Just back from the frontline, Allan Jones has fought in the bloodiest rock'n'roll campaigns of the last 40 years. Now, safely positioned in the Uncut Watchtower, he takes time off editing Uncut to file these compelling dispatches. Allan has eight million stories to tell, and plenty of new scraps to start, too. Join him...

There are thousands of new CDs in the Uncut office, and John Mulvey is on a mission to find the good ones. Check Wild Mercury Sound every day for rash, ill thought-out, yet strangely trustworthy reports on the best forthcoming releases. From forthcoming blockbusters and choice reissues, to underground treasures - we hear them here first.