Top Ten Lost Gems (NR10)

When considering suitable subjects from which to create my top ten list, one thought in particular struck me: many of my favourite albums seem unfairly relegated to the depths of music history, slipping from the radars of critics and taste-makers into some great black hole. I'm going to call them 'lost gems'. 

I should preface this article by pointing out that the following selection is composed of predominantly recent releases and is by no means a comprehensive, all-time, all-genre geekfest. Rather, it serves as a reminder of the music that has had a deep and lasting personal effect over the years. From distinct memories of time and place and friends and family, to love won and lost and the pure feeling of simple, direct inspiration. The power to move and affect one’s soul in that wonderfully satisfying way that all our favourite music does is a truly magical thing. If any of these records are unfamiliar and if the following words can help bring their beautiful sounds to a new audience this article will have fulfilled its purpose. 

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10. Stina Nordenstam – And She Closed Her Eyes (Warner Music, 1994)

This remarkable second record from the down-to-earth Scandinavian exposed her breathy, dreamlike lullabies to the world but failed to find the audience it deserved. A distinct lack of live appearances and preference for the homebody life meant the gorgeously atmospheric songs contained within such as When Debbie's Back From Texas, Fireworks and the single Little Star made just a gentle ripple in the world, rather than a big wave.

It's immediate sound, her voice pushed right to the front of the mix so it sounds like she's in the room with you, helps embellish the record's intimate and reflective air. Beautifully sparse, jazzy instrumentation allows Stina's childlike voice to take the songs in any direction she wishes. They frequently touch the realms of magic and majesty, with an easy ambience that stops one's thoughts from whirring at speed for a few precious moments, encouraging you to simply lie back and listen, taking it all in.

9. Two Banks of Four – Three Street Worlds (Red Egyptian Jazz, 2003)

In 2003 Rob Gallagher (aka Earl Zinger) again joined forces with Dillip Harris and a cast of creative co-conspirators for the second release from their inventive nu-jazz project. With a full-on live sound propelled by tight horns, inventive beats and a solid double bass, the record applies groove-based improvisation stylings to more traditional song structures and effortlessly succeeds. Keeping one eye on the dancefloor as well as the stuffy aficionados that might not consider this ‘real jazz’, Three Street Worlds touches hearts and minds alike with soulful vocals courtesy of Paul Jason Fredericks and Valerie Etienne. 

Mixing playful romps such as the superbly upbeat Banks of the Nile with more delicate mood pieces such as Blues for Brother and Angels Walk, the band produce a smooth, distinctive sound that doesn't quite sound like anyone else. Unfortunately it remains largely ignored with only a select few aware of the depth of its charms.

8. Puressence – Puressence (Island Records, 1996)

Vastly overshadowed by their Britpop contemporaries of the mid-90s, Manchester's perennial underachievers produced some truly classic indie rock with this, their first release. Fed by a darkly brooding undercurrent of paranoia and propelled by the distinctively emotional voice of James Mudriczki, the band never really broke through to widespread acclaim. Instead, they enjoyed a consistent residence on the UK and European underground circuit and reverence from those in the know. Famed for their intense live shows, Puressence produced more memorable music with this release than more well known releases by their peers of the time, surpassing records by the likes of Oasis and The Verve in terms of character and atmosphere.

Although later material never quite managed to live up to this album's early promise, songs like the classic I Suppose, Mr Brown and the epic closer India ensured the albums status as somewhat of a cult classic. As an aside, anyone interested in the band would do well to seek out a copy of the Traffic Jam in Memory Lane single for the superb B-side Sick of Waiting, in this author's opinion the definitive Puressence track.

7. Bent – Ariels (Open, 2004)

Despite gaining plenty of fans with the single Always in my Heart (fromthe well-received album Programmed to Love) and striking a chord with the burgeoning Big Chill generation, Bent's third album passed many by. A real shame considering their lush arrangements and knack boundless fluidity makes for a consistently memorable and multi-layered experience.

