CRIMINALLY Forgotten Albums
Remember Kerbdog? My Vitriol? Set to Stun? Silver Sun? No Use For a Name? Mansun? If there was any justice in the world, the albums below would be just as revered as ‘Nevermind’, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ and ‘The Black Album’. Perhaps it was a lack of label support, or simply being in the wrong place or wrong time, that led to these records being relegated to ‘cult’ status. If you’re a fan of all things rock, you NEED these albums in your life.
What other records would you add? What else doesn’t get the recognition it deserves? Let us know in the comments below.
There was an underground buzz about Kerbdog when they released their excellent second album - but it fizzled out. If they had been American, and played some high-profile tours and festivals, they could have been HUGE. Instead, the album was delayed by Mercury Records for well over a year before it was eventually released, leaving the Irish 3-piece to only tour more locally and eventually vanish into obscurity soon after. Lead singer Cormac Battle and drummer Darragh Butler then formed Wilt, a more mainstream-oriented rock band, who were good but lost the metallic, lightning-in-a-bottle edge of Kerbdog.
‘On The Turn’ is almost frustratingly good, with every song being a potential single. ‘Sally’, ‘Mexican Wave’ and ‘JJ’s Song’ were the chosen singles, and all are fantastic, and are arguably topped by the riff-laden ‘Severed’, the monstrously heavy title track, and the multi-faceted ‘Pledge’. Combining Helmet’s crunchy Drop-D riffs with Ash’s energy and The Wildhearts’ knack for a good tune, ‘On The Turn’ is genuinely one of the greatest albums of the 90s. Perhaps it was just a little too heavy for the Britrock crowd and too melodic for metalheads?
Highlights: ‘Severed’, ‘Sally', ‘Mexican Wave’
They didn’t make it easy for themselves, did they? Release a stunning debut album? Check (2001’s masterpiece ‘Finelines’). Several Top 40 singles and Top of the Pop appearances? Check. Chino Moreno from Deftones publicly declaring you his favourite band? Check. 2001 should have been My Vitriol’s year.
Unfortunately, things fizzled out soon after ‘Finelines’ was remixed and repackaged with b-sides album ‘Between The Lines’. My Vitriol were arguably never really a ‘band’, but instead a creative partnership between university friends Som Wardner (vocals, guitars) and Ravi Kesavaram (drums) which was fleshed out into a 4-piece for the release of ‘Finelines’. Whatever the reasons, they went on a lengthy hiatus in 2002, with occasional shows and single releases over the following 11 years. Then, in 2013, a mysterious PledgeMusic campaign emerged, for fans to fund a new album that would supposedly be released in 2014. It eventually came to light in 2016, after multiple will-they won’t-they delays, by which point even the most loyal of fans had lost interest. It is shame that ‘The Secret Sessions’ is remembered more for its laboured creation than the music itself, because it is an AMAZING album.
At first it sounds overly compressed, but once you get used to the somewhat unique production choices, ‘The Secret Sessions’ reveals its genius, with masterful tunes wrapped in layers of swirling guitars and pumping drums. Highlights include ‘It’s So Damn Easy’, showcasing Som’s silky vocals over propulsive beats and My Bloody Valentine-esque guitar soundscapes, and the devastatingly beautiful ballad ‘Lord Knows How I’ve Tried’.
Highlights: ‘If Only (God Only Knows)’, ‘Lord Knows How I’ve Tried’, ‘It’s So Damn Easy’
If you like pop-infused melodic punk rock, with an occasional bite, ‘More Betterness’ is the gold standard. American punk rock was huge in the late 90s, both in the mainstream (Blink 182, Green Day, Offspring) and in the lesser-known but still revered scene (NOFX, Rancid, Lagwagon, Descendents, Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake, Pulley, MxPx, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Strung Out and countless others on FAT Wreck Chords).
It was very hard to dislike No Use For a Name, given that they ticked all the right boxes (lightning fast drums, razor-sharp guitars, harmonies galore) and had a multitude of memorable tunes to boot - but they often got lost in the pile of other great bands. The untimely death of frontman Tony Sly in 2012 led many to revisit NUFAN’s discography, and to truly appreciate the genius of Tony Sly’s songwriting.
‘More Betterness’ is arguably No Use For a Name’s best collection of songs, though ‘Hard Rock Bottom’, ‘Making Friends’ and ‘The Feel Good Record of the Year’ are all superb too. Almost every track (with the exception of a curious and unneccessary cover of ‘Fairytale of New York’) is superb, from the high-speed opener ‘Not Your Savior’ to the dark, body image-themed ‘Life Sized Mirror’, to elegaic closer ‘Room 19’ and poignant ‘Let It Slide’. And, in ‘Coming Too Close’, NUFAN produced one of the all-time greatest pop-punk anthems, with a level of lyrical depth and melodic sophistication that most other bands could never quite reach.
Highlights: ‘Coming Too Close’, ‘Chasing Rainbows’, ‘Let It Slide’
Materialising in late 2000s Los Angeles, the trio known as Set to Stun always struggled to find their footing, never quite breaching into mainstream metal as they released their obscure debut album, ‘Colors’, in 2010. However, when they were signed to Tragic Hero Records, it seemed as though the tide had finally turned, as their assistance helped to create the album ‘SET TO STUN and The Desperado Undead’.
They were poised to be huge, thanks to this truly incredible record boasting clean vocals reminiscent of Coheed and Cambria and violent growls capable of raising Hell. The random sonic madness of the album rivals The Callous Daoboys in the insanity department, while a story weaves through the record of a murderer, Amadeus, with split personality disorder convincing himself that he is a hero destined to take down a tyrannical government. Seven-plus minute tracks like the euphoric closer ‘Staria II: Desperado Undead’ blend face-meltingly heavy riffs with catchy verses that stick with you long after listening.
Okay, the production isn’t perfect, but the album is such a good listen that its flaws are few and far between. Surely this would make them massive, right? Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. The band remained in the dark, and an eight-year gap until their next record, ‘VALKYRIE ONE’, as well as reportedly poor live performances, sabotaged any chances of a breakthrough, leaving one of the best experimental post-hardcore records of the 2010s as a criminally forgotten gem.
Highlights: ‘Staria II: Desperado Undead’
With their debut full-length ‘The Dark Third’, British prog band Pure Reason Revoluton were catapulted straight into the mainstream press, touting them as a Pink Floyd for the 00s generation. Indeed, ‘The Dark Third’ was a masterclass in restrained but strident prog rock, built around the majestic centrepiece ‘The Bright Ambassadors of Morning’.
It was a curious left turn, therefore, for Pure Reason Revolution to almost completely reinvent themselves for album number two. The key ingredients were still present - multi-layered vocals, delicate textures with occasional punishing riffs, and unconventional song structures. But the overall sound was significantly different, leaning more on synths and electronic beats. From the very opening moments of track 1, ‘Les Malheurs’, it is clear this was going to be a very different experience to ‘The Dark Third’ - and it is a unique, engrossing listen that is as indebted to mid-period Radiohead and European electronica as it is to the glory days of British prog.
It is a shame that PRR tend not to play much from ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ now, as tracks such as ‘Apogee’, ‘The Gloaming’ and ‘AVO’ have a wonderful charm. This record is well worth your time.
Highlights: ‘AVO’, ‘Les Malheurs’, ‘Victorious Cupid’
Their breakthrough debut ‘Attack of the Grey Lantern’ saw Mansun being lumped in with the Britpop crowd, especially with mysterious earworm hit ‘Wide Open Space’. Instead of capitalising on this by producing safe indie-rock singles - which they could have done easily - Mansun went up their own creative backsides for the follow-up, ‘Six’ (a reference to AA Milne’s book ‘Now We Are Six’), and by doing so produced a prog masterpiece that brings to mind The Mars Volta (who, of course, were still a few years away from their creation when ‘Six’ was made).
Though the album spawned 4 singles (‘Legacy’, ‘Negative’, ‘Six’ and ‘Being a Girl - Part 1’), none of these were especially single-esque, and ‘Six’ is much better enjoyed in one mind-bending sitting, admiring the attention to detail that exists within the chaos. Even the artwork was noteworthy. The album's sleeve art was a painting produced by Max Schindler and commissioned especially for the album, containing references to personal interests and obsessions of the band, such as Dr Who, Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 (sitting in the ball chair commonly occupied by the different Number 2's), from The Prisoner. There is also a depiction of Winnie the Pooh standing close to a painting that may be a reproduction of ‘Vinegar Tasters’, a Taoist allegorical painting.
Different versions of the album exist, with significant alterations to the tracklisting. Perhaps ‘Six’ is best thought of as an art project - an evolving, strange explosion of sound that reflects Mansun’s gleeful abandon.
Highlights: ‘Six’, ‘Shotgun’, ‘Serotonin’
The debut album (‘The Presidents of the United States of America’) and its swift follow-up ‘II’ are legendary, and everyone knows ‘Peaches’ and ‘Lump’. Many rock fans from the 90s will also remember ‘Volcano’, ‘Mach 5’, ‘Dune Buggy’, ‘Back Porch’ and ‘Kitty’. But what most people don’t know is that PUSA’s 6th album, ‘These Are The Good Times People’ is equally as good as their mid-90s breakout records, and should be revered just as highly.
