Tag: 1990s

Synth-pop is sort of the illegitimate child of alternative rock and disco. Although it’s not obvious, its roots like in experimental forms of music like krautrock and post-punk. As new wave splintered further and further away from punk, and added more and more synthesizers, synth-pop was being birthed. In the mainstream, acts as diverse as Kraftwerk, New Order, and Pet Shop Boys were solidifying the sound. I loved 90s synth-pop, or simply “techno” as we called it then. It was fun and danceable, dark and poppy, all at the same time.… Continued →

This band was the epitome of one of those all-too-common scenarios in 90s Christian music: the frustratingly great one-album wonder. Driver Eight released Watermelon via Tooth and Nail Records in 1996, to high acclaim from fans and critics alike, and then disappeared into the . . . well, that’s just it–we don’t know what happened! The album featured a highly-effective mix of alternative rock styles including Britpop (even though the band was American), quasi-shoegaze, and jangle pop. It seemed that they were channeling equally such disparate influences as Smashing Pumpkins, Catherine Wheel, R.E.M.,… Continued →

Arizona’s No Laughing Matter were kind of a ‘love ’em or hate ’em’ kind of game. Dark and broody, they didn’t fit in with most CCM at the time. Heck, even the alternative stuff wasn’t quite this dark, for the most part. Scott Roman’s dramatic wail was an acquired taste. The guitars alternated between goth-rock and the occasional nod to funk (see “Helltown”). Of particular interest were the deep bass grooves. They were one of Christian music’s very few, true “post-punk” bands in the proper sense of the term.… Continued →

Code of Ethics hit on the Christian music scene in 1991 with their brilliant debut Visual Paradox for R.E.X. Music (later re-issued on Forefront), having already released an independent cassette demo a year prior. The album was a synth-pop triumph, taking the best of techno-pop and alternative dance and fusing them into a singular whole that was as danceable as Information Society, but as catchy as Pet Shop Boys or Erasure. I once had a chance to catch the band live, opening for The Prayer Chain.… Continued →

Reese Roper and Joe Yerke are up to their old games again. They obliterating our ear drums with a new podcast that will chase friends away and make enemies of family members. This “Pickle & Boot Shoppe Podcast” is the things nightmares are made of. Listen through your favorite podcasting/digital network now. Make Millennials shed snowflake tears with this icy cold, middle aged attempt to grasp at fading youth. Well, you know I do appreciate the music of both their respective bands so I can’t knock this too hard even if they are jaded, sarcastic old guys that reek of grotesque cynicism.… Continued →