Giant Steps

Not usually my kind of music but I enjoyed this album quite a bit. There is a certain friendly vibe I really enjoyed. Interesting all the way through, I think it deserves a place on this list.

Cooler alt Rock, höre ich gerne wieder mal rein

This was a highly enjoyable diverse array of rock music. I was solidly entertained throughout.

This album is certainly all over the place. It kind of feels like a fever dream to me. It's great and I really enjoyed, maybe a tad overly long.

The hype around this album was genuinely cringeworthy. A shoegaze White Album by a Brian Wilson-level genius inspired by John Coltrane, etc, etc. Ignoring these pretensions and ridiculous comparisons, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's actually a really good album. No need to overhype it. Just enjoy the beautiful mess they've created.

Laatste nummer is weird man, het heeft iets weg van mezzanine

Good stuff!

Oh man I love „Upon 9th and Fairchild,“ great song!

My first genuine surprise in a while. I loved this album. It’s noisy and beautiful and lyrical. At any given time, it can give you great power pop hooks and loud, shoegazey instrumentals. Great stuff. I will listen to more from this band.

Wow a very cool album. Great melodic twists and turns, and musicians who clearly know their stuff. Some of it was like a technicolor blend of Beach Boys and Nirvana. DEFINITELY a band to explore further.

I liked this one. Felt nostalgic to me. Sounds exactly like 1993. Good variety with some good surprises.

The Boos are a very nostalgic band for me as I "found" them in the early 90s. Because of that, I probably rate them a bit higher than deserved, but I still really like them.

I really enjoyed this album, I wasn't expecting to since artists I've never heard of can be pretty hit or miss. But I was pleasantly surprised when it came to this. It was also really funny since I was just talking about "To Kill A Mockingbird" today.

This is a hugely ambitious album, and maybe a bit over-ambitious as it is a long listen and contains so many different styles and influences - I could hear nods to Moody Blues, New Order, Caravan, the Cure, the Zombies (I also wonder if they influenced the Zutons, among others?). It requires concentrated and repeated listens but after a while the songs grow on you. I particularly liked Butterfly McQueen and Best Lose the Fear. overall a nice, gentle psychedelic feel on the whole

Really good and either didn't fully realize or have forgotten quite how the BRs were/are. On the whole, this is warm and wonderful, with ample sweet and poppy melodies mixed tightly with full-on hot and barbed hooks and riffs. Loud-quiet-loud works well with sweet-hot-sweet, and the songs have texture and flow. "Barney (and Me)" and "Best Lose the Fear" (with nice keys work and a clarinet [one thinks]!) are among the best cuts. They seem to want to have some fun while indulging their ambitions, which are more arty than Oasis but less arty than (though not terribly far from) Radiohead's (see "I've Lost the Reason"); there's a clear and likably willingness to try a lot of things, most of which work, and stays just under the bar of excessively self-important '90s bombast.

I really liked this album and was shocked when I looked it up after listening and saw it was a product of the NINETIES. It makes sense to me more now as a product of 60s/70s nostalgia mixed with more recent musical influences. Cool concept, I enjoyed it. Fav song: Wish I Was Skinny

Bro is NOT John Coltrane

4.5

I enjoyed the eclectic variety of songs on this album, with the softer songs being my favorite. Maybe not one of the best, but certainly unique.

What a strange LP... a constant swing between awesome proto-Definitely-Maybe bangers and psychedelic experiments.

I honestly don't have a lot to say about this album, but it's very good, and feels very mature for 1993. I would have thought it was made a few years later. The album is very consistent and features a variety of different musical styles. Very much worth the listen 4/5

A cool album with a lot of different ideas and sounds that still feel like they fit. But few of the songs really stand out as songs I want to keep going back to. They're all just decent-good

This is one I will have to listen to a few more times. Good album.

Album foisonnant, 17 chansons, des styles différents, des rythmes différents. C'est un album assez complexe à appréhender je trouve, qui nécessite plusieurs écoutes pour commencer à trouver des points d'accroche mais j'y reviendrais souvent et je suis sûr qu'il se révèlera petit à petit.

Hadn't heard this before, but it's definitely up my alley! Shoegaze/Jangle pop type of stuff, solid af. Will be coming back to this for sure!

What is this beauty?

Súper 90's.

This was a huge surprise. I enjoyed the variety in vocals (although not always top tier), instrumentation and genre in each song. I heard lots of good guitar lines and loved the brass and woodwind moments! Wishing’ I Was Skinny really hit home. Lol

This was awesome. The perfect amount of "weirdness" in this album. I literally cant even name a song on this record I was so lost in it. There is some kick ass rockin on this album too. I dont think there was a subpar song on here. If this was a few songs shorter it might be a 5. Great 7/10

4. A very satisfying blend of 90s alt rock and other genres. Neither disjointed nor too repetitive. I debated giving this album a 3 because a few songs did lose my interest, but the rest of the album makes up for it. Overall, quite enjoyable.

So different and fun and creative

Pretty good album with a lot of variety! I didn't get into and follow every song but I thought it was still pretty good and unique. Favourite: Barney (...and Me)

I knew the name Boo Radleys (moreso from To Kill a Mockingbird though…), but never actually listened to them and wasn’t expecting them to be contemporaries to My Bloody Valentine??? It’s pretty good, but there are some notes that ring false to me, like a haphazard Rodney King “tribute”. Gonna land at a C+, but still earns that fourth star

7/10. Maybe even an 8. Not exactly sure what this album did right for me, but I liked it.

Very entertaining and I havent heard it before

Pretty groovy.

Wow! What a surprise, very very good album!

I didn't get through this the first time, but actually really enjoyed it the second time. Many of the songs I would listen to again.

This is one of those albums that makes me sad I missed it when it was new. It would have become one of my favourites, and I would have been able to sing along on a re-listen 30 years later.

2nd album I never really heard, and I listened to plenty of shoegaze/britpop. I hear so many different influences here, the Cure, dub, madchester, psychedelic. Overall better than I expected 8/10.

