Released: 1995
There used to be a story told about Gene singer Martin Rossiter that he would ring up radio stations and pretend to be Morrissey. It's probably not true, but it says something about the perception that people had for Gene wanting to be like The Smiths.
That said, there are many worse bands you could want to be like, and Gene did a pretty good job on channeling The Smiths on their debut album, even having a Smiths-like cover picture.
Sounding more like latter-day rather than the earlier jingle-jangle Smiths, the comparisons are obvious, from the sound, look and lyrics. that said, this is a very good album, and rises above the comparisons to be a good album in its own right, rather than just a poor pastiche.
'Haunted By You', 'London, Can You Wait?' and 'Olympian' are the standout songs in a consistently good album, let down only by a few of the slower songs that verge on the mediocre.
Even though Morrissey and The Smiths were a massive influence on Britpop, Gene were probably the only notable band of the time where the influence was so obvious, and it did mean that Gene carved out their own little niche in the Britpop era, and had a small, but committed following.
However, like a lot of Britpop bands, there was diminishing returns from the band after their debut album, with subsequent albums getting gradually worse, and not being worth a listen. This, though, is very good and is definitely worth checking out.
That said, there are many worse bands you could want to be like, and Gene did a pretty good job on channeling The Smiths on their debut album, even having a Smiths-like cover picture.
Sounding more like latter-day rather than the earlier jingle-jangle Smiths, the comparisons are obvious, from the sound, look and lyrics. that said, this is a very good album, and rises above the comparisons to be a good album in its own right, rather than just a poor pastiche.
'Haunted By You', 'London, Can You Wait?' and 'Olympian' are the standout songs in a consistently good album, let down only by a few of the slower songs that verge on the mediocre.
Even though Morrissey and The Smiths were a massive influence on Britpop, Gene were probably the only notable band of the time where the influence was so obvious, and it did mean that Gene carved out their own little niche in the Britpop era, and had a small, but committed following.
However, like a lot of Britpop bands, there was diminishing returns from the band after their debut album, with subsequent albums getting gradually worse, and not being worth a listen. This, though, is very good and is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: 4/5
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