Birthright 34

Citizenship, Naturalization

25 is a greatest hits album by Norwegian band A-ha. 25 includes all 33 of the band's singles (excluding the promo singles "I Wish I Cared", "Birthright", "Waiting for Her", "Lie Down in Darkness", "Maybe, Maybe" and "Love Is Reason", as well as the original 1988 single "The Blood That Moves the Body" and the 2003 live version of "The Sun Always Shines on T.V."), along with five album tracks and the B-side "Cold as Stone" (remix). The album includes A-ha's final single "Butterfly, Butterfly (The Last Hurrah)". This compilation is far more comprehensive than either of the two previous compilations (Headlines and Deadlines – The Hits of A-ha and The Definitive Singles Collection 1984–2004). The Japanese version features a different tracklist, with three tracks chosen by the Japanese public. Also this version features a shortened tracklist sequenced out of chronological order, however it does include seven tracks not included in the international version.

Citizenship, Naturalization

Since the project’s inception, The End Of The Ocean have been the subject of great expectations. Upon the release of their 2011 full-length debut, Pacific-Atlantic, the Columbus, Ohio band was immediately christened a torch-bearer in the second wave of American post-rock. They managed to live up to predecessors such as Explosions In The Sky, This Will Destroy You, Caspian and Red Sparrows with Pacific-Atlantic and their 2012 EP In Excelsis. The acclaim for those releases resulted in almost 20 million streams on Spotify and allowed the band to take their dynamic live performances on the road. It’s safe to say that all signs pointed towards a long and successful career for The End Of The Ocean.

Gain the Mindset, Prestige and the Satisfaction of Being a Modern Author

Fear, stress, depression & anxiety management. Reclaim your happiness with world bestselling author Alexandra Massey.

The arrival of a new Mogwai album – their eleventh – is cause for great celebration. The album’s title, The Bad Fire, is a working-class Glaswegian term for Hell. It reflects the difficult time that members of the band were going through. New to the studio was American producer John Congleton, known for his work with Explosions In The Sky, Sigur Rós, John Grant and pretty much everyone in between. Congleton’s work can be heard on the album’s three singles. The album opener “God Gets You Back” sounds like Daft Punk being hunted by My Bloody Valentine, while “Fanzine Made Of Flesh” sounds like a victory parade for a baby yeti; and “Lion Rumpus” does actually sound like a lion rumpus. The music of Mogwai is a difficult thing to describe, but an easy thing to experience. At punishing volume, it can annihilate your body, leaving you as little more than a head which should by rights fall helplessly to the ground. Yet the music contains an updraft, a sense of beauty encased in the onslaught. This holds you up, suspended and empowered, reminding you that paradise is your birthright. This is especially true of The Bad Fire. It may have been created in dark conditions, but all that is transcended by the act of four musicians working together here, now, in the moment – the only place where Mogwai exist.