The Lightning Seeds - All I Want (Extended Version) (Ghetto, 1990)

Swirling indie pop gone mainstream.

Following on from the delights of 'Pure', 'All I Want' was fragile indie pop given a chart-pop makeover. The vocal is frail, the lyric is self-conscious and fey, but the backing has a sheen and lushness that you'd never have got budget for on Sarah.

Download The Lightning Seeds 'All I Want (Extended Version)' (indie pop mp3) (Box.net)

The Blue Nile & Rickie Lee Jones - Easter Parade (Linn, 1990)

Minimal, heartbreaking, beautiful.

More poignant, beautiful minimalism, this time a Blue Nile b-side from 1990.

Paul Buchanan's yearning, soulful voice and haunting piano says so much with so little. It's the sound of a large, empty space where the fairground used to be, the cold of winter burning your cheeks. The sound of an empty railway station on the way home from heartbreak.

Rickie Lee Jones' voice mingles perfectly and the point at which their combined musings take off (2:22) is spectacular. In a restrained, longing kind of way.

Download The Blue Nile & Rickie Lee Jones - Easter Parade (1990)

Ultra Vivid Scene - Special One (4AD, 1990)

Crunchily chiming indie pop with mumbled vocals. And Kim Deal.

Ultra Vivid Scene released a trio of rather fine albums on 4AD and then, I believe, disappeared.

This single was lifted from their (well, actually his, Ultra Vivid Scene is really a solo thing by the coolly named Kurt Ralske) second album. It features sweet, pure vocals from Breeder/Pixie Kim Deal alongside a lazily cute, indie pop-ish tune.

Download Ultra Vivid Scene 'Special One' (indie, 4AD mp3) (Rapidshare)

Spiritualized - Why Don't You Smile Now? (Alternate Mix) (1990)

Gorgeously, mellifluous Velvet Underground cover from the 'Lazer Guided Melodies' era.

It's possible to view Spiritualized as something of a one-trick pony. They arrived fully-formed with their brand of blissed-out Gospel Blues Spacerock fantasia. It was present and correct from their earliest releases - like this Velvet Underground cover - and then refined the blueprint through a sequence of albums over the next twenty years.

This is beautiful though.

Download Spiritualized 'Why Don't You Smile Now? (Alt Mix)' (indie, alternative, Spiritualized mp3) (Box.net)

The Impossibles - Privilege (Fontana, 1990)

Sweet Acoustic Shoegaze originators. If that's a genre that's even feasible.

The Impossibles were a female duo who released a handful of singles on Fontana and then... nothing.

Their songs were beguiling things ranging from sweet, even twee, indie (How Do You Do It?) to gallumping, circular stoner anthems (The Drum). They embraced the post-Acid House remix with both hands (Andrew Weatherall, Fluke and Farley & Heller turned in mixes for them) yet found time for Dinosaur Jr covers (Tar Pit). Wonderfully confounding.

'Privilege' was one of the tracks on the 'How Do You Do It?' 12"and it's a slice of engrossing acoustic guitar and voice that somehow suggests Shoegaze without using any of the associated pyrotechnics. Must be in the chords.

Download The Impossibles 'Privilege' (acoustic, indie, mp3) (Rapidshare)

The Telescopes - Candy Says (Velvet Underground cover) (Imaginary, 1990)

Lovely, splindly but rolling version by The Telescopes.

Admittedly, it's not much of a stretch for The Telescopes to attempt a Velvet Underground cover but this works really well.

The moment the Shoegaze-y guitar solo bursts over the track is really nice, strafing off into the stratosphere after the strung-out stroll of the rest of the track.


Download The Telescopes 'Candy Says' (Velvet Underground cover, mp3) (Mediafire)

The Field Mice - Annoint (Peel Session mp3) (1990)

Wonderful Peel Session track from the Field Mice-go-New Order era.

This track from a 1990 Peel Session sees The Field Mice fully-ensconced in their 'Missing The Moon' phase where a distinct New Order influence came into play. It adds a thrilling edge to their dreamy romanticism. And a gorgeously sonorous bass, of course.

It builds through a long instrumental opening, driven by simple drum machine and augmented with washes of guitar. The song displays a sonic ambition that leaves the, admittedly brilliant, tweeness of past glories behind. Lovely stuff.

Download The Field Mice 'Annoint (Peel Session)' (indie pop, Sarah Records, Peel Session, Field Mice mp3) (Mediafire)

Trashcan Sinatras - Circling The Circumference (Single Version) (Go! Discs, 1990)

Almost supernaturally melodic, yearning, fizzy indie pop.

Scandalously un-rewarded on their first outing, Trashcan Sinatras have had something of a renaissance in the last few years. Their trio of early-90s albums is a joy but they have supplemented their legacy with two great new records, especially the comeback album 'Weightlifting'.

'Circling The Circumference' is a headlong rush downhill on a sunny but bracing winter morning. A non-stop fizz of guitars, vocals and melody.

