ERIC MATTHEWS It's Heavy In Here 1995

Discogs

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

 

The work of Eric Matthews was a direct reaction to the lo-fi recording practices so prevalent throughout the alternative music scene of the 1990s; while many of the decade's artists trafficked in a defiantly ragged, do-it-yourself aesthetic, Matthews' records grew out of orchestral theories and practices, and revelled in the stately elegance of warm harmonies and lush arrangements. A native of Gresham, OR, Matthews was born in 1969 and fell in love with the symphonic pop of the Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, and the Bee Gees at an early age; John Williams' score for Star Wars steered him into orchestral music, and he picked up his first instrument, the trumpet, while in elementary school.

After attending a San Francisco conservatory to hone his craft, he moved to the Boston area to further pursue his songwriting and performing. There he met Sebadoh's Lou Barlow and Bob Fay, and under the name Belt Buckle, they teamed for a four-song EP in 1993. Through Fay, Matthews also struck up a friendship with Richard Davies, an Australian-born singer/songwriter best known for fronting the cult band the Moles. Together they formed the duo Cardinal, a forum for Davies' wry songwriting and Matthews' arranging skills and instrumental talents (which now included a mastery of piano, organ, harpsichord, and marimba), and released a stunning self-titled debut in 1994. Internal difficulties resulted in Cardinal's brief lifespan, however, and Matthews soon resurfaced as a solo artist. In 1995, he issued his debut, It's Heavy in Here, an ornate, complex collection highlighting his emerging vocal and composing skills. The excellent Lateness of the Hour followed in 1997. It was his final album for some time, however. He finally returned in 2005 with a mini-LP titled Six Kinds of Passion Looking for an Exit and a full-length, Foundation Sounds, late the following year. The Imagination Stage followed in early 2008. 

 

Tracklist 

1	Fanfare	2:53
2	Forging Plastic Pain	3:14
3	Soul Nation Select Them	3:21
4	Faith To Clay	2:21
5	Angels For Crime	3:01
6	Fried Out Broken Girl	3:27
7	Lust Takes Time	2:40
8	Hop And Tickle	2:56
9	Three-Cornered Room	3:06
10	Distant Mother Reality	2:18
11	Flight And Lion	3:38
12	Poisons Will Pass Me	2:36
13	Sincere Sensation	2:54
14	Fanfare (Reprise)	2:18

 

SELF Half Baked Serenade 1997

  Thanks to Sean

 

 

Discogs 

 

 

Self Biography

by Heather Phares

Self is largely the project of Matt Mahaffey, a Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who began writing songs at age four and was a professional drummer at 12. During high school and college he became proficient at home recording, setting up a studio in his basement and recording demos, some of which eventually became part of his debut album, 1995's Subliminal Plastic Motives. The album, an eclectic blend of power pop, hip-hop, and samples, earned Self a devoted following and tour dates with big alternative acts like Garbage, 311, and Cracker. After being on the road with touring bandmates guitarist/vocalist Mike Mahaffey, keyboardist/vocalist Chris James, drummer Jason Rawlings, and bassist/vocalist Mac Burrus, Matt Mahaffey celebrated his return to the studio by releasing a small-run album, Half-Baked Serenade, on the local Spongebath label, which he co-founded. In 1999 Self returned to the limelight with the tonally diverse Breakfast with Girls, which was co-released by Spongebath and Dreamworks. Arriving in 2000, the quirky Gizmodgery was performed exclusively on toy instrumentation and was quickly followed by a pair of free digital releases, Selfafornia and Self Goes Shopping.

In the early 2000s Mahaffey relocated to Los Angeles, where he launched a career as a successful producer and collaborator working with a wide variety of artists like Beck, P!nk, Keith Urban, Butch Walker, and Tenacious D. Self completed a major-label follow-up to Breakfast with Girls in 2004 called Ornament & Crime, though it was ultimately shelved by Dreamworks and remains unreleased. Many of the songs appeared in demo form on the self-issued 2005 collection Porno Mint & Grime. That same year, Mahaffey's brother and Self bandmate Mike Mahaffey passed away. Over the next decade, Self remained on the back burner while Mahaffey and his other bandmates worked on their own projects. Despite a handful of reunion shows, their next recorded output would be the 2010 single "Could You Love Me Now?," followed in 2011 by another single, "Looks and Money." Finally, in 2014, Self returned with a more substantial release in the form of the six-song EP Super Fake Nice. The band continued to perform sporadically over the next few years.

