Cinnamon Toast

Washington, D.C. native Johnny Riggs founded the Cinnamon Toast project sometime in the late 90's, and along the way recruited a revolving cast of band members. Some notable members included Melissa Farris of Tuscadero and Pat Ferrise of Trampoline (Spin Art), who I've previously featured here. This track, "Ether, Yeah!", appeared on a split 7" w/ Trampoline, and Margo, and showcases Rigg's knack for merging lo-fi fey indie pop with classic 70s glam and power-pop.

Cinnamon Toast - "Ether, Yeah!"

from I Don't Want To Be Stopped compilation (199?, Radiopaque)

Motorhome

Co-ed spacey fuzz-pop band Motorhome was formed in 1993 by three art school students in Chicago. The band released their debut single the following year on Dirt Records. '95 saw the release of their first full-length, Sex Vehicle (pictured), also on the Dirt label - which was produced by fellow Chicagoan, Pulsars-frontman and noted producer Dave Trumfio. The band followed the album with this 7", "My Spaceman" b/w "Little Bird", in 1996 - making the jump to New York's Zero Hour Records. "My Spaceman", produced by Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins), recalls the loud/soft dynamics and spaced out guitars of several of their Chicago-native peers, perhaps most noticeably the wall-of-guitars approach of The Smashing Pumpkins' earlier work.

Motorhome - "My Spaceman"

from "My Spaceman" b/w "Little Bird" 7" (1996, Zero Hour)

Polara

The self-titled debut record from Minneapolis natives Polara sparked a minor bidding war among the majors, which led to the band signing with Interscope for their next few releases. On this track, "Source of Light", from said debut - you can hear why the majors came calling. It's a super hooky and finely crafted alterna-pop song that could have, and should have been huge with the 120 Minutes crowd - though elsewhere on the album they veer into much spacier territory. Their tenure with Interscope never yielded that kind of acclaim, but the band continues to put out great records to this day.

Polara - "Source of Light"

from Polara (1995, Twin/Tone)

Duochrome

Formed in 1992, lo-fi noise poppers Duochrome released a number of 7" singles before compiling them as the full length compilation album All Day I Dream About Sex, in 1998 through the Vital Cog label. This track, "Theremin" appeared on their second single, the Neon Ground Effects EP, released 1994 on DaDa Records. It's a fast and crunchy one typical of its era, but its up there with the best of them.

Duochrome - "Theremin"

from Neon Ground Effects (1994, DaDa)

Beatrice Nine

Californian band Beatrice Nine took a fairly straightforward college/indie rock approach on their Zero Hour Records album Little Stars Hung Upside Down, released in 1996 at the height of post-grunge-dom. Moody vocals, quiet/loud dynamics, chunky guitars, and the rest of the standard alterna faire are all present, but the songwriting is solid, and this track, "To Girlfriend", brings an interesting psych-pop element to the mix. The band went on to release one more record, Incredible Husk, in 1998.

Beatrice Nine - "To Girlfriend"

from Little Stars Hung Upside Down (1996, Zero Hour)

Honeyburn

Obscure Dayton, Ohio shoegazers Honeyburn released only a very limited output during their existence from 1992 to 1996, including a 7" on Trout Records and a split 7" with fellow Dayton area band Cigarhead. This track, "Sister", appeared on SpinART's 1995 compilation LemonLime Vol.1, alongside tracks by Ultra Cindy, The Mommyheads, Holiday Flyer and more. Towards the end of their existence they were joined by drummer Matt Schulz (Enon, Holy Fuck).

Honeyburn - "Sister"

from LemonLime Vol.1 (1995, SpinART)

Supersport 2000

Los Angeles natives Supersport 2000 were part of the mid-90s L.A. scene, and held ties to other bands from that era & locale like That Dog, The Rentals, Weezer, etc. The songs contained within their only release, a 3-song EP called Pinkslip, bare a lot of sonic similarities to the aforementioned bands (vocalist Cherielynn Westrich would later join The Rentals). The EP was released in 1995 on Boy's Life Reords, a label that also put some other associated L.A. bands like Lifter, Plexi, and Campfire Girls (whose frontman Christian Stone is referenced in this E.P.'s third track).

Supersport 2000 - "Pinkslip"

from Pinkslip (1995, Boy's Life)

Yum Yum

Yum Yum was a short-lived indie-pop act which was largely the project of Chris Holmes, who had previously led the Chicago post-rock band Sabalon Glitz. He released only one album under the Yum Yum moniker, Dan Loves Patti on Tag Records in 1996. Much of the album falls into the chamber pop territory ala Cardinal, Trash Can Sinatras, or Belle & Sebastian. This track, "Apiary", however, showcases Holmes' incorporation of fuzzed indie rock guitars into his orchestral pop.

Yum Yum - "Apiary"

from Dan Loves Patti (1996, Tag)

Comet

Texan noise-pop band Comet's lone album, Chandelier Musings, was produced by original Mercury Rev singer David Baker -- and the early albums by that band, along with the earlier work of the like-minded Flaming Lips serve as fine reference points for the intensely overlooked Comet. This track, "Rocket Flare", sports a loud, blistering guitar attack, but elsewhere in the record the band sometimes takes a softer approach - even occasionally employing string sections.

Comet - "Rocket Flare"

from Chandelier Musings (1997, Dedicated)

Dunebuggy

Dunebuggy was a short lived indie-pop band from Hoboken, New Jersey that put out a few releases in the early to mid-90s, including two 7"s for Armchair Records and two 7"s for SpinART Records. This track, "Pelican", was featured on March Records' 1996 compilation "Pop American Style" alongside tracks by Rocketship, Further, Elf Power, Tullycraft and many more.

Dunebuggy - "Pelican"

from Pop American Style (1996, March)

Butterflies

"Quiet World" comes from Butterflies' self-titled sophomore record, released in 1997 on Ng/Volcano records. It's a nice piece of spacey guitar pop that somewhat resembles Pavement's lazy charm. This was also the last album to be released by the Atlanta-based band.

Butterflies - "Quiet World"

from Butterflies (1997, Ng)