Sunday, December 28, 2008

The UNKNOWN Albums of the 90s (#6)


6. Jellyfish - Spilt Milk (1993)

The first time I heard Jellyfish, it was in high school. A loner kid swore to me they were the best band he'd ever heard. This same loner kid had recommended other best bands he'd ever heard in the form of Aztec Camera, This Petrol Emotion, and Wall of Voodoo...so, I was skeptical. But this time...he happened to be right. You know what they say about a broken clock... Anyway, the album was JF's first release Bellybutton, which has since taken on legendary status. I liked the album...but didn't truly appreciate how talented the band was until their sophomore and final release, Spilt Milk. The record industry is a fickle one. Sophomore albums are more times curses than blessings. If a band tries to sound exactly like their debut...they're panned for being limited in range. But when a band takes chances and new directions with their music, they're panned for not sounding like their debut. JF fell into the second category. Their second album, though shared many stylisitc simularities with the debut, it had more range, more emotion, less constrictions, and was less polished. The band sounded more alive and more free with the music...unfortunately...that doesn't make for pop radio nuggets. Shortly after, the band broke up and the members found themselves sprinkled all over the music industry...and still are out their making great music to this day.

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