Bis – I Love Bis

A welcome look back at pioneering indie...

At the risk of sounding about a hundred years old, the concept of "indie music" means practically nothing these days. Indie is just another genre to be sold, a convenient shorthand for something with guitars that isn't rock. In the 21st century, it certainly doesn't correlate with the spirit of independence and self-sufficiency.

The slow death of indie becomes all that more apparent – and tragic – when you listen to something like 'I Love Bis'; a collection of the mid-1990s EPs from Scottish indie pop heroes, Bis. The trio of John Disco, Sci-Fi Steven and Manda Rin combined the frenetic, scorching energy of riot grrrl with elements of rave, baggy and punk. Basically, anything that was pushing boundaries in the pre-Britpop days, Bis were on top of it, and most likely playing it at breakneck speed.

Songs like 'Kill Yr Boyfriend', 'Kandy Pop' and 'Teen-C Power' may be two decades old now, but they still bristle with an energy and enthusiasm that's hugely infectious and fun. If punk's true legacy was to make people get out there and form their own bands, a visit to Bis's back catalogue could well have the same effect.

There's a camaraderie, an edge and an attitude present throughout 'I Love Bis' that's all too lacking in music today. How you take to the collection may depend on your personal tolerance to indie pop, and how prepared you are to listen to songs with titles like 'Icky-Poo Air Raid', but 'I Love Bis' is a timely reminder of what indie really is.

8/10

Words: Joe Rivers

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