Had to listen twice to get it. Again headphones make it 1000 x better

Nice surprise, potential 5-star check, almost made it.

Catchy

When I saw that this was British indie rock, my expectations were kind of low. After Elbow and PJ Harvey, I didn't think much of the genre. This album blew me away. The sheer variety of genres kept it from getting boring over its 64 minute runtime. I'll definitely revisit this one.

Loved it! Some great bass lines

Much more varied and rich than you'd perhaps expect, given this was a few years before the "big hit". A fun indie bop.

It takes a lot of guts to name your album after one of the great jazz albums in music history. The Boo Radleys' album is nothing like John Coltrane's album, but let's boil it down anyway. The Boo Radleys' pull from quite a few sounds of the 90's. One of the most prominent aspects of this record is the shoegaze, utilizing electric guitars to their fullest extent by going full reverb and volume. This is contrasted by the britpop songwriting style that keeps things light, particularly in the singing and guitar hooks. This gives Giant Steps some contrast in relation to the alternative, ethereal sound of shoegaze. Good songwriting and good sounds makes for a nice, unique blend overall. More than anything, though, this album is steeped in psychedelia. It's a fresh and fun take on the genre that always feels like it's been done to death. It also flows nicely, making for an enjoyable experience from top to bottom. My big gripe with Giant Steps is that is will feel generally unfocused as a cohesive unit. This reminds me of Radiohead's OK Computer in a few ways, which would be released a mere 4 years later. Coming close to being spectacular but falling just short, we will applaud The Boo Radleys nonetheless for this spectacular showing. Well done, lads.

Wow, I really like this album! I saw the horrific cover art and my stomach sank, because I have been known to judge an album by its cover. But this was such a pleasant surprise! It's the groovy fusion of alt rock and psychedelic pop that does it for me. Unexpected joy for today, thanks generator!

Why would they want to waste the first minute? Because I need the time to go get a beer before I settle into my barcalounger? I don't like it. But the maybe that's the catch for "I hang suspended."

This is certainly the first time a list album has reminded me of HOLYCHILD. Nothing sparkles or shines, but the entire hour-plus is tinged with a comfy glow, some kind of connective tissue holding the instrumental and stylistic and even vocal digressions. Britpop to a fault and lasts exactly as long as you expect it to given the speed of delivery. However, it's one of the most DJ-set-like guitar band albums I've heard, reminded me of a trashy pop band discovered in university, and is thoroughly unique.

Lots of little Beatles' references in this ode to psychedelia. At one stage you'd swear they're writing a new chapter of Strawberry Fields. They start off flexing their shoegaze muscles and manage to throw out some crunchy guitar and storming drums. I've Lost The Reason is an encapsulation of the whole album. Twee verse with a bit of Beach Boys harmonies, then they bust out a massive chorus that pays homage to Kurt, but with weird distorted sounds a la Sergeant Peppers. I hope they had fun making this, because I had fun listening.

Different kind of sound, not bad.

1. I'm assuming based just on the information I have before listening, that this is going to be a 60s/70s psychedelic flick 2. 90s shoe gaze rock! didn't expect this. I'm often wrong though. Squeaky guitars. A very The Bends vibe. 3. I like!

Verrassend album. Rock met wat orkestrale toevoeging vond ik zeker leuk. 'Lazarus' is een zeer goed nummer

4.3 - Look past the silly band name and questionable album name, and you've got a fantastic shoegaze record that takes you on a sprawling, mult-faceted journey. Walls of fuzzy guitar underpinned with strings (e.g. "Leaves and Sand"). Interspersed throughout are nods to different genres (reggae, Beach Boy style psychedelia, 90s Britpop).

Pretty good! Will def need to revisit at some point.

A great in-between point of shoegaze and Brit-pop.

Pretty interesting 90's rock. Stone Roses-ish.

Interesting mix of sounds and styles. I feel like it needs more than a single listen to catch up with it.

Ég þyrfti að hlusta á þessa aftur, gæti trúað því að hún vinni á. Sumt er mjög skemmtilegt prótó-Britpopp en það fer minna fyrir því í öðrum lögum. Stundum svolítið dated radd effectar og helst til mikið gítarískur, en virkar stórt séð vel. - Jú, fjarki frekar en þristur.

Never heard of these guys. Enjoyed this moment though.

Great 90s tunes

Decadeologists, I’m reliably informed, look upon the ‘3s as transitional years. The dawn of a new decade is slow to break – and it takes a year or two for the morning stars of the previous era to fade into blue sky. For that reason, and many more, this feels like a record caught between multiple different states. There are ideas here that the Boos have taken and run with from various giants of genre (MVB, Beatles especially). And then there are ideas – riffs, atmospheres, sound textures and compositional choices – that will be picked up and refined by bands throughout the 90s (by the Manics, Radiohead, Creation’s entire roster, etc.). There are even concepts that, seen in the context of the next record’s contribution to britpop cannon, feel work in progress within The Boo’s own career, too. And so it is that, on this album from the 90s own ‘3, we find our Boos still slightly shoegaze snoozy and just now rousing. While this album will mean more to many than my “a prelude to the 90s proper” allows for – it’s also exactly that. It’ll be a year or so before the stars are fully faded and they yell out “Wake up, it’s a beautiful morning.” What a thing it must be to be able to say you were there first.

-I like the guitar and the groove in the background of "Upon 9th And Fairchild" -"Leaves And Sand" has some serious jamming and drum fills -Some of the songs were pretty plain -I am interested in listening again, so I think that just barely bumps it up to a 4

Not bad, but more of a 3.5

I like this record a lot. It's wonderful to hear a record that was released during the peak of a couple movements (britpop and shoegaze) that I haven't heard. It's like a gift. This band blends gentle with noisy really well. Love it. This came out the same year as Blur's "Modern Life is Rubbish." It's better than that record, but isn't as good as any of the Blur records that came afterward. THERE REALLY AREN'T ANY WEAK POINTS ON THIS RECORD. VERY DESERVING OF ITS PLACE IN THE TOP 1001. Highlights: The controlled feedback on most songs; The refreshingly clean/poppy "Wish I Was Skinny"; "Leaves and Sand"; The fuzzed/phased out guitar at the end of "Butterfly McQueen" and how it segues into "Rodney King - Song for Lenny Bruce."

