Being a band in the 90's was both exhilarating and arduous at the same time. Many decent acts never got more than a fleeting mention in papers, or in local clubs, while others proclaimed a short lived stardome. Even fewer are here to talk about it today, and it could be said you would have been very busy writing obituaries for music in this era. Revolver were a disappointment to this period, not based on their music not being good enough to catapult them to the level of homage paid to band like Ride and Lush, but that they never got anything but an inkling of mention. They were another great band that got lost in the shuffle of labels and reviews. Perhaps if they had been signed to Creation Records, they would have garnered more attention. Alas, a few singles surfaced on Hut Records, and one studio album (the eps were also translated into one compilation). A lot of critics state that Revolver overcomplicated their music by paying more attention to their songwriting than to sheer noise. The only way I can see this being the case is the fact that they more or less do sound like Ride just prior to going through their death throws. The material is excellent, just not noisy. But, do we always need to be deafened to actually enjoy a good song? Another major problem with Revolver was being dumped into the shoegaze category. This might have alienated some so-called shoegazers from the sound that was predominately pumping out 'walls of sound'. Perhaps Revolver's obituary had been written as soon as they were slapped with the moniker. It's sad to say that too many good bands never really saw the light of day in the 90's, but in a way that's what makes them more revered by those of us who actually liked them back then!
Track 1, Crimson
Track 2, Don't Ever Leave
Track 3, Drowning Inside
Track 4, Further Away
Grab the tracks here!
UK Hut Records 1991, HUTT 9
Personal rating 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment