10 Rock Albums That Invented Entire Genres
7. The La's - The La's
The British indie scene had hit a bit of a dry spell at the end of the ‘80s. In the wake of the Smiths breaking up, it looked like the tide was shifting to the Sunset Strip overseas, with bands that were looking to tease their hair and sing about partying all night long. Just before the new generation came through, The La’s had something a lot more radio friendly than their peers.
That is…nowadays. While The La’s debut might be a classic, vocalist Lee Mavers absolutely hated the results and tried his best to downplay what he had made. After the wave of grunge came and went at the start of the ‘90s though, Mavers’ words were an inspiration to the Britpop scene coming out at the time, with Noel Gallagher of Oasis confessing himself as a fan and modeling his entire aesthetic after them.
By that point, The La’s didn’t have time to enjoy it, with John Power leaving the band to form Cast and Mavers diving into the studio rabbit hole and eventually going into hermit-like seclusion. The La’s could have easily been the kings of the Britpop movement…they just happened to release their masterpiece 5 years too early.