Late Night Tales At Juno Download

Review: Six years after the release of their first inspirational Late Night Tales mix, fey Scottish post-indie miserablists Belle & Sebastian unveil a second volume. Given the unusual and exciting nature of their first collection, hopes are naturally high for Volume 2. Thankfully, it's every bit as odd, enjoyable and enlightening as the first edition. Psychedelic folk-pop, Indian soul, Balkan beats, Spanish crooners, Chanson ballads, film soundtrack compositions, Gold Panda, The Lovin' Spoonful, dancehall, The Pop Group and Pete Shelley all feature, alongside a range of thrillingly strange records that defy easy categorization. As a collection of music, it's breathtakingly brilliant, while the accompanying DJ mix is wonderful.

Review: Macclesfield-born visual artist and poet David Shrigley has a long association with the Late Night Tales' camp, having recorded a number of spoken word pieces for the acclaimed compilation series. This debut album, originally released on CD back in 2005, is in many ways typical of his work. It mixes his flat, deadpan, spoken word observations with a variety of scuzzy, lo-fi musical backing tracks. At times, the resultant tracks sound like a folksy take on Arab Strap, at others like a dreamy noughties revision of 90s ambience. Throughout, Shrigley's finely crafted words take centre stage.

Review: Following hot on the heels of the Lindstrom reissue, the Late Night Tales digital remasters series continues with a typically eclectic and atmospheric selection from Four Tet man Kieran Hebden. Like many other Late Night Tales selectors before and since, Hebden used the opportunity to cram in many weird and wonderful choices as possible, digging deep into his impressively left-of-centre record collection. So, we get American classical minimalism from Terry Riley, a smattering of spooky jazz numbers, the psychedelic folk-rock of Manfred Mann and Fairpoint Convention, off-kilter experimental hip-hop from Gravediggaz and Madvillain, and some clicky electronica from Manitoba. Predictably, the included DJ mix joins the dots in fine style.

Review: 10 years on from its initial release, Groove Armada's contribution to the Anotherlatenight series gets a new lease of life. For those searching for deep, downtempo and vaguely Balearic fare, it's well worth a look. While Groove Armada's mix is enjoyable enough, it's the unmixed tracks that are most worthy of attention. Amongst the familiar classics (Kleer's boogie classic "Tonight", Mr Fingers' "Can You Feel It" and Metro Area's "Muira"), you'll find hot curiosities from the likes of Shuggie Otis (the decidedly acid-fried "Strawberry Letter 23"), Loose Ends ("Feel The Vibe"), Good Together (forgotten super-deep house jam "Work It Out") and Don Ray (the heady disco grooves of "Standing In The Rain").

Review: Second time around for Hans-Peter Lindstrom's decidedly Balearic, prog rock-tinged Late Night Tales selection, which first saw the light of day back in 2007. This time round, it's been given a gloss of new paint in the form of a sparkling digital remaster. While this is all well and good, the selling point remains the Norwegian producer's excellent, left-of-centre selections. There's another chance to check his own cover of Vangelis' "Let It Happen", classic Balearica from Fearn Kinney and Carly Simon, acapella action from Todd Lundgren, freestyle ambient jazz-funk from George Duke, a slew of forgotten prog rock faves and a brilliant dub track from Oslo mates Prins Thomas and Todd Terje ("Reinbagan").

Review: Taken from the nocturnal stashes of Zero 7 main men Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, the 17 tracks that go into this latest instalment of the Late Night Tales series provides a fascinating mix of hip-hop, soul, dub and acoustica. Fans of Zero 7's distinctive laidback hip-hop style will certainly appreciate beats from soulmates such as Yesterday's New Quintet or The Cinematic Orchestra (as on the classic "Channel 1 Suite"), while soul hunters will go nuts for the incredible '70s jazz-funk snap of Sylvia Striplin's "You Can't Take Me Away". With other names like Souls of Mischief, Don Blackman, Slum Village and The Stylistics included, this is a perfectly crafted late night journey.