Catherine Wheel

Like many other British guitar bands of the early '90s, Catherine Wheel relied heavily on distortion as a way of creating texture and using their airy vocals as atmosphere. While their melodies are actually quite straight-forward, they are submerged in layers of guitar effects and droning chords. Like Lush and Ride, Catherine Wheel's blend of hooks and white noise are pop songs, not free-form explorations with a floating melody. It is that quality that created a buzz in Britain around their first EP, She's My Friend, in 1991. Their subsequent two albums, 1992's Ferment and 1993's Chrome, earned them a solid fan base in England. The heavy rock attack of 1995's Happy Days increased their following in America; Like Cats and Dogs, a collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks, followed in 1996, and a year later, Catherine Wheel issued their fourth studio LP, Adam and Eve. After a four-year hiatus, the band resurfaced with Wishville, their first album for new label Columbia. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi