Fretblanket - Home Truths From Abroad (1997)

Inspired by bands like Ride, the Wedding Present, and Swervedriver, Fretblanket hails from the small midland U.K. town of Stourbridge. The four members -- Matt Carey (drums), Will Copley (vocals/guitar), Clive Powell (guitar/vocals), and Dave Allsopp (bass) -- met as schoolboys around 1987. After signing to the American-based Polygram Records in 1993, Fretblanket debuted with Junkfuel one year later. Home Truths From Abroad followed in 1997. Although their sophomore effort had more polish, both albums fall into a predictable style of post-grunge: raw but melodic. Comparisons immediately call bands like Bush to mind. MTV's short-lived 12 Angry Viewers awarded high ratings to "Into the Ocean," the first single from Home Truths. But the video fell out of heavy rotation and Fretblanket, further troubled by label issues, quietly slipped back to Stourbridge.