Jangle

Miracle Legion were a Connecticut-based band that immediately sprang to life on the heels of a post-R.E.M. guitar rock boom, chiefly because lead singer Mark Mulcahy's voice bore an uncanny resemblance to Michael Stipe's, and the arpeggio guitar structures were akin to Peter Buck's. But the band -- Ray Neal (guitar), Jeff Wiederschall (drums), and Steven West (bass), and later just...

Like many bands I first heard and grew to love, I first heard the Shadowy men on one of Peel's programmes - he used to play them quite a bit.

I endeavoured to make a best of compilation in the absence of there being such a thing and this is how it turned out.

THE FIELD MICE were formed in Mitcham, a dull outer suburb of south London, by Robert Wratten and Michael Hiscock. Bob and Michael first got to know each other while in the Lower Sixth at Tamworth Manor, the local comprehensive, and often discussed the idea of forming a band. On leaving school, however, they went their separate ways, and it seemed the moment had passed. But a chance meeting in Croydon Our Price brought them together again, and the...

Pale Saints were Ian Masters, Graeme Naysmith and Chris Cooper. They formed in Leeds, after Graeme and Chris spotted an ad Ian placed in April 1987. They spent their first year playing gigs around the Leeds area, until eventually a deal was made, with another local band, The Savlons, as well as a friend of the band (Jane Fox, from The Marine Gir...

Brighter are a band for the Monday morning music mavens, a rarefied breed that unearths obscure gems, champions them to the underground, and ultimately discards them once they achieve mainstream acclaim. Of all the labels that released the music these mavens covet, England’s Sarah Records might be one of the most revered.

This boutique indie released a cache of fabulous recordings th...

The band formed in Brighton in 1985, released inside/blue suit/cut (frank records) 1986, then first john peel session on BBC 1986, then balloon song/like a dolphin/lie to choose/train song (frank) 1987, next it was second john peel session 1987, and then it was unhappy days/sure to see/come get me (sarah) 1987,...

Blueboy formed around 1989 and initially consisted of Keith Girdler (on vocals) and Paul Stewart (on guitars), formerly of little-known band Feverfew. They soon signed to Sarah Records, releasing the home-recorded single "Clearer" in 1991, and took on more members, including singer/cellist Gemma Townlet and second guitarist Harvey Williams (of The Field Mice/Another Sunny Day). "Clearer" was followed by several singles and two albums on Sarah, If ...

Microdisney began recording in their native town of Cork, Ireland. Their first few singles, including 1983's "Pink Skinned Man", were produced by Dave Feeley, and released on indie labels Kabuki records (the label which was also home Irish performance artists such as Roger Doyle, Kissed Air and Five Go Down To The Sea). One of their rarest recordings from this period is a live performance of 'National Anthem' (featured o...

Northern Picture Library was a British dream pop group, formed in 1993 by Bobby Wratten and Annemari Davies, both former members of The Field Mice. They were soon joined by former Field Mice drummer Mark Dobson.

The Razorcuts were part of the legendary C-86 scene in the U.K. and went on to become one of the more influential indie pop groups of the 1980s.

St. Christopher are a British indie pop band formed in York in 1984, who released several records on Sarah Records in the late 1980s, and have continued to release reco...

Let’s Go Naked formed in Brisbane in 1984 (“The band consists of a student, workers and a layabout, me,” – Murray Power, singer and guitarist), in a city at a time when the bands that did make it, left the place. In a musical climate that favoured covers bands, LGN did not always go down a storm:

“One night a group stood down the back in the dark and yelled ou...

The enigmatic five piece band formed in Glasgow have released some of the finest pop songs of their generation since humble beginnings in Penilee, a suburb of the city, where the three founder members grew up and started the band in 1986. Their first six singles and three albums were met with widespread critical acclaim, much of this from out-with the UK. They graduated from the gentle lo-fi craft of their first album, L...

Great band who experimented with their sounds, making several remixes that moved them away from thier rather tenuous connection to janglepop.

The band formed in 1983 in South London with an initial line-up of Rolo McGinty (vocals, guitar, formerly of The Wild Swans and The Jazz Butcher), Simon Mawby (guitar), Alice Thompson (keyboards), Frank DeFreitas (bass guitar), and Paul Hookham (drum...

The Wild Poppies were from New Zealand and released music sometime in the eighties.

Although they were not on Flying Nun you can definitely hear that they shared a lot of influences with their artists.

The Corn Dollies were a United Kingdom indie band from London, active between 1987 and 1991. Comprising Steve Musham (vocals and guitar), Tim Sales (guitar), Steve Ridder (bass), Jack Hoser (drums), and Jono Podmore (violin)  the band met in King's Cross although they all hailed from Dalston, aside from native Californian Ridder.

The Softies were a musical duo consisting of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia, whose genre was love songs using only their two voices and electric guitars. Beginning in 1994, the musical group was a side project for both artists. Along with an eventual career as a solo artist, Rose Melberg performed with Tiger Trap, Gaze, and Go Sailor. Jen Sbragia was known for her work with the band Pretty Face. As part of the Twee Pop movement centrally located in ...

And they are still going! Released a single almost a year ago (There's Something About Mary).

The Chesterfields were an English indie pop band from Yeovil in Somerset. Hardcore fans tended to refer to them as 'The Chesterf!elds', with an exclamation mark replacing the 'i', following the example of the band's logo.

The band was formed in summer 1984 by Dave Goldsworthy (vocals, guitar), Simon Barber (bass, vocals), and Dominic Manns (...

Tramway were an organ and jangly guitar male vocaled pop band from Bristol (England) with a Felt-gone-pop sound that is less 'easy' than most Siesta releases, but is of a very high quality. They have a song ('That Old, Old Feelin') that is almost a carbon copy of the Spring (the 1972 band fronted by Brian Wilson's then wife, who were THE MODEL for Adventures In Stereo) song 'Thinkin' Bout You Baby', which was written by ...