Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Talk about things that make you go "oooh." The moment we heard that Daniel Avery, Working Men's Club and Ghost Culture were working together on a "new musical project" we had a lot riding on the results being particularly potent. Quite what they might sound like was anyone's guess mind, and there was an underlying worry that we might be left with another supergroup disappointment - where the parts are strong but don't necessarily understand how to gel. Demise of Love prove that doesn't have to be the case every time. It sounds like all of the above and yet none of them, it's ripe with emotion, fraught with punk ferocity and outwardly romantic in an electronic sense. Rave-y, weird, melancholic, angry, sleazy and infinitely re-playable, believe the hype.

Review: A reissue of material that Pete Shelley originally released in 1981, not long after the Buzzcocks' first split. It may be his second solo album, but with his first album - Sky Yen - being an arty experimental record, it's this album that spawned his first ever solo single. Giving a glimpse into the ridiculous censorship at the time, the single, 'Homosapien', was banned by the BBC, who interpreted a line in the track to be a sexually explicit reference to gay sex. Sonically, the album marks a humungous shift from the punk sound that Shelley gatecrashed the mainstream with in the Buzzcocks in the mid-70s. This is a highly electro-pop record and had producer Martin Rushent, who was also working with The Human League on the epoch-defining Dare album at the time, help shape the forward-thinking sound it became.

Review: Given the sharp left-turn that Shelley took with his solo career after leaving The Buzzcocks, it's sort of irrelevant if you're a fan of his seminal punk band or not. This second solo album - now reissued - is an entirely different kettle of fish. Whilst the 80s is famed for a lot of innocuous releases, due to the industry flush with cash, this stellar electro pop album - originally released in 1983 - stands the test of time: it's more experimental and artful than the run-of-the-mill chart-botherers of the time. This is a record that conveys Shelley's ability to write timeless, direct, hard-hitting singles ('Telephone Operator') and veer into more sprawling and adventurous arrangements ('What Was Heaven?') with the fluency of a true auteur. Producer Martin Rushent is due his flowers here, too, as it was his and Shelley's evolved embrace of innovative studio techniques during these sessions that set the bar for The Human League and other classic acts around the scene at the time.