VIA PRESS RELEASE | It’s half a century since punk rock first arose from the dark’n’dirty backstreets of London and New York… half a century since the Sex Pistols swore on prime time TV; the Ramones proved that great gigs could be played in 20 minutes; and the so-called giants of metal, prog, and virtuoso tomfoolery were swept away on a tsunami of high octane energy and incendiary rage.

The world would never be the same again, and Cleopatra Records will be celebrating that first burst of punkoid energy for the rest of the year. And why not? Over the last 30 years, the label has done as much as anyone to preserve and advance the first wave of punk rock giants.

From The Damned to Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers, and ex-Runaway Cherie Currie to late Sex Pistol Sid Vicious; from Eater and The Vibrators to The Dickies and The Germs, brilliant new releases and precious archive treasures alike have lit up the shelves, and every month through 2026, Cleopatra Records will be spotlighting a fresh classic from the catalog.

Last month it was a pair of raw live albums by New York’s Dead Boys, recorded back when it all began. This month, we leap forward almost half a century for London’s UK Subs, as they waved farewell to the scene they have ruled for so long with an absolutely epic live album—fittingly titled The Last Will and Testament of UK Subs.

Still fronted by ageless frontman Charlie Harper, along with longtime bassist Alvin Gibbs and newer members Steve Straughan and Stefan Häublein, the Subs’ thrilling, energetic performance includes everything you could positively need to hear.

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Celebrating Iggy Pop on his 79th birthday. —Ed.

David Bowie was a great artist, but he was also an appropriator and opportunist, and was not above exploiting his friends to achieve his own goals. Take Iggy Pop. Pop had been floundering since the Stooges dissolved, and found himself in Berlin with Bowie who, like Pop, was trying to fight both his drug demons and find his way to a new sound, which would emerge in 1977’s Low. But before Low he produced Pop, as much out of self-interest as friendship. As he would say later, “Poor Jim, in a way, became a guinea pig for what I wanted to do with sound.”

Fortunately for Pop, their creative collaboration—for their sessions were much, much more than Bowie’s simply using Pop as a laboratory animal for musical experimentation—resulted in 1977’s The Idiot, a work of genius and a radical departure from Pop’s frankly self-destructive proto-punk with the Stooges. Indeed, it was so radical it skipped punk entirely, and disappointed plenty of people who thought Pop should have been taking advantage of a sound and attitude he had helped to foment.

The Idiot would have been unthinkable to anyone familiar with Pop’s previous personae as rock’s wildebeest, who flung himself about to the frenetic roar produced by the Stooges, seemingly oblivious to the physical and psychic damage he was inflicting upon himself. On The Idiot, the roar of guitars was replaced by a funky and robotic foray into more Apollonian territory, with Pop singing over Kraftwerk-flavored art rock, quieter tunes some with Gothic overtones, and even proto-industrial electronica.

Most of its songs would be celebrated by proponents of the various genres of post-punk, demonstrating conclusively just how far ahead of its time it was. On a bummer of a note, it was even the soundtrack to Joy Division singer Ian Curtis’ suicide, as it was found spinning in the room where Curtis hanged himself.

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Dylan Hundley is a fixture on the scene in New York City and a crucial contributor to The Vinyl District, who’s also half of Lulu Lewis alongside Pablo Martin, her partner in life and also in new wave-post punk-darkwave groove science. With her “one woman brutalist synthpop” project Darling Black, Hundley is indeed going it alone, except when a top-flight remix specialist comes a-knockin’.

In the case of “8th and Alvarado,” a plum track from Darling Black’s eponymous full-length from last year, the remixer is Killing Joke bassist Martin “Youth” Glover. The Youth “Champagne” Remix is an exquisite expansion and extension of Hundley’s inspired conception, as evidenced below.

For those familiar with Lulu Lewis who have yet to get acquainted with Dylan Hundley’s latest endeavor, rest easy that Darling Black flaunts a complementary approach. The main differentiating factor is that Hundley is honing a sharp and edgy dancefloor attack throughout. That hasn’t registered as a major difference, at least until Youth got his hands on “8th and Alvarado.”

