Love Spit Love - Love Spit Love

Released on 2 August 1994 by Imago Records, the eponymous debut album by Love Spit Love marked a bold creative rebirth for singer Richard Butler and his bassist brother Tim Butler. Emerging immediately following the initial dissolution of their legendary 1980s new wave outfit The Psychedelic Furs, the brothers relocated their creative focus to New York. They recruited prodigious multi-instrumentalist guitarist Richard Fortus and power-house drummer Frank Ferrer (both of whom would later join Guns N' Roses). The result was an album that shed the heavily layered, synthesized pop veneer of the Furs' later years in favour of a sharper, more immediate guitar-driven alternative rock texture.

Produced by alternative-rock icon Dave Jerden, renowned for his foundational studio work with Jane’s Addiction and Alice in Chains, the album masterfully bridges the gap between classic post-punk romanticism and mid-90s grunge intensity. The highly sought-after 2CD Limited Edition expands on this 12-track statement by appending a coveted bonus disc filled with raw acoustic variants, unreleased tracks, and alternate mixes. Despite being criminally overlooked commercially upon its release due to the explosive height of American grunge, the record remains a definitive cult-classic testament to Butler's songwriting reinvention, famously generating the modern rock hit "Am I Wrong".

Feeder - The Singles

The UK edition of The Singles, released in May 2006 via The Echo Label, serves as the definitive celebration of Feeder’s first decade as one of the UK’s most resilient and commercially successful alternative rock bands. Dropping at the absolute peak of their mainstream powers, the compilation was a massive commercial triumph, debuting at #2 on the UK Albums Chart and quickly achieving multi-platinum status. It beautifully maps the band’s astonishing journey from late-90s post-grunge underdogs to early-2000s stadium-filling indie-rock titans.

Spanning 20 tracks, the album meticulously gathers 18 of the band's charting singles alongside three brand-new tracks recorded specifically to promote the release: "Lost & Found", "Burn the Bridges", and "Save Us" (with "Lost & Found" serving as the record's lead single). Crucially, the UK edition finally gave a permanent home to beloved standalone singles like "Just a Day" and "Shatter", which had previously only existed on CD singles or movie soundtracks. By presenting these hits in a non-chronological, high-energy sequence, the UK edition stands as the quintessential introduction to the band’s golden era.

Feeder - Comfort In Sound (Japan Edition)

The Japanese release of Comfort in Sound, distributed via Pony Canyon in October 2002, serves as a powerful artifact of one of the most turbulent yet creatively triumphant moments in Feeder’s history. Arriving just days before the standard UK version, this pressing was eagerly anticipated by the band's substantial Japanese fanbase. Written entirely by frontman Grant Nicholas in the painful aftermath of the tragic suicide of original drummer Jon Lee in January 2002, the album represents a monumental tonal shift for the band—moving away from the breezy pop-grunge of Echo Park into deeply cinematic, emotionally raw territory.

While the standard UK release was already hailed as a masterpiece of grief and healing, the Japanese edition elevates the narrative by adding two stellar bonus tracks: "Opaque" and "Emily". Rather than altering the carefully orchestrated flow of the core 12-track album, these songs were appended to the end of the record. The inclusion of these tracks provided Japanese listeners with a deeper, more exhaustive look into Nicholas's prolific songwriting period during this era of intense mourning, transforming an already heavy listening experience into a comprehensive journey of catharsis.

Feeder - Echo Park

Echo Park is the third studio album by British alternative rock band Feeder, released on 23 April 2001 through Echo Records. Coming off the back of their critically acclaimed but darker sophomore effort, Yesterday Went Too Soon, the album represented a deliberate shift toward a more polished, radio-friendly sound. Produced by the legendary Gil Norton—famed for his work with Pixies and Foo Fighters—the record masterfully blended heavy, driving guitar riffs with infectious pop sensibilities and subtle electronic textures. It ultimately served as the band's massive commercial breakthrough, debuting at number five on the UK Albums Chart and firmly establishing Feeder as a mainstream powerhouse in the early-2000s British rock scene.

The album's legacy is irrevocably tied to its runaway lead single, "Buck Rogers," a quirky, high-energy anthem that skyrocketed into the UK Top 5 and became the band's signature track. However, Echo Park is also remembered with a poignant sense of melancholy by fans; it was the final studio album to feature original drummer Jon Lee, who tragically took his own life in January 2002. The record stands as a testament to the original trio’s undeniable chemistry, capturing a band at the absolute peak of their melodic power and youthful energy right before their lives and musical direction were altered forever.

Feeder - Yesterday Went Too Soon

Japanese release of Yesterday Went Too Soon, distributed in late 1999, stands out as a unique and highly sought-after variation of Feeder’s seminal sophomore record. Tailored specifically for the Japanese market—where the band has always enjoyed a dedicated, passionate fanbase fueled by bassist Taka Hirose’s roots—this edition features significant alterations to the standard track list. Rather than simply adding bonus tracks to the tail end of the album, the band structurally reworked the record's pacing.

Most notably, the upbeat but occasionally maligned track "Hole in My Head" was entirely omitted from the main sequence of the Japanese pressing. In its place, the band integrated two prized B-sides: "I Need a Buzz" and "Can't Dance to Disco", which originally appeared on the UK CD singles for Insomnia and Yesterday Went Too Soon respectively. This resulted in a seamless 14-track journey that showcased a slightly different, more eclectic artistic angle to the band's transition away from raw post-grunge toward polished indie rock.

Feeder - Polythene

Released on 19 May 1997 via Echo Records, Polythene is the ferocious debut studio album by British alternative rock trio Feeder. At a time when Britpop was beginning to lose its lustre, the South Wales-formed outfit—comprising guitarist/vocalist Grant Nicholas, bassist Taka Hirose, and late drummer Jon Lee—offered a blistering antidote. Produced alongside Chris Sheldon, the record took the post-grunge, heavy-reverb aesthetics of the American Pacific Northwest and injected them with a distinctly British indie-punk urgency. It was a sonic statement of intent that successfully bridged the gap between underground alt-rock and mainstream viability, earning critical acclaim and a dedicated cult following.
The record's enduring reputation was cemented by a string of explosive singles, most notably the fan-favourite "High" (which was later added to subsequent pressings to turbocharge the album's chart longevity), "Stereo World," and "Cement." Polythene captured a raw, un-sanitised version of Feeder—all visceral fuzz pedals, frantic rhythms, and angsty lyrical themes. It laid the vital foundations for the arena-sized melodies that would define their later career, remaining a certified nineties alternative classic that stands proud as one of the era's finest and heaviest British guitar debuts.

The Comsat Angels - Strawberry Studios Demo

The Strawberry Studios Demos (frequently circulated among tape-traders as The Fiction Demos 1982) capture the English post-punk pioneers The Comsat Angels at their most pivotal creative crossroads. Recorded in Stockport during May 1982 under the eye of producer Peter Wilson, this working archive functions as an unpolished, stark look at the material that would eventually form their third studio LP, Fiction. What makes this specific compilation remarkable is its dual nature; it preserves the foundational workspace tracks of the album alongside crucial standalone singles and elusive outtakes like "Mass" and "Private Party." Because the session tape operates with a distinct archivist sequencing—placing deep cuts and B-sides directly adjacent to rough mixes—it serves as the definitive audio blueprint of the band’s final, celebrated Polydor Records era.

Stripped of the glossy new wave sheen and radio-ready gate filters that were eventually layered onto the retail release, the Strawberry Studios Demos emphasize the physical space of the room itself. Listeners are treated to a fascinating glimpse of a band mutating in real-time, attempting to expand their sonic architecture with synthesizers without losing the stark, skeletal foundation of their early catalog. Though long traded on degraded cassette dubs and bootleg soundboards, the enduring historical value of these specific sessions was finally validated when archivists used this exact track layout to pad out the definitive deluxe expansions of Fiction. It remains a captivating, unvarnished window into the creative mechanics of one of Sheffield’s most fiercely independent outfits.

