Always - Almost complete discography

The tender and noble Kevin Wright (now formally known as Mr. Wright) put out 2 EPs and two LPs under his alias Always during the late 80's. The EPs and the first LP, Thames Valley Leather Club were released on the legendary El Records and inspired and influenced a myriad of twee/indie pop bands to come. His sentimental British style of wistful romanticism carried on to his work as Mr. Wright. It’s obvious that Wright is a man of immense depth as shown by his songwriting, which at times borders on poetry with musical accompaniment. These early beginnings may be a little rough and amateurish and even thin at times (although in a delicate way) compared to the more fleshed out, orchestrated Mr. Wright albums, but nonetheless affecting and emotive.

The reason I love Wright’s music so much, and perhaps the reason he is so often ignored by the public, is his brutal honesty and his intrinsic introspective display of real and genuine sadness as well as his aching suspiring for something more in life. He can transform the banal into something interesting, and really, really hit you with a maudlin (although not sappy), melancholy song when you’re not expecting it. There's even a strange, almost out of place track on Thames Valley Leather Club and Metroland, "Park Now" which carries a sense of portentous film score anxiety. It's a great, suspenseful track, just a little randomly placed amidst heap of pop music, maybe thrown in to add some diversity to the mix

This collection features two classic albums and one of his EPs (the other of which, Ariel Atlas I couldn’t track down, but I imagine the songs were featured on Thames Valley Leather Club like 3 of the tracks on the Metroland EP). Even if it comes off as little out of key at times or that he isn't the most proficient musician, Always is pop at its most sophisticated and distilled, much like Felt and Momus of the era. These are historically defining must-haves in any collection, even if the world chooses to ignore their general existence, influence, and sheer brilliance of their esoteric brand of pop. He has a myspace here, where you can listen to some of his newer material, and I've posted a few Mr. Wright albums previously here (Hello, is Anyone out There?, 2001) and here (Metropolitan, 2004). BUY THIS MAN'S ALBUMS!

Collection includes:

Metroland EP (1987-8?)
Thames Valley Leather Club LP (1988)
Looking for Mr. Wright LP (1989?)

DOWNLOAD