The Playlist: Norman Records

Norman Records curate The Playlist, our new top 5 music tracks chosen by taste-makers in the north.

Since opening in 1996 Leeds-based music emporium Norman Records has been a loyal go-to for those after a fix of alternative and experimental music. From rare records that prove un-Google-able to classic LPs, Norman Records is the kind of place that glides and grows seamlessly through the years with a band of loyal followers. One online forum dedicated to the joys of Norman has a regular who recollects the photocopied lists of new releases he received in the post every Friday in the mid-1990s, an order form with choices to be ticked and a cheque to be returned a week later. The record outlet, of course, now operates online – rose-tinted nostalgia be damned – but remains a favourite for their honest, witty staff reviews which echo the counter-leaning camaraderie formed in real-life record stores.

Our latest installment of The Playlist sees founder Phil Leigh riffling through some of his favourite classic LPs, with a couple of newer, underground offerings thrown in for good measure. Here then, are Norman Records’s Top 5 picks, to delve into over the next fortnight:

Holden – The Inheritors

Our favourite track from James Holden’s LP – one of the finest electronica albums of the last year.

Tortoise – Glass Museum

Ear opening music from the seminal 1996 album ‘Millions Living Will Now Never Die’.

Neil Young – Down By The River

From Young’s classic ‘Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere’, which our staff-member Kim sings all the time.

Bikes – Yellow Car

The opener from the awesome self-titled garage rock LP by a mysterious (and internet presence devoid) Berlin band.

Devo – Uncontrollable Urge

The unbelievable primitive garage rock masterpiece by the greatest band of all time. Devo are my Ramones.