British people please discuss: NWONW, the (old) New Wave of New Wave

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Early 1990s: when they didn't have important breaking news about the guy from Therapy? and his funny little beard, NME and Melody Maker went on endlessly about the "New Wave of New Wave" (ahead of their time, those visionaries!), which apparently consisted of S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men.

The magazines made it to the US, where I read about these bands. The records totally, totally didn't. So I've spent over a decade wondering exactly what these bands actually sounded like, and whether they were as crap as I assumed from the magazine coverage.

Before I use the new wonder of the internet to actually listen to some of this music and probably have a great bit laugh ... tell me about it.

― nabisco (nabisco), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 15:10 (twenty years ago)

So the New New Wave of New Wave is in fact the New New Wave of New Wave of New Wave?

― ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!! (ESTEBAN BUTTEZ~!!!), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 15:18 (twenty years ago)

The records totally, totally didn't.

Some did. Nicole's legendary sister to thread.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 15:21 (twenty years ago)

Also, this thread for potential edification:

For your edification -- Taylor Parkes interviews S*M*A*S*H, _Melody Maker_, 1994

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 15:22 (twenty years ago)

If These Animal Men had waited another ten years to make their first record, they'd be yooge right now. YOOGE.

― Jason Toon (Jason Toon), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 19:05 (twenty years ago)

Wasn't ELASTICA part of that whole thing too? They certainly made it here.

As I recall, THESE ANIMAL MEN and S*M*A*S*H were utter rubbish.

A follow-up question - right after the NWONW, the British Music Press launched the next big thing as some kind of Spandau Ballet "New Romantic" revival (this is circa 1995). Does anyone remember those bands? For the life of me, I can't.

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 19:53 (twenty years ago)

Here's just the thread:

what was 'romo'??

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 19:56 (twenty years ago)

I interviewed These Animal Men once. I remember nothing of the interview and less of their music, but I remember thinking they were wildly underachieving.

S*M*A*S*H were just awful.

― Dogfight Giggle (noodle vague), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 20:00 (twenty years ago)

load of old cock it were.
romo? don't get me started guv.
useless desperate journos eh?

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 20:08 (twenty years ago)

As I recall NWONW was the UK music press's first prototype attempt at manufacturing a scene around a handful of bands in order to generate some interest in the indiginous music scene - something which they subsequently succeed in doing with "Britpop". As well as Elastica IIRC Blur, Suede, Manic Street Preachers and I think Menswear and Powder were all associated (by the press) with this alleged scene before being conveniently relabelled a year or two later.

"useless desperate journos" is absolutely OTM.

S*M*A*S*H were supposedly the forerunners of the scene and were being heralded as the new Clash - which they very clearly weren't, although they did have a couple of good tunes. There was an EP which featured both their landmark songs ("Real Surreal" and "Lady Love Your Cunt") which is worth tracking down.

These Animal Men were great live but never quite managed to capture it in the studio, although the EP Taxi For These Animal Men and the albums Come On Join The High Society, and especially Accident & Emergency are all worth a listen. Unfortunately they started believing their own hype, apparently developed some hugely debilitating drug problems, and disappeared up their own arses.

"wildly underachieving" is also OTM.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:06 (twenty years ago)

Come to think of it I think Animal That Swim were associated with NWONW too, along with pretty much everone on Frantic Panda.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:15 (twenty years ago)

These Animal Men's "Too Sussed" EP is pretty good. The album less so, but it has a couple of good songs on it. I have one S*M*A*S*H single - "I want to kill somebody" which is OK but nothing special, I don't think their other stuff was much cop really.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Weren't Compulsion lumped in with this for a bit? Even though they sounded more like the Pixies than any New Wave bands I can think of.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

Theres a difference. Compulsion were actually quite good.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Wednesday, 12 April 2006 21:44 (twenty years ago)

Compulsion's 1st album was quite good, yeah. Their 2nd album was generic mid-90s pop-punk blandness unfortunately.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:03 (twenty years ago)

"As I recall NWONW was the UK music press's first prototype attempt at manufacturing a scene around a handful of bands in order to generate some interest in the indiginous music scene"

let us not forget Grebo - a journo initiated scence/genre if ever there was one

― grapple (grapple), Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:11 (twenty years ago)

I think Accident & Emergency is actually a pretty good album, FWIW. The single Life Support Machine was very catchy. I'm not sure about the Animals That Swim link- they were much more like Tindersticks, weren't they?

― Neil Stewart (Neil Stewart), Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:12 (twenty years ago)

stewart otm -- it was a dry run for britpop, in a way, because half the v 1.0 bands, the select magazine bands (st et, auteurs, denim), didn't sell that many records, maybe. so nwonw was britpop 1.5 or something, though it happened simultaneously with blur going really big (early '94).

― enrique, pseudonym, Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:18 (twenty years ago)

Wasn't grebo (basically crazyhead and pwei IIRC) a label tacked onto something that already existed (UK midlands sub hawkwind pub rock scene)? NWONW and the even worse (amazingly enough) "skunk rock" that got belched up a few years later seemed more like the papers trying to spin something out of thin air.

I thought both the nwonw "big" bands - s.m.a.s.h. and t.a.m. were absolutely dreadful at the time, and I'm sure they still sound shit now.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:19 (twenty years ago)

I'm sure they still sound shit now.

Haha nwonw now seems like such a non-starter that it feels kinda strange to realise that the records actually still exist!

― The Vintner's Lipogram (OleM), Thursday, 13 April 2006 09:30 (twenty years ago)

What about 'The Scene That Celebrates Itself' and the 'Mod revival'? They were going hell for leather with scenes at that point. No wonder Brit Pop took off, as they'd had all this time to hone their scene-making skills.

Romo = electroclash v1.0, but with all the wrong technology. I actually own a Plastic Fantastic 7" that I remember as being rather good. I think I only played ot the once, though.

― Jamie T Smith (Jamie T Smith), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:23 (twenty years ago)

TSTCI was more sorta shoegazey/baggy 1992ness i think.

mod revival drawing blank, but i do recall some acid jazz-type act getting drawn into that one.

― enrique's pseudonym, Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:28 (twenty years ago)

Lion Pop, anyone? Separations-era Pulp and, uh, who else?

― The Vintner's Lipogram (OleM), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

Lets not forget the Melody Makers Yob Rock scene with the 60 ft dolls.

Oh wait, yes, lets please forget it.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:31 (twenty years ago)

Cud were Lion Pop, apparently. Menswear were Mod revival, before being NWONW, before being Brit Pop.

I think they nicked the idea from the acronym from the NWOBHM, which Maiden fans will know all about.

― Jamie T Smith (Jamie T Smith), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:46 (twenty years ago)

... for the acronym from ...

Sorry.

It's funny how shoegazing has stuck as a descriptor of what records actually sound like, long after Chapterhouse hung up their stripy sweatshirts.

― Jamie T Smith (Jamie T Smith), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:49 (twenty years ago)

Were Northern Uproar also part of that "Yob Rock" phase? They were sort of the Arctic Monkeys of their time, innit?

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:55 (twenty years ago)

without the 'selling records' thing but yeah!

actually weren't supergrass lumped in with the mod revival?

― enrique's pseudonym, Thursday, 13 April 2006 12:56 (twenty years ago)

They came to prominence about summer 94 I think? So probably

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:01 (twenty years ago)

Flying Medallions are even less remembered than the other bands in this thread, but they were basically the band that got me into punk rock. They covered the Descendents on their album. So there you are

― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:03 (twenty years ago)

Finally the arctic monkeys/ northern uproar similarity unmasked!

― Pandas At War (pandas at war), Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:08 (twenty years ago)

Lady love your c*nt* was probably the high point of the 90s for me.

Real Surreal was up there too.

― paulhw (paulhw), Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:46 (twenty years ago)

that sounds like a pretty weak decade for you, bro.

― enrique's pseudonym, Thursday, 13 April 2006 13:48 (twenty years ago)

this thread will not be a success until it ends with Gay Dad.

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Thursday, 13 April 2006 14:15 (twenty years ago)

Currently, the UK and US are right in the middle of the SNWONW (Second New Wave Of New Wave)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 13 April 2006 23:10 (twenty years ago)

When will the Gay Dad revival start?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Thursday, 13 April 2006 23:12 (twenty years ago)

c*nt*

cunto?

― electric sound of jim (and why not) (electricsound), Friday, 14 April 2006 02:27 (twenty years ago)

S*M*A*S*H's album, Self Abused, is still the worst, the very worst album I have ever heard. Tinny, thin, slap-dash Clash-a-like pub band.

There were many, many micro, one-issue-of-NME/MM-lasting invented genres in late 80s early 90s: remember Camden Lurch, invented by Steve Lamacq which consisted of about three bands that were of no consequence whatsoever? It was always just a journalistic in-joke/hobby I thought.

― David Orton (scarlet), Friday, 14 April 2006 08:42 (twenty years ago)

seven years pass...

fuck the hate.
i listen to all these bands way more than anything from the so called britpop era.

― mark e, Friday, 12 July 2013 16:17 (twelve years ago)

two years pass...

and so the inevitable happens :

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jul/28/cult-heroes-smash-and-these-animal-men-should-have-changed-peoples-lives

looking forward to seeing this film.

totally agree re the comment that the S*M*A*S*H album needed at least a level entry degree of production, but hey, i guess thats what the band wanted.

― mark e, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:10 (ten years ago)

i saw S*M*A*S*H play in nyc! my friend talked to the lead guy after.

― skateboards are the new combover (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:40 (ten years ago)

Oh, how I wish Romo had grown wings.

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:45 (ten years ago)

it became electroclash

― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:49 (ten years ago)

just listened to the S*M*A*S*H album for first time in years.

yes its seriously lo-fi, but fuck, i still find it a lot more enjoyable than any of the guitar based bands from the britpop era.

― mark e, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:50 (ten years ago)

wouldnt be hard

― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 19:51 (ten years ago)

it became electroclash
― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, July 28, 2015 7:49 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not good enough!

― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 20:26 (ten years ago)

can't really think of any significant shared personnel between the two scenes so 'became' seems inaccurate. also Romo had nothing to do with actual dance culture

― Hector Ringtone (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:22 (ten years ago)

that S*M*A*S*H song about the Tory cabinet is honestly one of the worst things I've ever heard

― Hector Ringtone (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:22 (ten years ago)

weren't Elastica called NWONW at first?

― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:25 (ten years ago)

S*M*A*S*H were from my hometown. I know their drummer quite well.

― (no offence to people) (dog latin), Tuesday, 28 July 2015 23:10 (ten years ago)

dog latin : bring him to bristol with you !

cosmic : yes

dj mencap : which song ?

― mark e, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 23:14 (ten years ago)

four years pass...

I just watched the first 35 mins of the documentary, it's on Amazon Prime in the UK. Yikes, talk about paper-thin.

All the band members and peripheral folks are seen propping up the sentiments of every boring indie band interview you ever read in the Maker/NME circa 1994, it is quite magnificently dull and lord, for music that was supposed to be kinetic and exciting it's completely threadbare.

― Maresn3st, Tuesday, 9 June 2020 21:06 (five years ago)

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