Records

NEW RELEASE

Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream (Hut, LP/tape/CD). An instant post-grunge landmark from a ferociously accomplished Chicago buzz-harmony quartet. This has a denser feel than their debut, Gish, but is similarly melodious and durable. It bursts into life with the cacophonous single 'Cherub Rock', but softer, soppier moments like the concluding 'Luna' have the most impact. Billy Corgan's songs do not seem to be about much, but there's an infectious crooning curl to his voice that sweeps them along. The guitars sway tautly and there are some precocious string arrangements too. REM's Mike Mills plays barely audible piano on the delightfully woozy 'Soma', and stardom on his level may beckon. Ben Thompson

THE IoS PLAYLIST

Oui 3: Break from the Old Routine (MCA, single). Engaging summer fluff from the multi-national rappers. BT

Orange Juice: The Heather's on Fire (Postcard, LP/tape/ CD). The early singles - deathless Scottish pop. BT

Gloriana: Barstow, Langridge, Kenny, Jones, Mackerras (Decca, CD only). Long-awaited issue of the opera Britten called his 'slighted child'. Michael White

Moses und Aron: BBC SO / Boulez (Sony, CD only). A classic 1970s recording, reissued as part of a Boulez-conducts-Schoenberg series. MW

Donald Fagen: Kamakiriad (Reprise, LP/tape/CD). Smooth grooves, nifty playing, subtle arrangements: almost as good as the first side of Aja. Richard Williams