Lush

Although closely associated with the early-’90s shoegaze scene, Lush also specialised in ethereal dream pop and biting guitar rock. Led by a pair of longtime friends, vocalists/guitarists Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson, the band formed in London in 1987 and debuted two years later with the Scar EP, which featured both ramshackle, Smiths-indebted rock and dreamier fare. Lush then hit the road, appearing at Glastonbury and touring with fellow noisy pop peers Ride, before releasing the gauzy, shimmering Spooky in 1992. The band’s sound became more alternative pop-rock on 1994’s Split—as evidenced by the single “Hypocrite”—and was closely aligned with Britpop by the time of 1996’s Lovelife; the latter included the modern-rock hit “Ladykillers” and the Jarvis Cocker duet “Ciao!” Lush split up in 1996 after drummer Chris Acland died by suicide; Anderson continued in music, forming the electro-pop-leaning Sing-Sing, while Berenyi worked in magazine production. After nearly two decades apart, the band reunited, but after a well-received 2016 tour and a new EP, Blind Spot, that revisited their dream-pop roots, Lush split up once again. Berenyi subsequently released a well-received 2022 memoir and focused her music pursuits on the synth-slicked group Piroshka.