Proper Vinyl & CDs

Review: An underrated totem of British rock due to their many-sided, idiosyncratic ways, 10cc have a deep and rich legacy which broke through to mainstream recognition on just a few occasions. One of those occasions was the evergreen 'I'm Not In Love', a blue-eyed soul ballad for the ages, and it appeared on this, their third album. If you were expecting more of the same from the rest of The Original Soundtrack though, think again, as this outfit of insanely talented musicians follow their own creative whims. 'Life Is A Minestrone' is another of the band's most appreciated songs, but for the real 10cc experience let it play from the start and prepare to be swept away in the pomp and splendour of a daringly different kind of British rock band.

Review: This is the second of three inventive and influential albums that John Cale released through Island Records in the mid-70s. The Velvet Underground founding member was in stellar company with Brian Eno, Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera and one of the most prolific studio session guitarists of all time, Chris Spedding, all appearing on the album. The album is stacked with bangers, but of note is the life-affirming and soulful 'Dirtyass Rock 'n' Roll; his cover of 'Heartbreak Hotel', which is one of the best covers ever recorded and 'I'm Not The Loving Kind'. The latter gained recognition most recently when the late, great Mark Lanegan covered it beautifully for his Imitations album. Cale will forever be a wellspring of inspiration.

Review: Music legend John Cale, best known as the Welsh multi-instrumentalist who co-founded The Velvet Underground, which went on to become one of the most influential groups of all time, is best known for his collaborative work in bands and his work as a producer. But he has a storied solo catalogue. With releases stretching from 1970 to 2024, there's an impressive array to delve into. His fourth album, Fear, is considered by fans to be one of his best. Fear was recorded when Cale returned to living in London after spending years in America. A slew of musicians also signed to Island at the time appear on the record, including Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music and Brian Eno. It's a truly compelling mix of avant garde freakouts and melancholic art rock that's a reminder that music can be incredibly freeing and transcendental when played with this level of imagination and spirit.

Review: The Cocteau Twins' transition from 4AD to Fontana Records in the early 90s marked a significant shift, yet their 1993 release Four-Calendar Cafe remains a stunning addition to their discography. Despite the upheavals, including strained relationships, the band delivered a gem that subtly evolved their signature sound. Four-Calendar Cafe follows the acclaimed Heaven Or Las Vegas and presents a more accessible, melodic approach while maintaining the ethereal and beautiful characteristics we associate with the Cocteau Twins. Tracks like 'Know Who You Are At Every Age' and 'Evangeline feature Elizabeth Fraser's crystalline vocals, layered over Robin Guthrie's lush, reverb-drenched guitars. 'Bluebeard,' with its country-inflected melody, and 'Squeeze-Wax,' an uplifting lullaby, highlight Fraser's more discernible lyrics, adding an intimate layer to the album's dreamy soundscapes. The dynamic closer 'Pur,' solidify its place in the band's esteemed discography. Reissued on vinyl for 2024, Four-Calendar Cafe remains a great album to listen to, blending shimmering atmospheres with Fraser's amazing voice. This release reaffirms the Cocteau Twins' status as pioneers of dream pop, whose influence continues to resonate.

Review: Universally acclaimed British folk pioneers Fairport Convention had a remarkable rise to the top of a series of superb albums that came in quick succession. This, their fourth album, came in 1969 after the band was involved in a fatal car accident in which their drummer Martin Lamble was killed. Liege And Lief now gets reissued as it was back then and with its five traditional tracks sitting next to three originals in a folk style. It is the template they followed for many years after and the one that made them such a widely regarded band. The epic 'Matty Groves' is one of the band's most long-lasting anthems.

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: House Of Love's classic album Babe Rainbow gets a full reissue that wholly replicates the original version from 1992 on Fontana. The band initially formed in 1986 in South London and features vocalist Guy Chadwick, lead guitarist Terry Bickers, bassist Chris Groothuizen and drummer Pete Evans. Early on they were inspired by The Jesus And Mary Chain and soon found critical acclaim and commercial success with their self-titled debut becoming an instant indie-disco hit. Babe Rainbow came after lots of heavy touring and promotion saw Bickers leave the group to form Levitation and be replaced by Simon Walker. It features notable singles such as 'The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes' and live favourite 'Crush Me.'

