From the late 60’s The Red-Light Bandit stands as one more experimental re-telling of a true crime case. The film features a fragmented narrative and darting structure, mixing elements of crime thriller, satire, and anarchic artiness. It was based on the case of João Acácio Pereira da Costa- who in São Paulo in the 60s committed four murders, seven attempted murders, and seventy-seven robberies, receiving a sentence of three hundred and fifty-one years, nine months, and three days in prison. Here from Severin is a Blu-Ray reissue of the film- taking in a 2k scan, a few extras, and a selection of short films.

The Invasion is an early 2000s alien epidemic sci-fi thriller, featuring  Nichole Kidman as a  Washington, D.C psychiatrist who starts to notice something a miss with both her patients and her estranged husband.  In the cast, she’s joined by Daniel Craig (latter-day James Bond) as a Doctor friend- for a nicely pacy and paranoid-edged ride of a film.  Here from Arrow- both in the UK and stateside- is a new Blu-Ray release of the picture-taking in a new print, a new commentary track, and a few other new/old extras.

From the early ’70s, A Symphony For Amaranths is a larger jazz orchestra-focused album. It moves from tone shifting/ mood vary composition, to more dramatic/ theatrical poem-weaved pieces.  Neil Ardley- was an influential  English jazz musician and composer, whose body of work largely dates from the 70’s.  Here from BGO Records is a CD reissue of the album- featuring a remastered mix, a bonus track, and a fifteen-page inlay booklet with a new write-up about the album/its composer.

The rather wonderfully monikered Dan Hicks And His Hot Licks were an American band who largely operated between the late 60s and 1970s. They brewed up an idiosyncratic/ at times playful blend of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music. Here from BGO Music is a two-CD set bringing together three of the band's albums from the early 70’s- taking Where’s The Money?, Stinking Rich, The Last Train To Hicksville…The Home Of Happy Feet.

Christmas horror is virtually a genre in itself. And by Santa, there have been some greats. Silent Night, Deadly Night Parts 1 and 2,  Christmas Evil,  Gremlins (?) and of course the best of the bunch proto-slasher, Black Christmas. It always feels like a bit of a win-win for horror fans around this time of year - coming off the back of Halloween going straight into the festive season and director Airell Anthony Hayles’ recent holiday horror, Advent fits the bill rather nicely.

Mother Mallards Portable Masterpiece Co. is a live synthesizer band founded by David Borden, that has taken several forms over the decades, beginning in the late 60's.  This two disk collection is an anthology reflecting back upon their various eras.