The High Llamas - Checking In, Checking Out (Target, 1994)

Gorgeous, harmony-drenched pop.

The High Llamas is effectively the work of former Microdisney songwriter Sean O'Hagan. Still ploughing a highly melodic furrow now, 'Checking In, Checking Out' was a single from the second High Llamas album 'Gideon Gaye'.

It's a densely arranged song that feels light as air. Sweeping melodies and counter-melodies create a delightful broth of a song that recalls The Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. A classic.

Download The High Llamas 'Checking In, Checking Out' (Beach Boys, mp3) (Divshare)

The Auteurs - Chinese Bakery (Acoustic) (Hut, 1994)

Languid acoustic + cello take.

Delightful, lazy take on the 'Now I'm A Cowboy' single. An air of wistful resignation hangs over this version - like it's too hot to bother - where the studio version is caustic and sarcastic. A cello weaves gorgeously.

Download The Auteurs 'Chinese Bakery (Acoustic)' (indie, britpop, mp3) (Divshare)

Bark Psychosis - Pendulum Man (Circa, 1994)

Post-Rock guitar-weaving masterclass.

The term Post-Rock was, I believe, coined to describe the sound of Bark Psychosis, though it's probably Tortoise who were the harbingers of instrumental, jazziness played on traditional rock instrumentation.

Bark Psychosis' 'Hex' album is a masterclass in mood and poise and closing track 'Pendulum Man' is an expansive, airy piece that opens with interlocking guitar and bass. It develops with layers of light, treated guitar, by turns bleak and uplifting.

Whilst a distinctly different sound to Talk Talk's 'Spirit Of Eden' it does have a lightness and airiness reminiscent of that album. It also reminds me of David Sylvian's 'Gone To Earth' - another late night classic.

Download Bark Psychosis 'Pendulum Man' (post-rock mp3) (Divshare)

The Divine Comedy - Your Daddy's Car (Acoustic Version) (Setanta, 1994)

Delightful baroque pop.

The Promenade album was my introduction to the delights of The Divine Comedy. Pre-Britpop loucheness, Neil Hannon was knocking out a stream of arch but heartfelt songs and adorning them with oodles of strings and romantic lyrics.

If I'm honest I probably only bought this because there wasn't much else out that Monday and it came with a free bonus CD. I'm eternally thankful I did - firstly, because Promenade is a splendid album; and, secondly, it led me to his wonderful debut album via the bonus disc's live acoustic takes on four tracks from said album.

'Your Daddy's Car' somehow conjures images of The Great Gatsby, The House Of Eliot and the Famous Five. A sprightly tune, here just acoustic guitar, cello and pizzicato violin, it's smells of cucumber sandwiches, cricket pavilions and unrequited love. Tidy.

Download The Divine Comedy 'Your Daddy's Car (Acoustic Version)' (Setanta, indie, pop, mp3) (Divshare)

Venus - No. 1 Fan (Sweet Jesus) (PVC, 1994)

Wall Of Sound heavy proto-Britpop from Brum.

'Phonefreak Honey' by Sweet Jesus is a truly great lost single, a transgender Jesus & Mary Chain being pelted with candyfloss in a wind tunnel. Yes, that good.

After a few more singles and no success, singer/songwriter Ben Bentley reconfigured as Venus, slowed the tempo and got Phil Spector in to produce (in his dreams).

The result was 'No. 1 Fan' which has a wistful elegance and sounds like a demo for late period Suede, obsessed with fame and fandom. Less effects and artifice that Sweet Jesus but still a sweet tune.

Download Venus 'No. 1 Fan' (Sweet Jesus, Indie Pop, mp3) (Divshare)

Palace Songs - Winter Lady (Leonard Cohen Cover) (Mojo, 2012)

Leonard Cohen covered in the unique Palace style.

Mr Bonnie Prince Billy made this Leonard Cohen song his own on a 1994 Palace Songs EP. An almost drunken shuffle backs up his unique singing style sounding like a backroom band playing for the love it.

Download Palace Songs 'Winter Lady' (Mojo Presents Leonard Cohen Covered, mp3) (Rapidshare)

The Cardigans 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (Trampolene, 1994)

Black Sabbath given the saccharine indie-pop treatment. Works beautifully.

Crikey, this is nearly twenty years old. Gave myself a fright there.

Somehow, rendering classic Black Sabbath in a sweet, almost simpering indie pop carousel manner works perfectly. The malevolent revenge fantasy of the original is completely subsumed into the pastel coloured pop merry-go-round of The Cardigans' world.

