Lush - Outside World (2016)

Lush was formed in 1987 in London, and initially named the Baby Machines (after a line in the Siouxsie and the Banshees song 'Arabian Knights'), with a line-up of Meriel Barham (vocals), Emma Anderson (guitar, vocals), Miki Berenyi (guitar, vocals), Steve Rippon (bass guitar) and Chris Acland (drums). Their influences were diverse, being inspired by Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the garage rock scene of the Nuggets series. Anderson and Berenyi had been school friends, having known each other since the early 1980's, and together published the Alphabet Soup fanzine, and in 1986, Anderson joined the Rover Girls as bass guitarist and Berenyi joined the Bugs, also as a bass guitar player. Neither band lasted long, and in 1987, they joined Barham and Acland in the Baby Machines. Rippon joined shortly thereafter and the band members decided on a change of name to Lush, making their live debut at the Camden Falcon on 6 March 1988. When Barham left the band to join Pale Saints, Berenyi took over on lead vocals, and in 1989 the band signed to 4AD Records and released their first recording, 'Scar', a six-track mini-album. Critical praise for 'Scar' and a popular live show established Lush as one of the most written-about groups of the late 80's/early 90's UK indie scene, and not long after, the British music press tagged them with the "shoegazing" label. 

The following year, the EPs 'Mad Love' (produced by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins) and 'Sweetness And Light' (produced by Tim Friese-Greene) were released, with all three EPs later being combined into the 'Gala' compilation album, which was produced mainly for the US and Japanese markets. The band recorded a live session for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show in 1990, and contributed a cover version of 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' later that year to the anti-poll tax album 'Alvin Lives (In Leeds)'. The band's profile was raised by extensive touring, including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in June 1990 and tours of Japan in late 1990 and the US (with Ride) in the spring of 1991, with the 'Black Spring' EP appearing later that year. Their first full-length album of completely new material, 'Spooky', was released in January 1992, again produced by Guthrie, and it featured a sound very similar to Guthrie's band Cocteau Twins, with walls of sound and a great deal of guitar effects. Reviews were mixed and critics of the album held that Guthrie's production brought the sound away from the band's original creative vision, although it sold well, reaching No. 7 in the UK Albums Chart. Rippon left the band after recording the 'For Love' EP to concentrate on writing, though his book Cold Turkey Sandwich — a fictionalised chronicle of his time touring — was rejected by publishers, and he was replaced by Phil King. 

The band approached Bob Mould to produce their second album, but he was reportedly too busy to produce them, so 'Split' was recorded by Mike Hedges at Rockfield Studios in Wales. Hedges and the band then mixed the recordings, first at Abbey Road Studios, and then at Hedges' studio in Domfront, France, but neither the band nor 4AD's Ivo Watts-Russell 4AD were satisfied with the sound, and  eventually Alan Moulder was hired to remix it. Unusually, the band released two EPs from the album, with 'Hypocrite' and 'Desire Lines' both appearing on 30 May 1994, but neither single broke into the UK Top 40, and when 'Split' was released on 13 June 1994, it was less successful than 'Spooky'. On the advice of their management the band concentrated on the American market, but failed to make a breakthrough, and a third EP from 'Split', to have featured 'Lovelife' as the lead track along with a version of 'The Childcatcher' recorded during the 'Split' sessions, was shelved. 'Lovelife', the band's fourth album, was released in March 1996, and was produced by Pete Bartlett, the band's live engineer. This album represented a change in production, with less reliance on heavy guitar effects, and it became the biggest seller of their career, possibly as it was more in step with the contemporary Britpop style. Instead of capitalising on their success in the UK, the band's management sent them on an ill-conceived American tour with the Gin Blossoms, and with the band members feeling pressured and tired, Anderson discussed leaving, although Berenyi, in particular, was keen to keep the band together. 

In September 1996, the band played their last performance, prior to reuniting, in Japan, but a month later, tragedy struck the band when drummer Acland died by hanging himself in his parents' garden on 17 October. Following this the band effectively went on an extended hiatus, officially announcing their break-up on 23 February 1998. Berenyi went on to work as a production editor at two major magazine publishers, and Anderson formed a new group, Sing-Sing, with singer Lisa O'Neill, but then in September 2015, the music press suggested a reunion might be planned after Anderson posted a cryptic message on social media, and an official band website appeared. On 28 September, Lush announced their reunion on their Facebook page, with the reunited band consisting of Anderson, Berenyi and King with the addition of Justin Welch (ex-Elastica) on drums, who was an old friend of Chris Acland's. They announced a show at the Roundhouse in London on 6 May 2016, and later added a second date, 7 May 2016, after the first show sold out in six hours. On 15 April 2016, the band announced the release of the 'Blind Spot' EP, the band's first new material since 1996, but bassist King left soon afterwards, with Michael Conroy of Modern English playing bass for the final show at Manchester Academy, and they also confirmed that the band would split after the show. As a reminder of one of my favourite bands of the 90's, here's a collection of their non-album EP tracks and b-sides. 

Track listing

Disc I - 1990-1994
01 De-Luxe (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
02 Leaves Me Cold (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
03 Downer (from the 'Mad Love' EP 1990)
04 Sweetness And Light (single 1990)
05 Sunbathing (b-side of 'Sweetness And Light')
06 Breeze (b-side of 'Sweetness And Light')
07 Fallin' In Love (from the 'Black Spring' EP 1991)
08 God's Gift (from the 'Black Spring' EP 1991)
09 Outdoor Miner (b-side of 'For Love' 1991)
10 Astronaut (b-side of 'For Love' 1991)
11 Rupert The Bear (b-side of the 'Lit Up' flexi-disc 1993)
12 Love At First Sight (b-side of 'Hypocrite' 1994)
13 Cat's Chorus (b-side of 'Hypocrite' 1994)

Disc II - 1994-1996
01 White Wood (b-side of 'Desire Lines' 1994)
02 Girl's World (b-side of 'Desire Lines' 1994)
03 Tinkerbell (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
04 Outside World (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
05 Cul De Sac (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
06 Pudding (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
07 Demystification (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
08 Shut Up (b-side of 'Single Girl' 1995)
09 Sweetie (b-side of 'Single Girl' 7" 1995)
10 I Have The Moon (b-side of '500 (Shake Baby Shake)' 1996)
11 Piledriver (b-side of '500 (Shake Baby Shake)' 1996)

Disc III - 1996-2016
01 Matador (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
02 Ex (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
03 Dear Me (Demo) (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)

04 Heavenly (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
05 Carmen (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
06 Plums And Oranges (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 1996)
07 I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend (b-side of 'Ladykillers' 7" 1996)
08 Out Of Control (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
09 Lost Boy (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
10 Burnham Beeches (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)
11 Rosebud (from the 'Blind Spot' EP 2016)