Catherine Wheel

One of the first bands to openly and fully embrace the first wave of British shoegazer acts such as My Bloody Valentine and House of Love, Catherine Wheel expertly mixed those bands' atmospheric guitar swirls with a bombastic, alternative rock crunch. During its decade-long run, Catherine Wheel experienced a respectable amount of success in both the U.K. and the United States, scoring their biggest hit stateside with the grungy album HAPPY DAYS. Though not as critically acclaimed as other contemporaneous British guitar bands, Catherine Wheel have proven to be a quietly respected act within '90s British alt-rock.

• rock
• pop