Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome - Idolator Comments

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

BeRightBack — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:03:54 EST

Miki was the reason I dyed my hair intense red for the first time. I loved her and this band so very much, especially the album "Gala." Also: one of the most apt band names ever.

Thank you Idolator!

BeRightBack

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

roeblingx — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 01:00:09 EST

i was so in love with miki. one time i saw them and she walked by me about 7 times, each time i froze.
i still listen to them at least once a week. my introduction to them was at lollapolooza in PA, where she immediately called out the frat boys for trying to look up her skirt.

roeblingx

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

blueharv — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:24:45 EST

@jessdolator: Yeah, Miki from Lush was our embodiment of indie-chick hotness back in the early nineties. She's aged well and watching those vids only served to quicken my pulse once again.

blueharv

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Ahh! Jim lad! — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:55:39 EST

Wow. What a cool lady. And great band, too.

Ahh! Jim lad!

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

noamjamski — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:52:16 EST

@maura: I went to both but fucked around too much on day one in that merch village thinking I would be catching both days. Because of that I never saw Soundgarden. Blah.

noamjamski

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

the rich girls are weeping — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:37:30 EST

Oh, Lush. I'll have you know that I spell my "nickname" (because no one actually calls me that...) the way I do in homage to Ms. Berenyi's awesomeness.

Idolator, home to the still-rabid Lush and Sugar fans.

Also,

Recommended If You Like: Curve, Cocteau Twins, the Cure

... Can I get an Amen?

the rich girls are weeping

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Chris Molanphy — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:44:46 EST

I reviewed the beginning-of-the-end Lush album, Split, for CMJ in '94. It really looked like Reprise was putting the Big Push behind them and they were gonna be the next Breeders (in terms of pop crossover, not sound); didn't quite work out that way, of course.

Here's my review -- be kind, I was not quite 23:

LUSH
Split
4AD/Reprise

In its earlier incarnation, Lush's dreamy shoegazer rock was bold but probably too offputting for the masses-the band went relatively unnoticed on the second Lollapalooza tour. Their erstwhile masterwork, 1992's Spooky, pleased a large cult following for whom Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson's wall o' voices satisfied both a Cocteau Twins affection and a rock jones. Hearteningly, Split suggests that Lush may be in for the long haul. The band has discovered that their initially limiting style can actually be stretched into many permutations; each song is truly distinct from its predecessor while still maintaining unmistakable Lushness. The bouncy "Lit Up" follows the dire "Never-Never" facilely, and then "Starlust" comes crashing through with guitars that would've made Mick Ronson proud. Not quite as catchy as Curve on their masterwork Döppelganger, Lush nonetheless know how to work a hook, as on "Lovelife," a shiny, Sundays-like piece of pop. It's hard to say who pushed Lush toward the mainstream. The obvious guess is producer Mike Hedges, whose work with the Cure and Siouxsie suggests a pop sensibility; or maybe it's mixer Alan Moulder, who brought out the best in Billy Corgan's sturm und drang on Siamese Dream. Or it's just possible that Miki and Emma--like Cocteau's Elizabeth Fraser, who recently decided to start singing more intelligibly--realized it was time to let the rest of the world know what all the fuss was about. Well, they have. As Berenyi sings on Split's coda "When I Die," presumably to her growing legion of fans, "I am afraid you're here to stay." Count on it. -Chris Molanphy

Datalog: Release date: June 14. First single "Hypocrite"
File Under: Shoegazer pop.
Recommended If You Like: Curve, Cocteau Twins, the Cure.

Chris Molanphy

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Maura Johnston — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:31:45 EST

@noamjamski: I had a ticket to that show too!! But my parents wouldn't drive me out there until the rain stopped.

Maura Johnston

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Jess Harvell — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:26:45 EST

i still have a planet-sized crush on this woman a decade-plus later.

Jess Harvell

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

noamjamski — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:17:03 EST

Even better, the Jones Beach 1992 stop was two days. On the second day there was torrential rain right after Lush played and the rest of the show was called off. So 10,000 irate jocks with those "Cat in the Hat" hats had Lush as their only experience from that tour.

noamjamski

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

K-milo — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:16:41 EST

I have to say i only learned about Lush this year. The Radio Dept. got me into the shoegaze world... Great band. And i love "Ex" and "Undertow"... A great post.

K-milo

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Nicolars — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:13:13 EST

Is there a band in existence who would feel it a compliment to be compared to Dodgy? And who even wants to remember anything by Hurricane #1?

I love this woman - always have, always will.

Nicolars

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

narymary — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:02:01 EST

I remember seeing Lush perform for Lollapalooza at Great Woods in Massachusetts. I was one of like, 5 people standing up and dancing and whatnot while they played. I was hoping and praying they'd play "De-Luxe" but thinking they might not since it was an older song. Then, for the last song, Miki said "This is for the few of you who came here to see us" and the band launched into "De-Luxe". It was awesome.

narymary

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

MTS — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:57:38 EST

LOVE this band. Criminally overlooked!

MTS

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

Ned Raggett — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:45:27 EST

Just wonderful to see -- and a great band, saw them four times in the early nineties, entertaining shows each time. Thanks for this link -- I did meet her briefly once after a show, and she seemed a very friendly and down to earth soul. More should be like 'em.

Ned Raggett

Lush's Miki Berenyi: Still Awesome

futurehorse — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:45:10 EST

Sadly, all three of their studio albums can be found in the $3.95 bin at any record store (Ciao! still holds some clout). How can this band be that underrated? I will never understand why they and Sugar, the two budget bin staples, aren't more wildly popular.

futurehorse