Thames Valley Leather Club and Other Stories

The journalist Rob Fitzpatrick described él Records as “the most innately English record label there has ever been.” And while this does a disservice to the clear European and international influence evident in both the label’s sound and visual aesthetic, one could certainly describe the sole album from singer and songwriter Kevin Wright as one of the most innately English records there has ever been. Released under the nom de plume Always, 1988’s Thames Valley Leisure Club and Other Stories is a wistfully melancholic study of suburban ennui, Wright observing like a commuter belt Lou Reed as he wanders past chiming spires of gently jangling guitars. Wright’s voice has a Lloyd Cole like warble to it, but more often – particularly on the magnificent, shimmering “Amateur Detection” – Always feels like a South East England reflection of Midlands idealists Felt.