It sits alongside the majesty of Aztec Camera's 'High Land, Hard Rain', The Smiths' 'The Queen Is Dead' and Big Star's '#1 Record'. It's that good.

Download Trashcan Sinatras 'Circling The Circumference (Single Version)' (indie, Postcard, Trashcan Sinatras, mp3) (Rapidshare)

Th Faith Healers -Jesus Freak (Live at the Sausage Machine) (Too Pure, 1990)

Scuzzy, frantic stuff. Th' Faith Healers - and Too Pure's - debut release.

Lo-Fi live hurtle through 'Jesus Freak'. Screes of Sonic Youth guitar and remarkable straight line speed interspersed with lurching, almost retching interludes.

Th' Faith Healers would go on to release better, more considered records - as would Too Pure - but this splatter of noise and wonder has myriad charms in its breathless release.

Download Th' Faith Healers 'Jesus Freak (Live at the Sausage Machine)' (lurch, indie, alternative, mp3) (Mediafire)

Download the whole of 'Now That's Disgusting Music' compilation over on Archive:Live+Rare

Lush - De-Luxe (4AD, 1990)

Shimmering guitars. Oozy vocals. Impressionistic lyrics. Delicious dynamics. Shoegaze classic.

My introduction to the wonder of early Lush - probably via The Chart Show - was this wonderful EP. Produced by Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie it adds a hazy layer of mystery to the more straightforward sound of the previous 'Scar' mini-album.

'De-Luxe' opens with a spiralling, picked riff then simply bursts into a Shoegaze wall-of-sound and seems to climb, climb, climb in intensity. Layer-upon-layer of guitars and interlocking female harmonies create a wonderful, enveloping sound.

Bizarrely, it's also the basis for much Guitar Hero action.

Download Lush 'De-Luxe' (indie, shoegaze mp3) (Rapidshare)

Hypnotone 'Dream Beam (Hypnotone Original Version)' (Creation Records, 1990)

Chunky piece of acid house-indie dance cross-over madness.

Having recently posted Hypnotone's remix of The Lilac Time's 'Dreaming', I found myself returning, drawn to this Hypnotone single from the same era.

'Dream Beam' is pretty much a handy template for Primal Scream to follow on 'Don't Fight It, Feel It'. Love both records, though. Hypnotone carry over some bleep from Sweet Exorcist into their Acid House melange.

Download Hypnotone 'Dream Beam (Hypnotone Original Version)' (Acid House, Indie Dance, mp3) (Divshare)

Sweet Exorcist 'Testone' (Warp, 1990)

Early bleep magic from Sheffield's crucible of a machine-driven magic.

This record is made out of almost nothing, it's incredible. A bleepline, some echo, a very simple drum machine, a bassline, a snippet of vocal sample and a bit of synth for the breakdown. That's all there is to it but, my god, it conjures up so much more than the sum of its parts.

It's a groove. It's a feeling. It sums up a whole movement and the euphoria of succumbing to the tryannny of the bleep and echospace in between the notes.

Put together by former Cabaret Voltaire man Richard H. Kirk and Richard Barrett (aka Parrot, later to form the All Seeing I) in 1989, it was one of the first releases on Warp in 1990. Its lineage can be traced right back through Humanoid's 'Stakker Humanoid' to Mr. Fingers to Strings Of Life to New Order to Giorgio Moroder to Kraftwerk. Its impact was to directly inspire ten years of dancefloor mayhem - Tricky Disco, LFO and beyond.

A true work of art.

Download Sweet Exorcist 'Testone' (WAP3, bleep, electronica, acid house mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The House Of Love 'Scratched Inside' (Fontana, 1990)

'Shine On' b-side (Fontana version), yearning and edgy with chiming guitars.

Tidy, strung-out b-side from The House Of Love when they were in their pomp, just after leaving Creation Records for the major label dollars.

Download The House Of Love 'Scratched Inside' (indie, alternative mp3)

Pale Saints 'Baby Maker (EP Version)' (4AD, 1990)

Barnstorming, noisy version of the 'In Ribbons' track.

The title track of the 'Half Life EP' was strangely baggy, Pale Saints seemingly trying out someone else's clothes. 'Babymaker', however, is a strident mix of underwater Shoegaze guitar (don't try gazing at your shoes when under-water, kids) and extravagant noise-pop.

The 'In Ribbons' version is less spiky but the EP version has more undeniable momentum, a headlong rush. It's almost falling over itself, careering across a park made of feathers, stopping for a giddy pillow-fight, creating a downy blizzard that harks back to 'She Rides The Waves' from the first EP.

Download Pale Saints 'Babymaker (EP Version)' (Shoegaze, Dreampop mp3) (Mediafire)

Pale Saints 'A Deeper Sleep For Stephen' (Melody Maker/Rough Trade Distribution, 1990)

Woozier take on 'The Comforts Of Madness' album track.

Gently remixed version of this album track from the Melody Maker/Rough Trade Distribtion mail-order compilation 'Gigantic 2'.

