THE POOH STICKS The Great White Wonder 1991

Discogs


Wikipedia says:

The Pooh Sticks were an indie pop band from Swansea, Wales recording between 1988 and 1995. They were notable for their jangly melodiousness and lyrics gently mocking the indie scene of the time such as on "On tape", "Indie-pop ain't Noise Pollution" and "I Know Someone who Knows Someone who knows Alan McGee Quite Well". The band changed direction on their 1991 U.S breakthrough The Great White Wonder, eschewing the 'twee' British indie pop sound for a more American-styled Power pop sound, akin to bands like Jellyfish and Redd Kross. Subsequent albums Million Seller, considered by some Power Pop fans to be the band's best work, and Optimistic Fool followed in this style.

Tracklist 

1	Young People	3:55
2	The Rhythm Of Love	3:26
3	Sweet Baby James	3:11
4	Pandora's Box	2:59
5	Desperado	4:45
6	Good Times	2:01
7	The Wild One, Forever	1:15
8	I'm In You	14:39
9	When Sunny Gets Blue	2:41

ULTRA VIVID SCENE Joy 1967 - 1990 (1990)

Discogs

Wikipedia writes:
Ultra Vivid Scene was an alternative rock band started by Kurt Ralske.

Former Nothing But Happiness and Crash guitarist Ralske started Ultra Vivid Scene in 1987, was signed to 4AD Records in 1988, and released his first UVS EP, She Screamed, in 1988. The debut album Ultra Vivid Scene released October 1988, was written, produced and performed entirely by Ralske, whose influences include The Velvet Underground and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[1] The second album, Joy 1967-1990, was released in April 1990.


Tracklist

1		It Happens Every Time	3:18
2		Staring At The Sun	2:49
3		Three Stars	3:21
4		Special One	3:15
5		Grey Turns White	3:20
6		Poison	3:42
7		Gulity Pleasure	3:29
8		Extra Ordinary	3:53
9		Beauty #2	3:59
10		The Kindest Cut	3:11
11		Praise The Low	3:21
12		Lightning	4:45

ENKINDEL Some Assembly Required 1996

Discogs

 

Enkindel was from Louisville, Kentucky. Their sound was heavy much like their Louisville brothers Guilt and Rodan. Some Assembly Required is their Initial Records release.



Tracklist

1		Petose	5:03
2		Enkindel	3:42
3		All I Want	3:19
4		Moment Of Clarity	4:20
5		71 Year Recap	4:01
6		Baxter	3:16
7		Sunday Afternoon	3:00
8		Without A Family	3:08
9		Mama's Boy	3:55
10		Brandon / Expressway Honking Song	8:30

DRIVE LIKE JEHU Yank Crime 1994

Discogs

 

Drive Like Jehu Biography

by Steve Huey

Although they weren't around for long, Drive Like Jehu had a tremendous impact on the evolution of hardcore punk into emo. Underappreciated during their existence in the early '90s, the band was sometimes overlooked next to post-hardcore kin like Fugazi and Quicksand; at the time, many critics also lacked the frame of reference to place their music in a broader context. The term "emo" hadn't yet come into wider use, and while Drive Like Jehu didn't much resemble the sound that word would later come to signify, they exerted a powerful pull on its development. Moreover, they did fit the earlier definition of emo: challenging, intricate guitar rock rooted in hardcore and performed with blistering intensity, especially the frenzied vocals. Drive Like Jehu was arguably the most progressive of the leading post-hardcore bands: their lengthy, multisectioned compositions were filled with odd time signatures, orchestrated builds and releases, elliptical melodies, and other twists and turns that built on the innovations of the Dischord label. The result was one of the most distinctive and ferocious sounds in the loosely defined post-hardcore movement.

Drive Like Jehu were founded in San Diego by guitarist John "Speedo" Reis (who simultaneously served as the frontman for trash-punkers Rocket From the Crypt) and lead singer/guitarist Rick Froberg (aka Eric Froberg, initially credited as Rick Farr). The two had previously played together in a grungy, metal-tinged punk outfit called Pitchfork from 1986-1990, and recorded one album, titled Eucalyptus (on which Froberg used the alias Rick Fork). Itching to develop their more progressive ideas further, Froberg and Reis regrouped in August 1990 as Drive Like Jehu, taking their name from an obscure Biblical reference in the second book of Kings. The remainder of the band consisted of bassist Mike Kennedy and drummer Mark Trombino, a powerful and versatile rhythm section capable of pushing Reis and Froberg's complex, interlocking guitar patterns to even greater heights.

