Originally Posted by Nosferatu Man 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)



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)



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)



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)



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)



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 Zer0 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 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 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 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!