June 8, 1993
Urge Overkill's crash-and-burn was one of the saddest stories of the '90s alt-rock explosion, but 1993's Saturation was their great moment of flashy glory before things went sour. While their early albums made them sound like a canny parody of a '70s arena rock band, Saturation was where they gained the skills and production smarts to become the sort of band they pretended to be, and its roar and swagger made this album a masterpiece.
1994
UK ambient rock project Flying Saucer Attack branished themselves "rural psychedelia" on their first full length. The album's glowing, pastoral drones and waves of deeply buried organic instrumentation make good on this description, stretching out expansively as the songs slowly evolve. The unexpectedly faithful Suede cover shakes up the otherwise tranquil proceedings, but is a nice diversion from the rest of the album's pleasantly drowsy shoegaze excursions.
