Hometown: New York, NY
Year Formed: 1987

Members:
Dean Wareham - guitar, vocals
Damon Krukowski - drums, percussion
Naomi Yang - bass, vocals

Bands In The Family:
Luna, Damon & Naomi

Notes:
Galaxie 500 formed among friends in a Manhattan apartment in 1987. They released a few singles and then an album, Today on Aurora in 1988, before signing with Rough Trade in 1989. The On Fire LP was their creative breakthrough, and the band started to attract critical raves and a growing following in the U.K. This Is Our Music slotted between two EP releases, also on Rough Trade. Unfourtunately, Rough Trade U.S.'s collapse coincided with the demise of the band, with Damon Krukowski actually buying the band's royalty rights at an auction of Rough Trade's assets. Dean Wareham carried on with the more successful Luna.

Links:
Blue Thunder
Vote for your fave 500 song.

But "Hearing Voices" slows things down, and Dean Wareham's voice starts to sound fragile instead of nasal. The vibe gets darker, the sound more dense, and suddenly they're on stride, easily exceeding the sum of their parts. On "Spook," "Summertime" and "Sorry," Galaxie 500 settle into a groove that's compelling and emotional and entirely theirs. Suddenly, This Is Our Music is living up to its title: precious, personal and distinctive.

Sometimes Wareham will give a wink, lead the band into one of its patented instrumental outtros, and raise the stakes a notch. A blast of Hendrix from his guitar, a Leroy Sibbles pedal from Naomi Yang's bass, and Galaxie 500 have left the building. When they go off, they can even make a Yoko Ono song ("Listen, The Snow Is Falling") sound fantastic. Now that's special.

If you like Galaxie 500, check out:
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground and Nico
Luna Days of Our Nights
Low Secret Name
The Dirty Three Horse Stories

-- jf