Line #9 Music/Lush


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Lush.jpg]]
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3	Lush were a British AlternativeRock band, originally active from 1987 to 1996 before reuniting from 2015 to 2016. They were, along with Music/MyBloodyValentine, Music/{{Ride}} and Music/{{Slowdive}}, one of the main examples of {{Shoegazing}}.
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5	The band was formed in 1987 and initially called itself The Baby Machines; its members were Meriel Barham (vocals), Emma Anderson (guitar), Miki Berenyi (guitar), Steve Rippon (bass), and Chris Acland (drums). The following year, Barham left the band, Berenyi and Anderson took over as lead vocalists, and the band was renamed Lush. In 1989, Lush signed to famous alternative talent incubators Creator/FourADRecords (see Music/CocteauTwins, Music/DeadCanDance, Music/TheBreeders, Music/ThePixies, etc.), released the 6-track mini-album ''Scar'', and put together a live show that proved extremely popular.
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7	Lush further raised its profile with additional [=EPs=], extensive touring during the years 1990-91 (when it acquired the "shoegazing" label), performing among other places at the Glastonbury festival, and going to Japan and the USA. In 1992, Lush released their first full-length album, ''Spooky''. It was produced by Robin Guthrie of the Music/CocteauTwins, resulting in a sound fairly similar to that of the latter band--namely walls of sound, ethereal vocals and plenty of guitar effects. Just before the release of the album, Rippon left the band and was replaced by Phil King.
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9	Lush played at Lollapalooza in 1992, and released two more albums in the following years: ''Split'', which featured a more stripped-down sound than ''Spooky'' but otherwise continued with the trippy shoegazing, and the upbeat ''Lovelife'', which surfed on the mid-1990s {{Britpop}} craze to great success in the UK. However, the attempted breakthrough on the American rock scene was unsuccessful, and the band broke with their management after the cancellation of tours in the UK and Japan. In 1996, Acland committed suicide and Lush went into hiatus, eventually disbanding in 1998.
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11	The band reunited in September 2015 with Music/{{Elastica}} drummer Justin Welch filling in for the late Acland. In 2016, Lush released a new 4-song album, ''Blind Spot''. Phillip King left Lush in the middle of what would become their last tour, and the group permanently dissolved. Bassist Michael Conroy of Modern English replaced King for their final concert.
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13	In September 2018, a successor to Lush was formed under the name of Piroshka. This band is a quartet consisting of Berenyi, Welch, Conroy and former Moose member K.J. "Moose" [=McKillop=] (who is also currently in a relationship with Berenyi, with two children between them). Their debut album ''Brickbat'' was released in February 15, 2019.
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15	A piece of trivia: Miki Berenyi is half-Japanese, half-Hungarian, and her mother, Yasuko Nagazumi, played minor roles in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' and ''Series/{{Space 1999}}''.
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17	!!Discography:
18	* ''Scar'' EP (1989)
19	* ''Mad Love'' EP (1990)
20	* ''Sweetness and Light'' EP (1990)
21	* ''Gala'' (1990) - compilation including the previously released [=EPs=] and additional songs
22	* ''Spooky'' (1992)
23	* ''Split'' (1994)
24	* ''[[GenreShift Lovelife]]'' (1996)
25	----
26	!!Tropes associated with Lush:
27	* EpicRocking: The seven-and-a-half-minute-long "Desire Lines".
28	* GrassIsGreener: "Single Girl". The song begins with "I don't want to be a single girl"... and then after she finds love and endures some fights and annoyances, the song ends with "I just want to be a single girl".
29	* NewSoundAlbum: ''Split'' toned down the DreamPop; ''Lovelife'' turned up the {{Britpop}}.
30	* NonAppearingTitle: It's easier to list the songs that ''avert'' this trope (such as "Single Girl" and "Hypocrite").
31	* PerishingAltRockVoice: Definitely in the earlier stuff.
32	* QuarrelingSong: "Ciao!", a BreakupSong, sung by Miki in duet with [[Music/{{Pulp}} Jarvis Cocker]].
33	* RepurposedPopSong: "Sweetness And Light" turned up in a Volkswagen commercial in the late 90s.
34	* ShoutOut: "Laura" to Music/LauraNyro, with its references to her songs "Luckie", "Stoney End" and "Sweet Blindness".
35	* TakeThat: "[[AntiLoveSong Ladykillers]]" was written based on an encounter Miki Berenyi had one time with [[Music/RedHotChiliPeppers Anthony Kiedis]]. The music video even features a self-centered guy strongly resembling Kiedis.
36	* TokenMinority: Miki is an English woman of half-Japanese, half-Hungarian parentage. As a child, she had to deal with racism from other kids because of it, not to mention that her Hungarian grandmother hated Miki's mother and called her a 'Japanese whore' (though she did make exceptions for Miki).

Context Music / Lush