Delightful.

Download The Cardigans 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' (indie pop, Black Sabbath cover, mp3) (Mediafire)

Saint Etienne 'Pale Movie (Lemonentry Mix)' (Heavenly, 1994)

Spectacular dub epic treatment of Saint Etienne's Flamenco indie disco classic.

The Lemonentry Mix of 'Pale Movie' by Rick Smith of Underworld fame is one of my all-time favourite remixes.

It takes the breathless Latin flavours of the original's pop classicism and re-sets them amid a stately, digital dub spectacular that fits perfectly.

The verses are poised, almost ponderous, riding a magic carpet over a fug of bass and rhythm and, most importantly, lots of space. Sarah Cracknell's vocals still sound sweet and build a tension that is released by the chorus' waves of strings and splashes of percussion.

It's a match for any of Andrew Weatherall's work on One Doves' magnificent 'Morning Dove White' album and makes a perfect come down to Flowered Up's epic indie dance masterpiece of 'Weekender' (mp3) or a companion piece to Weatherall's dub symphony version of Primal Scream's 'Higher Than The Sun' (mp3).

Enjoy.

Download Saint Etienne 'Pale Movie (Lemonentry Mix)' (indie dance, dub symphony mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Download the whole 12" worth of beauty over on The Vinyl Villain's excellent blog.

Portishead 'Theme From 'To Kill A Dead Man'' (Go! Beat, 1994)

Noir-ish, moody, theme from an imaginary Bond film. Epic stuff.

Early Portishead b-side that lays out the blueprint for their John-Barry-meets-Wu-Tang-Clan-uptown early sound. Kindred spirit of Roy Budd's Get Carter soundtrack and Harry South's Sweeney end-theme.

It opens with great sweeps of backwards piano, undulating bass wobble, evolving slowly with twanging guitar, atmospherics, more backwards loops and some gorgeously sombre piano.

By the time it eventually builds to cloudburst with epic, Axelrod drums and a funereal string section, you're hooked.

Pretty awesome.

Download Portishead 'Theme From To Kill A Dead Man' (Trip Hop, downtempo, soundtrack, mp3) (Mediafire)

Disco Inferno 'It's A Kid's World' (Rough Trade, 1994)

Mental, ahead-of-its-time fusion of noise, rhythm and melody.

Another highly under-rated band, Disco Inferno struggled on for five years or so in the early nineties on a series of labels. They eventually settled at Rough Trade to unleash a string of mind-busting EPs and a couple of albums.

The band fused regular instruments with triggered samples and a mix of rhythm and melody. 'It's A Kid's World' is a gloriously melodic cacophony that fuses hi-life-ish guitars with the drum break from Iggy Pop's 'Lust For Life' before throwing in samples of a tuba, cartoon soundtrack, a stop-start chorus, what sounds like a recorder, another glorious melody on the outro.

You're literally bombarded with ideas and energy but it's a highly addictive mix. I'd reference some other bands but I really think there's no-one else doing what they did.

Hopefully the release of a newly remastered collection of their five EPs on Cheree and Rough Trade might give them a little overdue recognition. Here's hoping.

Download Disco Inferno 'It's A Kid's World' (alternative, indie, mp3) (Mediafire)

Breeders 'Grunggae (Cannonball Demo)' (4AD, 1994)

Early demo of 'Cannonball'. Class stuff.

Not sure if I've thought that 'Cannonball' sounded like Grunge-Reggae like Kim Deal obviously did. However, it's a mighty fine tune, certain to bring the roof down at indie discos wherever it's played. Not that I'm advocating tragic loss of indie life.

By the time of the second Breeders album, the angular, noisy, sinsister atmosphere of 'Pod' had been excised and Tanya Donnelly had moved on to form Belly. 'Last Splash' is a more straightforward alt rock album, with a much more summery disposition, and this shows in this version of a classic as a work in progress.

Download Breeders 'Grunggae (Cannonball demo)' (alternative indie mp3) (Mediafire)

Strangelove 'Time For The Rest Of Your Life' (Food, 1994)

Epic, slightly proggy, melodramatic alternative rocking.

Strangelove battled to make a breakthrough across three albums in the 1990s. This is a single from the first album and I'd forgotten what a gem it was, only going back to it after posting the band's contribution to the 'Kennel Club #2' 10" recently.

