ANIMALS THAT SWIM I Was the King I Really Was the King 1996

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Discogs

biography

[+] by Stewart Mason

An eccentric, hyper-literate cross between Scott Walker, Tom Waits, the Teardrop Explodes, and Ride, Animals That Swim were slightly too weird for mass consumption, but their oddball, half-beatnik/half-psychedelic pop was a refreshing response to the early days of Brit-pop. Formed in London in 1989, Animals That Swim were originally a duo of brothers Hank Starrs (vocals, drums) and Hugh Barker (guitar). Trumpeter Del Crabtree joined next, followed by a third Barker brother, guitarist and keyboardist Al, and bassist Tony Coote. Crabtree's mellow but fragmented trumpet style, kind of like a free jazz version of Chet Baker, quickly became the group's most distinctive feature, seconded by Hank's dramatic vocals. After three years of woodshedding, Animals That Swim released their debut single, "King Beer," on their own Beachheads in Space label. This single, like its follow-up "Roy" (a surreal tribute to the late Roy Orbison), was chosen as Single of the Week in Melody Maker. The positive reviews and decent sales of these two self-released singles led to a one-off deal with the experimental indie Che Records, who released the 10" Fifty Dresses EP in early 1994. Elemental Music, a spin-off of the larger indie One Little Indian, then signed the band to record their first album, Workshy. Featuring tracks from all three previous releases plus some increasingly more bizarre new material, Workshy garnered more-than-appreciative reviews in the U.K. press as well as pretty good sales for an indie release, although it all but disappeared immediately upon its U.S. release. A fine second album, I Was the King, I Was Really the King, was released in 1996, but it didn't receive the same critical attention or sales as the debut. Animals That Swim broke up the following year. 

Tracklist  

1	Faded Glamour
2	A Good Xmas
3	The Longest Road
4	The Greenhouse
5	East St. O'Neill
6	Shipley
7	Kitkats And Vinegar
8	London Bridge
9	Bed Island
10	Near The Moon
11	Despatches From Lula
12	The Good Old Way

THE BELLTOWER Singles (year unknown)

Not sure if this is an actual release  but here you go.

biography

[+] by Andy Kellman

The Belltower were something of an anomaly in the early '90s, a shoegaze band from the U.S. But calling them a shoegaze band would be somewhat limiting, given the strength of vocalist Britta Philllips' voice. Most shoegaze bands buried their vocals in washes of guitar fuzz; this is where The Belltower differed, existing as more of a proper pop band.

Co-founding members Phillips (also known as the voice of Jem on the '80s cartoon of the same name) and Jody Porter moved the band from New York City to London in 1990 and began issuing their material on the independent Ultimate label. The Terry Bickers (House of Love)-produced Exploration Day single was hailed as NME's single of the week upon release, paving the way for a couple more anticipated singles (In Hollow and Flight) and the full-length Popdropper, released on Ultimate in the U.K. and East/West in the U.S. Following some personnel shakeups, The Belltower headed back to New York. After a stint with future Ivy and Fountains of Wayne member Adam Schlesinger on bass, the band moved to South Carolina and released a 1994 single on Scratchie, Underwatertown. By 1996, The Belltower had dissolved. Porter went on to help out with Schlesinger in Fountains of Wayne and formed Astrojet, while Phillips' later involvements included Ultrababyfat and Luna, in addition to a stretch playing with Ben Lee.

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EVA LUNA Tangle 7 inch 1993

by request

 

Side A - Tangle

Side B - Seven Wonders

 

THE POPINJAYS Tales from the Urban Prairie 1994

by  request

Tracklist ▼

	Queen Of The Parking Lot
	Feelin'
	When I Believed In You
	Moonheart
	Slowly I Reach
	Hurricane
	Kentish Town
	Buffalo
	Down
	Drive The Train

DELTA Make it Right 1995

by request

1. Make it Right

2. Cowboy Raga

3. In the Final End

DEAD FAMOUS PEOPLE All Hail the Daffodil 1991

by request

Discogs

Tracklist 

	With Wings We'll Soar The Heavens	1:58
	How To Be Kind	3:01
	Little Flashes Of Yesterday	1:58
	Wild Young Ways	3:06
	In Praise Of Right Now	3:57
	Postcard From Paradise	3:05
	Life Said To The Boy	2:35
	Gavin	2:52
	Left	3:24
	Go Home Stay Home	3:00
	All Hail The Daffodil	2:06

DITCH CROAKER Secrets of the Mule 1996

by request

Discogs

biography

by Stacia Proefrock

Ditch Croaker played the kind of muddy, noisy rock that has brought fame to a lot of other bands from their hometown of Hoboken, NJ. The trio, consisting of Tim Newman on vocals and guitar, Tim Floyd on bass, vocals and keyboards, and Tim Barnes on drums, vocal and percussion, formed in 1992 and released their first album, Chimpfactor, on their own label, Fine Corinthian in 1995. Their major label debut, Secrets of the Mule followed on Reprise in 1997, shortly after they self-published a second album, Shortwave. The band kept its DIY aesthetic and did a lot of work to keep high standards in the face of corporate control, including issuing the lp version of Secrets of the Mule themselves so that they could control the quality and the packaging. Vital Cog issued their next release, Tranquil Waters, in 1999, which showed off even more experimentation than previous recordings, combined with more mature songwriting.

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Tracklist

1	Riverside Estrangement
2	Widow's Weep
3	The Pimp
4	Library Shrine
5	The Cardinal
6	Thieves & Monumentals
7	Hebba Ho
8	Mellow Fellows
9	Second Fiddle
10	Meatgrinder
11	The Angry Wino

 

DRINK ME Sleep 1995

by request

biography

by Mike DaRonco

Being dubbed as "the quietest rock and roll ever made, " Drink Me originally started as a drum and guitar noise duo in 1986 before members Mark Amft and Wynne Evans stripped down to their acoustical guitars a few years later. With the accompaniment of the accordion, tambourine, kazoo and other instruments that require no electricity, Drink Me took on their laid back minimal approach to country, folk, rock and jazz on their 1992 self-titled debut album, courtesy of Bar/None Records. With a single entitled "Cherry Pie" that followed in 1993 (not to be confused with the Warrant classic under the same name) and a five song EP on New York's Hello Recording Club the next year, Drink Me's second full-length "Sleep" came out in 1995 with a number of theme songs that revolve around everyone's favorite activity when the lights go out: getting a little shut eye.

EMMET SWIMMING Wake 1995

by request

biography

[+] by JT Griffith

Emmet Swimming formed in 1991 while students at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Emmet Swimming is Todd Watts on vocals and guitar, Luke Michel on bass, Erik Wenberg on guitars and vocals, and drummer Derrick Decker, who replaced original drummer Tamer Eid. The band named themselves after a young black boy, Emmet Till, who was shot in a small Mississippi town for whistling at a white woman and became one of the many martyrs of the American civil rights movement. "The idea of the name was basically that a 14-year-old boy should be swimming in the river, not dying in it," Watts recalled. Emmet Swimming comes from a similar collegiate culture as fellow mid-Atlantic roots rocking jam bands as Hootie and the Blowfish, Everything, and Dave Matthews Band. Like many in the genre, Emmet Swimming built their following through years of touring, especially in Washington, D.C. The band also played the H.O.R.D.E. Festival during the summer of 1998.

Emmet Swimming released their indie debut, Dark When the Snow Falls, in 1993, which was deemed Debut Album of the Year by the Washington Area Music Association. Songs from the album were featured in the films Gabriel's Dream (with R.E.M., Peter Gabriel, and They Might Be Giants) and Crimson Lights. Epic signed the group after their follow-up, Wake, sold 8,000 copies with limited distribution. It became their first major-label LP in 1996. Arlington to Boston was also released in 1996, which was followed by Big Night Without You in 1998 and the LP Earplugs 50¢ in 1999. Emmet Swimming was popular, especially with college students, for their intense live shows and their seemingly contradictory mix of upbeat music and somber lyrics. Singer Todd Watts once commented that "We've tried really hard to make the live shows kind of an emotional roller coaster, and I think that's true of the album(s) as well." The band began a long hiatus in late 1999 and has not disbanded.

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THE MENDOZA LINE We're All in This Alone 2000

by request

Discogs 

 

Tracklist 

1		Tokyo Wa	0:28
2		Sasha Goes Too Far / It Could Be The Nights	4:50
3		Idiot Heart	4:04
4		Baby, I Know What You're Thinking	3:09
5		My Tattered Heart And Torn Parts	2:05
6		Williamsburg	2:52
7		A Bigger City	2:11
8		Everything We Used To Be	3:47
9		You Singled Me Out	2:28
10		I Hope That You Remember To Forget	2:20
11		Yoko's In The Band	3:24
12		Assisted Living	2:25
13		All Heart, No Eyes	3:28
14		Where You'll Land	4:36
15		Hoshi No Oto	0:36

THE EARTHMEN The Fall and Rise of My Favorite Sixties Girl 1994

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Discogs

review

by Jack Rabid

Like Ripe, this quintet favors a thick post-punk sound with nice vocals, thrusting guitar lines that counter or buttress the melody (or sometimes shards of wired, ripped-up guitar chords that suggest two guitarists who got fired from their jobs that day), and enough unpredictable turns in their six songs to delight anyone tired of the mold. For example, here's a band with the technique and heart to go from the smashing, manic "Things That Worry Grown-Ups," a seven-minute but quick-tempoed, hold-onto-your-hat space launch, to "Tell the Women We're Going," which begins in a deep, psychedelic quagmire only to deftly -- without showing its hand -- metamorphose into a sighing pop prize, a violin and cello violently entering and dramatically stealing the show. Singer Scott Stevens whispers "But I'm not falling for you again," and rather than sounding trite, against this vine-laden forest of strings it actually sounds like self-knowledge gained. Combining occasional '60s bug-out with '90s production values, and taking in sifter-loads of '80s Australia/America sounds, the Earthmen are actually out of this world.

 

Tracklist

1	Figure 8	3:55
2	Brittle	3:35
3	Fall And Rise Of My Favorite Sixties Girl	3:01
4	Things That Worry Grown-Ups	7:00
5	Tell The Woman We Are Going	3:53
6	The Language Of You And Me	1:44

FIRETRUCS Hovercraft 2002

by request

Tracklist ▼

1		All I Need	3:31
2		Motorcar	3:16
3		Hat's Off (To Rivers Cuomo)	3:17
4		Telephone	3:52
5		No Sound	5:06
6		Two To Be Twisted	5:20
7		Anthumb '02	2:56
8		Hovercraft	3:19
9		Downtown	6:19
10		Breathe	6:21

CHOCOLATE Sale Copy Only Not For Preview 7 inch 1992

by request

  Tracklist

A1. Community

A2. Lost  Your Way

B1. Ego Central

B2. J Edna

B3. I Wish I Smoked