Optic Nerve Vinyl & CDs

Review: Formed in London in 1986 by singer-songwriter Guy Chadwick and lead guitarist Terry Bickers, The House of Love managed to land one of the era's true anthems with just one attempt - debut single 'Shine On', which encapsulated the passage of a torch from post-punk to baggy indie perfectly, offering a premonition for what the start of the following decade might sound like. Logically snapped up by the legendary Creation label, around a year or so later they unveiled a stunning debut album and before long they were headlining the Albert Hall. The rest is history. Landing in 1990, by which point the band's reputation for both incredible music and hedonistic, psychedelic lifestyles was well established, Real Animal offers three tracks of pure magic to clarify why the outfit were so acclaimed. Nodding to James, New Order, Spiritualized, Stone Roses and more, if this is your first encounter, prepare to fall head over heels.

Review: Following the success of last year's My Beautiful England, his first solo album for two decades, David Westlake has decided to offer up an expanded reissue of his 1987 debut, Westlake (now retitled D87 in reference to the NME's legendary indie tape, C86, on which he featured). Westlake recorded the album following the collapse of the band he'd led, The Servants, with the help of fellow post-punk era songwriter Like Haines of The Auteurs. The original album, which bristles with jangling and layered, Johnny Marr style guitars, expressive vocals, good grooves and occasional strings, still sounds great, and this time round comes backed with recordings of a 1987 'session' for Janice Long's BBC radio show.