The core track is already a mover, but its no-wave-electro-post-punk blend conjures visions of a sweaty mass of unison writhing in a packed room during a live performance. After Youth got his mitts on the tune, the sound is thicker and is even more likely to whip a crowd into a frenzy, but now the mental picture that forms is of a heaving humid dance club with a DJ bent over a pair of spinning turntables.

As it is in Lulu Lewis, Hundley’s strong suit in Darling Black is a desire to enliven her inspirations with fresh possibilities rather than settling for mere imitation. Everything connects as correct, including this version by Youth.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings continues its year-long centennial celebration of one of the 20th century’s most important cultural icons—trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis—with a brand-new box set, Miles ’56: The Prestige Recordings. Building upon Craft’s GRAMMY® Award-winning Miles ‘55 release, this latest collection focuses on Davis’ 1956 sessions for Prestige Records, which resulted in such landmark albums as Cookin’, Relaxin’, Workin’, and Steamin’, and features an all-star line-up of talent, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Red Garland, Art Taylor, Paul Chambers, Tommy Flanagan, and Philly Joe Jones.

Arriving on June 19, Miles ‘56 will be available as a limited-edition 4-LP box set, a 3-CD set, and in Hi-Res digital. All audio was transferred from the original analog tapes and meticulously restored by Plangent Processes. The collection was remastered by GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore and lacquers were cut for the 180-gram vinyl LP edition by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Produced by Nick Phillips, both physical editions include a new essay by GRAMMY Award-winning music historian Ashley Kahn.

Track notes by the late Dan Morgenstern, a GRAMMY Award-winning jazz historian and archivist, add additional insight into the 70-year-old recordings. Additionally, a limited run of merchandise featuring the iconic artwork from Workin’, Cookin’, Relaxin’, and Steamin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet will be available exclusively through the Craft store.

For trailblazing trumpeter, bandleader, and composer Miles Davis (1926–1991), 1956 was a pivotal year, centered around his first consistent group, The Miles Davis Quintet. Formed just a few months earlier, the band—known as the “First Great Quintet”—featured a who’s who of rising stars, including tenor saxophonist John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Together, they would become a defining force of the hard bop era.

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Celebrating Robert Smith in advance of his 67th birthday tomorrow. —Ed.

Forty-six or so years after releasing their 1979 debut Three Imaginary Boys, and sixteen years after releasing their last album, 2008’s 4:13 Dream, The Cure did something my Robert Smith-phobic friends dreaded they’d do–came back. Those sixteen years had led many to hope Smith’s Reign of Mope was over. They were wrong and I’m glad, because 2024’s Songs of a Lost World isn’t just a great comeback album–it’s a great album period.

A masterpiece even. And who releases a masterpiece almost half a century into their career? It’s a miracle, really.

Songs of a Lost World is powered by big, ambitious, and somber yet soaring songs, and it’s tremendous despite the fact that there isn’t a single giddy-making pop confection like “Just Like Heaven” or “Friday I’m in Love” or “In Between Days” on it. Instead, Songs of a Lost World is a somber, emotionally and musically powerful meditation on growing old—that lost world in the title is the one we’re living in and losing, day by passing day, as we close in on death.

Songs of a Lost World is near perfect—symphonic, dramatic (natch), and replete with long and lovely instrumental introductions. But it’s not without its rock pleasures—Reeves Gabrels (of Tin Machine fame) makes sure of that with some astounding guitar work, especially on electric powerhouses “Warsong” and “Drone:Nodrone.” And Jason Cooper’s drumming is John Bonham heavy.

