Up To Our Hips

Suburban Manchester's Charlatans U.K. were originally pegged as Madchester wannabes on the basis of their 1990 hit "The Only One I Know". But this quintet was smart enough not to fall into too readily definable a sub-genre. Charlatans U.K. were therefore able to stick around long after the Madchester sound was a distant memory recalled through an Ecstasy hangover. more...

1994's UP TO OUR HIPS even finds the group abandoning its trademark: Rob Collins' Jimmy Smith-style Hammond organ grooves. Not by design, mind you-- Collins was in jail on robbery charges during the sessions for this third album. Produced by ex-Gong member Steve Hillage, UP TO OUR HIPS has a laid-back and distinctly American flavour not at all unlike the blues-rock-influenced albums Primal Scream and the Stone Roses were creating at the same time. The style fits the Charlatans much better, however, and Tim Burgess' lazy voice sounds perfectly at home in the downright grooving title track.

Musician (5/94, p.71)
- "...UP TO OUR HIPS is fully lathered and inviting; unlike many commercial `alternative' bands, the Charlatans have learned to make their instruments sweat (and groove)
while churning out MTV-ready hooks...."