The Psychedelic Pirates vinyl

Anyone who has followed Emotional Rescue knows it has always does a fine job of documenting pock punk and UK punk dub's early years, in this case showcasing the previously unheralded work of Skinbat Scramble, who emerged from the mundanity of the Home Counties to converge on London during the early 80s. Core members Mark Eason and Fergus Crockford were simultaneously inspired by the speedy punk thills of the Roxy Club and the Two Tone scene of ska and reggae which ran alongside it, as well as counter cultural heroes of the generation before like Gong and Velvet Underground. They got to work distilliing slow tempos, experimental sounds, dub and much more into leftfield rhythms, and while the likes of 'Basement Voltaire' - all echoing electronics, high frequency blips and merciless drum machines - or the Clash-in-dub workout 'North By Northwest' are rooted very much in the Cold War/Thatcher years, their individuality and experimental vibe mean they've endured remarkably well. Scramble to get yourself a copy.