Anniversary

The Rhythm Divine: Running Up That Hill, 40 Years On

As 'Running Up That Hill' turns 40, Matthew Lindsay takes a deep dive into how was it made, what it means and why it's connected so strongly with a younger generation. This feature was originally published on 23/06/2022

Another Round: The Pogues’ Rum, Sodomy & The Lash at 40

Four decades on, Tariq Goddard returns to The Pogues' second studio LP, a record of unguarded sentiment and open hearted revelry, strange and dark surrealism, empathic univocity and plain-speaking insight

30 Years On: Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Revisited

Angus Batey looks back into his archive of interviews with Raekwon in order to better understand this high water mark in mid-90s hip hop. This article was originally published in 2015

At Breaking Point: Black Sabbath’s Sabotage Revisited

50 years on, Joe Banks examines the point at which everything started to go wrong for Black Sabbath... even though they were still getting it right. This feature was originally published on 7/6/2015

Rejecting the Culture Morticians: Elliott Smith’s Second Album Revisited

Darran Anderson argues that Elliott Smith's untimely death created a distorting prism through which his entire back catalogue is now seen, especially his stunning eponymous record

45 Years Later: Closer & The Last Days Of Joy Division

Because of the death of Ian Curtis and the nature of the band's last recordings, Joy Division's Closer is an album around which a stillness has settled. In truth, says Jonathan Wright as he talks to Peter Hook and Paul Morley, no band evolved so rapidly. This feature was originally published on 13/07/2020

30 Years On: And The Circus Leaves Town by Kyuss Revisited

Dean Brown revisits the stoner rock giants' flawed but rewarding swan song. Originally published 13/02/2015

What’s Wrong With Being Sexy? Species turns 30

After hearing the recent, sad news about Michael Madsen, our grind house geezer, Mat Colegate, turned his attention to Species (1995) only to find that the past is a foreign country where they do things differently...

The Shark of the New: Jaws 50 Years On

When a mechanical fish brought novel horror to the big screen in 1975, little did the filmmakers realise that they were about to warp an entire generation and help usher horror into everyone's homes, says Joel McIver

Thriller in England: Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout at 40

Fergal Kinney traces Steve McQueen's two very different masterminds, its influence on Arthur Russell and Caroline Polachek, and the path not taken to a British indie both sensual and modern

Auto-Invention: The Soft Boys’ Underwater Moonlight Revisited

Nobody wanted what The Soft Boys were selling in 1980, but as David Bennun recounts, their superb swan song, Underwater Moonlight, made them a Velvet Underground for new generations of jangle and psych bands. This feature was first published on 29/06/20

The Chameleons’ What Does Anything Mean? Basically, at 40

This relatively obscure, nihilistic and resigned second album by a near forgotten Mancunian post punk group was released decades before the birth of writer Lina Adams in the early 00s; so why does it speak so clearly to her life today?

35 Years On: X-Clan’s To The East Blackwards Revisited

Angus Batey looks back at an album which has as much resonance today as it did when it came out. Article originally published 17/05/2015

The Ultimate Fuck You: McAlmont & Butler’s ‘Yes’ Revisited

50 Years On: Hawkwind’s Warrior On The Edge Of Time Revisited

Danny Riley traverses the space time continuum to find Hawkwind in 1975 at a galactic crossroads. This feature was first published 26/07/15

Ooooh Betty! Nasty Gal By Betty Davis Turns 50

Major label flop it may have been, but Betty Davis’ Nasty Gal, showcased an artist raging against the dying of the funk light, says Patrick Corcoran. This article was first published in May 2015

Brooklyn Bass Music: Masta Ace Incorporated’s Sittin’ On Chrome turns 30

Masta Ace’s best-selling LP led to his withdrawal from hip hop at its commercial peak. Cian Traynor charts the rapper’s extraordinary career... and the industry forces that held him back

From Death Race 2000 to GTA: Celebrating Half a Century of Violent Future Sports

To celebrate the 50th birthday of Death Race 2000, Mat Colegate charts a multimedia genre which would spawn Mad Max, Alita: Battle Angel and Grand Theft Auto, and makes more sense today than it did in 1975

I Can See You Still: Richard Thompson’s Across A Crowded Room at 40

40 years on from its release, Wayne Gooderham revisits the second album Richard Thompson recorded in the wake of his split from wife Linda, and finds a subtle, off-kilter – and unfairly overlooked – mid-career masterpiece (and an utterly essential live sister album)

In Through the Out Door: Prince’s Around The World In A Day at 40

Four decades since its release, Toby Manning revisits how Prince's oft-overlooked seventh album dared to draw on 60s psychedelia at the height of 80s hippyphobia – producing the most countercultural sounding work of his career

Morning Glory: Fugazi’s Repeater Revisited

Angus Batey celebrates Fugazi's debut full-length LP - a record that still sounds urgent and vital 40 years on. This feature was originally published in 2015

To Chop And Change: Pavement’s Wowee Zowee 30 Years On

Lesley Chow dissects the (semi-) serious intent behind Stephen Malkmus' nonsensical rhymes on Pavement's 3rd album which was positioned as the "logical end-point of rock". This feature was originally published in 2020 to mark the album's 25th anniversary

40 Years On: Terminal Cheesecake’s Angels in Pigtails Revisited

Russell Cuzner talks to Russell Smith about the weirdest album in the very weird career of Terminal Cheesecake. This feature was originally published in 2015

Keepin’ It Dirty: A celebration of ODB’s Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version

Cian Traynor celebrates the 30th birthday of a unique and brilliant album and re-appraises a hip hop anomaly by speaking to some of those who knew its creator, Ol' Dirty Bastard, the best. This feature was originally published on 30 March 2015

Coke & Wet: The Power Station Versus Arcadia By Simon Price

40 years on, Simon Price revisits the undeclared war between Arcadia, who made "the most pretentious album ever", and The Power Station, who made "the most cocainey album ever"; and asks who, if anyone, was the winner

The Rest is Noise: M.I.A.’s Arular at 20

Twenty years on from her debut, Skye Butchard maps the ways M.I.A.’s art has aligned with and often predicted internet culture - in both the bad and the brilliant

Tangerine Dream’s Rubycon Half A Century On

Jeremy Allen considers the special plight of the brilliant album which commits the crime of only refining a sound when the previous album originated it

Broadcast’s The Noise Made By People Turns 25

Anna Doble recalls a youthful encounter with Trish Keenan and James Cargill in Leeds, and their debut album which is now a quarter of a century old

30 Years On: Me Against The World By 2Pac Revisited

Angus Batey looks behind the enshrined myth of Tupac Shakur and finds an album which is more compromise than triumph. This feature was initially published on 03/04/2015

World Class: How Radiohead Gave Us The Bends

Though The Bends has since been overshadowed by what followed, its release 30 years ago found Radiohead on the cusp of stardom. Wyndham Wallace joins them on a journey from their early days to their inevitable worldwide breakthrough. This article was first published on 3 March 2015

40 Years On: The Sisters Of Mercy’s First And Last And Always Revisited

Julian Marszalek looks back four decades to the hit album that shouldn't have been and nearly wasn't. This feature was first published 16/03/2015

Fear Factory’s Demanufacture And The Strange Rebirth Of Industrial Metal

Alex Deller explores the life, death and rebirth of industrial metal, and tries to assess whether its futurist potential died in 1995. This feature was first published 17/11/2020