I have so much to say, but not sure how to articulate it. First of all, great name - I'm a big To Kill a Mockingbird fan. But also - the songs on this album somehow combine all of the musical styles that came in the 20 years before them as well as what would come in the next 20 years. You can hear British Invasion, psychedelic rock, 80s metal, 90s pop/punk (Rivers Cuomo definitely heard this album), techno, indy rock, and on and on. Big fan.

Non conoscevo il gruppo e devo dire che mi ha stupito. Alcune scelte stilistiche non rispecchiano pienamente il mio gusto però ho apprezzato molto l'originalità visto anche l'anno. Mi piace il fatto che abbiano messo dentro tutto quello che gli piaceva senza farse troppi problemi nell'attenersi ad un genere. L'uso degli strumenti è spesso sperimentale ed il risultato è affascinante e psichedelico.

Haven't heard about this band before. It was a nice discovery, enjoyed the sound very much.

qué GUAPO el britpop y a la vez normal que durara menos de diez años

Better than I expected.

damn pretty fucking tight vibes first song goes hard as hell sounds like oasis but more punk rock

klinkt wel als leuke rock van goeie kwaliteit.

Eclectic. Surprising. Ambitious

I really enjoyed this album--clearly I should look at more classics of the shoegaze sub-genre

Nice, sometimes a bit proggy

Definitely caught me by surprise, good variation of songs and caught a Smiths vibe which I can always get around

Modern groovy-esque feel. Pretty good

Was totally ready to write this off, it started slow. But damn if the second half didn't totally impress.

Enjoyed this a lot. Would never have given them time of day having only previously heard Wake Up Boo, but I guess that's what this is all about.

Steve Miller band synth and psychedelic rock. I think I need to listen a few more times to get a good feel, but I liked it so far.

bra grejer

doesnt have a specific nice song but the album is pretty cool overal

Very nice!

2.75 for The Boo Radleys who thought it would be good to borrow from english literature and one of the best Coltrane albums ever for their entry. I had never heard of this group before this list, so I looked at the Wikipedia entry and saw "Britpop" and immediately realized why they're on this list. Anything, anyone 90's Britpop = ALBUM YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE. Nope. I highly disagree. I gave this a 2.75 because there are some interesting riffs and pop hooks, but mostly it's loud annoying guitar wailing. Go away.

Hate the lead vocal, love the accompaniments

Amazing band name. Average music. 3

Not a big dan of BR, but this isn't bad. Not overly familiar with anything but their main hits. Relatively good fun, maybe a bit long mind you. Down the middle for me.

Fine

At surface level this album was okay/better than expected, but nothing really resonated with me otherwise.

Sadly, it was kind of boring, despite having potential. Perfectly fine, if unnoteworthy, indie with an excessive runtime. Favorites: Wish I Was Skinny; Leaves and Sand 3

one of those 90s bands i always heard good things about but that i never had a chance to check out. it's noisy rock (but not noise rock) and is lots of fun. they infuse punk, some metal, pop, and a touch of reggae into an album that is a little long but that doesn't overstay its welcome too much. i can hear myself listening to this again

I hate the feeling when a band has all the elements of what I say I like, but the album just doesn’t connect with me. This is the sort of thing I wouldn’t mind in the background but can’t imagine playing again.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Based on the song titles, here’s another example of an English band that is familiar with American events and culture. There are times throughout the album where the band has a Beatles vibe. Overall the music is pretty decent for a 90s group.

Have I heard of this band before or have I just read To Kill a Mockingbird? It's unclear*. Well, anyway, they don't infuriate me, so that's something, but the sound is pretty snoozy and noisy all at once. Snoisey. Just when you think you're listening to a pleasant-if-boring lullaby, the blasting kazoos and dissonant horns crash in. I will round up to a 3 because it's at least better than the last few albums we had. *Aha - Steve Hewitt from Placebo used to be a member (prior to this album)! I bet I had heard of them 'cause of that. Highlight: 'The White Noise Revisited' Backwords Lortap: There's a reversed 1-2-3-4 in 'Spun Around'.

first off, this record has absolutely no idea what it is- which is my exact reaction after seeing this cover. And it kinda all makes sense. I can’t believe I’m the guy defending the genre stew album that includes a shit ton of Brit pop and shoegaze elements. I genuinely don’t know what everyone is bitching about on here. This was a fun listen with a ton of different ideas. Yeah yeah some more generic than others. But would you rather listen to oasis make the same song 10 times over on an album?

It is an okay album, but a little dull in places. 3 stars or C.

Pretty good sound, though kind of long and a bit monotonous. There were few songs that really made me sit up and pay attention and there were a couple of times I looked just to see if I was done with the album and into a second+ listen. It was fine in the background.

-1 star for the critic on Wikipedia who compares it to the White Album. +1 star for a few interesting moments. Waffled a bit between a 2 and 3, but will round up because I didn't dislike it, but I'm still pretty sure it doesn't need to be on this list.

Not my jam

This album checked a lot of boxes for me. It has a very 90’s sound while also harkening back to 60’s pop like the Beatles. It was somewhat experimental but rarely at the cost of staying catchy and fun to listen to. It had some psychedelic and shoe gazy influences, and even some dub/reggae, but they were all flavors added to the sound and never overwhelmed it. This is a very good album that should be better known than I think it is.

Boasts a wide range of genres under a pretty British rock sound. The jangly guitars throughout this album make each song similar to each other. The opening track did give it some oomph but the momentum died out by like the 4th song.

Čakal som od nich viac.

