Melissa Etheridge

Debut from 1988 gets the Deluxe Edition, two-CD treatment

The Wild Swans – Incandescent

Best-of for Liverpool post-punks

Beth Orton – Pass In Time

Somewhat premature best-of includes rarities and music from Japan-only release Superpinkmandy

Various Artists – Strawberry Bubblegum

What 10cc did before they became 10cc

Old School Ties

Second wave hip hop pioneers, unfairly best known for donating a little bit of that hip to Aerosmith

Partie De Campagne (A Day In The Country)

Generally hailed as Renoir's 'unfinished masterpiece', this sad, lyrical short from 1946 is based on a Guy de Maupassant story. A young girl finds a quasi-romance after wandering off from her picnicking family near the Seine. It's all about Renoir's impressionistic eye for nature and the transience of innocence: a personal, poetic work which now, extended, looks better than ever.

Various Artists – Rough Trade Shops: Country 1

Smart, educational survey of two decades of alt.country

Dirty Pretty Things

The versatile Stephen Frears merits much praise for presenting a side of London life which is usually swept under rugs. Illegal immigrants work demeaning jobs round the clock to stay afloat, and are routinely exploited—right down to their internal organs. The heroic Chiwetel Ejiofor and an arguably miscast Audrey Tautou lead this worthy, intriguing drama with a macabre twist.

Linda Perhacs – Parallelograms

Gorgeous, ethereal folk, recommended to Uncut by Devendra Banhart

Doves—Where We’re Calling From

They may not be the most charismatic bunch ever to tread a rock'n'roll stage, but Doves sure know how to put on a fine show. Recorded live in the extraordinary location of the Eden Project in Cornwall during the summer of 2002, the Manchester trio storm through a rousing set of uplifting tunes, in which "Pounding" and "There Goes The Fear", from their latest album, The Last Broadcast, are inevitably the highlights. EXTRAS: Arguably even better than the main feature.
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