The Crate Zine

CD & Music Reviews

Field notes, deep-dives and loud opinions from the people sorting the bins. Buy. Sell. Swap. Read.

Two Interpol CDs side by side on a wooden table: Our Love to Admire and This Mirror Weighs a Ton

Cover Story · Rock

Don't read music reviews about the music you love

Interpol's new album sent me back to the one time a review changed how I heard a record I already loved. Turns out the psychology backs it up. Listen first. Read later.

Roman · 05 Sep 2026 · 7 min read

More from the crate

A garage-rock band playing a small brick-walled club in black and white, singer at the mic
Rock

Veni Vidi Vicious on disc: which Hives pressing is the one to own

It shrugged onto shelves in 2000, then sold by the truckload after the band broke in 2002. Here's which pressing of The Hives' garage-rock landmark is worth owning on CD.

20 Jun 2026 · 3 min read

A jazz quartet playing a dim brick-walled club beneath a Live Jazz Tonight poster
Jazz

The reissue trap: reading jazz liner notes like a pro

Half the bargain-bin reissues hide their real provenance in eight-point type on the back. Here's how to spot a flat transfer before you pay for it.

12 Jun 2026 · 1 min read

An empty pub band stage at night lit by a single spotlight, drum kit and guitar waiting
Rock

Pub rock on silver: a crate-digger's map of Australia

From Oz-rock staples to the expanded remasters worth the extra dollar — where to dig and what to grab.

09 Jun 2026 · 1 min read

A record-store counter with classic CDs laid out and a 'Long live the CD' sign
Pop

The lost art of the CD-single B-side

The best two minutes of the '90s never made it onto the album. They were hiding on a $2 single all along — and most crates still have them.

05 Jun 2026 · 1 min read