In 2018, country music is still well and truly alive and kicking. We’re not talking about the alien world of mega festivals and musical compromise for the sake of commerce, we’re talking about the art of songwriting, the rootsy pull on heartstrings and mainlining of heartache and devotion through the songs and stories of musicians from across the wide Australian expanse. Take Me To Town lays its mission statement out with its title. It’s a collection of alternative country songs. 47 of them. They’re the kinds of songs you’ll hear in pubs, bars, cafes and bowling clubs on any day of the week. Whether there are five people and a dog in front of the artist or a raucous room, packed to the gunnels, hot and noisy; these musicians sing their stories and play their instruments with heartfelt conviction.

40 years of creations, 61 compositions, 300 minutes of music (5 hours), 12 tracks never released before. 4 new compositions: European Grasses, for grand ensemble of 19 musicians; Novel, Wim Mertens plays the harmonium for the first time; Sprachresten, commissioned by the city of Bruges for the 500th anniversary of its famous Carillon; Under Erasure, for harps, played by Anneleen Lenaerts. 8 Wim Mertens hits revisited in live versions: Maximizing the Audience; The Belly; Lyr; Watch!; Not at Home; Humility and Bassin d’Attraction; One Breath.

‘Lounge Psychédélique’ takes you on a journey into the world of Lounge, Exotica and Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, from its early days in the 1950s and 1960s to the current crop of artists championing the Lounge & Exotica sounds today. Compiled by Spencer Hickman & Mark McQuillan for Two-Piers.

While it's certainly too much for the average Wishbone Ash fan, "Distillation" is an excellent four-disc, 56-track box set that features the best of the band's heavy boogie from the '70s. None of the group's essential tracks are missing, and it contains 4 previously unreleased cuts, 11 very rare tracks from the vaults and 12 live versions (CD 4) plus band biography and track by track comments by Andy Powell and Martin Turner.

Gatecreeper’s Dark Superstition is leading a new wave of American death metal. Their sprawling third full-length, and label debut for Nuclear Blast, is more concise, melodic, and memorable than anything they’ve ever done. It’s a pivotal moment which sees vocalist Chase H. Mason, guitarists Eric Wagner and Israel Garza, drummer Metal Matt Arrebollo and bassist Alex Brown - carving out their own path.

When Kevin Godley and Lol Creme left 10cc in 1976 to pursue a solo career, many thought it was the death knell for the group. However, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman kept the group alive as a duo (with the assistance of percussionist Paul Burgess) and turned in a surprisingly solid album with 1977's Deceptive Bends. It may lack the devil-may-care wackiness that popped up on previous 10cc albums, but it makes up for it by crafting a series of lush, catchy pop songs that are witty in their own right. Deceptive Bends also produced a pair of notable hits for the group: "Good Morning Judge" told the comical tale of a career criminal over a hook-laden, surprisingly funky pop backing while "The Things We Do for Love" was an irresistible Beatles pastiche that showcased 10cc's mastery of pop vocal harmonies.

Unplugged is an acoustic live album by Canadian musician Bryan Adams. The album was recorded completely on September 26, 1997, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Recorded by David Hewitt and Bob Clearmountain on the Remote Recording Silver Truck. Adams was joined by Irish piper Davy Spillane and Michael Kamen who wrote orchestrations for many of the songs and brought students from the Juilliard School to play them. Three new songs were included; "Back To You", "When You Love Someone", and "A Little Love". The song "If Ya Wanna Be Bad - Ya Gotta Be Good" makes its debut on an album, originally appearing on the B-side of "Let's Make a Night to Remember" - to which it is paired on the Unplugged album.

Forever Young, Gifted & Black: Songs of Freedom and Spirit is a textbook case for preparing a compilation by a single artist, thematically. These 11 tracks were recorded between 1967 and 1969, at the split seam in cultural and political history, where the African-American civil rights movement ceded its popularity - among young people - to the more visceral and visual Black Power movement. As an artist, Nina Simone was a presence and participant in both. Her influence continues to be an anchor and an inspiration to songwriters and singers from Alicia Keys (who wrote a short liner essay here) to Tracy Chapman, Robinella, Me'Shell NdegéOcello, and Lauryn Hill, to name a few. The compilation contains a smattering of her many songs that deal with struggle, equality, and perseverance…

Quintessence was the great underground band of the 1970s. Formed in March 1969, they were quickly signed to Island Records and later that year released their debut album, In Blissful Company. Between 1969-71, Quintessence, a counterculture phenomenon, made three albums for Island Records. Now, recently sourced from Island's multi-track tapes and digitised at Abbey Road Studios, this packed 2CD set reveals a wealth of stunning, hitherto unheard recordings in pristine studio sound.

If you ask somebody about his or her list of favourite electronic bands and/or artists, often the name of Wavestar is mentioned. And not only in the regions of electronic music fans. Their specific mix of seventies and early eighties electronics, Pink Floyd-like spacey rock and the gift to compose simple but very beautiful music, attracted many. And it still does.
So it’s a great pleasure that Groove Unlimited has remastered and re-released their very first album "Mind Journey", initially released as a cassette in 1984 and CD in 1993. Wavestar consisted of John Dyson (guitars and keyboards) and the sadly deceased Dave Ward-Hunt (keyboards/sequencers). In the eighties they brought us three classic (well, actually four because Groove released "Out Of Time" in 1997) and highly appreciated albums…

Disco is the fifteenth studio album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue. It was released on 6 November 2020 by Darenote and BMG Rights Management. Following the completion of the Golden Tour and her performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019, Minogue sought to create a disco-influenced record and enlisted producers such as Sky Adams, Teemu Brunila and Biff Stannard. Minogue herself also gained engineering credits for vocals and synths. Disco received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised its fusion of retro and modern production and cohesiveness. A reissue of the album, subtitled the Guest List Edition, was released on 12 November 2021. At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, the album was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album and Minogue was nominated for Best Artist with this release.