The Someloves – Something Or Other (Mushroom, 1990)

 

The Someloves were spearheaded by Dom Mariani and Darryl Mather, who were also members of two other (now legendary) Australian garage revival outfits, The Stems and The Lime Spiders. Following the dissolution of The Stems, Mariani formed the new band with Mather.

In 1989, Mushroom Records allocated a budget of $60,000 for an album. Most of the recordings took place at Planet Studios in Perth with various musicians, including Robbie Scorer on drums, Tony Italiano on bass, and Mitch and Angie Easter on guitars and keyboards respectively. The resulting album, Something or Other, was released in 1990.

The Someloves' sole LP is one of the greatest lost power pop masterpieces of the modern era — words like 'jangly', 'chiming' and 'hook-filled' don't even begin to do it justice. Although the album was originally released to unanimous critical acclaim, the band refused to perform live. As a result, the label dropped them, which essentially killed the band and drove a wedge between the two friends.

The production (with overdubs and mixing done at Mitch Easter's studio) is more layered and nuanced than many such releases, occasionally, it evokes the sounds of a more indie pop-oriented Big Star. It would have been a hit. But it wasn't. This means it is mainly (sadly) appealing to the power pop cult. Whatever...