Shameless plug: my band Bike Lane just put out our first single, “Out of the Blue.” Check it out!
I’ve been steeping in nineties recently, as is the culture at large; Maggie Rogers’ “Want Want” is a callback to Ten Things I Hate About You (1999), denim miniskirts are hugely popular, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air launched a reboot. There’s a collective nostalgia in the air for a time when the entire world didn’t exist on the internet and politics didn’t make you want to just give up and die.
New music has also been paying homage to that time and sound. Olivia Rodrigo, arguably the most popular and influential new artist of the last year, is very much inspired by No Doubt and Alanis Morissette. One of my favorite releases of 2022 so far, Household Name (2022) by Momma, could have come out in 1994. I made this playlist, a mix of new songs and older ones that sound just like them, in 2019 and the phenomenon only gotten stronger since then.
Black Belt Eagle Scout is the brilliant stage name of Katherine Paul. She is indigenous and was raised on the Swinomish Indian Reservation in Washington. She taught herself how to play guitar from bootleg Hole and Nirvana tapes. Her second record, At the Party With My Brown Friends (2019) is more explicitly rooted in her community and childhood on the reservation, but Mother of My Children (2018) explores her identity as a queer indigenous feminist in profound ways, mostly through grief. “Soft Stud” is about the delicate nature of desire in an open relationship:
What is it to you?
Habits just don't fade
Open, overcrowded love
I know you're taken
The song becomes more and more anthemic, the guitars get bigger and louder until they swell into a powerful solo. The influence of Hole is clear in her work, from the quiet anger to the fuzzy guitar tones, but the thematic spaces she explores are entirely her own. She is one of the first indigenous indie artists that I’ve encountered, which speaks to the overall homogeneity of music in general but especially the alternative rock and folk genres. There have been no stirrings thus far of a new record, but I haven’t given up hope.
I remember the summer of 2019 for a lot of things, but largely it is the Summer I Discovered Cocteau Twins, inarguably the first dream pop band. Heaven or Las Vegas (1990) is a record that changed my life, surely, introduced me to the source material for many of my favorite modern sounds. Cocteau Twins are iconic for many reasons, but my favorite one is the absolute indecipherability of their vocal performances. I have absolutely no idea what these songs are about, and it doesn’t seem to matter much; this music is the spiritual predecessor to the concept of “no thoughts, just vibes.”
They’re pretty high up on my list of bands I would time travel to see, partly because they’ve confirmed that they will never perform together again. The band broke up after twenty years because of the dissolution of lead singer Elizabeth Fraser and guitarist Robin Guthrie’s relationship, a Fleetwood Mac situation without Rumours (1977). They were supposed to do a reunion tour in 2005 and headline Coachella, but Fraser pulled out at the last minute, citing the emotional turmoil it would cause her to perform with Guthrie. The festival appearances were cancelled, as well as fifty five tour dates.
Slowdive followed a similar trajectory but followed through on their reunion finally in 2014, after nearly twenty years. As Cocteau Twins pioneered dream pop, Slowdive pioneered shoegaze. I saw them perform at Primavera, and it was one of the most musically interesting sets I heard; their sound is so dense, it was fascinating to try and decipher the layers in the muddy sonic atmosphere of the amphitheater. I discovered Slowdive from this episode of Song Exploder in which the band details their decision to reform the band and takes apart a song from their 2017 self-titled record, their first and only new album since reuniting.
That’s all for this week! I’d love to know what kind of nineties nostalgia you’ve been indulging in.
From the Archive: 336 need you/want you
Congrats 👏 Your “Out of the Blue" is truly g-r-e-a-t 👌🎶🔥 and I loooved "Soft Stud" by Black Belt Eagle Scout. Didn't know she existed, and I'm glad you introduced me to her music ⚡️
Absolutely Black Belt Eagle Scout!!