MUSIC ON VINYL
Victims of grunge’s ascent and ‘inverse snobbery’ at their Thames Valley roots, Chapterhouse often struggled to earn respect, despite their dreamy, dramatic shoegazing. Admittedly, they lacked singularity, but their confidence compensated amply. Their 1991 debut’s opener, Breather, combined noisy guitars, frantic drums and Byrdsian harmonies to great effect, while Autosleeper’s hazy verses were interrupted by bursts of hedonistic noise. Treasure’s guitars were tipsy and April’s chiming, while Guilt’s were woozy like Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation. Signs of a dance crossover could be heard in both Falling Down, where Stephen Hague’s additional production highlighted Stone Roses-style baggy rhythms, and album highlight Pearl, which was graced by Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell.