Lush had a lot going for them: great songs with urgent rhythms; guitars that alternated between jangly and squalling, sometimes in the same song; harmonies that wouldn't cause The Beach Boys to lose any sleep but which worked beautifully with the melodic sounds they created. Given the heavy debt to Cocteau Twins, it was fitting that Lush were not only on the 4AD label (with the requisite gorgeous artwork) but also produced by Robin Guthrie on the Mad Love EP and debut album, Spooky.
Today's selection is taken from a mixtape, recorded 2nd July 1992. For regular readers' interest, the flipside was The Sugarcubes' mixtape, which I featured in February. At this time, it was just over eight months since the gig and about six since Spooky had been released. Yet, I still only had three Lush records: the aforementioned Scar and Mad Love, plus the For Love EP, which I'd bought with some other vinyl in the bargain bin at WH Smith with a Christmas or birthday present voucher.
There had been another couple of singles in the meantime: 1990's Sweetness And Light, produced by Tim Friese-Greene, and the Black Spring EP, released in 1991 to promote the tour that I attended. My friend had the 12" of the former, so I was able to borrow it (along with his Sugarcubes albums) to cobble together a 45-minute compilation.
I didn't really follow Lush much after that, although I would dip into - and enjoy - what followed with the Desire Lines and Hypocrite EPs, though I was less of a fan of 500 (Shake Baby Shake) and Single Girl and their being lumped in with the Britpop bands in the mid-1990s.
The tragic death of drummer Chris Acland in 1996 brought the band to an end. They briefly reformed for live performances and the Blind Spot EP in 2016, which appears to have been the definitive final chapter for Lush. I didn't see Lush live in concert again, but here's a sparkling performance of Sweetness And Light from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.
1) Sweetness And Light (1990)
2) Scarlet (1989)
3) Sunbathing (1990)
4) Breeze (1990)
5) Downer (1990)
6) Baby Talk (1989)
7) Bitter (1989)
8) For Love (Album Version) (1991)
9) Etheriel (1989)
10) Second Sight (1989)
11) Leaves Me Cold (1990)
12) Astronaut (1991)
13) De-Luxe (1990)
14) Outdoor Miner (Cover of Wire) (1991)
15) Thoughtforms (Re-Recorded Version) (1990)
1989: Scar: 2, 6, 7, 9, 10
1990: Mad Love EP: 5, 11, 13, 15
1990: Sweetness And Light EP: 1, 3, 4
1991: For Love EP: 8, 12, 14
That ticket reminds me i never saw enough gigs at the bierkeller. The bands booked there were always on the fringes of my taste so quite often gave them a miss. Definitely saw Copey there, Kula Shaker and other bands in the late 90's. I also remember going there for the Fri/Sat night club nights where young men from the villages came in and started fights... just like the studio you had to watch yourself...
ReplyDeleteI saw relatively few gigs there too, to be honest. It was mainly club nights like Kandi Klub and then mainly because most of my college friends were indie kids. I also saw the (local) legendary Oompah band perform there, as my friend's dad was in the band.
DeleteBy the late 90s/early 00s, I think I went there almost exclusively for live stand-up comedy shows, including Bill Bailey (twice, I think), Emo Phillips, Dara Ó Briain and Sean Lock.
We must have been there for the same Copey gig(s) - I definitely saw him there in 1995 & again in 1998.
Love Lush from this period. Like you, I lost interest in their Britpop stuff but their early songs and EPs were superb. And Miki still turns me into a fanboy.
ReplyDeleteDe-Luxe, Scarlet and Thoughtforms have always been high points but it's been good to revisit those early songs and realise just how very good Scar and Mad Love were. It was both a perfect fit for 4AD but, like Pixies, pointing to the future... of indie rock, at least.
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