Del Amitri

 

 

Del Amitri are a band from Scotland who started in the early '80s, an unfashionable folk-rock-pop group who scored a minor hit in 1989 with "Kiss This Thing Goodbye." Their sound was just right for the '90s, though, and their biggest hits "Always The Last To Know" and "Roll To Me" fit perfectly beside bands like Counting Crows and The Wallflowers.

Singer/songwriter Justin Currie has perfected that slightly rustic acoustic guitar/organ sound, with occasional strings, that always feels like sitting on the back porch while the Autumn leaves fall. He is second to none in whatever subgenre that is.

Pseudo Echo

 

 

Pseudo Echo were an Australian band whose first release was a lush synth album with a sound similar to Ultravox or Visage. It was a minor hit in their home country and was quickly followed up by a similar-sounding album, Love An Adventure, which became a huge hit. Their record label then made them re-record the catchiest tunes from those 2 albums in a more direct pop rock style, adding a cover of the '70s hit Funky Town. The result was released internationally as Love An Adventure and became a huge hit.

Their next album, Race, leaned more into the pop rock sound but the label did no promotion for it outside their native land and they broke up a couple years later. They reemerged nearly a decade later, returning to a synth pop sound and have played their homeland sporadically ever since.

Then Jerico

Then Jerico will probably be of interest to people into "The Big Music" - if only they had emerged a couple years earlier, they would've fit in perfectly with 1984-era Waterboys, Big Country, Simple Minds, U2.

Icicle Works

Ian McNabb & Co. With his latest release, McNabb has been releasing albums for 40 years!

Rowland S Howard

 

 

Rowland S Howard began in The Boys Next Door, which turned into The Birthday Party. He even wrote their most well-known song, "Shivers," which was sung by Nick Cave. After the BD Party broke up, he joined Crime & The City Solution, then formed his own group, These Immortal Souls, while also releasing solo albums. Howard was known for his dark, distorted guitar tone, influencing the likes of Swans and Sonic Youth. He passed away in 2009.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Nick Cave, bard of Australia, another figure no one guessed at the start would become such a respectable elder statesman of moody music.

John Cale

John Cale is one of the most underappreciated members of the R'n'R Hall of Fame. His discography is stylistically diverse and holds many gems for intrepid listeners. Cale's album "Fear" is one of the best rock albums of the 1970s. His more recent work uses electronic music in interesting ways.