The Comsat Angels - From Beyond 2

From Beyond 2 is a 2000 archival compilation album by The Comsat Angels, released through the definitive UK indie label Cherry Red Records. Subtitled "A Compilation 1987–1995," the 15-track anthology uniquely charts the secondary half of the Sheffield post-punk pioneers' turbulent career. In a famously perverse twist of music industry licensing, the label could only secure the rights to the band’s later catalog, meaning that From Beyond 2 paradoxically exists without ever having a From Beyond 1 predecessor. It bridges their studio output from late-period LPs, their ill-fated identity crisis under a corporate pseudonym, and rare posthumous solo ventures.

The album functions as a highly valuable retrospective of a band processing the changing sonic landscape of the late '80s and early '90s. Alongside highlights from their critically acclaimed late-career albums like My Mind’s Eye (1992) and The Glamour (1995), the disc rescues elusive rarities, such as a fierce cover of The Soft Boys. It rounds out its scope by including tracks from the group's post-breakup offshoots and solo projects, offering the most comprehensive, singular portrait available of the Comsats' final creative decade. Complete with historical liner notes and direct track commentary by frontman Stephen Fellows, it remains a thoroughly curated holy grail for alternative rock history.

The Comsat Angels - To Before

To Before is a comprehensive 2007 archival double compilation album by the revered Sheffield post-punk outfit The Comsat Angels, issued via the specialist boutique reissue imprint Renascent. Spanning a vast chronological timeline from 1978 to 1993, the 24-track collection meticulously gathers rare demo recordings, forgotten outtakes, and unreleased studio anomalies salvaged from an assortment of old cassettes, DATs, and vintage bootlegs. The release functions as a raw, fascinating alternate history of the group, purposefully split across two discs to document their dual identities: their stark, brooding post-punk emergence and their subsequent, label-pressured foray into sleek late-80s alternative rock. 

The historical anchor of the collection resides on Disc One, which treats listeners to the group’s earliest creative drafts, including the entirely intact, highly sought-after 1979 debut EP "Red Planet". Frontman Stephen Fellows famously caveated the collection as being a bit "warts-and-all in places", acknowledging the varying audio fidelity that mirrors the archival nature of the source materials. However, by rescuing these hidden fragments from physical decay, To Before serves as an indispensable window into the band's compositional architecture, mapping out exactly how their signature interplay of cavernous basslines and pointillistic guitars originally coalesced in the studio.

The Comsat Angels - Enz

Enz is a 1982/1983 compilation album by the English post-punk band The Comsat Angels, released exclusively in the Netherlands via Polydor Records. Serving as a bridge between their early, claustrophobic masterpieces and their mid-80s transition to a cleaner new wave sound, the album was a unique regional strategy to capitalize on the band’s passionate Dutch fanbase. The LP packages crucial non-album singles, moody B-sides, and rare studio outtakes that had previously been scattered across various 7" and 12" vinyl releases. Packaged in a striking, neon pink-and-green sleeve that playfully echoed Split Enz's Enz of an Era, the record quickly became a mythical Holy Grail for collectors due to its limited geographic footprint.

Though never officially granted a standalone digital or CD reissue, Enz remains a vital blueprint of the band’s most creatively fertile era. The 10-track compilation gathers definitive milestones like their debut Polydor single "Total War," the soaring post-punk anthem "Independence Day," and the elusive studio outtake "Mass." By anchoring these rare cuts alongside alternative mixes, such as the punchier version of "After the Rain," the album offers an incredibly cohesive listening experience that rivals their proper studio LPs. For modern listeners, these tracks have thankfully been preserved as bonus material on expanded CD reissues, but the original Dutch vinyl remains the definitive testament to the band’s early-80s darkwave majesty.

