THOMAS DOLBY Vinyl & CDs

Review: It might cost a bit more to manufacture but 180g vinyl is much more satisfying to hold. There's something in your brain that tells you weight correlates to quality and it's best to trust it. This decadent cut of silver vinyl is for the reissue of synth-pop legend Thomas Dolby's joyous masterpiece of a debut album (originally released in 1982). From the moment the first notes strike on the technopop opener 'Flying North', it's assured and makes you want to strap in for the long haul and when you do you're rewarded with eclectic leftfield hits, such as 'She Blinded Me With Science', which is so groovy and trippy it make you feel like you're strutting your stuff in the crowd on Top of the Pops in the 80s. It's an album that's up there with anything from the likes of Soft Cell, OMD or Gary Numan.

Review: First released by EMI and Capitol Records in 1984, critics were in two-minds at the time Thomas Dolby put out his second studio LP. Peaking at No.14 in the UK Albums Chart, and with first single 'Hyperactive!' hitting No.17 in the singles chart, his highest-ranking track, the public reception was certainly warmer. Many music writers were caught between an appreciation for the lyrical poetry and sense of rhythm, but put off by the fact "his passion for texture subsumes what small knack he has for cruder, more linear devices." Skip forward 40 years, to a time when electronic instruments - from synths to AI - have well and truly come to dominate popular music, and the idea that Dolby could ever be considered dull seems unthinkable. What's here is carnival-worthy synth pop the likes of which David Byrne would be proud of. Enough said.