There's some expansive Levitation-style progginess mixed into the indie/alternative rock sound. Alex Lee is a very neat guitarists carrying off that Johnny Marr/Bernard Butler trick of managing to play both lead and rhythm at the same time.

Singer Patrick Duff croons passionately of personal doom and disintegration, the occasional vocal tick reminds me of Morrissey. The point during the breakdown where he pauses and almost shouts "Christ" is also quite a moment. It also has a hint of Radiohead's 'Creep' about it too. Comparisons aside, it's a great track.

Patrick Duff seems to still be recording and a quick Youtube search came up with this strangely loungey, red velvet alternative cabaret song 'Spider Woman'. Well worth a listen too.

Download Strangelove 'Time For The Rest Of Your Life' (alternative rock indie rock mp3) (Mediafire)

Tindersticks 'The Girl On Death Row' (Kennel Club, 1994)

Rare Tindersticks homage to Duanne Eddy and James Bond. Spaghetti western soundtracking, Kilburn-style.

'The Girl On Death Row' is from the Purr Magazine/Kennel Club #2 10" which also featured tracks by Breed, The God Machine and Strangelove.

It comes in like a bow-legged Bond theme - something which they have previous form in, of course, having covered 'We Have All The Time In The World' though that wasn't the actual theme of the Bond film it was featured in, fact police.

The opening piece of twangy guitar belies its origin as a cover of a Duanne Eddy song. It develops into a spindly, eerie piece of lo-fi noir, almost shambling though not as much as the aforementioned 'We Have All The Time In The World'.

An organ swirls away like a drunken afternoon playing bingo at the Kilburn Tower Ballroom (don't look, it's not there), accompanied by keening strings and a low, rumble of piano. Stuart Staples, of course, croons with resignation, telling of a girl is soon to die - "they take her life... tomorrow".

Though lo-fi, it's decidedly widescreen. Even then Tindersticks were accomplished in creating sounds of a cinematic, soundtrack bent. It winds on into a extended, jammed outro as the credits roll.

Download Tindersticks 'The Girl On Death Row' (alternative, indie, mp3) (Mediafire)

Strangelove 'Wolf's Story' (Kennel Club, 1994) (mp3)

Rare track from the under-rated alternative rockers Strangelove.
Proggy, yearning stuff from Strangelove.

Strangelove released a handful of albums through the early 90s, a brooding, prog-tinged, passionate alternative rock sound. A little like Levitation but without the curlicues and on less acid, though they did share a drummer in Dave Francollini.

Seemingly influenced by Echo & The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, maybe even Magazine, they toured extensively but remained on the fringes during Britpop in the shadows of bands like Suede, the Manics, Radiohead (who they supported on tour), Gene and, mainly, Mansun. They were signed to Food (the label that brought you Blur). Their song 'Time For The Rest Of Your Life' was great and persuaded me to invest in their debut album - will have to blog about that one soon.

'Wolf's Story' is another track from the Kennel Club #2 10" single alongside Breed, The God Machine and tomorrow's post by Tindersticks.

The song opens with a dark, rolling groove and a compelling, urgent vocal from Patrick Duff and some expansive guitar work from Alex Lee, especially as the song builds to a climax.

Nice.

Download Strangelove 'Wolf's Story' (alternative rock, mp3) (Mediafire)

The God Machine 'The Devil Song' (Kennel Club, 1994)

Moody, alternative-rock-almost-metal from The God Machine.

Another track from the Kennel Club/Purr Magazine 10" to add to Breed's excellent cover of 'Diamonds Are Forever'. Tracks by Strangelove and Tindersticks still to come.

'The Devil Song' starts out quiet and moody, building slowly and steadily before it explodes into a sea of edgy distorted guitar. Even before the tragic death of their drummer Jimmy Fernandez, The God Machine were a serious, almost sombre proposition. They were a powerful band, capable of summoning up slabs of heavy rhythm and whirlwinds of noise. 'The Devil Song' is no exception.

Download The God Machine 'The Devil Song' (alternative rock, mp3) (Mediafire)

Breed 'Diamonds Are Forever' (Kennel Club, 1994)

Excellent cover version to add to the slim-but-mighty canon of the magical Breed.

This moody but elegant cover of 'Diamonds Are Forever' kicks off a series of four tracks ripped from a nice 10" put out by Purr Magazine/Kennel Club in 1994. Also featured are The God Machine, Strangelove and Tindersticks - those tracks will be posted over the next three days.

The EP is a good selection of alternative bands from the early nineties who experienced differing levels of success. Breed made two albums and a handful of singles and are one of my favourite bands of all time.