Various Artists - The Enigma Variations Compilation 1988

If you want a masterclass in how an American independent powerhouse introduces its finest street poets and noise terrorists to European ears, hunt down the 12-track export pressing of The Enigma Variations Compilation 1988. Mastered in 1987 and dropped onto the shelves across the Netherlands and Europe under the STEMRA rights society, this sleek single-LP release is the ultimate distillation of the legendary Enigma Records stable. Instead of the sprawling, 26-track double-vinyl monolith that hit US shores a few years prior, the label trimmed all the fat to deliver a sharp, hyper-focused, and completely addictive sampler. 

This version of The Enigma Variations feels like a beautifully curated, imported zine. It was designed to give European kids a direct pipeline into the bleeding edge of the American underground. Packed with an eye-popping 24-page catalog booklet charting the label's aesthetic, the record serves as a bridge where jangly power-pop seamlessly collides with snotty skate punk, Pacific Northwest grunge roots, and early psych-rock. It captures the exact moment independent college-radio culture was reaching its absolute peak.

Various Artists - Manchester North Of England - A Story Of Independent Music From Greater Manchester (1977 1993)

Grab your rain mac and clear some major space on your shelves, because we are digging into an absolute juggernaut of regional music history. Manchester North Of England (A Story Of Independent Music Greater Manchester 1977-1993) is a massive, beautifully sprawling 7CD deluxe box set dropped in 2017 by the archival geniuses at Cherry Red Records (catalog number CRCDBOX38). Taking its name and cover art from a legendary 1988 Bop Cassettes tape, this 146-track monster was curated in a massive collaborative effort with the Manchester Digital Music Archive (MDMA) to document how a single rainy northern city completely transformed global music culture.

This isn’t just a lazy compilation highlighting the usual textbook suspects; it is a meticulously researched sonic map tracking a scene from the exact moment the Buzzcocks dropped their self-released Spiral Scratch EP in January '77 right up to the earliest guitar-heavy rumblings of Britpop in 1993. Chronologically arranged, it charts the incredible mutation of youth culture through raw first-wave punk, the dark and moody Factory Records post-punk gold rush, the jangly bedroom aesthetics of the C86 era, the sweaty, MDMA-fuelled Madchester indie-dance explosion at the Haçienda, and beyond. Packed with exhaustive track-by-track sleeve notes by legendary local music scribe Mick Middles, it is an essential, ink-stained testament to musical self-determination.

Various Artists - Gothic Rock, The Ultimate Collection

Dust off your fishnets, dig out the black eyeliner, and light a few cloves, because we are diving straight into the abyss. If you want the ultimate, unholy bible of post-punk gloom and batcave sleaze, you need to get your hands on Gothic Rock - The Ultimate Collection. Dropped as a mammoth 5CD box set in 2008 by the legends at Jungle Records (catalog number FREUD CD 666), this thing is an absolute monolith. It basically bundles together three of the label's legendary, scene-defining compilations curated by the ultimate goth high priest and music journalist, Mick Mercer. We’re talking over six hours of cobwebbed history packed into a glorious, bleak package.

This box set doesn't just play the hits; it maps out the entire evolution of a subculture from the late '70s right through the '90s dark wave explosion. Mercer’s curation is like a beautifully ink-stained, photocopied zine itself, tracing how first-wave punk collapsed under its own weight and mutated into something darker, more theatrical, and tribal. It is a brilliant, exhaustive crash-course that treats the massive, driving stadium-goth anthems with the exact same historical respect as the most obscure, tape-traded Batcave oddities.

Various Artists - Gary Crowley's Lost 80s

Forget the usual neon-soaked, radio-throttled nightmares that try to tell you the 1980s were just Phil Collins and giant shoulder pads. If you want the real, sweat-and-hairspray truth about what was actually shaking the UK underground, you need to unbox Gary Crowley's Lost 80s. Released in 2019 by Demon Music Group / Edsel Records, this massive 4CD media book (or stripped-back triple-vinyl) is an absolute goldmine. Legendary London DJ and broadcaster Gary Crowley basically went digging through his own personal crate of dusty 7" and 12" singles to pull together 63 rare, diverse, and completely unhinged tracks from 1980–1987 that time—and major label streaming algorithms—criminally forgot. 

What makes this compilation so vital is its total disregard for genre boundaries. Crowley mapped the decade exactly how it felt to live through it as a music-obsessed London kid: a chaotic, fast-moving kaleidoscope where a jangly indie-pop guitar track could sit right next to a heavy New York club remix or an underground jazz-funk jam. Sure, you'll spot massive mainstream heavyweights like Wham!, Spandau Ballet, Depeche Mode, and Bananarama on the sleeve. But Crowley pulls off a brilliant bait-and-switch—you aren’t getting "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" or "True". Instead, he delivers their raw, weird, early debut singles and forgotten B-sides from before they hit mega-stardom, showing the exact moments these future giants were still just hungry club kids.

Various Artists - The Indie Scene 1979

If you want to know exactly when the underground fractured into a million glorious, weird pieces, drop the needle on The Indie Scene 79. Released in 1991 by the Connoisseur Collection as part of their legendary year-by-year deep dives into British independent music, this double-vinyl/CD artifact is a masterclass in DIY survival. By 1979, the initial three-chord shock of '77 was morphing into something way more experimental, artsy, and electronic. Fledgling labels were popping up in bedrooms across the UK, bypassing the major-label gatekeepers entirely to press whatever bizarre sounds they wanted onto cheap wax.

This specific comp functions like a beautifully curated, photocopied newsletter tracking the sonic shift from raw street punk to the moody dawn of post-punk, synth-pop, and 2-Tone ska. It pulls together 22 tracks from the absolute vanguard of the scene, mapping out the DIY landscape when bands like Joy Division, The Fall, and The Teardrop Explodes were just names on a 7" sleeve sold at independent shops. It is an essential sonic map of a time when the charts were being hijacked by outsiders who refused to play by the industry's rules.

Various Artists - Abstract Records (The Punk Singles Collection)

Abstract Records Punk Collection (widely known as The Punk Singles Collection) is a definitive compilation album released in 1995 by Anagram Records, a subsidiary of Cherry Red Records. Serving as catalog number CD PUNK 52, this release is a vital entry in Anagram’s historical series documenting the seminal independent record labels of the UK's post-1977 underground movement. The album collects 20 essential A-sides, B-sides, and rare tracks originally issued by Abstract Records, an influential imprint founded on April Fools' Day in 1981 by former CBS and GTO promotions veteran Edward Christie.

Architecturally, the compilation serves as a sonic time capsule capturing the rapid mutations of punk rock during the first half of the 1980s. Rather than sticking to a single formula, the release demonstrates how Abstract Records acted as a crucial bridge between traditional first-wave punk structures and the rising tides of anarcho-punk, goth-tinged post-punk, left-wing political pop, and power-pop indie. Featuring cornerstones of the scene like U.K. Subs, New Model Army, and The Gymslips, the record preserves the grit and diversity of a transitional era when the UK indie charts were a battlefield of fierce creative independence.

Abstract Records was originally started on 1st April 1981 by Edward Christie, a former promotions man at CBS and GTO Records. Edward had also worked at GEM Records and was responsible for signing the UK Subs, The VIPS and The Killermeters amongst others. Following the collapse of GEM, due to RCA withdrawing it's financial backing, he set up Abstract and it's first release was by a Scottish outfit FK9, a single called 'Our Condition'.

In the Early 80's Abstract vied with the likes of Secret, Cherry Red, Jungle, etc. as one of the UK's leading independent labels, with many of the companies acts moving on to major labels though Abstract scored considerable success in both the Independent and National Charts. 

The Comsat Angels - 12.10.83 - Manchester Adam & Eve, England (BBC Radio 1 In Concert recording)

The Comsat Angels' performance at Manchester's Adam & Eve club on 12 October 1983 captures the Sheffield post-punk band at a pivotal crossroad in their career. Originally captured for posterity by the BBC and transmitted across national airwaves as part of the BBC Radio 1 In Concert series, this particular live document found the four-piece aggressively touring behind their fourth studio album, Land. Having just severed ties with Polydor after a trio of stark, critically worshipped but commercially overlooked albums, the band's new record label, Jive Records, had pushed them toward an accessible, synth-driven sound engineered to scale the charts. Consequently, this performance serves as an invaluable real-time bridge where the band's natural dark-wave urgency slammed directly into their newfound pop aspirations. 

