Proper Vinyl & CDs

Review: By the time Shift-Work came along, The Fall had put out 13 studio albums and been going for 15 years. Apparently ready to switch things up, Mark E Smith sacked guitarist Martin Bramah and keyboardist Marcia Schofield after the Australian leg of the tour for Extricate, cutting the lineup to four, for the first time in the band's history. Then he set to work finishing a record that had been started while on the road. Few would fail to pick up on the difference between here and before. While there's still plenty of those mesmerising, experimental, punk-not-punk goth moments, Shift-Work also embraces more pop sensibilities and seems to take more time to pay respect to rock & roll, or a gritty interpretation of it. Meanwhile, tracks like 'Edinburgh Man' and 'A Lot of Wind' feel introspective than ever.

Review: Here, celebrating its 40th anniversary, Level 42's World Machine returns with a special reissue of the 1985 album that launched them to global fame. Departing from their jam-based roots, the band embraced a more structured songwriting process and also set to work producing the album themselves with engineer Julian Mendelsohn. The result was a polished, pop-funk breakthrough led by the hit single 'Something About You' which of course became a Top 10 hit worldwide, including in the U.S. Follow-up singles like the emotive 'Leaving Me Now' and the infectious "'World Machine' cemented the album's success and helped mark a major turning point in the band's career and 80s pop history.

Review: It's almost hard to believe Therapy?'s fourth album, and their second for a major label, is now 30 years old. Talk about a reason to seek help. Often considered the Northern Irish rockers at their all-time peak of success, it's certainly the group's most commercial effort both in terms of the sound and the sales that followed its release. For some, then, the switch to a more direct, punk-oriented style, with plenty of nods to a metal scene that was, back then, still pretty melodic and pre-doom, marked the end of what had been one of the UK's finest noise rock outfits. Certainly the involvement of big business music execs had an impact. However, we'd say Troublegum is really about balancing raw energy and teeth-clenched attitude with a more accessible form, and it works very well indeed.