Use the (surprisingly reliable) search function to see if it’s been mentioned by anyone else. If not, name it here, describe it and say why others should give it a go.
(This thread inspired by the Bangers one, in which I posted a song by a band I realised that no one else had mentioned.)
Furniteur is the band, Perfect Lavender is the album. Big synths, electric drums, nice keyboard bass electro pop with female vocals, 80s inflected, dirty-groovy in parts. Bit New Young Pony Club, dash of Technique era New Order.
Why you should listen: it’s only 8 tracks at 32 minutes, and enough variation within the above parameters that it stays interesting all the way. Has leapt up in my AOTY list over the last few weeks and may well sneak into my top 5.
Do not listen if you think Mount Eerie’s A Crow Looked at Me is a brilliant album, and is what music is really all about.
Tiger Crew
Great idea for a thread. I have a few, but I’ll start with Pikul by Silversun Pickups.
I still think Pikul is one of the greatest debut albums ever. It’s a dreamy, fuzzed out, melodic masterpiece. There’s no aimlessly playing over a chord progression for the hell of it, and there are no moments that feel flat or just kind of there - every melody hits hard, every distortion blast is perfectly placed and well thought out, and every layer that comes in just sweeps you away. The songs are so varied in style and construction too, but function so well together to make a cohesive album that completely immerses you.
After Carnavas they got a lot more polished / glossy, but at this point there was still so much passion in the vocals. Listen to that “seasons always shift too late” in the final chorus in “Kissing Families”, it’s amazing. As is the wall of noise solo shortly before. (And the fuzzed out riff solo in “Comeback Kid”)
I’m probably going to get banned from the forums for this, but I think it makes use of the elements of shoegaze better than any classic shoegaze band ever did (with the exception of “Sometimes” by MBV). Or at least that I’ve heard. Drives me nuts that albums like mbv are celebrated while this is forgotten or dismissed as a second-rate Pumpkins knockoff.
(Plus, for what it’s worth, my wife is much more of a music snob than I am and loves giving me a, “Ugh, what are you listening to?”, but three times now when I’ve been listening to Pikul I’ve gotten, “What is this? It’s beautiful.” Can’t really disagree, listen to this bass line).
I have a lot to say about each song on here, so I’ll just stop for now and say give the album a chance. It’s only 7 songs and each is fantastic.
I just stumbled onto this from listening to the Mighty Wah! and this one song is pretty great, so Imma say Big Hard Excellent Fish:
Dealership
Can’t even remember how I found them, but find myself sticking them on every now and again. Bit Yo La Tengo, softer Built To Spill, basically that gentle 90s indie sound. Only references I found in search (and in any Google search) were for car dealerships.
Double Dagger
Sadly no longer an active concern, the Rome LP and Masks EP are good places to start.
As they called it a day they recorded this documentary about the Baltimore scene which is well worth a watch.
Velocity Girl. Their Peel Session version of Crazy Town is one of the soundtracks to 1994 when doing my A’Levels.
Like Pixies had a love child with Patti Smith, conceived during an LSD trip… I dunno… just listen to it
I’ll mention them now. Huge Baby (the original incarnation with Sal on vocals). They played some fantastically chaotic gigs in the mid 90’s.
Huge Baby’s album ‘Portrait of a Head’ finally available on streaming sites I see. Recorded in the mid 90’s but then never released. Worth checking out
I love Pikul. While I do like where they went with Carnavas, there was an ever so slight change in sound, and they left something (a slight kind of American feel maybe) behind, which I missed.
Indie cliche be damned: I like Silversun Pickups’ early stuff better than their new stuff, and the Pikul EP (mini album, album, whatever) is superb. Kissing Families is a monster of a song.
Yeah, that’s how I feel too. Carnavas is incredible and has probably taken over my favorite album of 2006 spot, but there was something very special and intangible going on during Pikul.
Same on the newer stuff too. I did like Swoon, but at the same time it signaled that they weren’t going to be the band I was hoping they’d become. I lost interest in Neck of the Woods pretty quickly (despite really enjoying “Mean Spirits”. Better Nature was a step up and I liked it (especially “Ragamuffin”, but never find myself wanting to listen to it, mostly because it’s still too glossy and there’s a certain tension / urgency that they lost along the way (basically compare anything to “Future Foe Scenarios” and it’s obvious).
It’s a shame because they’re certainly not mailing it in creatively, but the smooth production and decision to be very polished sounding really hurts them.
Hot Head Show.
Crap band.
This little known band in Oxford who don’t have any drums and sing songs about wanting to fit in
The Ecclesia
Made an album called Birdsong Over the Interior Castle. Nice ambient style stuff. Borrowed it off of a mate a long while ago, but haven’t listened to it in a couple of years.
https://boomkat.com/products/birdsong-over-the-interior-castle
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
I’ll have to check this out. Coincidently I was listening to super Frankenstein recently, which is great. Saw them back in the day at the barfly, my only memory is of it being very badly attended. Another band who i have a lot of affection for who were championed by the organ zine are mint 400, who are also prime candidates for this thread I’d guess.
Two tracks in and this is fucking great! How come this hasn’t rated a mentioned around here before? Awesome post-punk meets riot girl kind of sound.