Despite the glossy studio sheen that defined their contemporary recorded output, the live energy preserved on this broadcast tells a starkly different story. Frontman Stephen Fellows, bassist Kevin Bacon, drummer Mik Glaisher, and keyboardist Andy Peake stepped onto the Manchester stage and stripped away the pristine radio-friendly armor. The setlist features an even distribution of their newer Land tracks integrated alongside classic underground staples. What remains on tape is a heavy, muscular performance that highlights the band's refusal to entirely abandon the brooding atmospheric tension that originally established them as peers to Joy Division and The Cure.

The Comsat Angels - Unravelled [Dutch Version]

Unravelled is a unique acoustic and alternative live-in-the-studio album by The Comsat Angels, originally released in 1994 on the Dutch independent label Crisis Records. Taped primarily for the prestigious "2 Meter Sessies" (Two Metre Sessions) on Dutch radio, the project showcases the band delivering radical, stripped-down reworkings of material spanning their entire catalog. Rather than a simple "unplugged" cash-in, the Dutch release represents a moody, minimalist reimagining of their art-rock legacy, captured just as the band was transitioning into their final musical era. 

The original Dutch version of the CD features an intimate 11-track sequence that heavily draws from their early '80s peak alongside select standouts from their 1992 return, My Mind's Eye. Recorded across two intense sessions—one at Axis Studios in Sheffield and another at NOB Audio 1 in Hilversum, Holland—the performances swap the band's dense, shimmering delay pedals for naked acoustic guitars and raw vocal delivery. This specific Dutch pressing has long been a highly sought-after collector's item for post-punk enthusiasts, offering a stark contrast to the expanded, differently-sequenced UK edition that RPM Records issued later that same year.

The Comsat Angels - Time Considered As A Helix Of Semi Precious Stones

Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones – The BBC Sessions 1979–1984 is a seminal archival compilation album by The Comsat Angels, originally released in 1992 by RPM Records. Like their band name (borrowed from a J.G. Ballard story), the compilation's striking title was pulled directly from a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction short story by Samuel R. Delany. Rather than standard studio cuts, the album captures a comprehensive chronological sweep of the group's legendary broadcast recordings made for BBC Radio 1 when they were at the peak of their creative powers. 

Because historical British broadcasting regulations strictly limited the playing of commercial records, alternative bands were frequently brought into the BBC's own studios to re-record their material. This collection primarily highlights the band's extensive sessions with legendary DJ John Peel—an early champion who hosted them four times between 1979 and 1981—alongside high-profile sessions for Richard Skinner, Kid Jensen, Janice Long, and Bruno Brookes. Reissued globally by Renascent Records in 2006, the album has long been celebrated as an essential companion piece that features raw, alternative performances that the band often preferred over their original album counterparts.

The Comsat Angels - My Minds Eye

My Mind's Eye is the eighth studio album by Sheffield post-punk band The Comsat Angels, originally released in 1992 on RPM Records. Arriving at a time when the British music press was dominated by shoegaze and American grunge, the album was a fierce assertion of identity from an overlooked band operating without major-label support. Notably, frontman Stephen Fellows has frequently cited it as his personal favourite album from their entire discography, proudly calling it the "apex of the group". 

The record holds a poignant place in the band's history as the final studio effort created by the original four-piece lineup: Stephen Fellows, Andy Peake, Kevin Bacon, and Mik Glaisher. Released amidst growing internal friction—which saw bassist Kevin Bacon increasingly pivoting to outside production work—the music acts as a testament to their tight, long-standing chemistry. Though it didn't find mainstream commercial success, it received widespread underground acclaim, earning some of the best critical reviews of the band's career.