If you’re looking for witty, intelligent and surprisingly touching songs, with pristine production, pop-punk sensibilities and a country twang, this record is for you. In fact, if it had had more label backing, and perhaps had a different band name (PUSA, by 2008, had long been consigned to the history books as the band that made ‘Peaches’), it could have been huge. ‘Ghosts Are Everywhere’ has a chorus to die for. Opener ‘Mixed up SOB’ is a perfect pop-punk song. Album closer ‘Deleter’ matches The Cat Empire for funkiness and straight-up fun; and ‘Ladybug’, ‘Bad Times’ and ‘Sharpen Up Those Fangs’ could all have fitted comfortably on the first record.
It is approaching its 20-year anniversary, but ‘These Are The Good Times People’ has freshness and vitality that sounds like it could have been made yesterday.
Standout tracks: ‘Sharpen Up Those Fangs’, ‘Bad Times’, ‘Ghosts Are Everywhere’
While not an official Mars Volta record, ‘Cryptomnesia’ is essentially The Mars Volta in all but name. Cedric himself said “It's pretty much a Mars Volta record, just without Thomas, Ikey and Marcel”. It was released under the name ‘El Grupo Nuevo De Omar Rodriguez Lopez’, possibly for contractual reasons, but it is recommended to any Mars Volta fan - more so than Omar’s myriad solo releases that can be something of an endurance test.
Released at a similar time to ‘Octahedron’, this record is fun, frivolous, bonkers and utterly unique.
‘Cryptomnesia’ was recorded quickly and benefits from a haphazard, manic energy. With recurring melodies, it is perhaps best regarded as one long song which has been cut up and stuck back together with vocal samples, weird noises and loops. Never outstaying its welcome, ‘Cryptomnesia’ is a crazy adrenaline rush which builds on the lunacy of ‘The Bedlam in Goliath’.
Standout tracks: ‘Tuberculoids’, ‘Elderly Couple Beaten With Hammer’, ‘Puny Humans’
There is no record on Earth that sounds quite like ‘Silver Sun’, the self-titled debut album from melodically brilliant power pop songwriter James Broad and his band. Exploding in 1997 at the height of Britpop, Silver Sun stood out with their quirky, spiky guitar-led tunes that were more indebted to The Beach Boys and Cheap Trick than they were to the indie scene around them.
For a time, Silver Sun were a regular fixture on British shows such as TFI Friday and Top of the Pops. They forged a strong career, even after being dropped from their major label Polydor in 1999, producing a range of fantastic albums until James Broad’s tragic death from bowel cancer in 2020 - and even then, the tunes have kept coming with the posthumously-released ‘Switzerland’ and ‘Mild Peril’ records. But the real magic came in their 1997 debut.
The singles ‘Golden Skin’, ‘Lava’, ‘Julia’, ‘Dumb’ and ‘Last Day’ are all worthy of ‘Greatest Hits of the 90s’ compilations, while deeper cuts such as ‘Wonderful’, ‘Service’ and ‘Yellow Light’ showed off the breadth of their musical talents and their ability to slow things down without losing the quirky, life-affirming energy.
For fans of South Arcade, Green Day, Ash, Best Coast, this album is a must-listen.
Standout tracks: ‘Lava’, ‘Julia’, ‘Yellow Light’
Looking back on this list, there seem to be a number of forgotten gems from 1997, which is curious. On reflection, it was a transitional time in rock and metal. Nu Metal was starting to take shape. Britpop was enjoy its heyday. The Prodigy showed the world that electronics could be just as cool as guitars.
When 3 Colours Red emerged, their early singles (‘Nuclear Holiday’, ‘Sixty Mile Smile’, ‘This is my Hollywood’) helped them get onto Top of the Pops and TFI Friday along with their contemporaries Reef, Bush, Placebo, Feeder, Ash and many others. There was a slightly harder edge to 3 Colours Red though - almost as though the hefty rock n roll swagger of The Wildhearts and The Cult was combined with the punky, youthful pop rock energy of Symposium and the noise of Therapy?
‘Pure’ isn’t flawless, and a couple of the tracks (‘Halfway Up The Downs’ and ‘Mental Blocks’) sound a little more like b-sides. But for the most part, it is a worthy companion to The Wildhearts’ ‘Fishing For Luckies’ and Symposium’s ‘One Day at a Time’. ‘Nerve Gas’, ‘Alright Ma’ and ‘This is my Hollywood’ bristle with nervous energy, and you can practically smell the sweat and feel the chewing gum under your shoe.
Highlights: ‘Nerve Gas’, ‘Nuclear Holiday’, ‘Fit Boy + Faint Girl’
More albums to come:
Skin - Experience Electric (1997)
Smoking Popes - Destination Failure (1997)
…and who else would you add? Write your comments below!
