Rating: NNN
It feels kind of early for 90s retro, but then again, we are reaching the end of the 00s. Technically, this collection of UK pop starts at the end of the 80s, which is a useful place to start to contextualize the myriad trends that followed.
The timing is perfect for this release – the short-lived shoegazer movement has been revived as nü-gaze, there’s a new generation of bands who’ve had their minds blown by nü-rave and retro rock are again filling concert halls.
Most of these cuts were their bands’ biggest hits (and in many cases their only ones), so you’re unlikely to stumble across undiscovered gems unless you were too young to hear them the first time around.
What it’s lacking in the discovery department, the set makes up for with a robust booklet that helps flesh out and colour this trip down memory lane. A good history for the kids, and a healthy reminder that trend-chasing was definitely not born in the 00s.
