Felt - Forever Breathes The Lonely Word (1986)

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Along with The Smiths, Orange Juice and a few select others Felt were one of the pioneers of British indie music throughout the 80’s and were also one of the biggest influences on indie pop and dream pop bands that followed. The album is characterised a lot by jangly, chiming guitars reminiscent of early Byrds, the bright sound of the Rickenbacker guitar is pretty much unmistakable here. But the excellent use of organ is what makes this album stand out, both the guitars and the organ complement each other remarkably well and interweave with each other to create a bright and colourful sound. The album as a whole has a very lively and upbeat feel to it, especially on songs such as the carefree opener ‘Rain Of Crystal Spires’ and the super catchy ‘Grey Streets’. But the album also has a small underlying sense of melancholy in places as well, especially on ‘September Lady’ and the beautiful ‘All The People I Like Are Those That Are Dead’, the latter being the most downbeat on the album as probably indicated by the title. Vocalist Lawrence Hayward’s distinctive yet somewhat limited voice seems to be at odds with the music itself but in a good way similar to Tom Verlaine of Television. His lyrics are also quite excellent and give their music a very smart and intellectual feel.

Another thing I really like is the warm and inviting album cover, it’s the type of album cover that actually makes you want to listen to this album. The cover itself is in fact a photo of their keyboard player Martin Duffy. Belle and Sebastian owe a lot to this band and Stuart Murdoch has indeed cited them as a major influence. In an ideal world this is what pop music should sound like and what a wonderful world that would be.

Recommended Songs: ‘September Lady’, ‘Grey Streets’, ‘All The People I Like Are Those That Are Dead’


The Field Mice - Snowball + Singles (2005)

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Snowball + Singles is basically their 1989 debut mini-album Snowball repackaged and reissued with their early singles circa 1988-1989. The Field Mice played a great role in updating the indie pop sound for the 90’s, giving it a softer and more intimate feel that the music didn’t quite have around the C86 era and even adding electronic elements to their gloriously washed-out sound. The first eight tracks here make up the Snowball mini-album and although it is not a concept album all the songs seem to focus on love and the heartbreak and introspection of love gone wrong, as summed up nicely in the opener ‘Let’s Kiss and Make Up’ (covered by Saint Etienne not long after) and the beautifully downbeat ‘End Of The Affair’. Snowball itself unfolds remarkably over the course of its eight tracks right up to the slow-building epic finale of ‘Letting Go’, charting the highs and lows of a relationship. Things get even more interesting with the additional singles, which seem to slightly overshadow Snowball itself. The excellent ‘Sensitive’ is probably the highlight of this entire collection for me with its somewhat shoegazey feel and breath-taking climax while ‘When Morning Comes To Town’, ‘Emma’s House’ and ‘Fabulous Friend’ show that the band are capable of writing brilliantly memorable pop-infused songs.

Snowball + Singles manages to stay on the right side of twee and these songs, along with the rest of their material, have had a lasting effect on indie music. Their influence can be heard through bands such as Belle and Sebastian (surprise, surprise), The Radio Dept., The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Depreciation Guild and many others. Snowball + Singles, along with the rest of their short discography, make for an ideal soundtrack for lovesick twenty-somethings but is well worth anyone’s time and attention and deserving of a place in your music collection.

Recommended Songs: ‘Let’s Kiss and Make Up’, ‘Sensitive’, ‘Emma’s House’

The Flaming Lips - Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993)

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The Flaming Lips have a discography that the vast majority of bands could only dream of having. While their albums from 1999’s magnificent The Soft Bulletin up to their more recent 2009 album Embryonic feature slicker production and more experimental moments, their earlier albums before that were leaner, meaner and just that little bit more enjoyable to me. Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, the band’s sixth album and second for Warners, still had a more guitar-driven alternative rock sound but had the memorable and accessible tunes would become associated with the band from The Soft Bulletin onwards. Opener ‘Turn It On’ captures the mood of this album perfectly, a positive and uplifting record that manages to be both accessible and in tune with the underground at the same time. ‘Pilot Can At The Queer Of God’ and ‘Superhumans’ in particular show a hook-filled side to the band and also show the commercial potential that band had at the time. There are still plenty of experimental moments scattered throughout the album that the band retained from their psychedelic past, such as the tripped-out slacker vibes of ‘Oh, My Pregnant Head’ and ‘Slow Nerve Action’.

If you were to ask me which is my favourite Flaming Lips album it would be a tough choice between this and 1995’s Clouds Taste Metallic. Both of these albums represent my favourite Flaming Lips era and both feature a great combination of crunching guitars, memorable uplifting songs and some spaced-out moments. But Transmissions From The Satellite Heart just wins by a whisker due to more enjoyable songs and a slightly shorter running time. Both of these albums however are true 90’s alternative rock classics worth hearing.

Recommended Songs: ‘Turn It On’, ‘Pilot Can At The Queer Of God’, ‘Superhumans’


Flying Saucer Attack - Flying Saucer Attack (1993)

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This is the debut album from these enigmatic Bristol feedback-mongers. Their self-titled debut, along with their early albums, is a relatively lo-fi affair recorded on home recording equipment. Their sound here on this album features sheets of fuzzy guitar noise reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s early material along with melodic, submerged vocals and bears a strong resemblance to a lot of the shoegaze that was around at the time. Songs such as ‘My Dreaming Hill’ and ‘A Silent Tide’ are shrouded in layers of thick fuzzy guitar that overpower the listener and allow him or her to pick their way through it and find the melodies for themselves. It’s certainly not all noise and feedback though, the band have some really peaceful yet completely out-there moments such as the ambient, repetitive and possibly improvised drones of ‘Moonset’, ‘Popol Vuh 2’, ‘Popol Vuh 1’ (yes both tributes to a certain German krautrock band of the same name). These three tracks would make the perfect music for staring out into the night sky in a complete world of your own, drugs optional of course. The most unusual and surprising moment on this album however is the cover of Suede’s ‘The Drowners’. The song doesn’t differ too much from the original apart from being more lo-fi and cloaked in sheets of fuzzy guitar but the band almost make it their own and it did a lot to attract some media attention at the time.

The quiet and delay-heavy closing track ‘The Season Is Ours’ offers an indication of what was to come on 1995’s more ambient follow-up Further, an album which features less of the noisy guitars and more emphasis on atmospheric and otherworldly textures. Flying Saucer Attack however represents a better entry point to this remarkable band, a band that offers many great rewards for those who have the patience to listen to them.

Recommended Songs: ‘My Dreaming Hill’, ‘A Silent Tide’, ‘Popol Vuh 1’

Galaxie 500 - This Is Our Music (1990)

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Galaxie 500 are more widely known for their stunning 1989 album On Fire, which is indeed one of my all-time favourite albums. Following up On Fire however was going to be no easy task but they did an excellent job in crafting an album well capable of standing up to it. This Is Our Music does however seem to stand in the shadow of On Fire and is seen by many as inferior, but it doesn’t deserve to be seen that way. I see it as the last instalment in the great indie rock trilogy that was Galaxie 500’s three studio albums. Being the band’s final album there is that bittersweet feeling when you’re listening to it of something great coming to an end. This seems to show through on the fragile and melancholic songs ‘Spook’ and ‘Sorry’, both great insights into frontman Dean Wareham’s soul. ‘Sorry’ even seems to have a glimmer of hope to it where the dark clouds of the song give way to a wonderful and uplifting instrumental break. Where the album really comes alive however is on the unforgettable opening song ‘Fourth of July’ and their incredible interpretation of Yoko Ono’s ‘Listen, The Snow Is Falling’, the latter where Naomi Yang’s thin yet haunting vocals give way to Dean Wareham’s astonishing lead guitar break and show what incredible places their music can take you to.

This Is Our Music benefits from slightly better production than their previous two albums and gives their sound that little bit more clarity, but really it’s the great music on offer here that makes it stand up well against On Fire. Galaxie 500 burned fast but bright and they left three studio albums behind that are each amazing in their own way. A perfect legacy left behind by one of the greatest and most unique indie rock bands. This was their music.

Recommended Songs: ‘Fourth of July’, ‘Listen, The Snow Is Falling’, ‘Sorry’


The God Machine - Scenes From The Second Storey (1993)

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The God Machine occupied the heavier end of the alternative rock spectrum, perhaps even touching on alternative metal. They were a band ahead of their time and perhaps if they had come along ten years later or so they could have reaped the rewards of their forward-thinking music. Their two studio albums, this and their final album One Last Laugh In a Place Of Dying, are both sprawling albums that take you on a dark and sometimes uncomfortable journey with many twists and turns and feature a well of depth. Scenes From The Second Storey seems to invoke the feeling of some sort of post-war apocalypse at times, perhaps predicting the final outcome of war in the Middle East. The use of Middle-Eastern-tinged samples on ‘Home’ and the paranoid samples on ‘The Desert Song’ combined with the overall feeling of doom seem to invoke this feeling, but that’s just my interpretation. Songs here range from pounding yet progressive alternative rock (‘Dream Machine’, ‘She Said’), to industrial-tinged experimental tracks (‘The Desert Song’, Temptation’), to quiet and deeply introspective pieces (‘It’s All Over’, ‘The Piano Song’), all tied together by an end-of-world feeling, the bands’ ambitious vision and frontman Robin Proper-Sheppard’s dark and cryptic lyrics. The album is perhaps overlong but its sprawling one-hour eighteen-minute length doesn’t prevent this album from being an immensely enjoyable listen.

The death of bassist Jimmy Fernandez from a brain tumour put a tragic and premature end to the band’s career, if they had gone on who knows what they could have achieved, they could have given Tool or The Smashing Pumpkins some serious competition. I could have easily included 1994's One Last Laugh In a Place of Dying instead of this as they are almost equally as good, but by listening to both these albums you get the sense that these guys were on to something. A real forgotten gem from a sadly forgotten band.

