Galaxie 500

Galaxie 500's dusted Boston dream-pop was one of the most influential sounds to emerge from the '80s rock underground. The band took off from reference points such as the usual third albums (Velvets, Big Star) and early New Order for a sound that was seductively drowsy and intimate: Dean Wareham's quavery voice and sparse guitar, Naomi Yang's reverberating bass, and Damon Krukowski's decidedly unrocking drums. Their excellent summer-of-'88 de-but single "Tugboat"/"King of Spain" was a foretaste of Today, which featured "Temperature's Rising" and a cover of Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste." But the Galaxie 500 sound really came together in the chamomile psychedelia of On Fire, their best album by far. The band hit a songwriting roll with moody ballads such as "Blue Thunder," "Tell Me," and "Strange." Yang sang haunting vocals on "Another Day," while "Leave the Planet" actually kinda rocked in that if-only-I-could-get-off-the-couch sort of way. The sound was lighter than air but melodically rich enough to float around your head, making On Fire an album that holds up -- definitely one to break out every April.

This Is Our Music wasn't as strong as On Fire, with thinner melodies and an awful title, but it has worn well. Despite the excellence of songs such as "Fourth of July" and "Summertime," you can hear the trio competing for attention: There's only so long you can simmer before you either come to a boil or cool off. The band split acrimoniously, with boiler Wareham departing for Luna and the other two recording simmery albums as Damon & Naomi and Magic Hour. They also began a useful publishing venture, Exact Change Press, reprinting modernist classics such as Gertrude Stein's Everybody's Autobiography. Copenhagen documents a late-1990 gig, with some tasty guitar bits. As Galaxie 500's posthumous cult kept growing, Rykodisc reissued the original albums as well as a well-packaged complete-works box. It has an entire disc of uncollected material, including the B-side cover of New Order's "Ceremony," always a live favorite. The previously unreleased "The Other Side," an acoustic groover sung by Yang, stands as one of the most beautiful songs Galaxie 500 ever recorded. (ROB SHEFFIELD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide