The early nineties were an exciting time for guitar based music. Grunge dominated the rock scene, but as any avid viewer of the ITV Chart Show will tell you, circa 1992, the indie chart was brimming with great bands, often more of a UK vintage. Shoegaze sounds captured the underground; jangly indie acts – like The La’s and World of Twist – celebrated more of a 60s vintage, and the social commentary that drove bands like Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine and The Wonder Stuff found itself crossing over for massive chart success.

Arguably one of the greatest periods in 20th Century musical history after the 1967-72 stretch that saw psychedelia morph into a giant prog rock behemoth, the six years between 1989-1994 that saw a wealth of “indie” transitioning into the mainstream are equally fascinating. NME readers continued to be introduced everyone to a couple of new guitar oriented indie bands on a weekly basis as the baggy scene and various jangly bands eventually gave birth to the mainstream and press friendly “Britpop”. In charting that journey, this four disc, ninety track box set does a great job. It brings together massive and familiar sounds from Blur, Sleeper and Primal Scream, along with chart successes from Paul Weller, Supergrass and Longpigs. Most importantly, it places them in context alongside now overlooked contributions from The Dylans, The Wendys, The Pooh Sticks, Revolver, 18 Wheeler and others, creating a very comprehensive overview of the first half of the 90s.

‘Popscene’ features a lot of gold standard material, including a couple of deeper cuts from bigger acts (demos from The Bluetones and Cast sit alongside a Kingmaker tune that isn’t ‘Armchair Anarchist’ or ‘Queen Jane’), but it’s when championing the one-time ITV Chart Show regulars and the fillers of those much loved Indie Top 20 cassettes that this themed set comes into its own. A strong case in point comes from Spirea X, whose ‘Speed Reaction’ immediately sets a “baggy” drum groove in place to allow for a world of jangling guitars and harmony vocals to go to work. In seconds, the track sounds like something the early Charlatans might’ve dabbled with, or a half forgotten jam from The Mock Turtles, and says “late 80s” like very little else, despite being issued in 1991, just at the point Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ was set to change everything…unexpectedly. Even more chirpy, ‘Poppy Day’ by Brighter blends a baggy-ish indie sound with a love of old Paisley Underground sounds, creating something that occasionally sounds like a smoother La’s. The harmony vocals are glorious; the fake sounding brass, decidedly less so. Despite being flawed, this is still a lovely track, thanks to a brilliantly sunny melody and an unashamed round of “ba ba ba”s leaving the listener with a memorable closing hook. Showing how much of an impact the post-Pixies sound of Nirvana had on the alternative scene, Secret Shine’s ‘Honey Sweet’ kicks off with a huge Kim Deal/Krist Novoselic inspired bass, chugging a bottom end sound with ease. From there, a world of shoegaze-ish guitars swirl into life and, in places, this Bristolian act occasionally channel the more interesting elements of Ride. Decades on, this sounds like something that should’ve been a hit in 1992, but any huge success was likely hampered by the independent Sarah Records not having the clout when it came to distribution.

With ‘Honestly’ and its opening two chord riff, The Bridewell Taxis immediately sound as if they’re going to drop a massive indie rocker, but the track veers off in an unexpected decision with brass sounds and a much sunnier feel. By the time the chorus presents itself, the number’s contrasting elements come together surprisingly smoothly, whilst a confident vocal carries a strong melody. Sounding like an unexpected mix of The Mighty Lemon Drops and The Farm, this number gives a great insight into the band’s brand of late 80s guitar pop. Equally great, The Honey Smugglers add a folky stomp to a weighty indie groove on ‘Blind’, and the multi-layered arrangement also finds space for a little light psych before adding bridge sections that vaguely look forward to a baggy sound. More a case of a band seeming confident rather than offering something genuinely catchy, this shows off some great musicianship throughout, before the Milltown Brothers bring a shiny quality to a tune with an unashamed 60s influence. With a thin vocal and a fat bass revisiting something that sounds like a punchier take on a tune from ’68, ‘Apple Green’ captures the very essence of an early 90s indie vibe. It’s no ‘Here I Stand’, but between the layered chorus vocals, a fuzzy lead guitar break and a brilliant organ accompaniment, it holds up very well.

Those looking for some fecking massive sounds should head straight for ‘Still A World Away’ by The Popguns, a female vocal and huge guitar combo that plays like The Wedding Present in a fairly tuneful mood, and the punkier Action Painting!, whose ‘Mustard Gas’ makes no attempt at hiding its love for David Gedge and the Buzzcocks’ ‘Spiral Scratch’ EP. Despite falling through the cracks over the years, it plays like something that was tailor made for a Peel Session. More great noise is supplied by Boyracer, a band who take a post punk approach to fuzzy, distorted riffs. This makes their super-crashy ‘He Gets Me So Hard’ sound like another rough and ready tribute to the Gedge school of arrangements. Looking back, its a style that very much fits the early 90s, with Peel Sessions, and with wavering photos of bands on The ITV Chart Show in lieu of an actual video. In terms of whipping up some easy nostalgia, it works brilliantly here.

Hearing ‘Suncrush’ by 18 Wheeler decades after the fact, with its Teenage Fanclub-tastic harmonies, Hawaiian inspired guitar work and incessant dreamy jangle, it begs the question as to why it wasn’t a smash in 1993…? Maybe it was decreed that one Teenage Fanclub was enough? Maybe people were too hyped up on the heavier and grungier sounds of the time? Whatever the reason, the fact that this track has been overlooked is a travesty – it’s easily one of this box set’s stand out tunes. As is ‘Selfish’ by The Revs, a number absolutely teeming with jangling riffs. When it comes to harmonies, they’re a little rough in direct comparison to 18 Wheeler, but they still do a fine job in fleshing out a simple hook with a jubilant approach, whilst the choppier elements of a dominant guitar riff provide a superb contrast throughout. Stylistically, there’s nothing here you won’t have heard before, but it’s a genuine feel good number which shows off a band with great promise. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t hit the big time: following a handful of EPs and singles, the band split in 1995 before issuing a full length disc.

In a change of mood, ‘I’ll Be Your Saint’ by Adorable offers a deep bass grind underscoring a clanging guitar and, eventually, presents a broad melody that fuses some light shoegaze with something that sounds a little more Manc-centric, despite the band being from Coventry. Regardless of location, their Creation Records friendly sound is unquestionable, and although this track isn’t big on melodic hooks, it’s a reminder of a band with a lot of musical clout. A welcome surprise, Shampoo’s semi-punky ‘Blisters & Bruises’ has a lot of sass. Sure, the vocals are wantonly tuneless, but the sharp edged guitar work has a great energy. It’s great to hear Jacqui & Carrie before their ‘Trouble’ breakthrough, when they sounded like a genuinely bad version of Kenickie – a band, strangely, absent from this collection (‘Punka’ should’ve been a shoo-in.) One of the most underrated bands of the 90s, Salad always knew their way around a riff. They also knew a simple hook when they hit upon one, and ‘Kent’, despite relying on rhymes that Noel Gallagher might have binned for sheer trashiness, comes with a superb vocal and great guitar work throughout. Never quite fitting the Britpop mould, or finding a love from people who loved grungier things, the band always felt like true outliers – misfits, even – but this serves up a huge wave of 90s nostalgia that’s more than welcome. Even if it isn’t a patch on ‘Diminished Clothes’ or the more oft-heard ‘Your Ma’, it plays well here.

Dig around elsewhere, and you’ll find Mantaray’s ‘Adoration’ which sounds like a second rate Oasis workout, ‘All Grown Up’ by The Weekenders, best described as a Kingmaker cast-off mangled by They Might Be Giants, and even a mod-ish number augmented by funk bass in Jane Pow’s ‘Sanitized’. Absolutely loaded with the kind of keyboards typically found on 10cc and Andrew Gold recordings, then subjected to bits of wah-wah as per Stevie Wonder’s ‘Talking Book’, Corduroy’s ‘Mini’ shares a retro love of a different kind. It proves that in a world of guitar bands, the best way of standing out is to eschew a love of 70s rock and early 80s post punk and replace it with a shameless funkiness. It sounds like a perfect piece of buried treasure from 1975 even before jazz tinged guitars put in an appearance, and by the time the band unveil a punchy chorus where the vocals rise, it sounds like a perfect pastiche to a bygone era. In a set containing 90 tracks, it’s a big claim, but this is the standout. Maybe it’s because it dares to be different; it has such an unfashionable heart, it’s hard not to love it.

It’s hard to dislike a band who’ve chosen to name themselves after the lead character from an Australian sex comedy, but ‘Billie’ by Alvin Purple isn’t big on originality. With its bouncy rock-pop arrangement, heavily affected vocal and shameless “ba ba”s, it steals liberally from a ‘Modern Life’ era Blur. This in itself isn’t a bad thing, and an unexpected use of horns with a Mexicana flavour is a little unexpected, but it still leaves a feeling of having heard a track that should be better than it is. Given the amount of indie based competition they would have faced in 1994 when this was recorded, it’s no great surprise that it sat on the shelf for thirty years. Another interesting number nestled among more familiar tunes, ‘The Stripper’ by Orange Deluxe appears to meld Primal Scream’s obsession with The Stones to some swaggering funk. The guitar lines straddle a fine line between melodic and dirty, and pepper the bridges between the vocal with some fierce slide and wah-wah. Meanwhile, the bass lays down a punchy groove that doesn’t really fit with the Britpop era, but it works. If not for a faint hit of Kula Shaker creeping in on one of the vocal refrains, this could belong in any era. It certainly doesn’t sound like the kind of track that would’ve been an alternative club staple in the last throes of the grunge era and at the peak of Britpop. Make no mistake, though, it’s superb – very much the kind of track that box sets such as this were created to highlight.

Towards the end of a fantastic set, there are a few Britpop crowd pleasers to be found. Sleeper offer the saucy ‘Swallow’, a Blondie meets Buzzcocks affair from their marvellous ‘Smart’ debut, the guitar heavy ‘Lenny Valentino’ by The Auteurs stands out as a brilliant rocker, all swirling guitars and and attitude. attacking with a speaker breaking intensity, and ‘Real Surreal’ by S*M*A*S*H revisiting the heart of the brief New Wave of New Wave movement. It’s always good to hear these tunes, whenever or wherever they choose to pop up, but they’re actually outshone by the baggy-meets-Manc dance sounds of ‘Reader’s Wives’, a Cornershop number that shows off their indie credentials, and even ‘Natalie’, a smooth piece of pop from Stephen Duffy, which is a solid reminder of how much more commercial sounding guitar pop lurked, sometimes unjustly ignored, on the fringes of a time dominated by Fred Perry shirts and band tribalism.

In terms of coverage, ‘Popscene: From Baggy To Britpop’ is rather broad, but in terms of attracting the more casual listener – often the main aim of a great compilation/box set from Cherry Red Records – it does a brilliant job. There are plenty of indie hits and Britpop bangers to play to a broad crowd. Let’s not forget that the Blur track from which this box takes its name still sounds like a horn-fuelled, almost punky sounding classic that has more verve than it knows what to do with. Or that the early Echobelly introduced everyone to one of Britpop’s strongest and most distinctive vocalists. Or that, on the cusp of their major breakthrough, veterans Pulp had hit upon a contemporary sound and style that still sounds unique so many years later. There’s more than enough buried treasure here, too, for the more committed fan. It really has something for almost everyone. As a stand-alone release it’s strong, but when approached as companion to the ‘Into Tomorrow’ box set which charted the rise of the mod revival that eventually fed into Britpop, and RPM’s ‘Britpop Junkshop’ release that brought together brilliant tracks by some talented “also-rans” from the 90s, it becomes indispensable. Popscene! It’s more than alright…

Buy the CD here: https://amzn.to/4gXuoGR

September 2024