Drive Like Jehu signed with the independent Headhunter label at approximately the same time as Reis' Rocket From the Crypt. Both bands released their debut albums in 1991, and Jehu's self-titled bow stood in stark contrast with its epic prog-punk song structures and wild, abrasive performances. In 1992, Jehu recorded an explosive, one-off single for Merge, "Hand Over Fist" b/w "Bullet Train to Vegas." Rocket From the Crypt signed a major-label contract with Interscope in 1994, and by some accounts, Reis insisted on a package deal in which Jehu would be allowed to sign as well: hence the highly unlikely major-label release of the cult classic Yank Crime in 1994. Another uncompromising maelstrom of technically intricate fury, Yank Crime refined the approach of its predecessor and expanded the group's growing cult audience. However, Jehu disbanded not long after its release, in part for Reis to concentrate on Rocket From the Crypt. Drummer Trombino went on to become an in-demand producer and engineer for commercially successful bands like blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World, while bassist Kennedy retired from music and became a chemist. In 2002, Reis and Froberg reunited in the musically similar but streamlined Hot Snakes, and Reis also reissued Yank Crime on his own Swami label, complete with both sides of Jehu's 1992 Merge single. 

 

Tracklist

1		Here Come The Rome Plows	5:43
2		Do You Compute	7:12
3		Golden Brown	3:14
4		Luau	9:27
5		Super Unison	7:24
6		New Intro	3:32
7		New Math	4:05
8		Human Interest	3:24
9		Sinews	9:07

 

CRUSH Crush 1993

Discogs

Review by Alex Henderson

Crush is a name that has been used a lot in the music world -- various alternative rock, dance-pop, and rap acts have all used the name. Not to be confused with the British female dance-pop duo that gave listeners "Jellyhead," the Crush that provided this self-titled CD in 1993 specialized in alternative rock. Produced by Pat Moran, the disc often manages to be aggressive and moody at the same time. It also manages to be relevant to the alternative rock scene of 1993 without forgetting about the rock sounds of previous decades. When this album came out, alterna-rock was getting bigger and bigger. The pop-metal and hair metal bands that were huge at the start of the 1990s were taking a pounding commercially, and major labels were hoping to find the next Pearl Jam or the next Nirvana. Majors were signing alternative bands left and right; at East West America, one of the signings was Crush. This CD isn't grunge, although it's definitely alternative rock -- a term that can mean a lot of different things. For Crush, it means having a variety of influences. Crush's melodic material isn't just influenced by early-'90s alternative bands, but also by everything from 1960s psychedelic rock to arena rock, new wave, and goth rock from the 1980s. However, the album never sounds retro (by 1993 standards), and melodic tunes like "Oblivion Scream" and "Please Your Head" have a certain freshness. One of the nice things about this CD is Crush's lack of dogma; if the band finds psychedelic elements useful on "Here Burns the Night" or "Love's Cruel Ways," it will employ them without hesitation -- and if Crush feels like giving an industrial flavor to "Groove Kings," it will do so. This excellent release is as unpredictable as it is rewarding.

Drummer Paul Ferguson was also a member of Killing Joke.


Tracklist

1		She Came Down	4:32
2		Mary (Sing)	4:29
3		The Rain	4:56
4		We - The Love Child	4:04
5		Oblivion Scream	4:04
6		Days Of Joy	4:34
7		Please Your Head	4:02
8		Groove Kings	3:11
9		Here Burns The Night	3:13
10		Love's Cruel Ways	4:38
11		Angel Lies	4:26
12		Peace Temple	3:37

COLD WATER FLAT Listen. 1993

Discogs

Released by Sonic Bubblegum, this was CWF's first full length and what a great CD it is. Paul Janowitz wrote all the songs and his brother Bill, in the Band Buffalo Tom, fills in on slide guitar on track 2 and lead guitar on track 7.

Tracklist

1	Swollen Sonnet	3:56
2	Count Out Your Space	4:05
3	Lost & Lazy	3:22
4	Listerine	4:06
5	Instrumental	2:12
6	Dig	3:20
7	Roll Me Over	2:46
8	Blue Clowns	6:21
9	Permanent Scars Of Color	4:15
10	Everything You Are	3:25

FLUF Home Improvements 1994

From the San Diego scene of 94-95, it's Fluf!

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Sticky Bun	3:41
2	RK Wins	1:50
3	Nirvana / Brass Ring	1:54
4	Rooked	4:19
5	Page 3 + 1	2:03
6	Snapper	3:57
7	Stuffed Animal	1:18
8	The Power	3:33
9	Twister	2:05
10	Token Instrumental	2:23
11	Broke	2:50
12	Tried	4:42
13	Mark Andrea	7:24

RIDE Fall EP 1990

Discogs

English rock band formed in Oxford in 1988. With their first records, Ride created a unique wall of sound that relied on massive, trembling distortion in the vein of My Bloody Valentine but with a simpler, more direct melodic songwriting approach. The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed "shoegazing" by the British press because the band members stared at their many guitar effects pedals while they performed. After the 1992 album "Going Blank Again", the band shed their shoegazing tendencies and released 1994's "Carnival Of Light", an album deeply indebted to bands of the 1960s and 70s. Following a lukewarm critical and fan reception towards that album, they released one more album in a similar retro/classic rock vein, "Tarantula", in 1996, immediately breaking up over inter-band tensions regarding direction and ongoing songwriting/leadership squabbles. Twenty years later, they reformed amicably and have since released three more well-regarded full length albums that have largely been considered a return to form.

Ride Fall EP released on Creation Records in 1990. The EP was housed in a cardboard sleeve and was a UK import. - Blogatrix


Tracklist

1		Dreams Burn Down	6:08
2		Taste	3:18
3		Here And Now	4:27
4		Nowhere	5:24

DREAD ZEPPELIN 5,000,000 1991

If you somehow missed Dread Zeppelin back in the 90's, you have to check this out! Dread Zeppelin is an American band best known for covering the songs of Led Zeppelin in a reggae style sung by an Elvis Presley impersonator named Tortelvis.

GIGOLO AUNTS Flippin Out 1994

Discogs

Tracklist  

1	Cope	3:47
2	Lemon Peeler	3:28
3	Ride On Baby Ride On	5:15
4	Bloom	4:00
5	Figurine	5:02
6	Where I Find My Heaven	3:22
7	Lullaby	5:06
8	Mrs. Washington	4:46
9	Gun	4:38
10	Pin Cushion	4:42
11	Flippin' Out	6:10

FRETBLANKET Junkfuel 1994

 Discogs

Artist Biography by Eric J. Iannelli

Inspired by bands like Ride, the Wedding Present, and Swervedriver, Fretblanket hails from the small midland U.K. town of Stourbridge. The four members -- Matt Carey (drums), Will Copley (vocals/guitar), Clive Powell (guitar/vocals), and Dave Allsopp (bass) -- met as schoolboys around 1987. After signing to the American-based Polygram Records in 1993, Fretblanket debuted with Junkfuel one year later. Home Truths From Abroad followed in 1997. Although their sophomore effort had more polish, both albums fall into a predictable style of post-grunge: raw but melodic. Comparisons immediately call bands like Bush to mind. MTV's short-lived 12 Angry Viewers awarded high ratings to "Into the Ocean," the first single from Home Truths. But the video fell out of heavy rotation and Fretblanket, further troubled by label issues, quietly slipped back to Stourbridge.

Tracklist

1	Twisted	3:12
2	Song In B	3:12
3	Junkfuel	3:02
4	Transmission	3:27
5	Direct Approach	2:36
6	I'm Going To Buy A Hang Glider	3:46
7	Now We're 30	3:23
8	1941	4:43
9	Drag	4:19
10	Curtainsville	3:09
11	Big Fat Ugly	4:51
12	Sleep Through Everything	2:51
13	You're Welcome	3:06

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to I Hate The 90s, a new blog where you can check out great music from the 1990's. All of the music available here will have been recorded and released in the 1990's. I will focus on the 90's college music radio scene. Hope you like it! Enjoy and please leave comments and suggestions. If you're looking for a particular band, please request it and I will see what I can do to find it for you.

Let's get started....