Awesome write up on Raise. 👏 An underrated (or just often forgotten?) album that for a long time was in my all time 100. And I agree it's better than Mezcal Head, which I could never get into as much. Is that because we heard Raise first and at the time? As well as Dinosaur Jr. I always thought Sonic Youth must have been an influence on them. Loved your description of moshing by the way. As an explanation of why it was so much fun you nailed it.
Thanks, Purple!!! 😁
Yeah. It always seems that the first album I hear by some artist - some sound - becomes my favorite too. First loves die hard. lol.
I also think they lost their bass player (Adi Vines) and they moved away (just a bit) from that rough American Underground sound. And switched producers.
But yeah, glad I'm not the only one who feels this way since Mezcal Head definitely got more critical acclaim back in the day.
With all the hoopla surrounding all the new bands and sounds coming out in 1991, it was easy to overlook the old reliable - The Feelies. One of THE bands that started the whole indie sound to begin with! The Feelies were never less than perfect on their first three seminal records and this - their swan song (until their reunion) - was to be to be no different.
This is the album where the Feelies finally set their tazers (& guitars) to kill and went full-on garage rock. The sound is tough and raw. Gone completely is the nerdy, anxious & insecure vibe that made their debut such a touchstone for the entire indie scene back in 1978. In its place is a toughness. A street smart grittiness.They were no longer green under the ears college freshman. They were grizzled, we’ve-seen-it-all vets. And they had come to chew bubble gum and kick ass and - you’ve guess it - they were all out of bubblegum.
This album is a veritable celebration of all the alleys and dimly lit street corners of lower manhattan back in the 80s. It’s quintessential NYC underground through and through. The shadows of the Twin Towers of NYC rock - The Velvet Underground & Television - loom large over this nugget of indie guitar mayhem. It’s like they had been binging on nothing but Television’s Marquee Moon and The Dream Syndicate’s The Days of Wine and Roses for months. Cooped up in some cramped tour van. Just itching to get out, stretch, and just rock. But, a Feelies album is always far more than its influences. And on this they spray paint the walls with heady stew of garage rock and (what would soon be labeled) Alt Country. “Time For a Witness” captures them in full bar band fervor as if they were covering garage rock gods The Them themselves. “Sooner or Later” is like 70s Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on speed. And, The Feelies put the exclamation point on this indie guitar whip cream sundae with the totally apropos cover of The Stooges’ ‘Real Cool Time.” And yes.
Yes it was.
Grade: A-. This is a prefect morsel of rough n’ ready indie rock as only NYC (okay, Haledon, NJ - same difference, trust me. Go ask Florence!) can deliver. I suppose it’s not one of the watershed or essential albums of the year. But it may just be its best distillation of indie rock in this already stacked year. Yet another brilliant Feelies album although it’s greatness takes a little longer to unearth and requires a few more spins to sink in. It’s really a perfect nugget of indie rock with sublime energy dipping its toes in garage rock with just a smidgen of rough & raw country twang thrown in there. This is the sort of sound I only wish REM had kept exploring. But I suppose Michael Stipe & his boys always had bigger dreams than just cranking out solid indie jangle rock albums to be played in my car on constant rotation. lol.
“This is music for aliens, Dada “ - Genni, age 5 & aspiring music critic
China occupying Tibet. Trump being somehow immune to the #MeTwo movement. Not one of you fucks mentioning Biosphere’s Microgravity on their 1991 lists. Not one of ya! And it’s not just you. Spin. The Village Voice. Pitchfork. Even AllMusic’s exhaustive Allmusic Loves 1991 retrospective failed to give it a mention. I mean what gives. Because it is arguably the greatest electronica album of the entire 90s never mind just 1991
There’s not much I can do about the first two. You know - Tibet & Trump. I’m just a stay at home Dad trying to make ends meet. Trying to decide whether “Natural” Skippy is really worth a buck more than “Regular” Skippy. (Probably not but… it has No High Fructose Corn Syrup. That’s something. That High Fructose Corn Syrup shit will kill ya!) Clipping coupons from the weekly Pennysaver. Making sure my kids have clothes on. You know. The basics. And on the side I do my simple part to fix the great musical injustices of the world. And in 1991, there was no bigger injustice than Biosphere’s Microgravity getting the shaft. The whole world went gaga over The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. And Microgravity positively DESTROYS the ambient house brand of choice for 1991. The titles is already a tip. Microgravity is far cooler than the super-dweeb sounding Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld. I mean just how stoned do you have to be for that title to sound cool? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
A-side: I do really, really like The Orb’s debut. It will totally make my year chart. Well at least that first disc. I mean, how many of you out there - besides you, BobbyB - actually make it though both discs in one sitting? I thought so! My hunch - and I’m just guessing here - is that Disc 2 of Orb’s double CD extravaganza may just be the least played disc in the entire Pitchfork 100 of the 90s! But perhaps I just need more quality time with disc 2.
