Today Only: Pop sale vinyl

Review: NOW's ongoing 'Yearbook' series reaches 1988, a year in which pop music was becoming increasingly influenced by the saucer-eyed rise of dance music culture. The four discs contain a wealth of chart-bothering hits from the period, dashing between 'imperial phase' period Pet Shop Boys ('Heart', 'Left To My Own Devices' and the Seventh Wonder gem they wrote and produced, 'I'm Not Scared'), Hacienda-inspired remakes of classics (New Order's 'Blue Monday '88'), manufactured pop cheeriness (Bros, Bananarama, Rick Astley and Jason Donavan), dancefloor classics (Inner City, S'Xpress, Bomb The Bass, Salt N Pepa), OTT rock and metal (Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi), pop-reggae (Aswad), novelty singles (the KLF's Doctor Who-themed outing as The Timelords), and much more besides.

Review: Based in London, UK, but originally hailing from Argentina, Malena Zavala is nothing if not disinterested in picking a style and sticking with it. Following on from her 2018 debut album, 'Aliso', 'La Yarara' again sees her combining some bold and often disparate genres, and playing with language - Spanish and English - to dazzling effect. The result being a record that's devastatingly effective and equally original. 'What If I' is a positive, upbeat and hypnotic pop lullaby. 'Compay' is saturated in a bluesy atmosphere, melding this with downtempo electronica. 'I'm Leaving Home' is a lackadaisical, whispered slice of reflective chill out. The title track is South American exoticism, canned and then opened on record. A huge talent diving deeper into sonic possibilities, and following what sounds good rather than familiar.