Bleep

Finders Keepers unearth solid gold with the debut album from the somewhat Absurd Mancunian sarcastic synth pop group Gerry & The Holograms, described in 1980 by Frank Zappa as "the hottest thing to come out of Manchester within at least 15 minutes" and to this day a firm favourite with everyone from Diplo to Optimo's JD Twitch.

Born from the minds of cultural historian CP Lee (of Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias & Greasy Bear fame) and John Scott (famed for playing on records from John Cooper Clarke among other things) Gerry & The Holograms' only two DIY discs (one of which came in an unplayable situationist-inspired 7" which was glued into its own sleeve destroying the grooves in the process, a theme that was also common within the confines of Manchester's Factory Records at this time) have been cemented at the top of many collectors' want lists and subject to much hushed discussions in back rooms of Northern boozers as to the truth behind the group's identity.

Gerry & The Holograms is the greatest psychedelic pop record that never was, freshly unearthed and sounding as head turning and otherworldly as ever, this slice of Mancunian mischief joins the ranks of Jilted John's debut as a totally wired and truly wyrd pop record carries both a comedic value that will find a great home with anyone plugged into the post-punk comedy of Stewart Lee, yet has an undercurrent that pushes through some ideas that have a uniquely Salford surrealist angle.

Following in the steps of recent years Finders Keepers now considered classics from Spider King, T.R.A.S.E. & the Man Chest Hair compilation, Gerry & The Holograms debut is the final piece of the puzzle to be placed. In many ways it's the missing link between the city that it came from's fiercely independent music scene that stems from the mid-70s through to the present day, an album that perfectly joins the dots between the esoteric music score running through the grooves of John Cooper Clarke's records, a cut and paste Blue Monday around New Order's, the proto-punk DIY attitude of Spiral Scratch and the rain-soaked memories of On-U Sound's The Mothmen.