I don't want to sound like a Grumpy Old Man but I had to send-off for 'Gigantic 2' and part with cash. It wasn't a cover-mount like it would be today. It didn't just fall into my lap, I had to work for it. And wait. Two weeks or more. Crazy.

Well worth the wait in this case as Pale Saints take the chloroform to their original, letting it drift off and dream of the fuzzier end of Slowdive, A.R.Kane and Cocteau Twins' 'Victorialand' album.

Download Pale Saints 'A Deeper Sleep For Stephen' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Breeders 'Peel Session April 2nd 1990' (mp3)

First and only Peel Session by the best line-up of the mighty Breeders, the indie-alternative supergroup against which all others should be measured.

The Breeders' 'Pod' album is a sultry, smouldering, almost fetid album. It's raw and powerful, somehow contriving an unexpected level of originality from the old guitar-bass-drums line-up.

Like the album, this Peel Session was produced, sorry, recorded by Steve Albini and is a perfect aperitif for that album. Indeed, Steve Albini legendarily confirmed that he considered 'Pod' amongst his best work in an online poker forum in 2007.

Live takes on four of the album's tracks show what a superb line-up the initial Breeders were - Pixies' Kim Deal, Throwing Muses' Tanya Donnelly, The Perfect Disaster's Josephine Wiggs and Slint's drummer Britt Walford (credited as Shannon Doughton to preserve the all-female story, I believe). The rhythm section, in particular, rocks hard and Jo Wiggs would go on to release the Honey Tongue album 'Nude Nudes' which is one of my faves.

I've rescued the session from an old cassette recorded off John Peel's radio show, so apologies for a little hiss.

Enjoy.

Tracklist:
1. When I Was A Painter
2. Iris
3. Fortunately Gone
4. Hellbound

Download Breeders 'Peel Session April 1990' (320k mp3, ZIP) (Rapidshare)

LFO 'LFO' (Warp, 1990)

'Shock of the new' moment of discontinuity from Leeds' LFO and Warp Records.

Hearing 'LFO' for the first time was one of those moments where the track doesn't make sense the first time you hear it. It sounds wrong because it breaks with what you think music is supposed to sound like. Moonshake's 'Beautiful Pigeon' and New Order's 'Blue Monday' were similarly discontinuities in my musical eduction.

I can't remember where I heard it first but I think it would have been Radio Leeds' indie/alternative radio show on a Monday night. The bleeps rang through the medium wave okay but the bass just sounded like gaps in the track, meaning that when I then heard it properly it blew my mind all over again.

LFO went on to deliver some more sublime records - 'Freak' and 'Tied Up' for starters - but nothing matches this for its sheer 'shock of the new' magic.

Enjoy.

Download LFO 'LFO' (mp3 download) (Mediafire)

The La's 'Callin' All (Nicky Campbell Session)' (BBC, 2006)

As the rumours circulate of another reunion, the closest thing I could find to a new La's track.

Apparently, Lee Mavers played a secret gig the other week and another reunion is on the way. Still no sign of any new material since that debut album.

This cut is a session recording of 'Callin' All' was recorded for a live session in 1990. It's a song that dates back to before the debut album and this version - like all the versions on the BBC Sessions collection - is wired and fizzing with energy.

Enjoy.

Download The La's 'Callin' All (Nicky Campbell Session)' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Cocteau Twins 'The High Monkey-Monk' (Melody Maker/4AD, 1990)

Rarity from the Melody Maker/Rough Trade Distribution 'Gigantic! 2' compilation.

'The High Monkey Monk' sees the Cocteaus in spiraling melody mode, leaping vocals and shimmering guitar against a restrained, reflective percussive drift.

To me, it sounds like it was recorded at the same time as their Fruitopia ad (available over at the excellent cocteautwins.com site), having the same feel.

Download Cocteau Twins 'The High Monkey-Monk' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Kitchens Of Distinction 'Shiver (Live)' (Melody Maker/Rough Trade, 1990)

Now, I'm not a historian - and I'd be interested to hear other peoples' views - but I think that Kitchens Of Distinction might just have been the first Shoegazing band.

Their debut album 'Love Is Hell' featured highly shoe-y tracks like 'The First Time We Opened The Capsule' and guitarist Julian Swales creates a really expansive sound from his FX.

Listen to this live version of 'Shiver' from the Melody Maker/Rough Trade compilation 'Gigantic! 2'. You have to admit that it contains some of the key elements that went on to power the likes of Ride, Slowdive, Pale Saints, Revolver, Moose...

Shimmering, hugely effect-driven guitar work that builds from pastel waves to fireworks. Often-muttered vocals getting lost in a loud-quiet-loud miasma. That flat, tom-dominant drumming style.

On reflection, Pink Floyd were probably the first Shoegazers but, regardless, KOD were hugely under-rated indie stalwarts and this is well worth checking out.

Download Kitchens Of Distinction 'Shiver (Live)' (mp3) (Mediafire)