Sunburst

Chapterhouse’s 1990 Sunburst EP was originally only available as tour merchandise: fans either bought it for five bucks at concerts or later paid though the nose via eBay. More than 20 years later, it’s available for a lower price as a digital download. Sunburst opens with an alternate version of “Something More." The version that appears on Chapterhouse's 1991 debut album, Whirlpool, was mixed with an ethereal ambience thanks to producer Robin Guthrie, who imported some of his undulating Cocteau Twins guitar shimmer. But this earlier version features much rawer-sounding guitars and a harder attack in the refrain; you can almost hear the click of the distortion boxes from verse to chorus. With howling six-string leads and fluff-on-the-needle vocals, the following “Satin Safe” sounds touched by the hand of My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields. But the EP's standout gem is a b-side cover of The Beatles’ “Rain”: a testament to the Spacemen 3 generation’s credo that the ‘90s were just the ‘60s turned on its head. “Feel the Same” is a shoegaze lullaby.