What happened to LUSH?

first time i heard lush was the singles off lovelife and found them really annoying (altho "500" is ok i guess) got into shoegaze about 2000 and somebody played me a couple of their early tracks without telling me who it was and i've loved the first couple of albums and early eps ever since.

lush got way more popular in oz off the back of the lovelife album, but i'm betting that a fair chunk of that was the jarvis duet. also shake baby shake was thrashed on the radio

Ha, I should probably be clear what I mean about snagging the pop role right -- I mean, that album seemed way more successful in a broad pop way, but I feel like there was this sense that they'd accomplished that by going a bit bland, or joining up to run in a pack with bands like Sleeper and Echobelly, or something. I don't know that anyone considered that a huge sell-out, or anything, but surely it has something to do with their not being critically canonized in the way they might have been if they'd released three records like Gala and then broken up, you know?

http://vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/lush-mad-love/

i do kind of miss these guys, though they were never ever in the same league as MBV or Slowdive.

the linked interview is really interesting, though. being American, i had no idea that Lush had gotten beaten up so much in the British musical press -- the interview claims it's because they were "lighter" than other shoegaze bands (which is true i guess) -- but it wasn't as if Slowdive (to give a counter-example) had a particularly easy time with the British press either.

yeah i recall interviews w/them in The Big Takeover where they blasted the British press, especially for constantly pushing the tired dull sexist "look these are women playing rock music" line.

Also, shoegaze in general got AN LOT of ridicule; the term itself was originally used as a pejorative iirc.

This must go down on record as the longest Lush thread ever being that it was stated in 2002!

In fact I can't think of any other band or for that matter, subject matter that has merited such an long thread!

i won't introduce you to the pseudo echo thread in that case

I suppose with Lush now talking about reforming, it could quite easy make it's 10th anniversary.

I guess it's only a matter of time, until a reunion is on the cards.

Which would be very strange, to say the least.

(sigh)

After seeing Lush repeatedly place on the shoegaze-tracks poll, I am revisiting all of these Lush albums and they are hitting all the right autumnal emotional trigger points. So fucking good. The outros to Nothing Natural and Desire Lines are killing me.

Of course Lush will never get old. They will forever be in their twenties and the music will always remain ageless. And they didn't need the build-up and applause of the music press to keep them relevant either.

Just read a note on FB that tomorrow is the 16th anniversary of Chris Acland's death.

I've just bumped into this Emma Anderson interview... was kind of surprised to learn they've actually contemplated reuniting, but haven't been offered enough money :(

Interview here

Was talking to Emma Anderson at a wedding the other week.

Saw the Ride / Lush tour the summer I gradjeeated from college at the late lamented Latin Quarter in Detroit. Epic show. My brother and I both lost hearing in our right ears from the treble onslaught, but 21 years later I have no regrets!

back next year according to a fake-Coachella poster doing the rounds!

I hope so!

firing up Spooky for the first time in a while; this album is still fantastic

It's one of my favorite albums that I would usually probably forget to list among my favorite albums. I discovered at just the right point in my life, too, which doesn't hurt. Total gateway drug to lots of other, similar stuff I'd never been exposed to previously.

I love Spooky but it's my least favourite of their albums.

Lovelife never really gelled for me

Yeah, Lovelife isn't bad, but they sounded like a different band to me (although I can't fault them for not continuing to do exactly what I wanted them to continue doing). I love everything up until then, though.

that first sing-sing album is so great, seems like it could've been big if it were released a few years later

I've been on such a Lush-binge these past few days. Christ, they were fantastic.

I will rep for Lovelife, too, it was the kind of spikey pop band that was lurking underneath all the shoegaze haze all along, but people just didn't seem able to accept that side of them. Which is a shame, because I always loved their melodic sensibility. I mean, come on! 500 (Shake Baby Shake)? Such a choon!

I even dug out the Sing-Sing albums yesterday. Yeah, the timing on that was weird. To put out this deeply textured, finely arranged summer-pop album right at the height of the Noo Rawk Revival seems like bad luck. It's way, way better than I remember it being.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qah2UXQj3kQ&app=desktop

almost as good as fabulous on rapido

i had that "Get Fucked By Fabulous" shirt, it was kind of ill-advised to ever wear it out

is that Quantick in the waistcoat?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq1QWn8KXsw

all-time

Who's the speccy wee gadge in the blue cardy?

James Brown

The knowledge that he went on to become editor of lads mag 'Loaded' makes me take everything he says in that video with a huge pinch of salt.

taking any of what they said seriously would be utterly ridiculous

Miki was onstage with Jesus And Mary Chain for Just Like Honey last night in London!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3PfzrVIAAIdD1n.jpg

the live band also has philip king in the line up ..

ok so..

http://www.lushofficial.com/

oh dude.

I guess it was inevitable really - but out of all those guys, reformed Lush is the one I see most struggling to raise interest.

It basically comes down to: What are the new songs like?

What's the news? Is that just a new website?

I would also note this:

https://twitter.com/evjanderson/status/645886417957203968

I really can't process this right now because I can't run around my office screaming "WHOOOOOOOOO LUSH!" without getting fired

reformed Lush is the one I see most struggling to raise interest.

Really?

Anyway, hope this turns out to be yet another fantastic album from a 90s band who hasn't been together in 20 years. It's been a good year for that.

I'm into this if this is the thing that's actually happening. Remains to be seen what direction they'll take. I deeply love everything they did up to the last album, which I thought was just okay. I really like Sing-Sing, though.

Eek, this is all very exciting! I was just downloading some of their B-sides yesterday.

New album, tour and reissues would all be welcomed. I don't ask for a lot.