Expertly conceived and sung by a rotation of silky female vocalists such as Rachel Foster, Katty Heath and Kosheen's Sian Evans, the album was reviled by some sections of the press for being too sickly sweet. It's true that these candyfloss laments of love and loss can start to grate slightly if over-listened, but with tracks like the utterly perfect Now I Must Remember and warm, uplifting electronica like Coming Back, this is a continuously enjoyable album of real emotion and depth, containing electronic pop songs of deceptive quality and poignancy. 

6. Ragga and the Jack Magic Orchestra – Ragga and the Jack Magic Orchestra (EMI, 1997)

A particularly hard-to-find gem this as the album was never given an official release. As their posthumous Myspace page says: “Signed, promoted and ruined by EMI 1996/7“. A sad state of affairs for all concerned, as the record is a quirky slice of joy and really deserved an official release.

Ragga Gissladottir possess an powerful, otherworldly voice that can float or wail at will, coming across like Bjork's spooky aunt who lives in the woods and talks to the animals, while the production, courtesy of Mark Stephen Davies (aka Pylon King) is full of organic and metallic juxtapositions. Crunching trip-hop tempos drive lilting melodies into all kinds of weird and wonderful directions as the songs evolve and for the listener it's an impressive and rewarding journey. 

There are some startlingly original moments; Shot is a perfect slice of skewed pop with Ragga providing some beautifully idiosyncratic lyrics, while Where Are They Now goes political with a militaristic beat and a gutsy, swaggering vocal. The ambitious variation in sound and mood could have been difficult to solidify as part of a cohesive whole, yet across the course of the record they get the weird/catchy mix just about spot on. The intricate depths of the production means repeated listens are richly rewarded and anyone with an ear for the wilfully different and artfully composed should consider searching out a copy. 

5. Quicksand – Slip (Polydor, 1993) 

From the crunching opening bars of Fazer there is simply doubt that you are in for a real treat with this album. The song builds along a chugging, rolling riff, (“follow your ups and downs...”) and if you are not moving some party of your body and feeling the defiant energy by its triumphant conclusion... well, you are seriously missing out. This quality continues with the rollicking Freeze Process, a song to inspire action if ever there was one, and the fantastic thing about this record is that the quality of the songs never really drops below 'fucking excellent'; track after perfect track and they never drop the ball, not once, continuing to pump out consistently dirty, twisted rock songs right through until the end.

Walter Schreifels would later go on to make a decent dent on the mainstream with his Rival Schools outfit, and good as United By Fate is, Slip remains the definitive Schreifels recording; a valuable reminder of what this rock-solid band and their somewhat unsung songwriter were really capable of. One of the best, yet least heard rock albums of all time.

4. The Gathering – How To Measure a Planet? (Century Media, 1998)

Next, a band who have achieved notable success in mainland Europe, and to some degree, Mexico and Latin America but remain almost unheard of elsewhere. I first came to this album via the monumental single Liberty Bell, which somehow turned up on long-forgotten UK cable channelRapture's excellent video show one afternoon. With its relentless, driving riff and Anneke van Giersbergen's frankly unequalled vocal presence, it jumped right out at me and I bought the album on the strength of that track alone. Not a bad decision as it turned out as this is a record of space and grandeur, song after song a vehicle for Anneke's angelic and emotive voice (admittedly I've got a bit of a crush on her, but I think you'll find its a rather accurate description).

Opener Frail (You might as well be me) has her clawing for the listener’s heart (“I do need affection, whenever I don’t know”) before the crunching, clunking riffage of Great Ocean Road comes bursting from the speakers with it’s defiant, transcendent urgency. My Electricity is a timeless lullaby with the power to deeply affect, while Marooned and Travel take us to the stirring conclusion of disc one. Yes, there’s a whole other disc to come. Although the five songs contained on the second disc are by no means bad, their inclusion is a sign of slight bloatedness (no-one really needs to hear the thirty-minute title track) that surely owes something to their long-time love of progressive, experimental bands like Pink Floyd.

Bloating aside, with How To Measure A Planet? The Gathering finally laid to rest the doom and gloom of their early career and embraced their feminine side with, van Giersbergen’s influence highly apparent. It remains a high point of their career, and although she has now left the band to spend more time with her young family, it is well worth checking out subsequent albums Souvenirs and Home for a further dose of their uniquely ethereal space-rock.

3. Talk Talk – Laughing Stock (Verve Records, 1991)

Completing their somewhat unlikely transition from chart-bothering peers of 80’s new wave bands like Duran Duran, the release of Laughing Stock saw Mark Hollis’ Talk Talk mature into one of the most ground-breaking and influential bands of their day. With the quality of their distinctively sparse compositions not truly given the recognition they deserved until years afterwards, this album stands as a landmark in fluid experimentation, inspiring bands such as Radiohead to develop more original sounds and structures and, some would argue, paving the way for the legions of ‘no boundaries’ post-rock bands that we know and love today.

The loose, groove-based playing of drummer Lee Harris helps propel this collection of underrated gems, but it’s the combination of Hollis’ emotionally delivery and poetic lyrics which really takes it all to the next level. With guitar playing of a subtle yet angry energy and the keyboard/production skills of Tim Friese-Greene, Laughing Stock builds and grows inside you. It gets under you skin and into your mind through an enjoyably natural process of sheer musical osmosis. You hardly realise the depths of the connection as it first washes over you, but repeated listens will help form a bond with this record in a way that in my opinion hasn’t often been repeated. It shifts and floats, twists and soars and it feels truly alive, a shifting organic entity all of its own: as such, a landmark achievement.

2. Telefon Tel Aviv – Fahrenheit Fair Enough (Hefty, 1999)

With the recent death of Charles Cooper, one half of New Orleans electronica wizards Telefon Tel Aviv, one wonders how remaining member Joshua Eustis will adapt and develop moving forward. Over the last ten years they were responsible for some of the most moving, intricate productions these ears have ever heard and to think that we will never get to hear their particular brand of inventive magic again is a sincerely sad thing. I shall take this opportunity to recall the impact of what happens to be one of my all-time favourite records.

Listening to the fizzing, whirring polyrhythms of the title track I was instantly hooked. A warm bassline simultaneously soothes and excites as the track develops. Flowing from one mood to the next with a continual sense of blissed-out ambience, the album stands as a testament to the combined skills of the highly talented pair. Managing to produce such acoustic detail in their production without sacrificing the musicality or structure of their compositions is what helped them stand apart from their peers.

Whether daydreaming on a long train journey, walking through an urban or rural landscape or just soaking in the bath, this record helps you adapt to your surroundings, washing distractions away and leaving enough space for you to fully enjoy the sublime experience it delivers. Highly recommended.

1. Dredg – El Cielo (Interscope, 2002)

All of which brings us to number one on my list of lost gems, a record of remarkably expansive power yet one that remains in the shadows, for the most part invisible. With their beginnings in Los Gatos, California and generally heavy sound Dredg inevitably got lumped in with the bands they toured with such as Deftones and Taproot. Not to do either of those bands a disservice, but Dredg are a different proposition entirely. After their promising debut Leitmotif got them a deal with Interscope, the band retreated to the desert and subsequently delivered this poetic, towering concept album about sleep paralysis, complete with liner notes filled with real letters detailing some of the individual experiences that inspired Gavin Hayes to write about.

Parallels could be made with Tool’s almost educational angle and with a definite focus on self-development and a more consciously responsible way of living, Dredg aim higher than most. Within such dark subject matter they manage to produce soaring, spiralling hymns of absolution, jubilation and fist-in-the-air energy. Inspiring people to change their negative, consumerist ways (“All you need is a modest house, in a modest neighbourhood, in a modest town, where honest people dwell”), the band enthral with a winning combination of tight musicianship, memorable choruses, original structures and uplifting vocals. 

This album wakes me when I’m feeling tired, lifts me when I’m feeling down and keeps me coming back for more. The production is crisp and biting while the level of awareness that Hayes is trying to get promote is admirable and much needed in today’s society where nurturing a talent for the arts has been difficult. They might be dismissed as pretentious neo-hippies, but Dredg make a number of very valid statements with this album. They stick to their own ideas, letting creativity flow where it may and the result is a frighteningly cohesive record of grandeur and effortless style, as inspiring as it is enjoyable, as moving as it is important and for these reasons it comes in top of my list.

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