Recommended Songs: ‘Home’, ‘It’s All Over’, ‘The Piano Song’

Green River - Dry As A Bone/Rehab Doll (1990)

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If you were to trace the evolution of the alternative rock scene that sprang out of Seattle in the late 80’s and early 90’s, or grunge as some people like to call it, Green River would be one of the key bands in the evolution of that sound. But don’t worry Green River don’t sound anything like some of the more commercial bands that became associated with the ‘grunge’ tag as the 90’s wore on, their sound was a good bit closer to punk and had all the raw production and snotty vocals associated with it. But what set Green River apart from being just another punk band was that a lot of their songs were slower, darker and displayed Black Sabbath and classic rock influences. This album is a compilation of their Dry as a Bone E.P. (1987), the band’s only studio album Rehab Doll (1988) as well as a couple of b-sides and unreleased songs. This collection contains some great Sabbath-influenced songs such as ‘P.C.C.’ which could have slotted seamlessly into Nirvana’s debut album Bleach or Mudhoney’s early releases. This song clearly displays the formation of a sound that the city would become associated with and what other bands would later become more famous for. You also have the moody punk meets classic rock sounds of ‘Baby Takes’ and the menacing ‘Rehab Doll’ which go completely against the grain of popular 80’s music. There is plenty of punk rock energy on offer as well such as the snotty ‘Ain’t Nothing To Do’ and ‘Ozzie’ which give a clear indication of where the band’s roots lie and where their sound evolved from.

Dry as a Bone/Rehab Doll is a messy and often tuneless affair but that’s all part of its enjoyment. Band members Mark Arm and Steve Turner went on to do better things with Mudhoney, while Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard went on to form Mother Love Bone before hitting the big time with Pearl Jam. But Green River remain one of the essential bands to listen to if you are looking for more to Seattle than just Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

Recommended Songs: ‘P.C.C.’, ‘Baby Takes’, ‘Rehab Doll’


Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand (1994)

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While a lot of 90’s indie rock bands dabbled with lo-fi production values, some sounding uninspiring such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Guided By Voices were a cut above the rest. What set them apart was that they basically had great memorable songs that effortlessly shone through their murky production, plain and simple. Bee Thousand stands up as probably the greatest lo-fi indie album of the 90’s and it was all due to the quality of the songwriting on offer here. While some of the songs on this twenty-track album sound like rough home demos, and that’s basically what they are, you also have bona-fide indie rock classics such as ‘Buzzards and Dreadful Crows‘, ‘Tractor Rape Chain’ and ‘Gold Star For Robot Boy’ which contain effortless pop hooks that will lodge themselves quite deeply in your brain. Mainman Robert Pollard also sounds just at home with only an acoustic guitar on ‘Yours To Keep’ and ‘Awful Bliss’ and demonstrates the wide range that his songwriting has. With such a large number of great songs on this album it’s very difficult to pick favourites but ‘I am a Scientist’ just seems to float above the rest. Effortless melody and wonderfully inventive and gifted songwriting combine perfectly to create the ultimate lo-fi indie rock song.

One might feel that a lot of the songs here would benefit greatly from better quality production but it’s difficult to know what the final results will be and I can’t really imagine the songs sounding any other way. You could argue that capturing the songs in their raw form captures the true emotions of the songs and that could very well be the case here. Regardless of whatever production quality what they did record was one of the landmark indie rock albums of the 90’s that still sounds brilliant to this day.

Recommended Songs: ‘Tractor Rape Chain’, ‘Gold Star For Robot Boy’, ‘I am a Scientist’

Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising (1985)

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Following up the magnificent Zen Arcade was going to be no easy task but Hüsker Dü pretty much equalled it with this masterpiece. New Day Rising saw the band more towards a more melodic and song-based sound but still retained a lot of the distortion and emotional intensity that was evident in abundance on Zen Arcade. Songs like ‘Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill’ and ‘Celebrated Summer’ are very much classic Hüsker Dü songs and their place on this album help make this the shape of alternative rock to come. It was very much evident that the band were straying further and further away from their hardcore-punk roots and helping to define the sound of alternative rock that would have such a huge impact on the musical landscape at the end of the 80’s and well into the 90’s. The band also dip their toes into avant-garde territory with the repetition and mumbled, rambling vocals of ‘Perfect Example’ and of course the bizarre ‘How To Skin a Cat’. There is still some evidence of the band’s punk past with the angry, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it charge of ‘Whatcha Drinkin’’ and the angry noise of the final song ‘Plans I Make’.

Bob Mould’s fuzz-drenched guitar tone is also worth noting and really adds to the enjoyment of what is probably the best-produced Hüsker Dü album. With New Day Rising the band managed to control their passionate intensity and channel it into deeply melodic songs that made the band’s emotions seem more convincing and relevant. As one of the best albums of the mid-80’s and one of the albums that shaped alternative rock this is essential listening.

Recommended Songs: ‘Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill’, ‘Celebrated Summer’, ‘How To Skin a Cat’



Idlewild - The Remote Part (2002)

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With their second full-length album 100 Broken Windows the band shrugged off their punk past and set themselves up as one of the most promising alternative rock bands in the UK at the time. That promise was realised on the follow-up album The Remote Part which earned this Scottish band quite a lot of critical and commercial acclaim. The Remote Part further built on the quiet-loud dynamics of its predecessor and introduced more depth and a greater songwriting scope than before while also showing what a great lyricist frontman Roddy Woomble is. ‘American English’ is a good demonstration of the beautiful, sweeping melodic rock that this band can do and this song contrasts quite well with the noisy and anthemic rock of ‘Modern Way Of Letting Go’ and ‘Stay The Same’. The final song on the album, ‘In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction’, is a very ambitious attempt but the band somehow pull it off. Featuring a spoken-word recital by Scottish poet Edwin Morgan the result is a very widescreen song that sends shivers down your spine and makes for a great ending to the album. The album was recorded in the Scottish Highlands which seems to add a feeling of remote, rural beauty to their sound and ties in perfectly with the album title.

By the time of 2005’s Warnings/Promises the media’s attention had been shifted over onto the new wave of British bands that had emerged such as The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys, leaving Idlewild to fade into the background yet still release some solid albums. By listening to The Remote Part and indeed its predecessor 100 Broken Windows you get a great glimpse of a band that could have been a lot bigger had the timing been right.

Recommended Songs: ‘Modern Way Of Letting Go’, ‘American English’, ‘In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction’

Lilys - In The Presence Of Nothing (1992)

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Although Lilys formed in Washington D.C. they could easily be mistaken for a British band on this debut album such is the similarity of their sound to the Thames Valley shoegazing scene at the start of the 90’s. The obvious influence here is My Bloody Valentine, right down to the woozy layers of guitar and half-heard vocals. Since My Bloody Valentine have yet to release a follow-up to Loveless after twenty years it would be very cool indeed if it had sounded something like this album. But beneath the lush, dense layers of guitar and thick, prominent bass Lilys had some great songs on offer. ‘Elizabeth Colour Wheel’ is a breath-taking, bittersweet ballad submerged under multiple layers of guitar while the thick guitars and bass of ‘Tone Bender’ add an element of heaviness to the album. The stop-start pedal manipulation of ‘Snowblinder’ combined with the epic twelve-minute drone-fest of ‘The Way Snowflakes Fall’ show that the band had enough creativity and originality to challenge the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Ride. The real highlight though is ‘Threw a Day’ with its bright jangly guitars contrasting with dense distortion to great effect. The sound the band get on this song is huge and leaves you truly amazed.

Lilys are known for changing their sound a lot throughout the years and they would morph into a more dream-pop infused indie rock band on the next full-length album Eccsame The Photon Band yet still produce some captivating music. Choosing a favourite album from them is a very tough job indeed but this one just edges it out for me due to the brilliantly-textured sound the band get on this amazing album.

Recommended Songs: ‘Elizabeth Colour Wheel’, ‘Snowblinder’, ‘Threw a Day’


Mazzy Star - Among My Swan (1996)

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Mazzy Star only released three studio albums during their original period together and each of them is deserving of a place in this thread. My personal favourite however is their last album to date Among My Swan. To me this album just feels right, it has a greater degree of consistency than their previous two albums and the gentler production does wonders for the songs on offer here. The star attraction here is of course frontwoman Hope Sandoval’s haunting and beautifully seductive voice but the beautiful and melancholic instrumentation is also key here, especially David Roback’s smooth and well-placed guitars. Acoustic guitars and harmonica play a significant role especially on ‘Flowers In December’, which was a top-40 hit in the UK, and ‘I’ve Been Let Down’. ‘Cry, Cry’ contains some gentle effects-laden electric guitar over some gently-strummed acoustics to add a psychedelic edge to the band’s Americana-tinged alternative rock. The effect is astonishingly beautiful and invokes a feeling of vast open roads and vast open spaces. Hope Sandoval is at her finest on ‘Take Everything’, which also features some guest guitar by William Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain. It is an incredibly gorgeous song that builds and builds towards a breath-taking conclusion and definitely up there with the band’s greatest moments.

Although Among My Swan was a bit of a departure into a more folkish territory there were still some traces of their earlier sound especially on the psychedelic ‘Umbilical’. It was a superb addition to the band’s unfortunately short discography which you should definitely investigate. They release a new single ‘Common Burn’ in October which was their first new material in fifteen years and we may even see a new album next year. Here hoping it will be just as good as this.

Recommended Songs: ‘Flowers In December’, ‘Cry, Cry’, ‘Take Everything’

Originally Posted by Alexthe4th (Post 1125883) @zer0 good freaking call on Mazzy! Very well put, altogether.

Originally Posted by spiderland (Post 1126804) I previously discovered Bark Psychosis, Afghan Whigs & Codeine before I entered this forum and Frigid Stars and Hex are listed in my favourite albums. You have an insane music taste and this thread is amazing. You've given me some excellent recommendations here. I'll get back to you on what I think. :)

Originally Posted by Nosferatu Man (Post 1127578) I literally just finished listening to Hex! Zero you do have great taste this thread is just full of gems! Everything here i either love or go listen to and love!

Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam (1991)

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Mercury Rev on their debut album Yerself Is Steam sound like a completely different beast than on their later releases. Yerself Is Steam (gettit?) is a noisy psychedelic monster that listening to feels like an out of body experience. This album takes the listener on a walk through swirling landscapes with a feast of vivid colours and sounds and even making you feel disorientated at times. Founder member David Baker and Jonathan Donahue share lead vocals on this album, applying their voices wherever they suit best. The deep baritone voice of Baker contrasts nicely with the higher register nasal vocals of Donahue, which is evident on the soaring album opener ‘Chasing a Bee’, Baker singing vocals during the verses and Donahue singing the chorus. Where the album really takes off however is on the epic ‘Sweet Oddysee of a Cancer Cell t’ th’ Center of Yer Heart’ which is what being launched into space on acid must feel like. It’s as beautiful as it is exhilarating. ‘Frittering’ in contrast has a more melancholic and down-to-earth alternative rock sound yet still sits seamlessly alongside ‘Sweet Oddysee’.

Deserter’s Songs might be a better introduction to the band but Yerself Is Stream is Mercury Rev at their most adventurous and exciting. You might feel like you need drugs to enjoy this but the music makes you feel trippy enough as you are. Also listen out for some backing vocals from Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500.

Recommended Songs: ‘Chasing a Bee’, ‘Sweet Oddysee of a Cancer Cell t’ th’ Center of Yer Heart’, ‘Frittering’


Mojave 3 - Ask Me Tomorrow (1995)

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After the dissolution of Slowdive, former members Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon regrouped and formed Mojave 3. In contrast to Slowdive, Mojave 3 adopted a dream-pop/folk-rock fusion sound and allowed their songwriting to come more to the fore. One thing that got lost most of the time in Slowdive’s wall of sound was the downbeat and introspective vocals, but with Mojave 3 these downbeat vocals came very much to the fore and could now be clearly heard, also showing what a good songwriting pair Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell were in the process. Ask Me Tomorrow is a great album to listen to when you feel like finding comfort in music. It’s an incredibly beautiful, delicate and melancholic album and makes for a warm, comforting listening experience. The haunting vocals and slide-guitar of ‘Love Songs on the Radio’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Taken’ are both incredibly moving and display a band a world away from the ambient minimalism of the final Slowdive album Pygmalion released earlier that year. The album flows perfectly and consistently as a whole right up to the wonderfully uplifting finale of ‘Mercy’, which sounds like it was just destined to be an album closer.

Ask Me Tomorrow rose like a phoenix from the flames and showed there was life after Slowdive. Mojave 3 had a reasonably successful career together and 2000’s Excuses For Travellers is another wonderful album worth investigating. But for newcomers their debut Ask Me Tomorrow is the ideal place to start.

Recommended Songs: ‘Love Songs on the Radio’, ‘Tomorrow’s Taken’, ‘Mercy’

Mudhoney - Mudhoney (1989)

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Mudhoney’s caustic sound and rowdy spirit never fails to charm. On this, their debut full-length album, the band expanded on the grunge template set by their seminal 1988 E.P. Superfuzz Bigmuff and took the Seattle sound to the verge of mainstream acceptance. The album contains everything that made Superfuzz Bigmuff great: guitars sounding like broken car exhausts, Dan Peters’ drumming wizardry and of course frontman Mark Arm’s snotty and menacing vocal drawl. Album opener ‘This Gift’ is a rallying call not only for the Seattle sound, but also for the American alternative rock underground that would explode into the mainstream in the following decade. It’s a song that means business. You also have the classic ‘You Got It’, a sneering “fuck you” to celebrity twats and a rowdy sing-along anthem with some great guitar interludes. The band have never sounded so sinister on the slower, darker, blues-inspired songs such as ‘Come To Mind’ and ‘When Tomorrow Hits’, the latter covered by Spacemen 3 not long after. It’s this darker underside to the album that makes it all the more vital and bursting with intent, while also contrasting nicely with the more tongue-in-cheek songs such as ‘Flat Out Fucked’.

Like Superfuzz Bigmuff and the music recorded by Mark Arm and Steve Turner’s previous band Green River, Mudhoney’s debut album is a great snapshot of pre-Nevermind alternative rock and a city which every major-label would soon want a piece of. An essential album for fans of the late 80’s American underground.

Recommended Songs: ‘This Gift’, ‘You Got It’, ‘When Tomorrow Hits’.