As for Smith, he’s in amazing voice—think about someone like Bob Dylan and then think about how Smith doesn’t sound like he’s aged a year. The man is growing old (66) and has intimations of mortality on his mind, and he’s not just contemplating his own demise—one of the more powerful songs on the LP (“I Can Never Say Goodbye”) is about the death of his brother.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Local H today have announced the 30th anniversary reissue of their iconic, breakthrough album As Good As Dead, out this summer via G&P Records. Originally released in 1996, the reissue is band-approved and features a brand new remaster. Featuring seminal tracks (“Bound For The Floor,” “Eddie Vedder,” “Hi-Fiving MF,” and more), exclusive artwork, and surprise extras—this is the ultimate edition of this essential classic. The As Good As Dead 30th Anniversary Edition is available now for pre-order.

On the heels of successful tours with Everclear and Filter, Local H will also be embarking on a full US tour with Toadies, including dates at NYC’s Webster Hall (5/21), Chicago’s Vic Theatre (5/31), LA’s The Belasco (6/13), and more.

Guitarist/vocalist Scott Lucas explains: “I never really used to care about the past. For me, it was always about moving forward. ‘Don’t look back’ and all that. And when it came to As Good As Dead, I had even more of a ‘fuck that’ attitude towards it.

Lately though, I’ve learned to relax about it. I’ve come to appreciate people’s personal affection for it. Especially the younger people who have been coming to the shows the last couple of years. They’re still excited about the record and their excitement is infectious.

But earlier this year, I was rather rudely awakened to how little respect others have for the record. And how little respect they have for our role in creating it. Big surprise! There’s a whole cottage industry of people—who have absolutely NO ties to the bands—putting out substandard releases of their records. And we’ve got no say in the matter.

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Remembering James Chance, born on this date in 1953. —Ed.

Of all of the bands that came out of New York City’s No Wave music scene, my faves have always been James Chance (aka James White) and the Contortions. The Contortions combined the atonal jazz skronk of Chance’s blurting and squealing alto saxophone with broken-glass-sharp shards of guitar, played atop one very funky bottom. I preferred Chance because you could actually dance to his music, agitated as it was, because in his own special way he never abandoned that James Brown groove—he just tortured it a bit.

How Chance’s sax stands up to that of “serious” jazz players is open to debate; while he briefly studied under the great David Murray, I think of Chance as an outlier, what with his brief tenure in Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Brown screams, nihilistic world view, and frequently antagonistic interactions with the very people who paid money to see him play live. These very “punk” attributes certainly separated him from the likes of his free jazz contemporaries, whose style he incorporated into his own playing. But the bottom line, when it comes to comparisons between Chance and the many other purveyors of free jazz is this: Can the guy actually play his horn, of is he just one very ballsy but amateurish poseur?

I asked my brother Jeffrey, a world-renowned free jazz expert, and this is what he said: “Regarding James Chance, I’m not quite sure where to rank him. Sonically, his alto falls neatly in the Luther Thomas/Noah Howard/Albert Ayler range. Chops-wise, I don’t think there’s a big enough pool of recorded material, especially material where he really stretches out, to see how good he really is, or could have been. That said, I think he’s ridiculously interesting, and captivating, as a soloist. What may have started as a joke, or a goof, very well could have morphed into something far greater.

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A look at events across the globe today.

Milton Keynes, UK | Biggest Record Store Day yet planned for Off the Record MK this Saturday: Willen Hospice’s independent music shop, Off the Record, is proud to be part of Record Store Day 2026 this Saturday (18 April), with more than 800 limited-edition albums on offer. Record Store Day is a global, annual event celebrating the culture, community and creativity that independent record shops bring to towns and cities. It features exclusive releases, live performances and special promotions that bring music fans together. Based in Midsummer Place, Off the Record will once again be opening early at 8am on Record Store Day to offer music fans exclusive, limited-edition vinyl releases on a first-come, first-served basis.

