Primal Scream’s 1987 EPs ‘Gentle Tuesday’ and ‘Imperial’ Get Packaged as Vinyl Reissue for Record Store Day 2026 (ALBUM REVIEW)

Years before Primal Scream bridged the UK’s rave and rock cultures with their landmark album Screamadelica, the Scottish group’s debut, Sonic Flower Groove, was decidedly more jangle pop than acid house. Pulled from a pair of 1987 singles tied to their debut 1987 EPs collects Gentle Tuesday and Imperial for the first time on a single pressing, and in doing so, it highlights just how fully formed, yet stylistically different, the band already was before their later reinventions. For Record Store Day 2026, Rhino Records has pressed these EPs on translucent-blue vinyl at 45rpms as an RSD Exclusive limited to 3500 units.

Side A centers around “Gentle Tuesday,” which sets the tone with bright, jangling guitars and a loose, almost drifting rhythm. It’s unmistakably tied to the late ’80s UK indie scene, with Bobby Gillespie’s detached vocal delivery sitting low in the mix, more part of the texture than the focal point. “Black Star Carnival” follows a similar path but feels slightly fuller, with a bit more weight in the rhythm section and the vocals more to the forefront of the mix. The standout here is “I’m Gonna Make You Mine,” a cover of The Shadows of Knight track, where the band leans into a cleaner, more direct pop structure while still keeping that psychedelic rock style intact.

Side B shifts gears slightly with “Imperial,” one of the more driving tracks from this era. There’s a stronger sense of momentum here, leaning into the Madchester sound of The Stone Roses. The surf-leaning guitar lines of “Star Fruit Surf Rider” brings a lighter, almost playful feel, giving the set a bit of variety. The other notable cover, “So Sad About Us” by The Who, is handled with restraint and is less explosive than the original, but filtered through the band’s softer, more introspective lens. Closing with the “Imperial (Demo)” finds the group stripping things back further and giving a glimpse at how raw the song started before being shaped in the studio.

What stands out across both EPs is consistency. The band isn’t jumping between styles yet (it would be another year before Alan McGee introduced them to Acid House). They’re locked into this jangly, melodic approach, building songs around feel rather than hooks or dynamics. It’s a quieter version of Primal Scream, focused on different influences like The Who and The Byrds. As a vinyl release, this kind of compilation works especially well. The two EPs complement each other naturally, and having them collected in one place gives this era more weight than it’s typically given. It’s not the version of Primal Scream most people come for, but for longtime fans or anyone interested in their early evolution, it fills in the picture in a way that feels complete rather than supplementary.