The Wedding Present + more across Manchester Academy.
Forerunners of the shoegaze psych pop movement and the big 4AD scene of the 1990’s, Lush finally re-release their trilogy of sparkling albums which always stood out for me in the rich array of bands such as Ride, Swervedriver, MBV and the underrated God Machine and Catherine Wheel. The shoegaze scene is back amongst us and who should not own at least one of these gems? Read on…
The wait is over. All three studio albums by Lush will finally be back in print on vinyl starting 11 August, 2023.
Built around the songwriting talents of Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi, Lush successfully defined a myriad of 90s scenes such as shoegaze, dream pop and Britpop before they disbanded in 1998. A much-loved band who briefly reformed in 2016, recent years has seen a new, young audience fall in love with their music after discovering it via TikTok, Spotify et al. And outside of a lavish Record Store Day career retrospective boxset in 2016, all three studio albums – Spooky (1992), Split (1994) and Lovelife (1996) – have been unavailable on vinyl since the 90s.
With demand high, the band have been working with renowned engineer / producer Kevin Vanbergen to help them remaster their catalogue, starting with their studio albums. Using the original ½” production tapes for source material, Kevin has painstakingly worked on them to create brand new, stunning 24-bit masters that perfectly capture the thrill of the originals. They’ve never sounded so good.
Famously working with 4AD’s inhouse designers v23 on every release, album art has always been central to Lush’s appeal too. For these represses, the first two albums will come housed in their original designs while Lovelife uses the art from their 2016 boxset so to keep 1996’s collectible tracing paper sleeve exclusive to that initial pressing.
For these new presses, all three titles are coming out on both classic black vinyl and ultra-clear vinyl – the latter a one-time press available exclusively via independent stores and 4AD’s webstore. CDs will also be available later this year. More on that soon.
Furthermore, US collectible store Bandbox are carrying a super-limited bundle of all three titles in exclusive colors (Spooky on orange vinyl, Split on yellow and Lovelife on violet). This version also includes a special fanzine dedicated to the band.
With a few EPs and a mini-album (Scar) having set the scene, Spooky is Lush’s 1992 debut studio album. A key text for British indie music after the turn of a decade, it was produced by label mate Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and features the singles ‘Nothing Natural,’ ‘For Love’ and ‘Superblast!.’
Spooky
Originally Released 27 January 1992
Pre-Order Here
A1. Stray
A2. Nothing Natural
A3. Tiny Smiles
A4. Covert
A5. Ocean
A6. For Love
B1. Superblast!
B2. Untogether
B3. Fantasy
B4. Take
B5. Laura
B6. Monochrome
Split
Originally Released 13 June 1994
Pre-Order Here
Featuring the singles ‘Desire Lines’ and ‘Hypocrite,’ Split is the second full studio album by Lush. Produced by Mike Hedges – famed for his work on The Cure’s Seventeen Seconds & Siouxsie and the Banshees’s A Kiss in the Dreamhouse – and mixed by Alan Moulder, Split sees the band hit a more direct sound whilst retaining their almost pitch-black feel.
A1. Light From A Dead Star
A2. Kiss Chase
A3. Blackout
A4. Hypocrite
A5. Lovelife
A6. Desire Lines
A7. The Invisible Man
B1. Undertow
B2. Never-Never
B3. Lit Up
B4. Starlust
B5. When I Die
Lovelife
Originally Released 5 March 1996
Pre-Order Here
Lush’s final studio album, Lovelife, dealt “Britpop the feminist counterpoint it sorely needed,” (Pitchfork). Produced by Pete Bartlett (Therapy?, Kitchens of Distinction), it features three of the band’s biggest singles in ‘Single Girl,’ ‘Ladykillers’ and ‘500 (Shake Baby Shake),’ with Jarvis Cocker also featured on first-half closer ‘Ciao!’.
A1. Ladykillers
A2. Heavenly Nobodies
A3. 500
A4. I’ve Been Here Before
A5. Papasan
A6. Single Girl
A7. Ciao!
B1. Tralala
B2. Last Night
B3. Runaway
B4. The Childcatcher
B5. Olympia
Forewords by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief
