Album Review #100: Lustra (Echobelly)
ECHOBELLY
LUSTRA
1997-EPIC
Produced By GIL NORTON
- Bulldog Baby
- I'm Not A Saint
- Here Comes The Big Rush
- Iris Art
- The World Is Flat
- Everyone Knows Better
- Wired On
- O
- Bleed
- Paradise
- Angel B
- Lustra
- Heroes In June
- Mouth Almighty
- Drive Myself Distracted
- Falling Flame
- Holding The Wire
After their first two albums reached the British top 10, Echobelly released Lustra in 1997. The release came amid health problems (a life threatening thyroid problem for singer Sonya Madan), personnel changes (guitarist Debbie Smith left after the recording, and is not pictured or credited on the album), and legal issues with their label. The album, and the single "The World Is Flat", sold poorly, sending the band into a four year hiatus and taking them pretty much off the radar as one of England's bright lights.
Which is too bad. Because Lustra is actually a very fine album. It's very long at 17 tracks, but it's also loaded with great songs and great hooks. Madan, who is from India and never even saw a rock show until she was in college, soars above the heaviness of the band. You can pretty much pick any track from Lustra and it gets your attention. Their first two albums got most of the press, but Lustra as a whole is better. A lost gem of the 90's.
This is album #100 in an ongoing series.
This post was shared in the Curation Collective Discord community for curators, and upvoted and resteemed by the @c-squared community account after manual review.
Hey that is a cool song, great way to describe her voice as soaring above the heaviness of the band - nice crunchy guitars and driving music and her carefully enunciated words and controlled vocals are a very interesting contrast. I had not heard of this band before - thanks!
Awesome. Glad I could help you find something you like!