The Catherine Wheel...

For their first two albums, Ferment and Chrome, Catherine Wheel managed to release some fine shoegaze. Definitely not the most consistent, nor the best band to come out of the genre, they still managed to churn out some fantastic songs here and there between those first couple of albums. Unlike a lot of bands that were brought to light during that time due to the interest in shoegaze, Catherine Wheel continued to exist after everyone seemingly forgot about the genre. Releasing albums that catered to a more alternative audience with Happy Days then following that with Adam and Eve and their final album Wishville in 2000. They called it quits shortly after, which singer Rob Dickinson finally emerged last year with a solo album titled Fresh Wine for the Horses. I had actually not planned on doing a post on this band until I was reminded by talking to a friend on just how much I liked them. Even with their following releases after Ferment and Chrome, I still found some replay value in them, even if they did tend to be a bit hit or miss.

However, like I said, some their finest tunes were in their earlier releases. I have yet to track down a lot of their B-sides and whatnot, aside from the small collection of some them on a compilation they released titled Like Cats and Dogs. Despite always being lumped in with the likes of all those shoegaze acts, even with their early material it still wasn't necessarily the stereotypical sound that was common with the genre. They kind of suffered the same fate as Swervedriver when you compare the two time-lines and history of both bands. Both tried to forge on with their music, with some success, however never really achieved much more that and both were commonly pigeonholed in something they didn't quite completely fit in. The album Ferment was really as close to shoegaze as they would get, as Chrome was mostly without the noisier element such as on Ferment and was essentially a much more polished Brit-rock album.

I guess it's sad that I tend to forget about just how good they were actually were at least every few months. Then I am always pleasantly reminded in some shape or form. Anyway, if you've never given them a full listen, I highly suggest it.

Ferment:
Catherine Wheel - Black Metallic [MP3]
Catherine Wheel - Indigo is Blue [MP3]
Catherine Wheel - Flower to Hide [MP3]

Chrome:
Catherine Wheel - Kill Rhythm [MP3]
Catherine Wheel - The Nude [MP3]

Happy Days:
Catherine Wheel - Judy Staring at the Sun [MP3]

Like Cats and Dogs:
Catherine Wheel - Heal 2 [MP3]
Catherine Wheel - Girl Stand Still [MP3]

You can find most their albums through most major retailers. However, like in most cases, you'll find some of the releases used due to peoples bad decisions to pawn them off. Either way, grab them if you can.