Ocean

Sun Kil Moon’s excellent Among The Leaves is Uncut’s lead review in the new August 2012 issue, out now. In this feature from September 2010 (Take 160), Mark Kozelek looks back over the highlights of his recording career, from Red House Painters to his current wrestling-indebted incarnation. Words: Graeme Thomson –––––––––––––––––––––––––

Plenty of gold in this week’s haul, and not much better than the Duane Pitre album whose sleeve is posted above – a truly excellent record that I must admit I missed when it was released a few months back.

A serene beginning this morning, with a new Terry Riley album, “Aleph”. Over on my 40 Favourites Of 2012 Thus Far blog, however, things became a little less genteel yesterday, as you can see in the comments thread at the bottom of the chart.

Here we go, then: my 40 favourite albums of 2012 thus far. A very personal list, I should say, so please don’t think it constitutes any kind of canonical Uncut pronouncement.

Smashing Pumpkins' frontman Billy Corgan has laid into Radiohead, declaring them "pompous". The singer, whose band release their new studio album Oceania on Monday (June 18), said that Oxford band were a symbol of the current culture of "valuation" which he despises.

A busy few days, with No Direction Home last weekend, thenMikal Cronin in Dalston on Monday, and a lot of good records to play while we’re winding up the next issue (I’ve embedded a couple of choice Youtube links this week in the list).

Moving epitaph for The Blue Nile’s melancholic grace...

May comes round again, and with it another Great Escape, one of the year's most satisfying festivals – not only because of its setting in Brighton's many beautiful venues, but because we at Uncut are again putting on our own three nights of some of the most interesting new bands around.

Paul Simon has scooped this year's Polar Music Prize. The award is given yearly to both a pop and classical artist. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has won the classical portion of the prize. Both artists will be given their prizes of one million kronor (£91,000) at the ceremony in Stockholm on August 28, reports BBC News. Patti Smith and Kronos Quartet won the prize last year, and other previous Polar Prize winners include Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bjork and Bob Dylan. The award was founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, former manager of ABBA.

The Beach Boys have confirmed the track listing for their new album, That's Why God Made The Radio. Along with the title track, the album also features "Think About The Days", "Isn’t It Time", "Spring Vacation", "Private Life Of Bill And Sue", "Shelter", "Daybreak Over The Ocean", "Beaches In Mind", "Strange World", "My Life Suite", and "Summer’s Gone". The album will be preceded by a single, "That's Why God Made The Radio", on April 30. The album itself will be released on June 4.