On the Rebound: Early Nineties Indie Bands

8 Nov 2007Perhaps it's the feeling that that they were swept away all too hastily with the debris of grunge, that has given license to so many early nineties indie bands to reform. Pixies, Breeders, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, and now apparently a new My Bloody Valentine album.

And is it just a sign of my own ageing that, while I'm not overwhelmed with excitement to see the bands that I was crazy about when I was 17 reappearing, it's still good to have them back, and I don't see this as selling out? They're all too exuberant to seem like sad old has-beens in need of a new revenue stream – see for example the Breeders at All Tomorrow's Parties in 2002, throwing a big inflatable hammer into the audience; and Dinosaur Jr supplanting Thurston Moore's kid's band as an in-joke in their corny video (the wacky fellows, J managing to keep his double chin up while Lou Barlow still looks about 25).