My Bloody Valentine - Ecstasy and Wine (1989)

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While Loveless is the album that My Bloody Valentine will forever be remembered for, as well as their full-length debut Isn’t Anything to some degree, what tends to be forgotten is this great collection of songs. Ecstasy and Wine is a compilation comprising of their Strawberry Wine single and their Ecstasy mini-album, both originally released in 1987. What is also worth noting about these recordings is that they were the first releases with Bilinda Butcher in the band. The band sound a lot different to the one that crafted Loveless and had a sound closer to C86 indie-pop albeit with a noisier edge. The album contains some thrilling songs, in particular ‘Never Say Goodbye’ with its warm boy-girl vocal hooks and fluid guitar breaks. It’s an addictive and overlooked MBV classic. There is still plenty of evidence of their early jangle-pop sound with songs such as ‘She Loves You No Less’, ‘I Don’t Need You’ and ‘Safe In Your Sleep’, all of which have a breezy and innocent charm of their own. It’s on the likes of ‘Clair’ and ‘(Please) Lose Yourself In Me’ however that hint at the noisier and more experimental soundscapes they would achieve on 1988’s You Made Me Realise and Isn’t Anything.

Ecstasy and Wine is a great documentation of a band in the midst of a transformation and in the beginning stages of sonic exploration, a journey that would take them all the way to the otherworldly textures of Loveless. In its own way this is a great collection of songs and an album deserving of more recognition.

Recommended Songs: ‘Never Say Goodbye’, ‘She Loves You No Less’, ‘(Please) Lose Yourself In Me’

My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003)

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Short albums are nice to listen to. They’re usually direct to the point and don’t strain your attention. But on the rare occasion albums do exist that are over an hour long and still worth nearly every minute. This album is one hour and twelve minutes long yet I can’t imagine it being any shorter. It Still Moves sprawls and it sprawls gloriously. What makes this album so engaging and inviting is the timeless feel of the music, it sounds like it could have been recorded any time within the past forty years or so. The band also sound like they are making music for no one but themselves, never compromising or cutting songs prematurely short and sometimes even breaking into extended jams. Every song is so engaging that the album’s entire one hour and twelve minute duration passes you by before you know it. It Still Moves certainly has no shortage of great songs. The wonderfully uplifting ‘One Big Holiday’ is an alternative-country classic and features some thrilling, spiralling lead guitar work and Jim James’ distinctive reverb-soaked voice is in fine form. ‘Just One Thing’ has a feeling of timelessness and warmth that Fleet Foxes could only dream of. ‘I Will Sing You Songs’, ‘Rollin Back’ and ‘Steam Engine’ bring some sprawling moments to the album, each of which are over seven minutes long. The epic ‘I Will Sing You Songs’ in particular has a deeply nostalgic feel that invokes distant childhood memories and any other great memories you’ve had since.

It Still Moves sounds completely alien to today’s current musical trends and will long outlast them. This album seems like some kind of time-warp that takes you to a place where time moves so slowly as to not exist. It’s an album to retreat into, and take yourself on a trip back to distant memories you wish you could live in forever. To me this is one of the classic albums of the 2000’s.

Recommended Songs: ‘One Big Holiday’, ‘I Will Sing You Songs’, ‘Just One Thing’


Pale Saints - The Comforts Of Madness (1990)

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I have many, many reasons to love 4AD Records. Cocteau Twins’ first six albums is one of these, This Mortal Coil is another, and even because of more recent albums from artists like Bon Iver and Deerhunter. It is a label with an incredible back catalogue and has been an essential part of indie and alternative music since 1979. Another little gem from that label is The Comforts of Madness, the debut album by Pale Saints. It’s a wonderful collision of jangly indie and dream-pop textures, a colourful and otherworldly sensation of sounds. The production does however sound a bit murky and dated, but then again this washed-out feel makes the album sound like a relic from the start of the 90’s. It’s a great slice of post-Stone Roses/pre-Britpop UK indie. The album contains some great overlooked indie gems such as the gorgeously dream-like ‘Sea Of Sound’, the uplifting and infectious ‘Insubstantial’, their swirling, psychedelic cover of Opal’s ‘Fell From The Sun’ and last but not least the classic ‘Sight Of You’.

The Comforts of Madness sat nicely alongside albums released by the likes of their label-mates Lush and Creation bands such as Ride, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. While Pale Saints were inevitably grouped in with these bands, at the same time they were just a little bit different to them and they seemed to occupy a space just outside the shoegazing bubble. But for some classic early-90’s British indie you can’t go wrong with this.

Recommended Songs: ‘Sea Of Sound’, ‘Insubstantial’, ‘Sight Of You’