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: Originally released in 1987, this album featured Level 42 at their commercial and creative peak, blending pop, funk and jazz with impeccable musicianship and slick production. Now reissued on striking red vinyl, this album, their seventh at the time, remains an important piece to the band's signature sound and their ability to craft infectious, sophisticated pop. At the heart of the album are its massive singles. 'Lessons in Love' is a timeless pop-funk anthem, driven by Mark King's signature slap bass and soaring melodies. The title track, 'Running In The Family', combines a polished groove with reflective, autobiographical lyrics, while 'Children Say' has become a cult favorite for its smooth, atmospheric quality. On the softer side, 'It's Over' is a beautifully crafted ballad. The album's production is sleek and radio-ready, yet it never sacrifices the band's instrumental virtuosity. From the intricate basslines to the jazz-infused keyboard work, Running In The Family strikes a perfect balance between complexity and accessibility. This reissue not only highlights Level 42's most successful era but also serves as a reminder of their unique ability to fuse technical skill with mainstream appeal and nearly 40 years on it sounds as fresh as ever.

Review: Photek's masterpiece for the new millennium Solaris catches a repress on Proper recordings. From propulsive, metro-setting opener 'Terminus' to the elegiac, trouble-in-paradise closing synth meditation 'Under The Palms ', Rupert Parkes casually shakes off all expectation with a flurry of infectious head boppers channeling everything from the fragmentary half-step of the nascent broken beat stylie- read: 'Juno' (sic), to the snarling Valve-era techstep of Dillinja and Lemon D on 'Infinity' via Larry Heard's late 90s deep lounge leanings on the peerless 'Mine To Give' (note the similarity in artwork with Heard's Genesis). Solaris is very much a product of its time, the highest praise possible given the early 00s was one of the most amoebic and fluid periods in UK dance music history. It speaks to the undying british dancefloor tendency to allide tempo and atmosphere, casually felling boundaries in genre to create something as reverential as it is innovative. Classiq.

Review: Shed Seven's debut album Change Giver is an example of a brilliant slice of the Britpop era, striking a balance between the laddish exuberance of Oasis and the emotive depth of Suede. Originally released in 1994, this new reissue on high-quality 180gm vinyl presents the band's unique sound that resonated with fans from both sides of the Britpop divide. Vocalist and frontman Rick Witter and guitarist Paul Banks crafted catchy melodies layered with jangly riffs and introspective lyrics. While Witter's swagger often leans toward self-promotion, tracks like 'Missing Out' show his talent for vulnerability. 'Long Time Dead' features passionate lyrics, embodying the clumsy charm that characterises Witter's delivery. The amazing track 'Dolphin' is a Britpop classic, with its infectious groove and vibrant beats guaranteed to ignite any indie dancefloor. 'Mark', the band's debut single, is another highlight, blending catchy guitar work with sing-along lyrics. Change Giver shines with its solid compositions and memorable tunes.

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.

Review: Winner of the Orville H. Gibson award for best acoustic guitar player - yes that's right - British songwriter Richard Thompson serves up 13 Rivers, an album (his 19th) featuring a host of well-heeled legends and regular Thompson collaborators like Michael Jerome, Taras Prodaniuk and Bobby Eichorn. If you're new to his music consider it something of a balance between the salty croons of Nick Cave to storytelling appeal of Johnny Cash or John Fogerty. Oh yes, we'll be that bold, as Thompson was donned with a lifetime achievement honor for songwriting that came from the Americana Music Association. So yes, 13 Rivers provides this amount of channels, ballads and trips that will send you through the estries of Thompson's sound and style. Enjoy!

Review: The Wedding Present's Watusi, often overshadowed by its predecessors, emerges as a hidden gem in their discography. Initially released amidst the frenzy of their Hit Parade singles, it suffered from being ahead of its time"a blend of pop hooks and Seattle underground influences that defied easy categorisation". Yet, as fans who witnessed them revisiting it at their Brighton event recently will atest, 'Watusi' feels remarkably contemporary, its hypnotic melodies and nuanced instrumentation resonating with a neo-drone edge. While it may have been a hard sell in its era, the current lineup breathes new life into its subtle intelligence, unveiling its true brilliance. Overlooked but not forgotten, Watusi finally gets its due recognition as a key release from The Wedding Present, reaffirming its place in their storied career alongside Sea Monsters, George Best and the Hit Parade singles.

Review: Proper Music embark on a proper reissue of White Noise's 1969 debut and power-electronics-populariser, An Electric Storm. A bastion of cult musique concrete albumry born of the triadic genii of David Vorhaus, Brian Hodgson, and Delia Derbyshire, An Electric Storm was a watershed album at the time. And given certain conservative proclivities of the music releasing landscape today, it very well still could be. Going into what would surely become a longstanding collaborative project, this LP established the trio's patented approach to recording - 'storm techniques' - which aimed to proffer to the listener sounds which, the band wagered, would've never been heard before. A natural stipule of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the album is the sonic quintessence of the word 'tinkering' - the group combined all manner of tape loops, vocals, live percussion and weirdo-phonics - yet also works in motifs of the then popular modes of psychedelia and chamber pop; these songs are otherwise unsettlingly embedded in licentious, doomy texturescapes, comprising various groans, gulps, moans and bangs.