Cherry Stars Collide Dream Pop, Shoegaze and Ethereal Rock 1986-1995

4CD journey through key tracks, lesser known half-lit gems and sleepy pop nuggets of the 1980s and 90s. Featuring Mazzy Star, AR Kane, Cocteau Twins, Spiritualized, This Mortal Coil, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Bel Canto, Julee Cruise, The Chameleons, Dead Can Dance, Talk Talk, Lush, Low and many more.

During the latter half of the 1980s, a wave of alternative artists began to explore a gentler, more ethereal sound, bringing a dream-like aesthetic to the rock and pop idiom. Taking its lead from the UK (and the 4AD label in particular), this refined approach soon spread, particularly to the United States, slowly picking up the moniker “dream pop” – a catch-all term rather than a genre within itself.

Curated by the same team as our successful Still In A Dream 2016 shoegaze set, Cherry Stars Collide explores that sound as it emerged in the mid-80s and proceeded to define a less grounded, more thoughtful approach to musical expression than was offered elsewhere. Fusing and blending with other genres along the way. – from the guitar driven shoegaze movement and proto-Britpop to the post ‘C-86’ generation and the nascent leftfield clubbing scene – that sound both drew in artists already operating elsewhere and inspired new artists to embark their own journey.

DISC ONE

1 AR Kane – Lollita

2 Frazier Chorus – Sloppy Heart

3 Area – With Louise

4 Louis Phillipe – When I’m An Astronaut

5 The Chameleons – I’ll Remember

6 Dead Can Dance – In The Kingdom Of The Blind The One-Eyed Are Kings

7 14 Iced Bears – Hay Fever

8 Talk Talk – Eden (Edit)

9 Shelleyan Orphan – Tar Baby

10 Ultra Vivid Scene – A Dream Of Love

11 This Mortal Coil – Drugs

12 David Sylvian – Pop Song

13 Julee Cruise – Falling (Twin Peaks Theme)

14 Cocteau Twins – Iceblink Luck

15 Eternal – Sleep

16 The Dream Academy – Love

DISC TWO

1 Lush – Breeze (Gala version)

2 The Wake – English Rain

3 Blow-Up – Heaven Tonight

4 His Name Is Alive – As We Could Ever

5 Penelope’s Web – Lowsun

6 Cranes – Tomorrow’s Tears

7 The Heart Throbs – Kiss Me When I’m Starving

8 Breathless – Over and Over

9 Kitchens Of Distinction – Hypnogogic

10 The Innocence Mission – Evensong

11 The Telescopes – Celeste

12 Secret Shine – Grey Skies

13 The Charlottes – Prayer Song

14 Spirea X – Signed D.C.

15 The Cranberries – Them

16 Drop – Within And Beyond

DISC THREE

1 Spiritualized – Feel So Sad Glides And Chimes

2 The Ocean Blue – Ballerina Out of Control

3 Lycia – Ionia

4 Chapterhouse – Mesmerise

5 The Sweetest Ache – If I Could Shine

6 Levitation – Rosemary Jones (Coppelia Version)

7 For Against - Today Today

8 Red House Painters – Japanese To English

9 Smashing Orange – Strange Young Girls

10 All About Eve – Some Finer Day

11 The Darling Buds – One Thing Leads To Another

12 Sweet Jesus – Your Baby Loves Me (Original Version)

13 The Sundays – God Made Me

14 Love Spirals Downwards – Stir About The Stars

15 Alison’s Halo – Sunshy

16 Insides – Yes

DISC FOUR

1 Mazzy Star – She’s My Baby

2 Bel Canto – Unicorn

3 Swallow – Cherry Stars Collide

4 The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa – Fluidum

5 An April March – All The Flowery

6 Slowdive – In Mind

7 Half String – Sun Less Sea

8 Tse Tse Fly – Dog-Eared

9 St Etienne – California Snow Story

10 Blind Mr Jones – Hey

11 Drugstore – Superglider

12 Pale Saints – Fine Friend

13 Low – Stay

14 Dubstar – Just A Girl She Said

15 Mojave 3 – Where Is The Love

16 This Ascension – August Rain

17 The Autumns – Abbey In An Oak Tree