Couple things. First, the name The Boo Radleys is a terrible band name, and I'm not surprised I've never heard of them before. When you kneecap yourself with a terrible name, shouldn't be surprised. Second, while I'm enjoying this album quite a bit, it being over an hour long is a bit much. I know the 90's were a time of inflated album lengths, but come on guys, cut it down to a trim 45. Thirdly, I get this is a highly regarded shoegaze(ish - It's more more on the indie alt rock side with some songs verging on shoegaze), 25th on Pitchfork's 50 greatest shoegaze albums, but lets be honest, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Ride are probably the picks from the genre for the list (Already have them on the list, and already have too many MBV albums, and no Slowdive, which is a crime). But yeah, pretty solid alt-rock that verges on shoegaze at times. Really dig the tracks I Hang Suspended and Wish I Was Skinny. Kinda has a britpop thing going on that I'm not quite enjoying though (Best Lose the Fear - very Beatles/Oasis-esque). Overall, the album could use some pruning down and focusing. It's a little all over the place with sounds and styles.

Pretty fine for the most part. It's a pretty eclectic batch of rock songs that draw from psychedelia and britpop with a touch of shoegaze, especially in the single "Lazarus". My main gripe is that it's really long, and it kinda fizzles out without much fanfare imo. The closing track got pretty annoying. Still had plenty of good tracks up to the end.

No fav song

I'm trying to judge this based on the year as 1993 was not about much experimentation. I would put this up there with OK Computer (not for content) for ambition and it was a number of years before. I gave it 2 listens and even though only 1 or 2 songs stuck with me (the Beach Boys riff might be the best knockoff Wilson I've heard) I think I'm at a 3.5 which could go higher. It's very listenable, but not sure how influential it really has been.

Fuzzy guitars... would have been more impressed if there was some melody in it.

This is a solid rock outing w a band that has its own style - the vocals are low in the mix, which can be frustrating, but interesting musicianship here

3.5 I reckon there's a much better 40ish minute album here but some of the songs either just didn't really work for me or were a bit boring

Appreciate when there is some element of creativity. But otherwise the sound is mid. Not a revelation or exciting for me. A 3.

I dug the first song on this one but it was kind of downhill from there unfortunately; just kind of in one ear and out the other after a somewhat promising start.

471/1089 - Some cool texture stuff and the vocalist kinda sounds like Elliott Smith. I think if the songs were tighter and there were less "stock" sounds and stepwise melodies, it'd be more memorable.

If I was a teenager in the UK in the ‘90s then I probably would have loooooved this back then. But I wasn’t. Now it’s fine. The noisier parts were fun but made me want to listen to MBV or JAMC.

This album was pretty interesting as it introduced me to other Brit Pop bands. I enjoyed this album quite a bit I wasn’t expecting thrashing guitars at all! But it elevated my listening to experience :) Rating: 3.4/5 GEMV (02.05.2026)

Mostly fine, but has some really annoying songs.

6/10

As much as I would’ve liked this sort of genre-hodgepodge indie experiment if it had gone right, I think this is really just too overambitious and inconsistent for me to recommend (that, and it hits my biggest musical pet-peeve of going on for way too long). That said, I can’t say I’ve listened to psychedelic-noise-orchestral-punk-ska-jazz-britpop-shoegaze before, so I for sure see why this was included; I’ll also give it that this was probably insane for ‘93, considering this is the type of album you’d find after scrolling Bandcamp for too long in 2026.

A far more interesting shoe gaze album than I was expecting. And a bit more emo, that fully plants this album in the early 90s. Highlights: "Barney (...and Me)" and "Lazarus"

3.5

ok basic 90s sound

Certainly a sound that reflects a time and place, and perhaps if I’d have gotten in to this as a 25 year old I might love it. It’s another not terrible album. I quite enjoyed the sound, especially towards the start. But the album is 25 minutes too long and definitely starts to ramble at about the 50 minutes mark. The curse of the CD and a lack of discipline on the part of the band.

I liked that the Boo Radleys pulled from lots of different influences with this album. The singer wasn't my favorite, however. I don't know that I would listen to the whole album again.

The Boo Radley's Giant Steps is a super weird record. It's like a jangly pop record that also sometimes works with some reggae backbeats and bass lines. Now, I loathe reggae, but I actually love the instrumentation on this record and the choices made with guitar tones and arrangement. On those points, this record hits all the right notes for me, as unorthodox as it is. Where the struggle comes with this record is that none of the melodies on it are all that interesting to me. This record feels like a case of "so close, yet so far." I'm glad I listened, cause they were a band that I always wanted to check out due to their work on the So I Married an Axe Murderer soundtrack, but it ultimately falls a little flat for me. 6.5/10

Bunte Mischung aus Rock/Pop & angrenzenden Genres. 3/5

Wasn't sure what to expect here but pretty neat record. Psychedelic, noisy, and dreamy all throughout and its done quite well. Nothing too mind blowing here, but some great work throughout. Kinda drags a bit with the long length, but never found myself wanting it off.

Pretty standard stuff from the 90s.

not really that interested in ambient music. Aunque me da rabia cuando me gustan las populares y justo me gustaron las 2 más escuchadas

Didn't leave an impression on me

Meh. 3

Pretty good though somewhat generic shoegaze-ish alt album, fun to listen too and some genuinely really good instrumentals/vocals and some interesting experimental stuff

I enjoyed this, never heard it before.

A few unpleasant noises, but generally I like it. Could have been shorter.

This was very 90s yet somehow also 60s/Beatles-esque.

Typical. Nothin special

The only thing the 1001 curators like more than 70’s AOR seems to be 90’s alt.

Je vais l’oublier illico mais certaines étaient plutôt sympas !

This was very solid — Super Furry Animals, Dandy Warhol vibes — but not very memorable.

6/10 Favorite: If You Want It, Take It

Haven’t listened to these folks. Seems to straddle a bunch of different genres. I’m not sure if I’m loving it, but it did grow on me. Won’t be listening again.

A fine 90s indie album. I listened to it twice, but it’s just kinda there. Nothing really stands out, but it’s also not bad.

Too much weird noises.

Enough bright spots to get a three. A bit of junk, too.

5/10

Mystifying that Oasis are global megastars and these guys are a Brit pop footnote.

Another group with the pasta theory. This time we hear lots of forms of rock: pop, psychedelic, experimental, ethereal, whisper, etc. some pretty good sounds and some rather annoying.

Przyjemne i bardzo nieskomplikowane. Lekka muzyka która wprawia w dobry humor, ale jest zbyt prosta, aby w pełni ją docenić. 6.5/10 równane w dół.

First couple of songs were a disappointment. Wish I was Skinny and Leaves and Sand were tasteful shoegaze Cant say I love them trying reggae shoegaze, but they really went for it all on this album

Alright. Elliot Smith vibes at times.

I enjoyed most of the songs well enough. A high 3 stars, for sure.

This probably requires multiple listens for it to "click." I liked it, but probably won't be listening again.

Not bad. More varied than your typical Brit pop fare including elements of shoegaze and more jangly sounds. A lot too long though.

I kinda liked it Will I listen to again: 22%

Its fine

3.5 Enjoyed the listen but never really latched on to anything, I will try the pina colada angle next time

Again another album that starts with a cool opening track; the first 15 seconds should've probably been its own track so the other 3 quarters of the track can be allowed to shine on its own. Wish I Was Skinny is a bop, incredible instrumentation and the sappy delivery of the lyrics really sells the emotion. The sappyness doesn't hit the same on Leaves and Sand Butterfly McQueen is that real heat

i get some of the feedback of the varied styles on this album -- and the length. however, after listening to it a few runs through there were a number of songs that resonated with me... but as a % of the total album its lower, otherwise this would get a 4

Fun britpop

I didn’t hate it or love it.

My only familiarity with the Boo Radleys was from their cover of "There She Goes" on the So I Married an Axe Murderer soundtrack. I like this! It seems kind of weird to me that these guys are labeled "shoegaze" - this doesn't sound like what I consider shoegaze at all. It seems poppier, more melodic, and janglier, which I like. But I guess maybe not all shoegaze is My Bloody Valentine. It also seems kind of weird to me that a British band would name themselves after a character from To Kill A Mockingbird, but I like it. OK, "Leaves and Sand" I can see being called shoegaze. I get it now. "Thinking of Ways" is beautiful. "Best Lose the Fear" reminded me a LOT of Elliott Smith. I think I would have really loved this if I had listened to it back in 1993-94. I can't quite bring myself to give it 4 stars in 2026, so let's call it a 3.9

OK, but nothing to brag about.

cant remember shit but didn't bother me either

It's always nice to get a complete unknown in today's album selection (with full apologies to those across the pond who revere The Boo Radleys). Although I'm not sure this will become a cult classic for me as it apparently has for many others, I appreciated the larger than expected range in some of the tracks, from fairly straightforward tracks like "Wish I was skinny" (with a decent video) or "Barney (...and me)" (with a decidedly *un*interesting video) to a variety of sonic assaults (like "Leaves and sand", the Beatles-inspired "Thinking of ways", or "Run my way runway"), culminating in their (relatively) big single "Lazarus". I didn't have too many favorites on the too-long album, but I enjoyed "Upon 9th and Fairchild" and "Best lose the fear" more than most. It seems a shame that their label didn't show them much love or attention with this album, but perhaps the executives felt what I did: they're seemingly doing all the right things to have a well-rounded album, but it lacks...something? Maybe it just lacks a soul, although that sounds harsher than I intend (on the other hand, I was particularly disappointed by how vapid a song like "Rodney King" ended up being, and it seemed pretty insulting to name their album after Coltrane's much more famous album, so maybe not *that* harsh).

It’s fine like I like it It’s good but not great 3.3

3.5

ok

Love the cover pretty cool

Högt och lågt

much longer than I wanted, but pretty enjoyable listening overall

had a fun time with this. deeper cut in brit pop. learned a bit about the beatles influence on this genre and now motivated to read more pitchfork and rolling stone album reviews.

This band got by me in 90’s. I would imagine if you attended any engineering school during that time period you listened to this band on college radio. Singer puts me in the mind of Elliot Smith, however this is not that.

Very Britpoppy, but not very catchy. Some nice moments, but overall it lacks interesting melodies and progressions if you ask me. I think the British bias of this list shows in albums like this. Faves: I Hang Suspended, Wish I Was Skinny, Barney (...and Me)

Think this was pretty good? I kinda forgot since I listened.

Me ha gustado y no estaban en mi radar. Distorsión con algo más.

This was interesting, I only know the Boo Radleys for the summery pop song 'Wake Up Boo' but this has quite a different sound considering it only came out 2 years prior to that hit. Much more of a shoegaze / noise rock type vibe with distorted guitars and more lo-fi vocals. Not sure there are enough good tunes to sustain a 64 minute run-time but it's pretty good

I enjoyed this album, although not sure why it deserves a spot on the list.

There’s a really good 35-40 minute album here. This fucker is 64 minutes long, though.

I've never really cared much for shoegaze, but Giant Steps has led me to appreciate it a bit more. I really like how the more average 90's alt rock/britpop sound melds together with the more psychedelic aspects, I definitely think the genre has some potential for me to like it. That being said, I feel like this album definitely isn't making the most of that potential. My biggest issue is that they tried taking the album too far by making it a double album, I really feel like it fell apart at the end. Despite that, there were some very good moments here and there, and "Lazarus" stood out as my favorite from the album. I especially love how psychedelic it sounds, it's really well executed and exemplifies the mix of alt rock and psychedelic rock I mentioned earlier. I also enjoyed "Wish I Was Skinny" to a lesser degree, but other than that, nothing particularly jumped out at me throughout the album. Favorite Song: "Lazarus"

Very interesting sound this album has, the album cover is literally straight outta Summer Of Love, whilst has a very 90s sound with the shoegaze and noise pop elements. Sending mixed signals as the album cover doesn't give a clue or hint on the actual contents; unlike some other albums like Kid A (Radiohead.) Some songs literally take some shoegaze elements to the extreme, like the subdued vocals in "Leaves and Sand." The last 4 tracks were a huge dip in quality, which is unfortunate. Highlight Song/s: "Wish I Was Skinny", "Barney (...and me)" and "Take the Time Around"

Starts surprisingly strong before being bogged down by mediocre songwriting. My guess is that if a BR fanatic made me a comp I would enjoy it. Dunno. Might revisit this one.

