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Sep 22, 2025 By Mark Redfern Photography by Paul Cox

1990s shoegaze, dream pop, and Britpop band Lush have announced a 35th anniversary reissue of Gala, which was a 1990 compilation of the British band’s early EPs and singles for the American and Japanese markets. The reissue will be available as a deluxe box set, as well as via regular vinyl, CD, and cassette reissues. All versions come out November 14 via 4AD. More details are below, including the tracklistings and cover artwork.

The box set will feature three colored 12-inches and one 7-inch. Kevin Vanbergen remastered the tracks this year and the deluxe edition artwork is designed by Chris Bigg featuring original artwork by v23 (Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg). There’s also a new biography written by Norwegian musician Jenny Hval (read it below). 4AD is also releasing some new limited edition Lush merchandise—including two T-shirts, pin badges, and posters—to go with the reissue.

Gala collected the band’s Scar mini-album and their EPs Sweetness and Light and Mad Love, as well as their cover of ABBA’s “Hey Hey Helen” and the extended mix of Scar track “Scarlet” by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is considered one of the foundational works in the early shoegazing movement. The band’s lineup at the time was Miki Berenyi, Emma Anderson, Chris Acland, and Steve Rippon. Rippon was later replaced on bass by Phil King.

Lush’s three studio albums—Spooky, Split, and Lovelife—were previously reissued by 4AD in 2023.

Lush broke up in 1996, in part because of Acland’s suicide. They briefly reunited in 2015 and 2016 to tour and release the new EP, Blind Spot, before splitting again.

More recently, Berenyi has been fronting Miki Berenyi Trio, who released their debut album, Tripla, in April via Bella Union.

Read our new interview with Miki Berenyi Trio on Tripla.

Read our review of Tripla.

After Lush, Berenyi was also in the band Piroshka and for the trio she is backed by two members of that band—Berenyi’s life partner KJ “Moose” McKillop (of ’90s shoegazers Moose) and guitarist Oliver Cherer. Miki Berenyi Trio (or MB3 for short) is a full on collaboration between the three members and not just a Berenyi solo project. Tripla is the Hungarian word for “triple,” named in a nod to Berenyi’s Hungarian father.

Berenyi did a joint interview with Australian dream pop artist Hatchie in The ’90s Issue of our print magazine, where she discussed her memoir and Lush. Buy a copy directly from us here.

Pirsoshka also contributed to our Covers of Covers album in honor of our 20th Anniversary, where they covered Grandaddy’s “The Crystal Lake.” Berenyi was also one of the artists on the cover of our 20th Anniversary Issue.

Emma Anderson, who was also in the post-Lush duo Sing-Sing, released her debut solo album, Pearlies, in 2023.

Read our interview with Emma Anderson on Pearlies.

Read our 2015 interview with Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson of Lush on Lovelife and the final days of the band.

Read our 2015 interview with Lush on Split.

Read our 2016 interview with Lush on their reunion.

Read our 2024 interview with Berenyi on her memoir.

Gala (35th Anniversary Edition) Deluxe Box Set Tracklist:

Sweetness and Light (1990)

01. Sweetness and Light
02. Sunbathing
03. Breeze

Mad Love (1990)

04. De-Luxe
05. Leaves Me Cold
06. Downer
07. Thoughtforms (Mad Love Version)

Scar (1989)

08. Baby Talk
09. Thoughtforms (Scar Version)
10. Scarlet (Scar Version)
11. Bitter
12. Second Sight
13. Etheriel

7-Inch

14. Hey Hey Helen (ABBA Cover)
15. Scarlet (Robin Guthrie Version)

Gala (35th Anniversary Edition) Vinyl/CD/Cassette Reissue Tracklist:

A1/1. Sweetness and Light
A2/2. Sunbathing
A3/3. Breeze
A4/4. De-Luxe
A5/5. Leaves Me Cold
A6/6. Downer
A7/7. Thoughtforms (Mad Love Version)
B1/8. Baby Talk
B2/9. Thoughtforms (Scar Version)
B3/10. Scarlet (Scar Version)
B4/11. Bitter
B5/12. Second Sight
B6/13. Etheriel
B7/14. Hey Hey Helen (ABBA Cover)
B8/15. Scarlet (Robin Guthrie Version)

Jenny Hval’s Gala (35th Anniversary Edition) Biography:

I first discovered Gala at a record store in Oslo, possibly in late 1995 or early 1996. By then I was already a devoted Lush fan and had listened extensively to their Split and Spooky LPs. The 15-year-old me had played the Hypocrite EP to death on my CD player. Yet this album was a revelation: My first ever compilation LP, just as I thought I had understood what an album could be.

A compilation of three early EPs doesn’t necessarily sound very artistic. But this one is. As a compilation, Gala is more of an essay in music form than a unified narrative or sound. It is a collage, a puzzle, not just hinting at what was to come, but what could have been - different directions. The track listing contains two songs, “Thoughtforms” and “Scarlet”, that had been recorded twice, something that blew my young mind, as if I saw a glimpse of the multiverse. Emma Anderson’s “Thoughtforms” was first recorded for the Scar EP/mini album in 1989, and then rerecorded for another EP, Mad Love, the following year. Listening to both versions allowed me to become a teen critic: I started to question why and how the second “Thoughtforms” was both sped up and amped up in Robin Guthrie’s Mad Love production. I finally decided I loved both versions, but preferred the first, because it was slower, sounded freer and deeper, and Miki Berenyi’s vocals were given more space. The comparison gave me a deeper understanding of Spooky, the album produced by Guthrie in 1992. It made me question, or perhaps dream, of what Spooky could have been.

This simple repetition of songs emphasises the adventurous nature of Lush. The distinct differences in production between the three EPs showcased on Gala creates a playful, disarming album pacing. It also pushes Lush beyond genre, beyond stereotypes of «shoegaze», and beyond the 4AD aesthetic of the iconic, colourful logos and floaty, wavelike patterns. In retrospect, the compilation becomes both documentary and dream. It is an overview of a band existing in a specific scene in a specific era, exploring their music’s potential like the different arms of a star.

In retrospect, my favourite songs on Gala are the opening trio of songs (Anderson’s “Sweetness and Light” and “Sunbathing”, and the Anderson/Berenyi co-write “Breeze”), taken from the Tim Friese-Greene-produced Sweetness and Light. I adore Friese-Greene’s work, and the glittering guitars, voice harmonies and dynamics create a sublime sonic canvas. But production aside, these three songs present a striking, yet understated, expression of sensuality. The lyrics sometimes float by, then hit you with a striking image (“Breathe in green velvet, my lips taste warm earth” on “Breeze”), and the vocal lines intertwine, call and respond, come too close to each other and move away.

I listen to these songs today as I listened to them in the mid-90s, and feel the same things touching me: The effervescence of the sun hitting my skin, drops of sweat and saltwater drying on my neck, the smell of a borrowed, unwashed t-shirt and wet sandals after a swim. I listen to both versions of “Thoughtforms” again and dive into layers of sparkly guitars. Gala is intimate, yet stargazing, intricate and romantic, almost punk but with soft dissonances. It’s early 1990s impressionism. Make it yours.

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