Originally Posted by Zer0 (Post 1143417) My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves (2003) Short albums are nice to listen to. They’re usually direct to the point and don’t strain your attention. But on the rare occasion albums do exist that are over an hour long and still worth nearly every minute. This album is one hour and twelve minutes long yet I can’t imagine it being any shorter. It Still Moves sprawls and it sprawls gloriously. What makes this album so engaging and inviting is the timeless feel of the music, it sounds like it could have been recorded any time within the past forty years or so. The band also sound like they are making music for no one but themselves, never compromising or cutting songs prematurely short and sometimes even breaking into extended jams. Every song is so engaging that the album’s entire one hour and twelve minute duration passes you by before you know it. It Still Moves certainly has no shortage of great songs. The wonderfully uplifting ‘One Big Holiday’ is an alternative-country classic and features some thrilling, spiralling lead guitar work and Jim James’ distinctive reverb-soaked voice is in fine form. ‘Just One Thing’ has a feeling of timelessness and warmth that Fleet Foxes could only dream of. ‘I Will Sing You Songs’, ‘Rollin Back’ and ‘Steam Engine’ bring some sprawling moments to the album, each of which are over seven minutes long. The epic ‘I Will Sing You Songs’ in particular has a deeply nostalgic feel that invokes distant childhood memories and any other great memories you’ve had since. It Still Moves sounds completely alien to today’s current musical trends and will long outlast them. This album seems like some kind of time-warp that takes you to a place where time moves so slowly as to not exist. It’s an album to retreat into, and take yourself on a trip back to distant memories you wish you could live in forever. To me this is one of the classic albums of the 2000’s. Recommended Songs: ‘One Big Holiday’, ‘I Will Sing You Songs’, ‘Just One Thing’ Pale Saints - The Comforts Of Madness (1990) I have many, many reasons to love 4AD Records. Cocteau Twins’ first six albums is one of these, This Mortal Coil is another, and even because of more recent albums from artists like Bon Iver and Deerhunter. It is a label with an incredible back catalogue and has been an essential part of indie and alternative music since 1979. Another little gem from that label is The Comforts of Madness, the debut album by Pale Saints. It’s a wonderful collision of jangly indie and dream-pop textures, a colourful and otherworldly sensation of sounds. The production does however sound a bit murky and dated, but then again this washed-out feel makes the album sound like a relic from the start of the 90’s. It’s a great slice of post-Stone Roses/pre-Britpop UK indie. The album contains some great overlooked indie gems such as the gorgeously dream-like ‘Sea Of Sound’, the uplifting and infectious ‘Insubstantial’, their swirling, psychedelic cover of Opal’s ‘Fell From The Sun’ and last but not least the classic ‘Sight Of You’. The Comforts of Madness sat nicely alongside albums released by the likes of their label-mates Lush and Creation bands such as Ride, Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. While Pale Saints were inevitably grouped in with these bands, at the same time they were just a little bit different to them and they seemed to occupy a space just outside the shoegazing bubble. But for some classic early-90’s British indie you can’t go wrong with this. Recommended Songs: ‘Sea Of Sound’, ‘Insubstantial’, ‘Sight Of You’

Originally Posted by Flume (Post 1145928) Just queued up the last 6 albums of the post in Winamp and I'm not going to listen to anything else before I'm done with the playlist! Only heard one of these 6 albums before as well, should be good! Great list!

Originally Posted by stuvanberkel (Post 1149370) I totally agree with "It still moves" and I will check out the other one you posted. That album got me into my morning jacket, now they are one of my favourite bands and Jim James is one of my favourite musicians. I would add that Golden is an amazing song, especially live, on Okonokos or if you're lucky enough, in person. MMJ does a pretty good job at country with the steel guitar on that song.

Originally Posted by restoremaz (Post 1150304) Im liking the drop nineteens at the moment....i need to take a week off work to check out al this music!...i love the way you describe the bands too!

Originally Posted by Zer0 (Post 1150370) Thanks for the feedback guys, nice to know that I'm not just sprouting out rubbish! I'll make an effort to finish this pretty soon, just a bit busy lately.

Originally Posted by Nosferatu Man (Post 1150715) Yes please do! I won't lie I check this thread daily just in case my latest fix is in! Will Whipping Boy feature?

Originally Posted by Zer0 (Post 1150813) Not in my list of 50 but I'm going to include a few bonus albums at the end and I might include an album of theirs. There will however be one more Irish band in my 50. I'll keep you guessing! :) (and no it's not U2).

Polvo - Today's Active Lifestyles (1993)

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Along with Slint, Polvo are one of the pioneering bands of math rock and a big influence on left-field indie rock weirdness in general. Today’s Active Lifestyles is a skewed and dissonant masterpiece that tore apart the indie rock rule book. The album is characterised by unpredictable song structures and arrangements that leave the listener baffled yet intrigued and guitar tunings that sound completely wrong yet so right at the same time. But despite the chaotic and unpredictable racket they still manage to produce some great songs that stick with you, such as the opener ‘Thermal Treasure’, the excellent ‘Lazy Comet’ and the strangely melodic ‘Tilebreaker’. The longer songs, the seven-minute-plus ‘Stinger (Five Wings)’ and ‘Gemini Cusp’, allow the band to experiment even more and dazzle the listener with their chaotic yet wonderfully controlled musicianship and song structures. It sounds improvised at times but strangely enough it’s not.

Their influences aren’t difficult to pick out. Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. are noticeable influences that come to mind, but you can sometimes pick out a no-wave vibe in their music at times mainly due to the unconventional arrangements and tunings. But Polvo stand out as one of the more original bands of the 90’s and their influence still lives on in today’s music through bands such as Battles. Polvo also reformed a few years ago and released In Prism in 2009, which is also a very strong album and one well worth listening to along with this.

