There is a much-welcomed current fascination with music from the 1990s thanks to a current crop of new bands. An appreciation of Shoegaze from a slew of young bands that were not even born by the time My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Ride had already broken up the first time, has led to a revival of the genre; Olivia Rodrigo, the former Disney star, tapped The Breeders to open her latest tour; and Gen Z seems to have embraced everyone from Third Eye Blind to Weezer with a zeal that you’d think they were the first generation to discover these bands.
Given that setting, Chris Milam’s latest, Orchid South, is quite possibly the best late late ’80s/’early ‘90s love letter to come out so far this year. Sounding like a mix between Tom Petty, Pleased To Meet Me-era The Replacements, and Alex Chilton (in both his Big Star prime and beyond), the album is all horns, guitars, and choruses that stay with you for days.
“This is the album I’ve wanted to make since I picked up a guitar. It’s about my teenage years, but it’s also written from a teenager’s perspective: the stories, sights, sounds, and music I experienced as a kid growing up in Memphis, Milam said, talking recently about his first record in four years.
Those trademark Memphis horns are all over this record. You can hear them on songs like “Cut Myself Shaving,” which contrasts the horns nicely with big power chords, and on “Celebrity Now” and “Out.” They are even layered onto a stellar cover of Phantom Planet’s “Always On My Mind,” tucked into the middle of the record. While not a ‘90s song, it holds the same power pop spirit, and Milam manages to pull off the rare feat of turning in a cover that eclipses the original.
The opening title track sounds a bit like Gin Blossoms mixed with R.E.M., and “Almost Gone” boasts a brilliant mix of muscular guitars, hard-hitting drums, and remarkably sweet harmonies. The slower moments—and there aren’t many—like “Bad Dream,” the dreamy “Underwater,” and album closer “Song of the Summer,” while not fun, are just as powerful.
With Orchid South, Milam manages to pull off a nostalgic album that somehow manages to still sound modern. It shows an appreciation for a slew of musicians and bands without coming across like a tribute record. Long live the ‘90s!