 

 

Tracklist

1		Joy, The Mechanical Boy	4:10
2		Dielya Downtown
2:17
3		Crimes On Paper	2:57
4		KiDdies
2:32
5		Cinderblocks For Shoes	2:56
6		Song For Nelson	1:57
7		Preschool Days	3:02
8		Cater To Your Ego	1:58
9		Microchip Girl
3:39
10.1		Sassy Britches	5:01
10.2		When You're Alone	3:03

 

LOIS Bet the Sky 1995

Thanks to Martin

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Charles Atlas	3:17
2	Shy Town	3:06
3	Cover Yr. Eyes	2:29
4	Transatlantic Telephone Call	2:06
5	Wrestling An Angel	3:58
6	Flamer	2:01
7	The Western	2:11
8	Unattached	2:28
9	Steal Heat	2:09
10	February 15	2:27

PATTY SMYTH Never Enough 1987

This release was supposed to be the next Scandal record but things went awry with the band and this was the result. I still play the hell out of this and it reminds me of my college days.

Ripped at 320kbps with my CD copy.

Tracklist  

1	Never Enough	4:16
2	Downtown Train	5:09
3	Give It Time	4:18
4	Call To Heaven	5:04
5	The River Cried	4:17
6	Isn't It Enough	4:22
7	Sue Lee	3:45
8	Tough Love	4:50
9	Heartache Heard Round The World	4:55

HEADSWIM Flood 1994

Sposob Rocks contributed this one

Discogs

Headswim Biography by Jason Anderson

Headswim was formed in Essex England by ex-Blinder frontman and guitarist Dan Glendining along with his brother, drummer Tom Glendining. The two put the group together by recruiting their friend Clovis Taylor to play bass and local musician Nick Watts signed on as keyboardist. The new outfit immediately began writing and recording, completing two EPs, Tense Nervous Head and Moment of Union, during their first year together. These early recordings had a grungy, American rock feel most reminiscent of Pearl Jam and other less punk, more jam-oriented Seattle artists of the time. As it turned out, that was just the attitude many record labels were looking for and Headswim signed a contract with Sony Music in 1994. A year later they released their slightly heavier full-length debut Flood in England. The single "Crawl" from this first major release had a decent impact on U.K. radio charts and the band embarked on their first extensive tour, hitting many European markets. Things slowed down briefly for the band when Dan and Tom's brother, Mathew Glendining, passed away after a long battle with leukemia. While regrouping emotionally from the loss, Dan Glendining, powered through many cathartic songwriting sessions. Much of this material was developed when Headswim began work on their second CD, Despite Yourself. On the 1997 Sony release, there are plenty of songs that reference Glendining's loss as well as other quasi-spiritually themed tracks that explore the mysterious and other more personal lyrical ideas. The single "Tourniquet" was a minor radio hit in both America and the U.K. Additionally, the group's first American tour took place in 1997 as they hit stages around the U.S. with Kula Shaker. Despite Yourself turned out to be the last major recording from Headswim, who after separating from Sony, managed only to release the independent U.K. single "Dusty Road" in 2000. It's unfortunate that Glendining and company experienced the letdown of losing their label home when they did, as the band had battled through a tough personal tragedy, and through it, managed to make real artistic gains.

 Tracklist 

1	Gone To Pot	4:41
2	Soup	3:11
3	Try Disappointed	3:51
4	Crawl	3:57
5	Dead	5:14
6	Years On Me	2:55
7	Apple Of My Eye	4:17
8	Down	3:58
9	Stinkhorn	2:27
10	Safe Harvest	6:28
11	Beneath A Black Moon	15:18

COBRA VERDE Viva la Muerte 1994

Many thanks to Sposob Rocks for this!

GRITHER All Smiles 1995

Grither's first EP release 

 

Discogs

 

 

Tracklist

1	One Piece Missing	3:31
2	Repetitive Song Of Joy	3:27
3	Trickle Down Justice	3:54
4	Dig It Up	5:03
5	Insomnia	3:16

 

COOL FOR AUGUST Grand World 1997

Sean provides this great upload.

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Don't Wanna Be Here
2	Hope I'm Wrong
3	Walk Away
4	On & On
5	Trials
6	Big Night
7	Of You
8	Denial
9	Sylmar
10	Hey You
11	Wheels
12	New Song

 

BABE THE BLUE OX People 1994

Contributed by Sean

Discogs 

Artist Biography by John Bush

Babe the Blue OX (BOX) formed in Brooklyn in 1991 when Midwesterners Tim Thomas (guitar, vocals) and Rose Thomson (bass, vocals) moved into Hanna Fox's apartment and persuaded her to play drums. Their first single, "There's Always Room for One More, Honey," appeared on Stamp and showed their Captain Beefheart take on indie rock; the trio uses jazz, sludge rock and punk to screw up their pop songs. Signed to Homestead, they released the "Chicken Head Bone Sucker" single in 1992, [BOX] and the Je m'Appelle Babe EP in 1993, and Color Me Babe in 1994. People, the group's first album for major label RCA, appeared in 1996; The Way We Were followed two years later. 

