Genuine treasures unearthed
Begun in 2007 and finished towards the end of last year by a dedicated group of late frontman Tim Smith's closest comrades, Cardiacs' LSD is a triumph of creativity and friendship over adversity, and a testament to the enduring uniqueness of Smith’s artistic vision, says Sean Kitching
Originally released in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, and centred on the story of real Japanese women who suffered radiation poisoning through their factory work, this newly-reissued collaboration should invite deep reflection when played today, says Jennifer Lucy Allan
As Warp reissue the first two albums from The Sabres Of Paradise, Lee Brackstone reflects on how Andrew Weatherall led bandmates Gary Burns and Jagz Kooner on a determined excursion through the twinkling, psychedelic sonic margins
Seedy English vignettes supercharged by the bombast of New York's superclubs – though they didn't then know it then, the world's first modern remix album found Soft Cell on a seesaw between hedonism and self-destruction, says Patrick Clarke
In 2014 Kendrick Lamar found himself in South Africa, an experience that helped to shape his third studio record, which is perhaps his most complex and enduring statement. Siobhán Kane revisits To Pimp A Butterfly
Genre purism be damned – there is no surer evidence of jazz’s immortality than the enduring influence of Expansions, Lonnie Liston Smith’s ecstatic, eclectic and resolutely non-denominational call to spiritual arms, argues Stevie Chick