Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album

During its heyday in the 80's, Factory Records worked with some of the most brilliant graphic artists around, including Peter Saville, Den Kelly, Mark Farrow, 8VO and Barbara Kruger. Their stylish design is almost as iconic as the era-defining bands (Joy Division, New Order, etc.) that are synonymous with the Manchester-based label. The upcoming new book, Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album,is the first to …

Up Hygh: The Venus Album

Don't let the uninspired cover art fool you, Up Hygh's The Venus Album is one of the best deep and dirty hip hop soul albums of the year. Unapologetic devotees of Jay Dilla's (RIP) pioneering Detroit dirty underground soul, these barely legal Stockholm neophytes to production lace their tracks with thumping and snapping electronic drum sounds, deep bass, and synth blips. But Up Hygh's Rik …

Lily Allen Heads Up

Just a quick heads-up for American readers: Smile by Lily Allen, who we wrote about back in April and who last month made her live stateside debut, is this week's Free Download on the U.S. iTunes Store. A gently-skanking tale of being dumped, the tune was popular in the U.K. over the summer, and serves as a decent introduction to the talented Londoner.