New Release of the Week: The Charlatans - Up To Our Hips

The 30th anniversary of The Charlatans’ third album, ‘Up To Our Hips’, is marked with the release of an expanded edition this week.

The set features the original album, plus 10 bonus tracks made up of live session recordings, rare mixes and more, all curated by Tim Burgess.

The special package has brand new reimagined artwork by Nik Void and the LP is pressed on petrol blue bio vinyl.

Released in 1994, ‘Up To Our Hips’ was a new direction for the band. It leaned slightly away from the lighter pop songs of their previous two albums and is darker, heavier and organ led.

At the time, they were listening to a lot of Small Faces, Beatles, and Dylan and watching David Lynch films all while navigating internal band stress, and many of the lyrics on the album reflect the situation within the band at the time.

Sound Pick: Shed Seven - Change Giver

The debut album by much-loved Yorkshire band Shed Seven, ‘Change Giver’ is being released on vinyl for the first time since it came out, also for its 30th anniversary.

‘Change Giver’ was released on Polydor Records in September 1994, on the leading edge of the Britpop movement and established the group as one of the most successful and cherished of the era.

Although not garnering the headlines and controversy of other acts of the time, Shed Seven had a trademark sound and a fervent fanbase, resulting in a lengthy career and a string of hit albums.

‘Change Giver’ was described by Melody Maker as ‘a chipper, cocky collection of brassy Northern pop songs’.

The album reached the UK top 20, and established the band as one of the most popular acts of the final years of the 20th Century.