Madison, WI | How Madison’s record stores prepare for vinyl’s biggest day: Evan Woodward remembers rifling through crates of records at Strictly Discs during Record Store Day, before he started working there in 2010. “It wasn’t like what it is now,” he recalled. “There aren’t any other days like this.” Now Strictly Discs’ manager, Woodward pores over Excel spreadsheets listing thousands of records the store will receive in anticipation of the day, which takes place on April 18. He and the Strictly team need to catalog and alphabetize the anticipated 3,300 records they’ll receive, then set up and break down the staging area they’ll assemble on the block as people line up to nab exclusive releases. …Preparing for the day requires months of work. “It’s a big effort that just a small number of people are doing,” said Woodward. “It’s kind of like an extreme version of our job.” He estimates around 2,000 people will come through Strictly Discs’ doors on the 18th.

Phoenix, AZ | Record Store Day 2026 is almost here. How to celebrate in Phoenix: …The annual celebration is back for its 19th year on Saturday, April 18, taking place at independent brick-and-mortar record stores around the world, including many here in metro Phoenix. This year’s Global Record Store Day Ambassador is Bruno Mars, who happens to be playing two concerts in Glendale as we head into the weekend. In announcing his ambassadorship in a video shared on social media, shot at Moondog Records in Las Vegas, Mars shared some thoughts on what makes record stores so special. “Why record stores are so important is because you get the chance to immerse yourself, surround yourself with music,” he said. “I love being able to physically be surrounded by music. Not just staring at your phone and downloading something or listening to something on your phone, but to actually see all of this beautiful art around you. It inspires me.”

London, UK | All the London record shops taking part in Record Store Day 2026 (and the best deals): Time Out’s guide to the most unmissable Record Store Day events in London on Saturday April 18 2026, from free vinyl giveaways to club nights. When Record Store Day started out in 2007, it really did feel like vinyl might be on the way out: thousands of independent music traders were closing their doors as fans fled to cheaper (but less magical) digital ways of consuming their fave bands. These days, it’s more like a victory lap for the fantastic record shops that have created whole scenes around themselves, and become sites of pilgrimage for loyal customers. This year’s event falls on Saturday April 18, and as ever, it’ll be a stellar excuse to beat a path towards your local store for exclusive releases, and perks including free bevvies.

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It’s that time of year again.

Record Store Day is Saturday, April 18, and if you know, you know—the lines, the crates, the early morning coffee runs, the thrill of walking out with something you’ve been hunting for. There’s nothing else quite like it in the music world.

But every year, RSD also attracts a new wave of listeners just getting started. First-timers. People who’ve been meaning to set up a turntable for years and finally pulled the trigger. And the question they’re all asking is the same one it’s always been: Where do I even start?

For a lot of those listeners, the answer starts with Audio-Technica. Founded in 1962 by Hideo Matsushita out of a small Tokyo apartment, the company has spent over six decades doing one thing exceptionally well—making great audio accessible to everyone. Turntables, cartridges, headphones, microphones. Bedroom setups and broadcast booths. If you’ve been in this hobby for any length of time, you already know the name.

Ahead of Record Store Day, I got my hands on two of their latest: the AT-LP70XBT Bluetooth turntable and the AT-SP3X powered speakers. I also sat down with Kurt Van Scoy, Audio-Technica’s VP of Products, Business Alliances & Marketing, to talk about where the company came from, what these products are built to do, and what he makes of the vinyl moment we’re all living through right now.

No frills on the packaging—just clean, functional, and everything well protected inside. Directions were right there, easy to follow. Audio-Technica isn’t trying to sell you an unboxing experience. They’re trying to sell you a turntable. I respect that.

First thing I noticed out of the box: lighter than I expected. But don’t let that fool you—this thing is well built. Solid, confident, no wobble or flex anywhere. The hinged dust cover snapped on first try. No fussing, no loose hinges, no missing hardware. If you’ve ever wrestled with a budget table’s dust cover, you know exactly why that matters.

Setup, for a small home office situation, was genuinely painless. The AT-LP70XBT pairs over Bluetooth—no additional wires required—and the connection established quickly and without drama. In an era where “easy setup” is a marketing promise that often proves aspirational rather than accurate, this one delivered. The turntable was spinning within minutes of coming out of the box.

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