My secondary school years were during the mid to late 90s, when Britpop was in full swing. At the time I wasn’t really fussed on Blur and Oasis but I remember liking some of the other bands from the era; Cast, Shed Seven, Seahorses, Verve, Dodgy etc.
I’ve always been a rocker first and foremost but recently I’ve gone back and listened to some of the above, particularly Cast and Shed Seven - some great, learnable songs with enough guitar to keep me interested.
My approach to Oasis and Blur has softened a bit over the years but considering for a while it was all about the those two, with the exception of one or two songs, I’m still not that interested in either band.
Anybody else rediscovered any Britpop bands lately?
Comments
The first Bluetones album 'expecting to fly' is really good - a tight band with some melodic songs and some very good guitar playing.
The Super Furry Animals are hamstrung by their association with britpop - there back catalogue is brilliant - I honestly believe Gruff Rhys is a world class song writer - Lovekraft is a great album, but Radiator is brilliant.
The first Supergrass is also a good listen in my book.
Suede have always been a another firm favourite as have OCS who I still hold are one of the most underrated UK bands of the last twenty years. Simon’s voice is fantastic and their early work was just so strong in hindsight when compared to a lot of their peers.
The Verve are a great band two - McCabe is a really distinctive guitar player.
I was a huge OCS fan as a 15 year old and saw them in the local music venue before they broke big - very accomplished musicians and a tight band - bit meat and potatoes though.....
As mentioned elsewhere in this thread I am a big fan of the Bluetones first record - evidently the guitar player is a fan of John Squire but its a fine record - underrated IMO
Also yeah - Britpop tends to be used to cover a fair range of bands. That also aren’t necessarily pop...
For me, the overwhelming characteristic of bands at the time, especially Suede, Pulp and Blur, was to take everyday life and make it sound romantic and exciting, as if being cynical about the world actually added to it's brilliance.
I'm not sure if I've ever based my like or dislike of any band or music on how good the guitar playing is. Noel G gets bashed all the time, for simple chord progressions and pentatonics, but nothing wrong with either if it can do this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J1zFxRqdx0
My idols from the era are probably Bernard Butler, Graham Coxon, Jonny Greenwood and James Dean Bradfield, would kill to have their chops!