DR. MARTENS SHOE PIE Various Artists 1997

 

Discogs

 

Comp released by 4AD

 Tracklist

  1. Lush - Runaway
  2. Throwing Muses - Freeloader
  3. Heidi Berry - Holy Grail
  4. Dead Can Dance - The Snake and the Moon (Edit)
  5. GusGus - Polyesterday
  6. The Breeders - Safari
  7. Scheer - Demon
  8. Mojave 3 - Mercy (Strings Version)
  9. Pale Saints - 1000 Stars Burst Open
10. His Name Is Alive - Nice Day
11. Michael Brook - Arrival
12. Tarnation - There's Someone
13. Lisa Germano - I Love a Snot (Tchad Blake Mix)
14. Tanya Donnelly - Human
15. Paladins - One Step

I HATE THE 90s Volume 24

 As always, just like in the 90's, this compilation will fit on a CD. Enjoy!

 

Tracklist

1. SAUSAGE Prelude to Fear
 2. THE STEREO BUS Shallow
 3. TWIG Phantom Ranch
 4. SLOAN Shame Shame
 5. WCKR SPGT Singles at Church
 6. SUGARBOOM Toast
 7. WATTS Cool American
 8. SUPERETTE Touch Me
 9. KUSTOMIZED Permission
10. BAND OF SUSANS Not In This Life
11. HUM Sundress
12. THE MAD SCENE Strange to Be Here
13. MOJAVE 3 Sarah
14. PAN SONIC Lomittain
15. TARIQ Chevrolet Way
16. WILL AND THE BUSHMEN The Blunderbuss
17. VPN Skywriting
18. THE NEW RISING SONS Steady Sway
19. VELO-DELUXE Dirtass
20. KLOVER Our Way
21. BRAD JONES Nicole's Been Strange
22. URINALS I Hate
23. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS FM

SLOWDIVE Slowdive 1990

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Discogs

Artist Biography by Andy Kellman

Commonly identified as shoegaze, Slowdive nonetheless exhibited a broader set of inspirations -- one that spanned four decades, including folk-rock, dub, and ambient techno -- than the majority of their '90s contemporaries. A combination of geographic origin, labelmates such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride, and a sustained predilection for dreamlike harmonies and psychedelicized layers of guitar, led to inevitable restrictive classification. The band's distinctive sound continually evolved from their late-'80s start through 1995, when they closed out their first phase with a misunderstood ambient album that shed nearly all rock convention. Two decades later, while most of the members remained involved with individual pursuits, the band was reactivated for touring and recorded again.
Formed in Reading, England in late 1989, Slowdive originally consisted of Nick Chaplin (bass), Rachel Goswell (guitar, vocals), Neil Halstead (guitar, vocals), Christian Savill (guitar), and Adrian Sell (drums). Goswell, Halstead, and Sell were previously the core of the Pumpkin Fairies, an indie-pop act that had recorded a demo. Savill was a member of Eternal, who released a single on Sarah. Within less than a year, Slowdive signed to Alan McGee's Creation label and released their debut, a self-titled EP of demos. "Slowdive" itself was named Single of the Week by Melody Maker. Morningrise, featuring temporary drummer Neil Carter, and Holding Our Breath, with ex-Charlottes member Simon Scott on board, followed as the band's second and third EPs of sleepy, escapist dream pop. "Morningrise" appeared on the U.K. pop chart for one week (registering at number 83), as did the third EP's "Catch the Breeze" (which entered at number 52). Both songs were likewise praised by Melody Maker. The same publication dubbed Slowdive part of "The Scene That Celebrates Itself," a small and loose conglomerate of guitar bands, including Lush, Moose, Swervedriver, and the pre-Britpop Blur, that could be seen at each other's shows.

