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Nov 20, 2015 Lush By Christopher Roberts

At the end of September shoegazing legends Lush announced they were reuniting and some shows in London (May 6 and 7 at the Roundhouse) and New York (September 14 at Terminal 5) have been announced. This week the band announced an additional show at the Manchester Academy in Manchester, England on April 30, 2016. Buried in a new biography for the band that’s been posted to the venue’s website is the news that the band have recorded a brand new four-song EP that will be released next year, prior to their reunion tour. They are also working on a new album. The EP’s songs were co-written by the band’s co-founders Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi and the EP is co-produced by Jim Abbiss and Ladytron’s Daniel Hunt. There’s no other details on an exact release date or tracklist.

“I’m a bit anxious,” Anderson is quoted in the bio, “wondering if people will think the new record will be as good as the old.”

“Emma just has this way of writing unusual chord changes that manage to weave lovely melodies over the top, and it immediately sounds like Lush,” comments bassist Philip King on the new material.

Lush were one of the originators and main icons of the shoegazing genre, along with Slowdive, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and Swervedriver (who have all reformed in recent years). Lush released three albums in the ‘90s, but split up after the 1996 suicide of drummer Chris Acland. Their final show was in Tokyo, Japan in September 1996. Justin Welch of Britpop icons Elastica will be playing drums at their reunion shows.

Berenyi comments on reforming without Acland in the bio. “Even now,” says Berenyi, “it won’t be at all easy knowing Chris won’t be there. We know you can’t recapture what you had before, but hopefully it will be brilliant in a different way. If I think of all best bits of the band, how great it is to play live, and to play your own songs, then there’s an open door you can walk through. I know I’ll regret it if I didn’t.”

Lush are releasing Chorus, a box set collecting all their albums, as well as various B-sides, demos, radio sessions, remixes, and unreleased tracks. It’s due out on December 4 in the U.K. and on January 22, 2016 in the U.S., via 4AD. Their Ciao! best of collection is being reissued on vinyl on November 27 for Record Store Day, also via 4AD.

Read our two recent interviews with Berenyi and Anderson on their albums Split and Lovelife, in which they discussed the challenges of reforming. Also read our 2007 interview with Berenyi, which at the time was her first interview in a decade, since Lush’s breakup.

The full bio is below (via Stereogum and Reddit):

“20 years after Lush’s last studio recording and live show, one of the most greatly missed British bands of the Nineties have decided that 2016 is the time to put an end to the constant requests and are to play a series of shows in the spring, visiting America, the UK and mainland Europe. The tour will be preceded with a brand new EP, so it’s a new beginning in more ways than one.

While there are plans further down the road to record an album, for now the new EP (as yet untitled, but it will be self-released) will feature four tracks, jointly written by the band’s co-founders Emma Anderson and Miki Berenyi. Production is being shared between Jim Abbiss and Daniel Hunt of Ladytron.

‘I’m a bit anxious,’ Emma admits, ‘wondering if people will think the new record will be as good as the old.’ But Phil King, Lush’s bassist between 1992 and 1996, has some reassuring words for her: ‘I know I’m biased, but I work [in picture research] for a music magazine, and I heard music all day and so much sounds non-descript or derivative. But Emma just has this way of writing unusual chord changes that manage to weave lovely melodies over the top, and it immediately sounds like Lush.’

Lush established themselves as a band who expertly fused melody and guitars, a sound that was christened ‘shoegaze’ well after they released their first records on 4AD in 1989, though they always had a stronger vocals and pop-centric sparkle than the typical shoegaze band.

Though Emma, Miki and Phil are all back on Lush duties, it’s evident to them that the fourth member of the band, drummer Chris Acland, is missing. The band officially announced their split in February 1998, but the end had come in October 1996 when, completely unexpectedly, Chris hanged himself, leaving his shocked and grieving bandmates feeling that it was impossible to carry on without him. Given such an ending, it’s a chance for Lush to create a new chapter in their lives, while still respecting what has been lost.

‘Even now,’ says Miki, ‘it won’t be at all easy knowing Chris won’t be there. We know you can’t recapture what you had before, but hopefully it will be brilliant in a different way. If I think of all best bits of the band, how great it is to play live, and to play your own songs, then there’s an open door you can walk through. I know I’ll regret it if I didn’t.’

The loss will be somewhat mitigated by the presence of Justin Welch, an old friend of Chris’ who drummed for Spitfire and then Elastica. ‘Justin even still has an old snare drum of Chris’,’ says Emma. ‘But Justin can’t replace Chris, he’ll just be doing his own thing.’

Justin also worked with Emma on the initial demos for her post-Lush band project Sing-Sing, while Miki cut all her ties with music except for the very occasional guest vocal (both on record and stage). Phil joined The Jesus & Mary Chain and is still gigging with the band today. Having just completed the Mary Chain’s Psychocandy tour this year, the timing is perfect as he’s free to reunite with Emma and Miki, who themselves didn’t want to get back together - both being parents with full-time jobs - until it felt absolutely right.

For Lush fanatics, and anyone who needs reminding of the band’s recorded legacy, 4AD are releasing a limited edition box set at the end of November, with artwork by Chris Bigg, who, alongside design chief Vaughan Oliver, was responsible for all those iconic 4AD covers in the Nineties. The box is a five-disc set, comprising the early compilation Gala (1990), the three studio albums Spooky (1992), Split (1994) and Lovelife (1996) and the B-sides collection Topolino (the Canadian version, also 1996), plus all manner of rarities (B-sides, radio sessions, remixes and demos, some previously unreleased).

But that was then, when Lush were part of a thrilling explosion of British guitar bands who took on the mainstream (interesting fact: they are the only 4AD band to have been on Top Of The Pops). In 2001, 4AD released a Lush Best Of, which was named after their 1996 single ‘Ciao!’ which in one sense, served as a belated ‘wave goodbye’. But this is now…so say hello, Lush. Good to have you back.”