From the way it’s often reported you would have thought that the early 90’s indie music scene in the UK was a barren wasteland, dominated by the success of US alternative bands, just waiting for Britpop to happen. As a teen going to gigs around that time, I can definitively confirm that nothing could be further from the truth.
Thank your lucky stars then, that the latest in the ‘C’ compilation series brings many of the UK’s indie bands from 1992 together in one gorgeous three CD package. Taking inspiration from the now legendary C86 cassette compilation given away free with the NME back in 1986, which overflowed with indie jangling guitars, C92 provides a snapshot of the post baggy, pre- Britpop days with plenty of shoegaze, scuzzy guitar riffs, and delicate melodies.
Some of the bands were already mainstays on the UK indie scene, who maybe changed direction slightly as the early 90s kicked in, such as The Telescopes, who morphed from a dreamy shoegaze sound to more alt country style for 1992’s ‘You Set My Soul’. Other musicians who dived into new directions or bands as the 80s ended and the 90s commenced included the amazing Amelia Fletcher whose only solo output the beautiful ‘Can You Keep A Secret’ was a more pop-orientated affair than her previous band the delicately melodic Talulah Gosh or the brilliant band she formed next, Heavenly.
Additionally there’s those bands who were around for a while but never made it past a few EPs or the first album, but whose music still shone bright in 92 such as The Revs with their indie rock stomper ‘Julie Got A Raise’. Then there’s bands like The Last Peach, who although feted for big things in the music press, never reached the dizzy heights of some other Brit pop bands. This Todmorden bunch have their brilliantly jangly guitar pop contribution ‘Jarvis’ on here, with its opening gambit “I should leave the sick on my shoes, it’s all I have to remind me of you”, nice!
Some of these bands were regulars in the music press and radio with the likes of Jacob’s Mouse bringing the alt rock noisier element to this compilation with ‘Oblong’ alongside Some Have Fins who were another bunch of who liked a distortion pedal or two, and whose track ‘Watered Down‘ is fuelled with catchy punk pop. There’s also those bands such as Wonky Alice whose guitar tunes had a slightly indie goth twist with their addition here ‘Sirius‘ racing along nicely, whereas on more of an industrial dance tip there was Hair And Skin Trading Company with the adrenaline rush of ‘Ground Zero’ and the heavy rhythmic guitars of the brilliant Levitation with ‘World Around‘.
The range of genres scattered throughout the compilation from the indie folk of The Harvest Minister bringing acoustic guitars and violins to the album to the mighty Moonshake who were infused with a hefty sense of pounding, almost dub style, rhythms underneath a noise fuelled guitar squall and gorgeous vocal melodies. Others such as Bang Bang Machine brought a more dance infused twist to their indie guitar tunes, especially with the brilliant anthemic ‘Geek Love’, whereas Gallon Drunk were always an exciting proposition with their fiery brand of blues rock rumbling amongst the more pop and shoegaze bands of the day, and their ‘Bedlam’ tune is a fitting reminder of how good they were.
This boxset also has some larger more familiar names with The Cranberries pop of ‘Dreams’, the utter genius of The Charlatans’ ‘Weirdo’ and Dodgy’s ‘Worth The Blood’. There’s also the dreamy melodies of Lush with ‘Superblast’ and Radiohead’s first single ‘Prove Yourself’ Other more familiar names from around that time include the much underrated London based band ‘Th’ Faith Healers’ whose indie rock psych was rooted as much in the likes of komische bands such as Can and Neu, as it was in guitar pop. Catherine Wheel’s hypnotic, swirling guitar gem ‘Balloon‘ brings another psychedelic shoegaze vibe as does The Rosaries hypnotic fuzz of ‘Leaving‘.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the more indie household names are the more obscure bands such as Triple Blind with their tune ‘Stoke’ which has previously only been released on cassette and sold at gigs. Bands such as The Rosaries channelled melody and hypnotic fuzz with their tune ‘Leaving‘ and the melodic jangle of The Stairs had a hefty dose of Kinks-esque melodies in their tunes too.
I was slightly apprehensive about revisiting some of these old tunes, wondering whether it was merely a fondness for that time of life when you’re going to tons of gigs for the first time with your mates, the music of the time a soundtrack to those blissful days, yet the songs on C92 have more than stood the test of time. A brilliant compilation, shining a light on just how inspirational and great the early 90’s UK music scene really was.
C92 – Various Artists: Out Now (Cherry Red Records)
From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
