Rewind: What galaxy is this?

As often happens in our narrow corporate music landscape, incredible bands get overlooked. The 90s saw the merging of two worlds: the defiant underground and the corporate music machine. This happened in the 80s too, but to music with no staying power. Suddenly, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and countless other would-be underground sensations signed to majors and we had "alternative" music.

Somewhere in all the confusion, below the radio waves, a handful of yet still defiant bands languished in self-imposed obscurity recording for DIY labels. Often, these bands made seminal albums that influenced their fellow DIY compatriots as well as their cousins that had made the leap to a major.

One band that I have been listening to again lately is Galaxie 500. Despite the easy-to-forget name, these guys made careful, enduring classics with the patience and vision of a big time band. Sounding almost like a cross between Magnetic Fields and the San Francisco psychedelic era. Their debut, Today, is a shimmering, display of thoughtful, yet childlike, dream pop. The album sucks you in and takes you on a calm, yet inspired journey through foggy, dreamlike soundscapes that, once it ends and you emerge from the fog will leave you yearning for more.

The focal point of the album is the angsty love song 'Tugboat'. This song could have easily been a college smash. It has just enough pop sensibilities to grab your attention, but also it has enough whirling, swirling, glittering guitar layers to keep the average shoegazer busy. It's hypnotic and accessible at the same time.

I spent the latter half of the 90s digging up these types of bands that no one ever heard of and wouldn't have had the patience to get into anyway. There are countless gems that I could have highlighted, but this one is what's comin' out of my speakers. If, like countless millions, you've never heard of these guys give this one a try.