THIS MONTH’S COVERMOUNT CD is The North Will Rise Again: 15 killer tracks from Manchester and environs. Stars The Fall, James, Black Grape, Magazine, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, A Guy Called Gerald and more.

Say what you want about the Cult, a band who will certainly go down as one of the most schizophrenic in rock history, but singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy could sure write a great tune. Just glance at a few titles included on the greatest-hits collection Pure Cult: The Singles 1984-1995: "Edie (Ciao Baby)," "Love Removal Machine," "She Sells Sanctuary," "Wild Flower," "Fire Woman," "Rain," "Lil' Devil" – you get the picture. Spread haphazardly across the disc (rather than in chronological order), each track's uniqueness is even more evident, further showcasing the Cult's fearless creativity. Early songs such as "Spiritwalker" and "Resurrection Joe" will surprise most fans with their class and maturity, while later cuts like "Wild Hearted Son," "Heart of Soul," and "Coming Down" (from their disappointing latter-day albums) are given new life when viewed on their own merits.

Lauded London 6-piece Melt Yourself Down are back armed with a new approach for their fourth studio album Pray For Me I Don’t Fit In. Created for misfits, by misfits, Pray For Me I Don’t Fit In sees Melt Yourself Down embrace a celebratory punk agenda. Having realised they are never going to fit the mould, the group deliberately draw on their myriad influences, speaking all languages musically and lyrically. Led by the potent sounds of Sax pioneer Pete Wareham, the punchy sax hooks pay homage to the traditional horn sections of late 60’s early 70’s era of Jazz, Soul and Rock n Roll, while showcasing African pentatonic scales and dance-inducing rhythms with raw 70’s rock and punk.

Gang of Four's existence had as much to do with Slave and Chic as it did the Sex Pistols and the Stooges, which is something Solid Gold demonstrates more than Entertainment! Any smartypants can point out the irony of a band on Warner Bros. railing against systematic tools of control disguised as entertainment media, but Gang of Four were more observational than condescending. True, Jon King and Andy Gill might have been hooting and hollering in a semiviolent and discordant fashion, but they were saying "think about it" more than "you lot are a bunch of mindless puppets." Abrasiveness was a means to grab the listener, and it worked. Reciting Solid Gold's lyrics on a local neighborhood corner might get a couple interested souls to pay attention. It isn't poetry, and it's no fun; most within earshot would just continue power-walking or tune out while buffing the SUV. Solid Gold has that unholy racket going on beneath the lyrics, an unlikely mutation of catchiness and atonality that made ears perk and (oddly) posteriors shake. With its slightly ironic title, Solid Gold is more rhythmically grounded than the fractured nature of Entertainment!, a politically charged, more Teutonic take on funk. It's a form of release for paranoid accountants.

The Cure’s 30th anniversary re-issue of ‘Paris’ has now been expanded with the addition of 2 previously unreleased live tracks “Shake Dog Shake” and “Hot Hot Hot!!!”. ‘Paris’, a live set recorded at Le Zenith de Paris in October 1992 was originally released as a 2LP in 1993, and includes the singles “Lovesong”, “Catch”, “A Letter To Elise” and, fan favourite “Play For Today”. In tribute to this milestone, Abbey Road Studios presents a remastered cut by Robert Smith and Miles Showell.

Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) – all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many.

It is the 13th studio album from the influential cult British band. Inspired by the band’s recent concerts in previously unvisited countries – Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania and Japan – Born Into The Waves evolves from four pieces composed by guitarist Justin Jones on the theme of love songs from around the world. This album encompasses a new spirit of optimism and liberation in the lyrics of vocalist Simon Huw Jones.

cult of youth began as a bedroom project in 2006 when founder sean ragon took a broken acoustic guitar, a $20 mackie mixer, and a roland rack synth and tried to recreate the atmosphere of the post-industrial and neo folk records he had been obsessed with since childhood. the project eventually evolved into a fully fledged band and for the better part of a decade released a string of genre-bending albums that made perfect sense to some people and absolutely no sense to others.