Sixpence None The Richer This Beautiful Mess 2LP (Red & White Vinyl)

A few years before their single "Kiss Me" took over the airwaves, Sixpence None the Richer released their sophomore album, This Beautiful Mess, in 1995. While Sixpence is known primarily as a Top 40 Radio pop group, This Beautiful Mess shows off their more aggressive rock side. The album was critically acclaimed, and tracks "Within A Room Somewhere" and "I Can't Explain" were popular radio singles.

Producer Armand Petri (10,000 Maniacs, Goo Goo Dolls) calls it "One of my favorite albums that I have done." Songwriter, guitarist and cellist Matt Slocum calls the five-piece lineup at the time the first "permanent" band of Sixpence's early years. Unlike Sixpence's prior work, the album was largely written on the road, with the band touring relentlessly at the time.

Slocum credits the sound of This Beautiful Mess to the diverse tastes of the band members, and the amount of time they spent in their van listening to Smashing Pumpkins, The Posies, Jeff Buckley, Sunny Day Real Estate, My Bloody Valentine and Sugar. Vocalist Leigh Nash says, "The dynamic at the time between members musically was great. I think the sum of everyone's influences at the time made for a harder sound."

Lost in Ohio, with the assistance of Slocum, is please to be reissuing this important album on Red & White double vinyl. The album has received a wonderful analog remaster from Adam Boose at Cauliflower Audio. It is presented in a gatefold jacket, includes a fold-out lyric insert, and features never-before-seen photos of the band provided by photographer Ben Pearson. The original cover painting has been tracked down and freshly photographed, and looks absolutely stunning. The release includes thoughtful liner notes from NPR Music's Lars Gotrich.

For Sixpence fans who only know the band by their later hits, this promises to offer an insight into the band's early formative sound. For longtime fans of this album, the reissue provides stunning new visuals and a unique listening experience.

Sixpence None The Richer would finally crossover from the CCM world with 'Kiss Me,' but it's a wonder that the group didn't find footing in the mainstream a few years earlier with their second album This Beautiful Mess. The record had all the dreampop trappings - dynamic guitar work, the delicate yet potent vocals of Leigh Nash, the rhythm section's fluid yet firm foundation - to comfortably slip into alt-rock radio playlists alongside The Sundays, Mazzy Star and Lush. But at the time Beautiful was released in 1995, the lines separating genres were more firmly drawn and fiercely guarded. Meaning scores of secular fans missed out on a true pearl of the era. The double-edged sword of Sixpence being considered a one-hit wonder may harm the chances of this album getting its due, but real ones know and folks ready to take the leap with this album will be richly rewarded.