10 Best 1990s Alt-Rock Albums You Need To Hear

4. The Lemonheads - It’s A Shame About Ray (1992)

Released in the wake of Nirvana’s Nevermind, The Lemonheads used It’s a Shame About Ray to transfer away from the grunge-lite they’d been making and instead turn to perfect guitar pop.

This 1992 The Lemonheads record is tight and taut, it clocks in at just under 30 minutes and features 12 songs distilled to their poppiest and often airiest. The band contrast jangly guitar lines with tales of drug use, separation and depression, it’s important and honest without ever seeming too much. The record is packed with the colourful personalities that had impacted frontman Evan Dando over the years, it’s brimming with fascination and charm.

Before this point in The Lemonheads’ career, the band were known for their gorgeous frontman and simply falling short of the mark with their music, however It’s a Shame About Ray carved out the band’s corner of alternative rock. The album took the darker edge of grunge and fused it with accessible, instantaneous melody.

Moreover, It’s a Shame About Ray managed to perfectly capture Dando’s troubles and heart within the confines of perfectly crafted music.