"The time is finally right for us to do it again"
September 28, 2015 7:04 AM   Subscribe

Lush announce their return on May 6th in London. Following some speculation over the last few weeks, the band finally confirmed (via Facebook) their return, following in the footsteps of contemporary shoegaze bands My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Ride.

The band officially split in 1998, following two years of inactivity after the suicide of drummer Chris Acland. He will be replaced by friend Justin Welsh (formerly of Elastica), who joins Miki Berenyi, Emma Anderson and Phil King. A re-edition of their best-of Ciao! as well as a limited edition boxset will also be available.
posted by lmfsilva (30 comments total) 24 users marked this as a favorite
 
Primavera Sound 2013: My Bloody Valentine
Primavera Sound 2014: Slowdive
Primavera Sound 2015: Ride

Not jumping to any conclusions about next year. Nope, not doing that.
posted by daveje at 7:32 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]


I saw Lush at Lollapalooza in I think '92 and it was electrifying. Such a great band.
posted by Nevin at 7:38 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


Very cool. Hopefully Rollerskate Skinny will start touring again.
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:47 AM on September 28, 2015


In 2014 by the stage barriers waiting for Slowdive I predicted Ride would be next. If I went this year, I'd put either Curve or Lush for the 2016 Shoegaze Return Universe release.

So, Halliday/Garcia 2017. Make it happen.
posted by lmfsilva at 7:48 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


The Jesus and Mary Chain and Kraftwerk are both touring through Boston this week and I am very confused as to what decade it is, should I see a doctor?
posted by maryr at 7:50 AM on September 28, 2015 [5 favorites]


I don't know about a doctor, but you should definitely see Kraftwerk if you can. Just caught their show in Austin this past weekend and it was incredible.
posted by Uncle Ira at 7:54 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]


Oh, this is great! They were fantastic.
posted by jokeefe at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2015


I've managed to see MBV, Slowdive, and Ride over the past couple of years, something I would never have thought possible even five years ago. There is no way I'm not seeing Lush now.
posted by Sonny Jim at 8:08 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]


The nineties are alive in well, everywhere?
posted by Annika Cicada at 8:19 AM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]


Definitely at Forever 21 in malls nationwide.
posted by maryr at 8:45 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


I really don't want to have nostalgia for the nineties. That's proof that I'm getting old if I do, right?
posted by Annika Cicada at 9:00 AM on September 28, 2015


Not jumping to any conclusions about next year. Nope, not doing that.

*Eyes his ATP Iceland early-bird ticket, bought sight unseen...*
posted by acb at 10:31 AM on September 28, 2015


Loved Ladykillers...

You also need to follow the lost90sbands Twitter account if you want more bands who were mostly too cool for the charts (Lush broke the top 30 so need not apply :) ).
posted by mattbee at 10:33 AM on September 28, 2015


Now we just need The Verve (or, more correctly, plain old 'Verve') to reunite and play nothing after Northern Soul. None of that Richard Ashcroft schmaltz, just stuff written by Nick McCabe. That would make me very happy.
posted by Nevin at 10:59 AM on September 28, 2015


aka "The drugs do work and they're amazing" Verve.
posted by lmfsilva at 11:04 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


For those who aren't familiar with the band, a couple of suggested tracks to get you started:They were a band with some great singles.. Most of their albums are.. uneven. I'd personally pick "Split" as the best of the lot, but understand position of those who like the earlier, somewhat dreamier work. I can't think anybody would pick their last album, "Lovelife", however.
posted by Nerd of the North at 11:55 AM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


I quite like Spooky. It totally transports me back to the summer of '92, which was mostly cold, wet and rainy. It was the summer I graduated from listening to Rush and classic rock and encountered indie rock, shoegaze, ambient dub, funk and hip hop. Lush introduced me to a whole new world. Transformed my life!
posted by Nevin at 12:17 PM on September 28, 2015 [4 favorites]


I can't think anybody would pick their last album, "Lovelife", however.

*coughes, raises hand*

It's not shoegaze, it's Britpop with ambition, but I always loved that album. Consequence of Sound did a great retrospective on it a few years ago.

Anyway, this is terrific news, especially since - considering the circumstances of their breakup - they were kind of the last shoegaze group I'd imagined reforming. Good for them, and I hope they come to Canada.
posted by ZaphodB at 12:27 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a little...excited. Just a little bit. muppetflail.gif
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:31 PM on September 28, 2015


C'mon Cocteau Twins, everybody else is here
posted by brilliantmistake at 12:32 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]


Ladies and gentlemen, my husband, just now via text: "MARS NEEDS SHOEGAZE."
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:39 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, "Lovelife" may have its flaws, but it will always have "Last Night" going for it.

After Lush split, Emma Anderson went on to form "ethereal pop" outfit Sing-Sing, which produced a bunch of criminally underrated, perfect dream pop songs during the early '00s:

"Come Sing Me a Song"
"You Don't Know"
"Feels Like Summer"
"Going Out Tonight."

Both of the Sing-Sing albums are well worth a listen.
posted by Sonny Jim at 12:57 PM on September 28, 2015 [3 favorites]


Agh, Miki Berenyi is unbearably sexy.
posted by Nevin at 1:12 PM on September 28, 2015


I saw Lush with Live and Weezer at the much missed Rocky Point (shout out to my RI MeFites!) in 1994. I met Miki Berenyi and Matt Sharp in line for the Freefall and my 15 year old heart just exploded with joy. I still have the napkin she signed for me. This news makes my 36 year old heart explode with joy!
posted by Ruki at 1:13 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


This retrospective 2005 radio interview with Emma Anderson is illuminating.
posted by Sonny Jim at 1:20 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


I saw them at the Roxy in New York with Ride opening for them after seeing the "De-Luxe" video on MTV's 120 Minutes. My friends were all listening to metal or hip-hop back then so I went to the show alone. I have no regrets.
posted by cazoo at 1:53 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


I saw them with Ride on their first US tour at the "old" (now ancient) 9:30 Club in DC - a lot of fun, but I lost some of my hearing that night.
posted by ryanshepard at 2:08 PM on September 28, 2015 [1 favorite]


Nevin! I saw them at Lollapalooza in 1992, too. Did you seem them in New Orleans?
posted by grimjeer at 4:00 PM on September 28, 2015


Lovelife was a decent pop record; not as lumpen as the worst of Britpop. My favourite will always be Split; particularly the sublime Desire Lines.
posted by acb at 5:55 PM on September 28, 2015


As Lovelife was my introduction to Lush, it's still the one I'm most fond of, even though I also appreciate the shoegaze sound in general. Weirdly, this is the opposite of how I feel about Curve, where Come Clean serves as the dividing line between good Curve (everything up to and including that album, but especially Doppelganger) and not-so-good Curve (everything afterwards). Yeah, it's real Britpop-y, a genre that feels more embarrassing to admit you liked as you get older. But I think Lovelife's greatest crime isn't that it's bad, because I don't think it is, but that it's a transitional record that became the band's final statement almost completely by accident. So much of the album feels like the band trying on new genres half-seriously, like they're looking for a new way to be post-shoegaze but also happy to indulge in ridiculous tangents because it sounded fun at the time. It would explain the apparently enduring appeal of "Ciao!" and "500" for the band, which subsequently informed the names of the band's last two releases (both compilation albums).
posted by chrominance at 7:35 PM on September 28, 2015 [2 favorites]


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