Just for a Day, Slowdive's debut album, was released in September 1991. Though it placed in the Top Ten of the indie chart and climbed to number 32 on the pop chart, the U.K. press was not as supportive as it had been in the past. Months later, the Blue Day compilation appeared on the racks. It combined the band's first three singles, leaving off their version of Syd Barrett's "Golden Hair" and the instrumental version of "Avalyn." The band's sound developed significantly for Souvlaki (titled in reference to a favorite skit by telephone pranksters the Jerky Boys), released in June 1993. Assisted by Brian Eno on a couple tracks and mixed by Ed Buller, it was even more atmospheric than the debut, an exemplary "studio as instrument" album of the era, elevated by refined songwriting. Dates with Catherine Wheel were intended to promote the album in the U.S., but snags with Stateside label SBK ensured that Slowdive toured a country where their latest album was available only sparingly as an expensive Creation import. When the U.S. edition of Souvlaki did arrive, eight months after its original U.K. release, it added four bonus tracks, including three-quarters of the 5 EP. Issues with SBK came to a head when the label pulled financial support from a later tour. The band responded by funding a two-week tour themselves and sold a live cassette to help pay the way. Despite poor promotion in the States, the band had cultivated a sizable following through word of mouth and short tours.

The band's third studio album was released in 1995. Pygmalion was essentially a solo ambient recording by Halstead with guest vocals from Goswell and occasional percussion from Ian McCutcheon (ex-Mermaids), though all five members were listed in the liners. Taken further than the ambient techno slant of the 5 EP, it was mostly beatless. Within a couple weeks of the album's release, Creation, who had expected something else, dropped the band. Goswell, Halstead, and McCutcheon swiftly moved on with Mojave 3, signed by 4AD on the strength of a demo that basically became the first of their five albums released through the 2000s. In 2014, Chaplin, Goswell, Halstead, Savill, and Scott -- most of whom had remained active with numerous bands and solo activities -- resumed as Slowdive to play festivals and tour on multiple continents. The quintet eventually made a fourth album, Slowdive, released on Secretly Canadian sublabel Dead Oceans in May 2017. 

 

Tracklist

1	Slowdive	5:17
2	Avalyn I	4:54
3	Avalyn II	8:09

 

MOJAVE 3 Out of Tune 1998

Discogs

Artist Biography by Andy Kellman

Between the recording and release of Slowdive's ambient Pygmalion, Neil Halstead began writing more song-based tunes to occupy down time. Weeks after being dropped by Creation, Halstead and the remaining members of Slowdive (Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon) recorded six demos within three days, much of it live without overdubs. Their manager brought the tape to 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell, who immediately gave the trio money to record more material. Feeling that the direction was too removed to retain the Slowdive moniker, they christened themselves Mojave, only to add "3" later for legal purposes. Signed to 4AD, the six demos and three later-recorded songs made up 1996's Ask Me Tomorrow. Subtle, sparse, and somber, the record drew likenesses to Mazzy Star and Cowboy Junkies, along with some debatable country references. Not necessarily country, it sounded like unplugged Slowdive with a slight twang. The band gigged for several months, including a package 4AD tour in the U.S. with Scheer and Lush, dubbed the "Shaving the Pavement Tour."

The shift away from Slowdive was completed with 1998's Out of Tune. More upbeat in nature, it also featured more involved arrangements. Former Chapterhouse guitarist Simon Rowe was officially added as a member, as well as Alan Forrester on keys. Their full-time presence helped round out the band's sound. At this point, Mojave 3 -- and Halstead's classicist songwriting in particular -- began to earn favorable comparisons to Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, and Neil Young. Excuses for Travellers followed two years later, continuing in similar fashion as something of a hybrid of their first two LPs. Three years came and went -- and were broken up by a Halstead solo album -- before the release of Spoon and Rafter, an album that was recorded throughout the course of a year, at the band's studio in Cornwall. The next bandmember to release a solo record was Goswell, whose 2004 release Waves Are Universal was met with critical and commercial indifference. Perhaps the whole group was feeling this wave of indifference too, because their next record, 2006's Puzzles Like You, threw their formula out and recast them (quite successfully) as an uptempo pop band with the occasional country-influenced ballad.

Tracklist

1	Who Do You Love	3:29
2	Give What You Take	4:25
3	Some Kinda Angel	3:44
4	All Your Tears	4:37
5	Yer Feet	4:15
6	Caught Beneath Your Heel	6:12
7	This Road I'm Travelling	5:33
8	Keep It All Hid	3:56
9	Baby's Coming Home	5:35
10	To Whom Should I Write	3:23