Artists Condensed: Lush

Ever since I started this project, I've been avoiding talking about a particular topic: The Uncondensable. There are some bands, some artists that just can't be made into sonic bullion. Whether it's because their catalog is just too expansive or because their approach to music in general just doesn't fit in the stand-alone pop song format, there are those I'm just not willing to condense. One of those bands is The Cocteau Twins. The reason that band isn't conducive to condensing also happens to be the chief criticism of the band. Namely, that a lot of their stuff sounds the same. Of course, they're still pretty incredible, if only because no one made a majority of those sounds before in the history of music. While I love The Twins with all my heart, I'm never going to condense them.

That doesn't mean I won't give the treatment to their children. The Cocteau Twins essentially invented Shoegaze, that style of music marked by its high reverb, its ethereal haze and its wispy vocals. Since the early 1980's, Shoegaze has attempted to launch itself into the cultural consciousness of the mainstream. Each time, something has gotten in the way. In the 80's it was rocky post punk, in the 90's it was grunge and Brit pop. Today, there is something of a Nu-Gaze movement with a lot of promise, but it's still quite under the radar.

Among the Shoegazers of the 1990's, none captured the essence better than Lush. Taken under the wing of Cocteau Twin Robin Guthrie, Lush stood at the forefront of a musical movement that deserved a lot more celebration than it got. When their drummer Chris Ackland committed suicide later in the decade, the band called it quits. These days Lush has a devoted cult behind it but they're never going to get the recognition they deserve.

• Single Girl

Late in their career, Lush half-heartedly embraced the Brit Pop stylings of many of their contemporaries, if only to survive in the business. Theirs was a noisier variety, possibly as an attempt to straddle the two sides of the pop continuum. Frankly, the attitude never really fit them.

• Kiss Chase

Here's what Lush actually sounds like. Heavily effected guitars, pretty-but-desolate vocals and sad, ironic lyrics.

• 500
• Hey Hey Helen

I couldn't find a link for this song, but it deserves some mention. This is a cover of an ABBA song, believe it or not. One of the things I'm finding with Condensed is that a band really shows its mettle when it does covers. Here, Lush embraces flighty pop and does something interesting with it

• Lit Up
• For Love
• Laura
• Nothing Natural

As I frequently say, this is here for two reason. First, it's a top notch song that demonstrates how layered and noisy Lush gets at their best. Second, the music video. Back in the early 90's when Shoegaze thought it was about to get big, there was a whole underlying philosophy to the scene. A big part of it was a sort of anti-rock sentiment. No posturing, no feather boas. The performance style in this video shows off the Shoegazers' preference for aloofness.

• Thoughtforms
• Plumbs and Oranges

• Ocean

• Light From A Dead Star
• I Have The Moon

I suppose I doomed myself to a lack of links by picking a somewhat obscure band. This is another cover song, but from a more cred-worthy source. This Magnetic Fields song was always good, but Lush really made it their own by making it downright pretty. As I've said in previous Condensed features, I'm a big fan of pretty because it's done so rarely, and rarely well.

• Last Night
• Leaves Me Cold

Just as pretty is important, a band's ability to rock is a clear indication of the genuineness of their energy. I'll take this song over the majority of what the grunge movement created.

• Love At First Sight

This link has a lot of songs from the band's best-of compilation, this song included. One of the synonyms for Shoegaze is Dream Pop, highlighting the style's penchant for surreal sounds and walls of emotion. If any song in Lush's catalog does it, this is it.

• Scarlet
• Sweetness and Light

When I wrote about The Smiths, I said that "This Charming Man" is the song I'd have someone listen to if I wanted them to understand what the band was all about. "Sweetness and Light" is that song for Lush. Bonus: A nice video intro in which Chris Ackland explains the origin of the band's name.

• Tiny Smiles
• Undertow

This video is what introduced a lot of people to Lush, only a few years late. Levi's Jeans did a string of excellent commercials in the early 00's using some pretty stellar music, including Air's "Playground Love" and this song by Lush. I'm ending this Condensed with the song because it never fails to give me chills. It's noise rock done right and it's just so damn exciting.

Lush only recorded three studio albums and released a couple compilations. There's not really enough there to make a second CD. As a shameless Lush fan, I hope this gives a very deserving band a few new fans. I'll be back on Thursday with another artist. Until then, listen well.