The Vaselines - Enter the Vaselines

Rating:

* * * *

Verdict:

Rebirth of essential recordings by Nirvana-endorsed Scots.

The Vaselines made music that was lean, deadbeat and raw - no wonder Kurt Cobain loved the Scottish band so much. Nirvana covered three of their songs:

Son of a Gun

and

Molly's Lips

on 1992's

Insecticide

, and

Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam

from 1994's live

MTV Unplugged

album.

This two-disc collection released by Seattle label Sub Pop includes the originals of those songs and is made up of the Vaselines EPs

Son of a Gun

and

Dying for It

, their sole album,

Dum-Dum

, as well as demos and live recordings.

The Vaselines were formed in Glasgow by Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee in 1986 but it was all over in four short years (apart from a few reunions, most recently for a string of shows last month).

Right from the opening sonic fuzz and ratatat beat of first track

Son Of A Gun

you know you're in for something special. Always spare, quite often noisy and bratty, and often, like on

Bitch

, there are no beats just a mix of steely and dulcet strums, and McKee's cute cooing making a perfect compliment to Kelly's cool-kid drone.

For those who knew of this band before now, you can count yourself as pretty cool, and for those unfamiliar, this is a must-have collection that's sure to reinforce your coolness.

Scott Kara