Grade: A+. 1991 was a seminal year for IDM and electronica music. With debuts by such electronica greats as The Orbital, LFO, and yes, The Orb. And this is the best of the lot. Easy. And arguably the best ambient house album of all time. No music evokes space so effortlessly. Even my five year old connected to it immediately. And my 8 year old absolutely loves every single song. Racing. Striving. It’s kinetic. Amniotic, alive & pulsating yet cold, pristine & precise. The ambient noises of some futuristic city run entirely by machines. Metal on metal. Strap yourself into a stolen sports car just past midnight next chance you get. Throw this on the stereo. And make sure you’re buckled in (Safety first! I’m a Dad, remember.) . Because this is easily the most exhilarating late night driving music out there. It should come fully loaded with EVERY gaming station’s analogous Pole Position style game. Every single one. Take no substitutes. For the ultimate in gaming & driving pleasure, choose Biosphere next time you want to take a 1991 Ambient House trip. And as Maui says, “You’re Welcome!”
Essential.
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Listened to this a couple days ago. Aaaaand... I agree! It’s great! And yeah I’d say it’s arguably more immersive and easy to get lost in than The Orb’s 1991 classic.
I’m gonna give it a few more listens for sure then come back to Biosphere. I remember really liking that album a few years ago. _________________ -Ryan
When the Smiths broke up, I remember there being a palpable vacuum. A contingent of goth girls in my high school who all had had their heads shaved on one side went into literal state of mourning. And the music mags were filled with articles about who would be “the next Smiths”. On our shores none materialized. The closet being the Wedding Present. But, they were missing something. That feeling that you were lost in another world. Some insular place where nothing else mattered. That feeling that when they were on your beat-up, beloved walkmen, the rest of the world ceased to exist. Just you and your hopelessly romantic misery. Your heart simply breaking for a love that did not even exist.
Yet, all this time they were there! Hidden from us Yanks as some kind of punishment for not wanting pay our taxes. For telling the emperor that he had no clothes.
The Field Mice are the perfect compliment to what Galaxie 500 were doing on our shores and it seems they have a discography just a bit shorter in length that I’m now delving into with all the winsome excitement of child flipping through the pages of a Toys R Us catalog. Every song something new to get excited over.
Music to get lost in.
Music for overcast days.
Music that feels like a secret. Your secret.
Music for crushes that you do not even have!
Your heart simply breaking for that special girl who just absolutely positively has to be out there somewhere.
Perhaps she’s just been on the other shore.
you have nothing to live up to
you have nothing to live down....
I've always wondered what this band sound like. Wonder if it fits the 'Twee' or 'Jangle pop' label. Seems like a good deal of both 🤡 (I'm strangely obsessed with categorising things since starting a diary.) I liked this track. Reminded me of Felt, who I love. Will try to check out an album sometime.
you have nothing to live up to
you have nothing to live down....
I've always wondered what this band sound like. Wonder if it fits the 'Twee' or 'Jangle pop' label. Seems like a good deal of both 🤡 (I'm strangely obsessed with categorising things since starting a diary.) I liked this track. Reminded me of Felt, who I love. Will try to check out an album sometime.
Yeah. I think they fit both. From the little I"ve read, they were heavily influenced by The Durutti Column & New Order so the Felt comparison makes a lot of sense. I think that Coastal comp is a great way to start. Or perhaps Snowball.
Jimmy DreadOld skool like Happy ShopperModeratorProfile 555 Dub Street
Unlike "Sensitive" however it's not on Coastal, although some of the tracks on Snowball are. There's a few other acts on Sarah Records worth checking out (Another Sunny Day, St. Christopher, and especially Heavenly - Amelia Fletcher's band post-Talulah Gosh and pre-Marine Research), but the Field Mice are in a league of their own, and even towards the end went all New Order-Baleriac-rave-stylee just to be awkward. A great, great band - and worthy of more than a cursory listen I'd advise. _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing Folk 'n Stuff SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
Unlike "Sensitive" however it's not on Coastal, although some of the tracks on Snowball are. There's a few other acts on Sarah Records worth checking out (Another Sunny Day, St. Christopher, and especially Heavenly - Amelia Fletcher's band post-Talulah Gosh and pre-Marine Research), but the Field Mice are in a league of their own, and even towards the end went all New Order-Baleriac-rave-stylee just to be awkward. A great, great band - and worthy of more than a cursory listen I'd advise.
Oh Yeah, Sensitive, I forgot I had actually heard this band before. That is a cool song. I had it on a compilation of John Peel favourites. Thanks for the Recs of where to start guys. I'll check this band out once my current britpop fetish is over!
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