A welcome double-disc reissue of Shiver, the acclaimed debut album by the Swede, originally released in 1983. It's a winning combination of chic orchestrated pop informed by foreign film soundtracks, composers such as John Barry and Ennio Morricone, Modernist musique concrete and Cold War spy thrillers.
Virna Lindt – Shiver
Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch - Blade Runner 2049 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
My instinct that Blade Runner 2049 would be best viewed from behind the sofa proved to be entirely misguided. The score isn't bad either with Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch carefully weaving their drones and pulses with those original Vangelis cues to create something fresh, atmospheric and altogether different.
Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch - Blade Runner 2049 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
The Beatles - The Christmas Records
As if a new picture disc reissue of Sgt Pepper's wasn't enough, the Fab Four also have their Christmas message records reissued as a 7-inch box set on coloured vinyl. The musical interest is minimal but the joshing and messing about will be catnip to Beatles obsessives.
Beatles Complete Christmas recordings from 1963 to 1969
This week's selection is by Michael Moloney, aka llamalpaca from the vinyl-only record and design store, Chameleon, with new release additions by The Landlord.
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This is only a selection, not a catalogue of releases. Feel free to recommend more and comment below.