This has ambition to spare and a mostly-appealing Britpop sound. I will say I found elements a little tedious or annoying more than once and I couldn’t name a standout track. It’s the rare album I can’t say hit with me but I’m intrigued enough to go back to it again… probably sometime soon. I sense it could be a grower but on first play I don’t know that it justifies its hour+ runtime.

I went to see them once, in Cardiff Uni, when they had that hit single, not a bad show but that was the beginning and end of my interest to be honest. This album is OK but a bit dull.

Pleasant enough, but not essential. I won’t remember any of this in a week, let alone a month.

Pretty average album. The last song was pretty outstanding though. It reminded mit of Spacemen 3.

Never really listened to a lot of The Boo Radleys, this album was OK, it was pretty good. A lot of it felt extremely of its time - not necessarily in a bad way, it was cool and kind of nostalgic. At times they pushed the boat out and got a bit weird, which I enjoyed. But overall nothing really cemented itself in my mind. 3.0/5.0 Best song: Take The Time Around

I didnt mind this, i really wanted to love it, and it kept on threatening to be really good. It sounded a bit like so many things i love, Ween, SFA, Stone Roses, 60s psych, but sort of landed flat with a lot of it. I wouldn't rush to chuck it on again, but i didnt mind it.

Дивний альбом, багато експериментів, частина з яких вдала, частина (на мою думку більша) -- ні

Funky, got better toward the end

definitely an album out of my usual variety, but it was good nonetheless. although i don't have any real issue with the album, i don't really see myself going back to most of the tracks. with that being said, due to the fact that there were so many songs, it was unlikely that i would connect with every song, and they were enjoyable to listen to as a whole work of art. 3 / 5 stars

Funk

Liked this. Never heard these guys before but it’s giving Flaming Lips an Elephant 6 in the early 90’s and I’m here for it! 7/10 Favorite tracks- “I Hang Suspended” “Take the Time Around” Lazarus”

Britti alt rokkia, tulee mieleen elementtejä ehkä sellaisesta varhaisesta Musesta ja Radioheadista. Suht poppeja kappaleita, mut sit niihin on lisätty vahvoja särökitaroita ja muita äänekkäitä synia ja muita soittimia. Tulee myös Oasis mieleen. Parhaat: If You Want It Take It, Lazarus

Random thoughts: * I wanted to like this one so badly but it just didn't match my expectations. I was looking for an album's worth of "There She Goes". I did not find that and instead found a psychedelic 90s album. * I really couldn't get over my expectations. I listened to this one on and off most of last week. I would kind of lose track of the music and then hear some crazy psychedelic sounds and I'd stop and say "whoa, what is this?" * I might need to revisit this one with altered expectations.

Not a great album but there were a few good songs. The vocals were ok. The electronic/psychadelic parts ruined it for me

This was cool. I enjoyed it but nothing amazing hit me.

I feel like I didn’t get this album, I like moments of it, but I was listening to it on and off, feel like I didn’t give it a great shot. Maybe on further listening it would grow on me. Felt really disjointed, but perhaps I was just disjointed.

I enjoy this, but why is this on the list? Best Song: Wish I was Skinny Rating: 6.0/10 Stars: 3

not offensive to the ears

This is another album that suffers the fate of just being too long. It’s very good, there’s a lot of variety, the sounds and influences all work together, most of the songs are well written… there are just some that are a lot stronger than others. And at 17 tracks this could have easily been pared down to something not only more manageable, but also higher quality. This albums could have easily lost 4-6 songs and been great. But because it’s too long and has too much filler material it gets relegated to the land of “good”. It’s kind of a shame really. They really had potential but they over did it.

So many high points on this album yet so little consistency. It feels like every song is standalone and that the band were using this album as an opportunity to try 20 different styles before finding one that sticks. Having said that, the high points are great, and within the chaos I find there are 5-6 absolutely brilliant indie / alternative songs that would easily find their way onto a 90s indie playlist.

Listenable.

Hey look at that, another Britpop album. I'm convinced that's like at least 80% of this list. This one may be a bit less Britpop-y than others but I think it still counts. It's fine. Some cool parts here and there. I felt like the recording was a bit uneven as far as dynamics though - some parts are super loud and other really quiet. It's fine to play with that a little as a band but I hate having to adjust volume while listening to an album. Overall I don't think I'd come back to this one. It wasn't bad, there just wasn't anything that I'd really care to hear again. 2.75/5

Ya 30 minutes de rock très correct dans tout ca. Dommage que l'album dure 1h.

3.5/5

pretty good, only listened to some

This album is a nice surprise. I had never listened to them before but love how ecclectic their sound is. I love how the sound jumps around from Reggae, to some Britpop/Shoegaze, and into some orchestral type sounds that remind me of Mercury Rev. This is one I will come back to at some point to give it the much needed multiple listens. Biggest Hit - Barney (and Me) Biggest Miss (if I had to choose) - One Is For Hidden Gem - If You Want It, Take It

First listen, I did not enjoy. It was just another Britpop band from the mid-90s. However, subsequent listens proved me wrong and I really started to enjoy the sound. A few of the songs really grated me and I either had to skip entirely or miss the end. I liked the songs that I liked, and hated the ones that I hated.

Standouts If You Want it, Take it Best Lose the Fear I've Lost the Reason

3.6

Nicht viel von hängengeblieben, aber kannte ich vorher nicht

Never heard if them, but pretty good, loud party music, or lawn mowing music.

Full of songs with different styles. Closest comparison I can think of is Jesus and Mary Chain. Brit pop, chamber/psychedelic pop, folk, dub, noise rock, all are in there somewhere. Guitars do strange things, horns pop in every once in a while. There are some good ideas, but it really is all over the place, and even if it starts out with a nice groove, there is no guarantee it'll end that way and vice versa. It's like they had to prove they were not like every other band just by sabotaging the good stuff with random noise in every song instead of keeping the noisy stuff all in a few songs and saving the good stuff for other songs. For example Thinking of Ways starts out a very pretty quiet pop song, and then it devolves into an explosion of horn dissonance. Would probably be a 4 or 5 star record, but I have to take off 2 stars for the deliberately off-putting abrasive chunks.

6,7/10

Nice! I hsven't heard anything by this band except "There She Goes" from the "So I Married an Axe Murderer" soundtrack, which is a sweet jangle pop ditty that isn't trying too hard). On this album, The Boo Radleys do try very hard, and are somewhat successful. Muscular riffs contrast with the quaint vocals (which are over-processed on occasion for psychedelic effect), giving this a little enthusiasm that a lot of stuff from the era just needs more of. Good dynamics, excellent musicianship, great sense of pop melody along the lines of XTC or (dare I say) The Jam, a little pretentious, a little long maybe. The standout songs (Lazarus, Wish I Was Skinny, Butterfly McQueen...) sound great. Semi-psychedelic. I especially enjoyed their infusions of dub and noise into the lite-pop. Cool stuff.

Some catchy songs. Probably would listen again.

More harmonic and cohesive than I was expecting, especially after seeing the dreaded "shoegaze" label associated with the album. Well, sort of I guess. Very much avant garde in a sense, as the sounds will deviate from time to time. It wasn't totally unlistenable, but can be a bit jarring at points. I'm not sure how you'd label this, genre-wise.

Decent tracks but some real obsure shit keeps it from anything but a 3 for me.

Cool arrangements and a unique sound. Love the mixing of genres even within tracks. Well done album, especially with a decent set of earphones. Does get a bit long, but at least stays interesting.

Solid, took a minute to get through but enjoyable. 6.3/10

that sure was an album

fairly interesting shoegazey britpop that's at times noisy and grungy. i didn't hate it, but records like this are a dime a dozen on this list. i remember enjoying certain tracks as i listened to them, but couldn't recall what they sounded like now if you had a gun to my head. favorites: i hang suspended, wish i was skinny, leaves and sand, barney and me, spun around, lazarus

Good indie vibes

I only knew their hit song Wake up Boo, which is a happy jangle pop tune, so I wasn't expecting this blend of shoegaze and brit pop. It's alright. Not essential at al, but pleasant to listen to. Should have been shorter. Favorite song: Barney (...and me)

This feels like my thing — like something I should love. But ultimately it’s too long and meandering. I’ll admit I got bored. I also think it’s funny when an album ends, and the rest of an artist’s discography keeps playing, and I don’t even notice the album ended. i.e. the rest of the artist’s discography is indistinguishable from this album. So, what makes this album the one to qualify for this list?

This had some fun upbeat tracks and nice variety but, by the end, it felt like it was running together for me

I listened to it a few days ago and can't remember any of it besides a generally positive impression.

This was a pretty mixed listen for me, but there were a couple moments that stood out. “Upon 9th and Fairchild” had some really nice guitar riffs and a cool reggae feel that worked way better than I expected. “The White Noise Revisited” was another highlight. The outro instantly reminded me of the end of “All You Need Is Love,” trumpet and all, which was a fun surprise. I didn’t dislike the album, it just ran a little too long for me.

Solide Gitarren Musik ohne Wiedererkennungswert

It’s a nice listenable album, it really is. But enough of the largely unremarkable 90s albums.

A decent album, enjoyed some of the psychedelic touches on a few of the tracks

Not bad. Okay

Musical whiplash. nothing on this album really sounds the same but the guitar parts are all nice. 3/5

7/10

Gosh, shoegazing was awful. I know that the editor of the book is British but couldn’t he have left his favourite bands out? This went pretty much nowhere via seventeen songs, and got three stars only thanks to “Thinking of Ways” which was nice.

Shoegaze marathon continues after Loveless yesterday. But this is more like shoegaze-Brit pop-island music-chanting. The best drumming on the album is buried under the guitar heavy mix.

3 stars

Had some nice moments but I don't think it grabbed me enough to listen again.

Interesting

Too long and repetitive, not horrible though.

La verdad que no tengo del todo claro que pienso de este álbum, hay canciones que me gustaron mucho y otras que me parecieron medio una ensalada de conceptos y géneros. Lo sentí poco cohesionado, pero entretenido porque no sabes que esperar. No me veo volviendo a este album tho (3,5) Favs: I Hang Suspended, I Wish I Was Skinny, Lazarus

listening when: in the morning thoughts: ok i only listened to half !! but i did add it to the playlist to go back and listen to. i had this on while i was journaling and honestly forgot it was even on. i liked it and would listen again but need to give it another listen for a proper evaluation. rating: come back for this

I don't know how into this I am but it's not objectionable

Nice. The TIDAL link sends me to the Coltrane classic. Listened to that for a bit before diving into this one. The Boo Radleys Giant Step is also a cool, pleasing experience. I would enjoy this even more if it was a bit shortened and more reigned in. Though, this is another, that if I owned a record store, I would put on for my vinyl shopping patrons.

I think the album can definitely be edited down -- trimming some of its superflous portions. But the core of the album is solid enough to warrant a listen

Interesting album. It's tough to nail down a genre when each song sounds a little bit different. I enjoyed most of it.

In which Shoegaze, Britpop, and Psychedelia are all fused together as one, and not altogether successfully. There are moments where it all comes together, but on the whole, this an overlong, unfocused hot mess – ambitious, interesting and occasionally brilliant, but still a mess nonetheless.

I like it, but it all starts to sound the same. In retrospect it also could be a 100 bands of this time frame.

It's okay but didn't win me over enough to want to give it deeper listens.

Meh. Sounds like every general alt rock band from the early to mid 90’s. Very apathetic and unremarkable.

Two shoegaze albums in a row. yay. I think the thing that bothers me the most about the pioneers in this genre (mbv) is the muffled fuzziness of it all. This band (or this album at least) clears those spiderwebs a bit into a world where I can actually understand what's happening with the music and the lyrics. Despite the fog being lifted though, I still didn't connect with it much. It was fine, but I wasn't blissfully gazing at my feet either.

Nice indie artefact. In the end a bit bland but showing the Boo Radleys were a load more than wake up Boo. 3.4

The Boo Radleys nuzzle into your ears like a rare spotless leopard being hunted by the original cast of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The sheer cheek of them to try and pass this off as a piece of music is both terrifying and arrogant. The disregard for planet earth is deeply disturbing and frankly disgusting and I wish them nothing but pain.

In the pantheon of giants steps, this one isn't up there with that one what that man did on the moon, is it? It's fine.

With better production and mixing this album could be an easy four. 3/ 5

Second rate indie. 3 out of 5

3 estrelles.

This album is like being a college dropout and running into your old school crush. She asks what you are doing with your life these days, and you update her on your work as a builders apprentice. Your heart isn't really into it, but you can smoke weed on the job and it gives you plenty of time to focus on your passion, abstract photography. Your crush shows genuine interest, so you decide 'why the hell not?' and you shoot your shot. She agrees to a coffee. The conversation flows quite well initially, but after a while it becomes painfully obvious that you are no longer the pie-eyed 14 year old that used to crush hard for this girl. Similarly, she realises that you have no passion or direction in life. You go your separate ways. You'll take a photo of a dying rose and print it in black and white to signify this moment. The metaphor doesn't even really make sense, but you don't realise that.

Ok album for sure, not convinced it’s one I “must” hear. Decent pop sensibility, but just not really very interesting to me.

It is pretty good

Yeah. This album is interesting. Kind of boring, kind of fun maybe. I like the shoegaze elements, but they aren't that prevalent. It's really just another British soft rock album that doesn't stand out

***An ok album, some easy listening tracks, some not.

this was alright aye, decent sounding guitars and all the rest but i don’t remember a lot of it

Pretty great in some parts, but drags to a halt in places. Overall, the entire package being over an hour long is entirely unnecessary.

Half as long would have been a factor of many more enjoyable

Fairly middle of the road

Not bad

Had its moments. Fine album

Nice

Pretty good, just overstays its welcome a bit

Not bad, not great.

The album was quite interesting, but I only really liked one track. I probably won't listen to it again. 3/5

I hear a lot of influence on later psych rock bands. I like it! Favorite track: Take the Time Around

The bass tone gave me PIL/Jah Wobble vibes (I like that). I really like how if you dive into thinking about the bass, it is quite prominent. It is there, waiting for you to focus on it

The Good: A clear band name… The Bad: Using “Boo” in said name… The Ugly: When you find out that Radleys is slang for boobs in some distant corner of this here globe… Yeah, I took Giant Steps in creativity right there before. So, album actually started with a bang… but then it slowly started losing me when the music, to my ears, started turning into nothing but noise… Either that, or I starting to lose my mind. Anyway, I might listen to The Boo Boobs again, if I can remember them, though the band name does help. For now, shooting down the center… and to think that I really like boobs...

Not bad but I doubt I'll ever bother looking it up to have a second listen

Nice

Meh

Reminding me of Death Cab For Cutie

Not bad.

I thought this was solid. This album has some interesting production choices, some that work and some that don’t. I just wish it wasn’t an hour long

I don’t know man. It’s not bad.

Some of this I love, some of it I absolutely hate. Sometimes one song has bits I love and bits I hate... that makes it hard to rate.

The writing wasn’t very strong but they had some fun ideas

Музыка: 7/10 Разнообразие: 7/10 Тематика и вайб: 7/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 6/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 8/10 Итог: 7.0

5/10 So this is a good 20mins too long. There is no way they couldn't have found 5 tracks to drop. Of what there is, it is fine, mostly jangly not-as-good-as-they-think-they-are guitar pop. A smidge before my time, but in the lullbefore the Britpop storm this probably sounded better.

Pretty generic 90s college rock. Not especially memorable but not horrible. 2.5/5 #198

Some hits some misses

This album was fine for a listen but it didn’t get me too excited. Solid three out of 5.

No toxic, non engaging.

Oh my God. Just because you can put 90 minutes on a cd doesn't mean you should. If this was edited down to 10-12 songs I think this would have been really tight and they could have gotten some decent hits from what is here. But there is another editing and everything just feels spread too thin.

Love the representation for everyone out there struggling with body image

I dig the time period and the general sound but it didn’t really grab me.

This is I guess what we used to call "college rock", of a particularly anglophonic jangle pop variety... frankly there's not much rock to be had. It's an ambitious collection, with a very British traditional sensibility, they seem to come from the Kinks school, but with a gentle and feminine cast, lots of "sha-la-la"s and "bap-bap-ba"s, and they aspire to a kind of regal Sgt. Pepper / White Album psychedelia, with the English horns and clarinets and phase-drenched passages, but they're also unafraid to make some really confrontational noises with guitar feedback, and there I hear some real pre-figuration of Radiohead in various places. They also touch on those obligatory faux-dub and faux-rave sounds that were making the rounds at the time - down that road lie the Mondays, and further on you have your Inspirals, Soup Dragons, EMF. It all kind of evokes that general era to me. It's not my thing really but I can't say it's unpleasant or poorly constructed, it's quite a nice record.

This is what it sounds like to listen to college student run radio. Some good, some bad. Mostly meh. 3/5

Good album, enjoyed this

too many genre switches, too long, otherwise not bad

Decent, reminiscent of Radiohead.

Better than I expected. As I previously only knew Wake Up Boo, I thought they'd be terribly cheery and bouncy, but they can turn up the distortion when they want to. I especially liked the Rodney King song. The negatives: I'm not mad on the singing; it's a bit long; the more poppy stuff isn't my particular brand of pop; and the more trippy psychedelic parts lost energy. But I loved all the swirly, heavier bits and the dub. There weren't enough of them: I got impatient when the energy dropped. They probably deserve 3 and a half.

crazy underrated actually