Lemonheads’ seminal album ‘It’s A Shame About Ray’,

lovingly reissued for its 30th Anniversary. Reissue includes a slew of

extra material, including an unreleased ‘My Drug Buddy’ KCRW session

track from 1992 featuring Juliana Hatfield, B-sides from singles ‘It’s A

Shame About Ray’ and ‘Confetti’, a track from the ‘Mrs. Robinson/Being

Round’ EP, alongside demos that will be released for the first time on

vinyl. This reissue celebrates their prestigious fifth album, these

deluxe bookback editions feature new liner notes and unseen photos.

‘It's A Shame About Ray’ had a considerable impact back in those heady,

carefree days of '92, the record perfectly captures Dando’s ability to

effortlessly encapsulate teenage longing and lust over the course of a

two-minute pop song.

Singles such as 'My Drug Buddy' and the breezy perfect pop of the title

track might stand out (plus the add-on of 'Mrs. Robinson' which later

copies included), but the album's real strength lies in the tracks

in-between; the truly fantastic 'Confetti' (written about Evan's

parents' divorce), and the eye-wateringly casual acoustic cover of

'Frank Mills' (from the "hippie" musical Hair), a version that seems to

resonate with every ounce of pathos and emotion felt for the lost 1960s

generation. To hear Evan Dando sing lines like 'I love him/but it

embarrasses me/To walk down the street with him/He lives in Brooklyn

somewhere/And he wears his white crash helmet' is to truly appreciate

how wonderful and tantalising pop music can be. Then, there's the rush

of insurgency and brattishness on the wonderfully truncated 'Bit Part';

the topsy-turvy 'Ceiling Fan In My Spoon'... this was male teenage

skinny-tie pop music on a level with The Kinks, early Undertones,

Wipers.