'Diamonds Are Forever' is given an eerie undertow, weaving a sparse take on the melody and adding an edge of atonality that would have Shirley Bassey rushing for the valium.

Splendid.

Download Breed 'Diamonds Are Forever' (alternative, indie, mp3) (Mediafire)

Blessed Ethel 'Rat' (2 Damn Loud, 1994)

Strident, punkish indie rock, UK-style from Blessed Ethel

Two minutes of feisty, raw indie rock that starts out brooding in a Siouxsie And The Banshees, minor key kind of way before building to an earworm of a chorus.

Rough around the edges but well catchy, it's like a brattish, untrained version of Sleeper or a pre-punk (as opposed to post-punk) version of Elastica.

Download Blessed Ethel 'Rat' (indie mp3 download, Mediafire)

My Life Story 'Funny Ha Ha EP' (Mother Tongue, 1994) (zip)

Proto-Britpop orchestral pop elegance from My Life Story.

This is an early self-released EP by the wonderful My Life Story who were a kind of flamboyant, major-key parallel band to The Divine Comedy or The Auteurs, releasing some gorgeous orchestral and baroque string-driven pop.

Busting a twelve-piece, heavily orchestral line-up, singer/songwriter/driving force Jake Shillingford cut a maverick figure in the pre-Britpop years - maybe something of a precursor to the wonderful Patrick Wolf, though going a little easier at the dressing-up box.

My Life Story later signed to EMI but never made the breakthrough they deserved and faded away, seemingly embittered by the experience of being processed through the major label machine. According to the Jake Shillingford website, he now lectures on the importance of autonomy in the music industry.

This EP shows them in fine form. 'Funny Ha Ha' is piled with swirling strings, catchy melodies, memorable lyrics and is utterly irresistable with 'Funny Peculiar' a companion, stripped-down chamber/lounge version. 'The Lady Is A Tramp' is a driving, strident groover and 'These Words Are Haunting' is a moodier end-of-the-relationship ballad, draped in picked and strummed acoustic guitar and some crazy flute.

A top quality EP package.

B-sides/rarities and greatest hits CDs are available direct from Jake Shillingford's online store and are highly recommended.

Tracklisting:
1. Funny Ha Ha
2. The Lady Is A Tramp
3. These Words Are Haunting
4. Funny Peculiar

Download My Life Story 'Funny Ha Ha EP' (320k mp3, ZIP) (Mediafire)

Plush 'Found A Little Baby' (Drag City/Domino, 1994)

Laconic, almost-falling-apart pop genius from Plush aka Liam Hayes.

I just love this single and the Brian Wilson-style genius that is Liam Hayes. His voice is a distinctive, drawling but sweet croon with a manic edge to it.

He actually turned up as the 'turn' in the background of one of the scenes in 'High Fidelity' so if you've seen that, you'll recognise his dulcet tones (singing 'Soaring and Boring' from the 'More You Becomes You' album).

The song is a sun-dappled gem and it's embellished with slow motion drums, brass, strings, gorgeous backing vocals to create a worth successor to the questing spirit of The Beach Boys' best.

Download Plush 'Found A Little Baby' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Laika 'Coming Down Glass' (Too Pure, 1994) (mp3)

More incredible stuff from Too Pure's imperial phase.

Laika were formed when Moonshake Mk 1 could no longer bear to stay together. In the alt-rock divorce settlement of the year, Margaret Fiedler got the bassist (John Frenett) and producer (Guy Fixsen) and Dave Callaghan got to keep the drummer (Mig Moreland) and the bandname.

Laika's debut album - 'Silver Apples Of The Moon' - is a searing but groovy thing and 'Coming Down Glass' was my first taster via the 'Pop: Do We Not Like That' Too Pure sampler which also featured killer tracks from Stereolab, PJ Harvey, Th' Faith Healers, Seefeel, Pram, Moonshake, Minxus and Mouse On Mars - all for a couple of quid.

Scattershot drum machine rifles off in seemingly every direction around a solid breakbeat and some beautifully rubbery bass carries the track along to create a setting for Fiedler's disturbing POV-of-a-sex-pest lyric and half-whispered, half-sung vocal.

Spectacular.

Download Laika 'Coming Down Glass' (mp3) (Mediafire)

'Silver Apples of the Moon' seems to tbe out-of-print but the compilation 'Lost in Space Vol.1: 1993-2002' isn't a bad place to start.