Lush

And now the second! Thank you, Davey!

For Lush's first proper full-length, the band opted to work again with Robin Guthrie. Though generally delightful, Spooky suffers from being bottlenecked into a dream-drift haze that isn't as convincing as the ones concocted by the likes of My Bloody Valentine and A.R. Kane. On paper the Guthrie/Lush collaboration seems like a match made in heaven; however, this lacks a punch and balance that begins to frustrate by the latter half. Whatever dynamics Lush appear to be capable of are rendered limp by Guthrie's sonic razing. Saving the record from being buried is a batch of quality songs. Despite its faults, it's more hit than miss. It's easy to criticize the lack of drive, but the drifting nature is rapturous in spots. Regardless, the draftiness is relied upon too often.

The three singles released from the LP ("Nothing Natural," "For Love," and "Superblast!") showcase the aggressive side, if only through a relative nature. As with much of the band's early material, guitars dart and veer all over hell's half acre -- just as you hear a gentle strum in one ear, another guitar whisks by like an overhead jet, only to be grounded to a halt by a swollen jolt from some netherworld. If stripped of its myriad effects, "For Love" would sound like a top-rate Go-Betweens song, filled with lovely jangles and smart songwriting. Closer "Monochrome" is a melancholy ballad whose cousin is Catherine Wheel's "Black Metallic." Beneath all the swooning and swaying, it almost suckers you into missing the cheesy "dum-dum-dum" drum lead-in to the choruses, airlifted out of your least favorite Top 40 schlock ballad circa '86. Those devils!

Review Courtesy Of AllMusic.Com

Artist: Lush

Album: Spooky
Genre: Shoegaze

Track Listing:

1. "Stray" – 2:07
2. "Nothing Natural" – 5:54
3. "Tiny Smiles" – 4:26
4. "Covert" – 3:34
5. "Ocean" – 4:49
6. "For Love" – 3:29
7. "Superblast!" – 4:07
8. "Untogether" – 3:33
9. "Fantasy" – 4:27
10. "Take" – 3:28
11. "Laura" – 3:22
12. "Monochrome" – 5:05

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Slowdive

David has given us shoegaze! Thank you David! Here is the first album!

Though not as big and swirling as Just for a Day, there's more of an attempt to put advanced song structure and melody in place rather than just craft infinitely appealing, occasionally thunderous mood music. Everything is simplified, as if Brian Eno's presence on two songs -- he contributes keyboards and treatments and co-wrote one tune after turning down the band's invitation to produce -- hammered home the better aspects of "ambient" music. This is no Music for Airports though. On the opening "Alison," the largely uplifting "When the Sun Hits," and the darkly blissful "Machine Gun," Slowdive are still capable of mouth-opening, spine-tingling flourishes. They've found a way to be quiet, moving, and aggressive simultaneously, mixing trance-like beauty with the deepest delayed guitar sounds around, a sound at once relaxing, soothing, and exciting, and most of all harshly beautiful.

Review Courtesy Of AllMusic.Com

Artist: Slowdive

Album: Souvlaki
Genre: Shoegaze

Track Listing:

1. "Alison" – 3:52
2. "Machine Gun" – 4:28
3. "40 Days" – 3:15
4. "Sing" – 4:49
5. "Here She Comes" – 2:21
6. "Souvlaki Space Station" – 5:59
7. "When the Sun Hits" – 4:47
8. "Altogether" – 3:42
9. "Melon Yellow" – 3:53
10. "Dagger" – 3:34
11. "Some Velvet Morning" – 3:23
12. "Good Day Sunshine" – 5:08
13. "Missing You" – 4:15
14. "Country Rain" – 3:34

Bonus Disc:
1. "Some Velvet Morning" – 3:23
2. "So Tired" – 4:03
3. "Moussaka Chaos" – 6:24
4. "In Mind" – 3:45
5. "Good Day Sunshine" – 5:08
6. "Missing You" – 4:15
7. "Country Rain" – 3:34

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