AQUALUNG Vinyl & CDs

Review: It's safe to say that Aqualung's eponymous debut album was very much a product of its time. A period when alt-leaning rock-y balladry packed with a forlorn, almost melancholic atmosphere and off-key melodies had taken over the mainstream in a fevered clamour to resurrect an indie scene that had been running out of ideas since the waves of Britpop began to recede.

None of which is a criticism, but rather a prelude to hearing this spectacular record again, at which point you're likely to be transported back to watching the VW Beetle ad that used the track 'Strange and Beautiful', and the first season of Skins (which featured 'Good Times Gonna Come'). Stadium sized quiet bleeding romance, heartbreak, and an introverted attitude, it's no wonder this record catapulted Matthew Nicholas Hales - as the artist was born - into the upper echelons of producers, songwriters and collaborators (the list of who he's worked with is, to put it mildly, impressive).