It happens with practically any decade in pop/rock music at some point - it gets neglected for a while and is labeled as ‘less consequential.’ The focus is usually on something ‘shiny and new,’ or a decade that suddenly is being re-assessed and is seen as influential.
Currently, the decade in the doghouse seems to be the nineties. But as it always turns out to be the case, there is a score of gems, albums to be found throughout a decade, or a particular year within it that need to be re-assessed or turn out to be gems and influences on what is happening now.
In that respect, 1995 is no exception. With some big artists continuing to come up with exceptional stuff, there are quite a few names that came up with albums here that not only were forgotten but never got the real attention they deserved. Actually, 1995 turns out to have come up with quite a few such gems, and here are 20 of those that still matter today.
20 albums from 1995 that deserve another listen
Pulp - Different Class
Jarvis Cocker and his Pulp were, from the start, a sort of an exception within what was dubbed Britpop. With a penchant for picking up all the right elements from everywhere and some biting lyrics, here, on their fifth album, Cocker and the band come up with something of a classic.
The Boo Radleys - Wake Up!
The Boo Radleys’ music went through quite a few changes - from shoegaze to britpop and then to all that and something more. Here, on their third album, they actually bring in everything they got, and it turns out to be quite a heady combination of all the sounds the band liked, from sunshine pop and harmony vocals to everything that tickled their fancy.
PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love
To this day, PJ Harvey always tried and succeeded in defying any strict categorization with her music. Although this was her third album, it was actually the first one that could be called a true solo effort, where she seems to have been quite inspired by the blues, but blues as heard through her ears, combined with her usually brilliant lyrics.
Smog - Wild Love
Bill Callahan recorded this, his fourth album, while he was still using the Smog moniker. But even then, 30 years ago, he had a full, clear focus of what he was trying to say through his music, which always had this dark, somber overtones yet had quite a mesmerizing effect.
Goo Goo Dolls - A Boy Named Goo
Even with its cover photo controversy at the time, this one became a big hit for Goo Goo Dolls (double platinum), so it is no wonder it got a 30th-anniversary edition recently. Yet that success was quite deserved, as the songs on the album were a real reflection of guitar pop at the time, without sounding old or lame to this day.
The Sea and Cake - Nassau
Chicago’s Sea and Cake were a sort of an exception at the time, as their sound had more jazz elements thrown into their music, that some compared to that of Steely Dan. Yet Sam Prokop, Archer Prewitt and the rest of the band were actually developing quite an individual sound on this, the band’s second album.
Red House Painters - Ocean Beach
Mark Kozelek was always the man around whom everything revolved in Red House Painters, and here on the band’s fourth album, there was quite a detailed shift in the band’s sound towards something more calm and quiet, but it seems to be something very much suited to Kozelek’s lyrics and deep-sounding vocals.
Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun
By the time Sweet recorded this (his fifth) album, he was becoming a sort of an icon among power pop fans. While not abandoning his penchant for melodic hooks here, Sweet adds more power and punch, particularly to his guitar playing, something that gives this album an even greater status among his fans.
Red Red Meat - Bunny Gets Paid
Before Tim Rutili and most of the members of this Chicago band transformed themselves into Califone, they were operating as Red Red Meat, and this, the band’s third album, is where the sound was transforming into what Califone is doing today - a left-field, more experimental take on blues, folk and what not else.
Shack - Waterpistol
Shack’s main man, Michael Head, never hid his admiration for Arthur Lee and Love, but in Shack’s explorations of psych and jangle pop, he and the band never presented themselves as imitators but as a band that introduced both something new and old into what is called melodic rock.
Throwing Muses - University
While most of their earlier albums got more attention than this, the band’s sixth one is actually the one that shows full musical maturity, with the sound becoming more refined and the lyrics becoming even more introspective. It just might be one of the band’s best.
Radiohead - The Bends
Even as early as the band’s second album, Radiohead was showing significant signs that they were to become one of the most influential bands around. Thom Yorke was already becoming a great lyricist, touching on his key themes of alienation, anxiety, and existential dread. Heavy stuff, but the audience loved it.
Yo La Tengo - Electr-O-Pura
It is no wonder Yo La Tengo presented a very diverse sound on this album, as Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, and James McNew are considered some of the best pop/rock archivists in modern indie rock. And it is modern indie rock in its full spectrum that is presented here, exactly as it should be.
Scott Walker - Tilt
This album just might be one of the most difficult albums in modern music and it can hardly be described as rock, or as anything else for that matter. But no matter how heavy a listen it is, it brings even more rewards for whoever is able to sit through it in one take.
Neil Young - Mirror Ball
Neil Young always had a distinct, recognizable sound, whether it was his acoustic or electric side. At the same time, he always had an open ear to the sounds that were current at the time, with the ability to adapt them as his own. Here, he does that with the help of Pearl Jam.
Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot
From this, his first offering, the late Mark Linkous, showed that he was a true, unique music individual. With the help of members of Cracker, he was able to create something that was a cross between slacker rock and singer-songwriter music that actually sounded like nobody else.
Labradford - A Stable Reference
By the time Labradford recorded this, their second album, both ambient and post-rock, were quite established musical terms. The initial trio that comprised the band was not only able to combine the two but also to push it into new territory, making them one of the true innovators of such a sound.
Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes
Robert Pollard started out as a professor of English language, and it always showed on his records, solo or with Guided By Voices, who at the time were kings of lo-fi, with a penchant for great melodic hooks and brevity, with 28 tracks on this one.
Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix
If you wanted to know how far power pop and jangle pop developed by the nineties, you don’t have to go any further than this album with some of the best melodies, harmonies, and guitar lines of the nineties. And who else named one of their songs “Neil Jung”?
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues
Will Oldham is one of the most individual artists around, and this individuality was as audible as this is his third album still under one of his Palace monikers. Here, he is at his most minimalistic and introspective… and produced by Steve Albini.