 

Tracklist

1	Can't Stand Up	3:16
2	Stand By Your Man	4:08
3	Rube Goldberg	3:45
4	Beat You To It	4:01
5	Fuck This Song	1:42
6	Breathe	3:35
7	Family Picnic	2:50
8	Resume	3:19
9	I'm Wrong	3:49
10	Shunpiking	3:52
11	Just Checking	2:37
12	Memphis	3:48

 

 

GANGER Hammock Style 1998

Sean provides another upload for us. Thanks Sean! 

 

Discogs 

 

 

Tracklist

1		Cats, Dogs And Babies Jaws	5:59
2		Upye	5:52
3		Capo (South Of Caspian)	9:36
4		First Thing In The Morning	2:21
5		What Happened To The King Happened To Me	11:38
6		Blau	4:42
7		Lid Of The Stars	8:42

 

CARDINAL Cardinal 1994

Discogs

 



Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny
 

Originally a one-off project from singer/songwriters Richard Davies and Eric Matthews, Cardinal came together in 1994 following ex-Moles frontman Davies' relocation from his native Australia to the U.S.; he wrote and sang all but one of the songs that comprised Cardinal's self-titled debut, while Matthews arranged the compositions, layering them with ornate strings, horns, and pianos inspired by the lush, baroque sounds of late-'60s pop. While Cardinal was released to great acclaim, internal strife quickly split the duo apart, and both Davies and Matthews embarked on solo careers. An unlikely reunion in 2011 produced their sophomore follow-up, Hymns.

Tracklist 

1	If You Believe In Christmas Trees	3:56
2	Last Poems	2:40
3	Big Mink	2:48
4	You've Lost Me There	4:24
5	Public Melody #1	1:31
6	Dream Figure	2:59
7	Tough Guy Tactics	2:24
8	Angel Darling	2:51
9	Singing To The Sunshine	2:42
10	Silver Machines	3:53
11	Forest Theme	0:43
12	If You Believe In Christmas Trees (demo)	3:52
13	Willow Willow	2:42
14	You've Lost Me There (demo)	5:15
15	Outtake	0:13
16	Tribute To A Cow	1:26
17	Tough Guy Tactics (demo)	2:28
18	Say The Words Impossible (demo)	2:43
19	Poolside '75	1:46
20	Sweatshirt Gown	1:21
21	Say The Words Impossible	3:26

 

BIRDBRAIN Let's Be Nice 1997

Thanks to Sean

Discogs

Birdbrain Biography by John Bush

A furious grind-pop trio from Boston, Birdbrain was formed by vocalist/guitarist Ammo, bassist Joe McCarthy, Jr. and drummer Mikel Benway. The group released their debut, Bliss, in 1995, and followed it up with Let's Be Nice two years later.

 

Tracklist

1	Youth Of America	3:00
2	Talk About Me	2:56
3	[She's Always] Glowing	3:50
4	Inside Out	2:13
5	Heroine	4:09
6	Get It On	4:01
7	Grey	3:27
8	Queen Bitch	2:56
9	My Gun	2:33
10	Tell Me	2:35
11	Jesus Wept	3:16
12	High	4:36
13	The Ballad Of Johnny Love	7:25

BLUE MOUNTAIN self titled 1993

 

 Discogs 

 

Artist Biography

by Jason Ankeny

Blue Mountain is led by the husband and wife team of Cary Hudson and Laurie Stirratt; the roots rockers drew their name from a small town near their home base of Oxford, Mississippi, where the bandmembers first began soaking up the country, blues, and rock influences that informed their distinctive sound. Blue Mountain was founded in 1993 by vocalist/guitarist Hudson and bassist Stirratt after their previous band, the Los Angeles-based, punk-inspired Hilltops (which also included Stirratt's twin brother, John, who would go on to join the band Wilco), dissolved following the release of a lone LP, Big Black River.

Returning to Mississippi, the couple hooked up with drummer Matt Brennan and began writing and performing live. After a self-titled album -- recorded for about $1,000 -- issued on the band's own label, Four Barrel Records, Blue Mountain was signed to indie label Roadrunner, and in 1995 released Dog Days, an album cut mostly live in the studio with new drummer Frank Coutch and producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. Reprising a number of songs from the first release, Dog Days ran the gamut of the group's influences, incorporating everything from country hoedowns to gentle acoustic numbers to a cover of the Skip James jam "Special Rider Blues."

In 1997, Blue Mountain returned with the superb Homegrown; Tales of a Traveler followed two years later and Roots was issued in early 2001. Celebrating ten years together, the band released the live retrospective Tonight It's Now or Never in 2002. 

Tracklist

1		Bud
2		Let's Ride
3		Song Without A Name
4		Westbound
5		Mountain Girl
6		900 Miles
7		Soul Sister
8		In A Station
9		Jimmy Carter
10		Go 'Way Devil
11		Wink