They coulda been contenders. At the start of the 90s, Edinburgh noiseniks Joyriders were contemporaries and friends of The Lemonheads and Nirvana, yet somehow conspired not to make it big. This Japanese released retrospective collection shows what the fuss was about – a rattling, harmonious racket imbued with the hardcore spirit of Hüsker Dü, the furious power of grunge and the sweet melodies of Motown. At their best, like on the gloriously driven punk-pop of ‘Home’, the raging riffage of ‘Moving’ On’ or the booze-soaked adrenaline rush of debut single ‘King of Gasoline’, this was a band that easily matched their more famous peers.

(Fixing a Hole)