10 Most Underrated 90s Indie Bands You Need To Listen To

3. Mansun

Mansun didn’t get started until 1995. That said, they wasted no time harnessing an exquisite blend of Britpop, progressive rock, and even post-punk at times on their first two LPs.

1995’s Attack of the Grey Lantern—meant as both a reference to the DC comics superhero and a more confident alter-ego for vocalist/guitarist Paul Draper—made an incredible first impression. In a sense, it combined the symphonic tunefulness of the Beatles and Oasis with the sophisticated spaciness of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree. Two years later, follow-up Six soared to even trickier literary heights.

Sadly, 2000’s Little Kix would be their last studio collection (that is, unless you count 2004’s lengthy hodgepodge of material, Kleptomania). Due to record label interference and other contentious factors, Mansun weren’t happy with how it turned out, so they decided to call it quits in 2003.

In a 2015 chat with XS Noize, Draper comments, “At the end of the day, people always say bands split over musical differences but they never do, it's all to do with money and drugs and all sorts of s**t. It was a disaster that hurt me for a long time.”

What a superb legacy they left behind, though.

Contributor
Contributor

Hey there! Outside of WhatCulture, I'm a former editor at PopMatters and a contributor to Kerrang!, Consequence, PROG, Metal Injection, Loudwire, and more. I've written books about Jethro Tull, Opeth, and Dream Theater and I run a creative arts journal called The Bookends Review. Oh, and I live in Philadelphia and teach academic/creative writing courses at a few colleges/universities.