Back catalogue: Pop

Review: Emotional Rescue returns to early 1980s Manchester with the previously unreleased music of Michael James Pollard and his beautiful distillation of indie pop in Too Confusing and bedsit cover version of Ashford and Simpson's Surrender.

While studying photography at Manchester Polytechnic, (MJ) Pollard lived and played in a band in a ramshackle house in Walley Range. In the cellar studio he would write and record his own songs using their guitars, fretless bass and keys, as well as his own Casio VL-Tone VL-1 and Simmons Clap Trap to augment his drums onto a 4 track TEAC.

By 1983, and now solo, he was recording out of Dislocation Dance's studio (ERC111), had secured a Peel Session and via Factory Records' Lindsay Reade, was discussing with Fundacao Atlantica about releasing an album.

Working with singer Sioux Goddard as a duo, they put down 8 songs in 2 weeks in summer '84. However, Fundacao Atlantica's financial difficulties and soon closure meant the songs were lost until now.

Recovered off the original tapes and lovingly restored, Too Confusing captures the optimism of the sessions, a summer love melody of forlorn youth. Surrender accompanies, recorded back in that cellar in '81, with friend Stephanie Danziger on vocals, its lo-fi simplicity is a perfect take on an all-time classic, making this a newly prized gem of British indie pop history.

Review: Fabiana Palladino's long-awaited debut album brings plenty of smooth and high gloss sound back to the fore. Following the end of a significant relationship, Palladino uses the album to delve into themes of love, loneliness, and relationship norms and in the process crafts a ten-track album that superbly blends r&b, soul, pop, and disco influences from the 80s and 90s with a contemporary twist. Self-produced and featuring collaborations with notable musicians like Jai Paul, Pino Palladino, Rocco Palladino, Steve Ferrone, and Rob Moose, the album is a classy journey through shapeshifting sonics and intimate introspection, marking a significant milestone in Palladino's musical journey.

Review: The release of any new Peaking Lights record is cause for celebration, but there's something extra-exciting about The Fifth State of Consciousness, the husband-and-wife duo's sixth studio set. It's colourful, psychedelic, vibrant and unashamedly sunny, offering a thrill-a-minute ride through kaleidoscopic synth-pop, wide-eyed Balearica, humid reggae-pop and hazy, sunrise-friendly goodness. There are few surprises, of course, but a wealth of thoroughly brilliant, emotion-rich, head-in-the-clouds moments. Highlights include the chiming Balearic rush of "Wild Paradise", the early Pet Shop Boys in dub drowsiness of "A Phoenix & A Fish", and the dreamy, wall-of-sound shimmer of "Love Can Move Mountains". In other words, it's the aural equivalent of coming up at dawn on a secluded Californian beach.

Review: Twelve Carat Toothache is the fourth studio album from multifaceted rap icon Post Malone. Aiming for a sound that both broadens his horizons and gives his fans a little uplift, Malone's contribution to the global tidal wave of pandemic-rooted LPs features Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat, Fleet Foxes, the Kid Laroi and the Weeknd. Digging into his confessional approach and teasing the possibilities of a pop-minded rap record on lead singles 'One Right Now', 'Cooped Up' and 'I Like You (A Happier Song)', Post Malone continues to evolve as an artist, leaving unique and compelling albums such as this one in his wake.

Review: Pretenders' iconic album Learning To Crawl gets a crystal clear vinyl reissue here to commemorate its 40th anniversary. Retaining the original 1984 artwork and tracklist, this reissue boasts 2018 remastered audio by producer Chris Thomas which arrives on wax for the first time. Following a band hiatus marred by the tragic losses of guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, the album features various musicians before Robbie McIntosh and Malcolm Foster joined to solidify the lineup. Achieving Gold and Platinum status in the UK and US, the album peaked at #11 in the UK and #5 on the Billboard 200 and includes beloved tracks like '2000 Miles' and 'Back on the Chain Gang'.