Various Artists

Various Artists – Philadelphia Roots 2

Another tasteful Soul Jazz series rolls on

Various Artists – Studio One Funk

Nineteen Jamaican 'versions' of US soul/funk tunes

Various Artists – Disco Undead

Cult horror movie-inspired synth-pop

A Natural Woman

Intense, peak-period live set featuring two previously undiscovered Nyro songs

Various Artists – The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered

Sterling two-disc salute to the (very much alive) godfather of lo-fi

Various Artists – Sean Rowley’s Guilty Pleasures

Innocent nostalgia-fest; highly-charged

Tortoise

Post-rock visionaries in their prime

Various Artists – Lif Up Yuh Leg An Trample Honest Jon’s

Trinidadian soca selected by Damon Albarn and his Honest Jon's partners

Various Artists – Warp Vision (The Videos

The adventurous Warp offer prize videos from the likes of Chris Cunningham ("Windowlicker", "Come To Daddy") alongside promos by, among others, fellow Sheffield alumni Jarvis Cocker. Lesser known but equally arresting, Jimi Tenor's "Total Devastation" and John Callaghan's "I'm Not Comfortable Inside My Mind" help make this an intriguing alternative history of one of the UK's most far-sighted labels.

Various Artists – Country Got Soul:Volume Two

Following the success of 2003's inaugural compilation, the follow-up sways to the same delicious white-boy groove. The cream of '60s/'70s southern country is here—from Tony Joe White to Dan Penn—torn between smalltown escape and pining for home. White's "High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish" drifts in on a haze of woodsmoke; Bobby Gentry's "Fancy" is stifling humidity personified; Townes Van Zandt gets alarmingly funky on the early "Black Widow Blues" (1966); Shirl Milete's "Big Country Blues" is a lyrical feast.
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