Recommended Songs: ‘Lazy Comet’, ‘Stinger (Five Wings)’, ‘Tilebreaker’


Red House Painters - Red House Painters (1993)

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Red House Painters’ 1993 self-titled album, also referred to as ‘Rollercoaster’ due to the album cover and also to distinguish it from their other self-titled album, is a sprawling album that takes the listen on a rollercoaster of emotions (no pun intended). It’s not a very happy album however; it’s an album to wallow in despair to if you allow yourself to be taken along for the ride. The opener ‘Grace Cathedral Park’ is a beautifully bittersweet song but it doesn’t get any more downbeat than ‘Katy Song’, a broken-hearted message to a lost love. It may be a deeply depressing song but it’s just wonderful. The slow and acoustic-based ‘Take Me Out’ also has a feeling of regret and longing that’s heart-breaking to listen to. There are still however some moments of light breaking through with the lively ‘New Jersey’, the swirling and colourful ‘Mistress’ and the somewhat comforting and reassuring ‘Strawberry Hill’, which comes like a break in the clouds near the end of the album after some bleak, heavy and downbeat listening.

One does however feel that the running time is a bit too long and to be honest there are one or two songs that could have been cut from this album. But that certainly doesn’t prevent this album from amazing me every time I listen to it. It’s an album to lose yourself in and find some sort of comfort when you are feeling low, and it does a good job of reassuring you.

Recommended Songs: ‘Grace Cathedral Park’, ‘Katy Song’, ‘Take Me Out’

Rollerskate Skinny - Horsedrawn Wishes (1996)

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Rollerskate Skinny formed in Dublin in 1992 and existed for only four years, releasing only two albums. The band featured Kevin Shields’ younger brother Jimi on guitar for their first album Shoulder Voices but he left the band before the recording of their brilliant second album Horsedrawn Wishes. Like the album title itself the music has a very strange, surreal, dreamlike quality to it. It’s a kaleidoscopic collision of alternative rock, psychedelic pop and shoegaze and sometimes even sounds like Deerhunter, long before Deerhunter. Opening track ‘Swingboat Yawning’ features a collage of unusual guitar sounds and strange effects yet is all held together by some swaggering and infectious vocal hooks. The lead single from the album ‘Speed to My Side’ is a brilliant exercise in combining off-kilter weirdness and accessibility with its unusual musical arrangements and catchy chorus hooks. It’s something The Flaming Lips would be proud of. Elsewhere the acoustic-based ‘All Mornings Break’ invokes the tired and bleary feeling of dawn breaking after a long night drinking and/or on drugs, while ‘Angela Starling’ creates a trippy, dreamlike world in your mind before bringing it all crashing back down to earth with a loud and uplifting chorus.

Horsedrawn Wishes lies as a largely forgotten gem of the 90’s yet still has a small number of cult admirers. The album is let down slightly by a couple of filler tracks, and would have benefited from a shorter running time, but it is packed with some great psychedelic pop songs and all kinds of strange and wonderful sounds and arrangements. It’s an album well-worth unearthing.

Recommended Songs: ‘Swingboat Yawning’, ‘Speed to My Side’, ‘Angela Starling’



Scratch Acid - Scratch Acid (1984)

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Scratch Acid’s self-titled debut is one of those records that makes me scratch my head in bewilderment and confusion and wonder what the hell is going on. The band sound way ahead of their time here and completely out of step with the American underground punk scene that spawned them. Their unhinged noise-rock sound provides the basis for frontman David Yow (who would later go on to front The Jesus Lizard) to ramble and babble like a crazed hobo. Trying to work out what their songs are actually about is challenging and perhaps even a waste of time. While it’s not quite a full-length album every moment of this twenty-two minute record is highly engaging and thoroughly rewarding. Songs like ‘Cannibal’, ‘Owner’s Lament’ and ‘Lay Screaming’ seem to predict the wave of alternative rock that would become prominent in the American underground and in particular the Seattle grunge scene. Indeed Kurt Cobain has cited Scratch Acid as a huge influence and you can certainly hear on this album where Kurt got some of his ideas. ‘Owner’s Lament’ in particular sounds like nothing else other than a band creating some truly original music. Songs such as the brief and aggressive ‘Monsters’ and the completely bonkers ‘El Espectro’ show traces of the band’s punk roots but warped almost beyond recognition as to be practically irrelevant.

The influence of this album can be heard in not just Nirvana, its pioneering post-hardcore sound, with its skewed guitar lines and unusual time signatures, seems to have had a big influence on bands such as At The Drive-In and Polvo. It’s a snapshot of a very exciting time in music and it still sounds amazing and just as fresh nearly twenty-eight years later.

Recommended Songs: ‘Cannibal’, ‘Owner’s Lament’, ‘El Espectro’

Originally Posted by RVCA (Post 1157924) How does Lifestyles hold up in comparison to Exploded Drawing? I listened to the latter and wasn't too impressed, so I'm wondering if I should give Lifestyles a go