Shivering Spines

Shivering Spines was a Swedish indie rock band from Jönköping, active from 1988 to 1993. They won PolyGram's Rock Band of the Year for 1990 and had a top-40 single, "Heaven Is...", in 1992.

History

Shivering Spines was formed in 1988. The initial line-up was Fredrik "Fido" Johansson (drums), Pelle Gustafsson (vocals), Dan Jälmeborg and Sven-Åke Svensson (bass);[1] Svensson and Jälmeborg were veterans of a punk band, Pöbel Möbel, which had formed on the Råslätt housing estate in Jönköping.[2][3][4] Johansson, also formerly of Pöbel Möbel, soon moved to the US, and was replaced by Johan Häll on drums and Janne (Jannicke) Meijner, also a punker, on guitar.[1][3][4]

For their 1989 debut single, on Tilt Records, they released a video for the A-side, "Desert Hum"; some members of the band were in the media track at Södra Vätterbygdens folkhögskola.[1] "Desert Hum" was called "cowboy rock" by one rock writer,[4] but also showed influences from Irish folk music.[5] In early 1990 they released a second single, "Judas Kiss", also on Tilt Records,[1][3][4] praised in one rock magazine as "hit[ting] the mark squarely".[6] The song "Judas Kiss" is included on the compilation album The Swedish Stand 1990.[7]

The band was named "Rock Band of the Year" in 1990 by PolyGram,[3][4] after which they gained wider recognition in Sweden, performing at a prominent club in Stockholm and at festivals including Dala-Rock and the Hultsfred Festival.[1] The award came with a deal to record a single; after hearing nothing further, Shivering Spines eventually sent in "Heaven Is..." and a second song, but PolyGram were unenthusiastic.[3] Released in 1992, the single peaked at number 36 in the Swedish singles chart.[8]

In 1993, they released their debut album, Garlic Escargots, on Brimstone.[1][3] The album showed their eclecticism, including a cover of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and other songs blending pop and folk with rock; Jälmeborg played mandolin as well as guitar.[3][9] "Repulsion", which comes close to grunge,[3] was recorded in 1992 live at a club in Jönköping and includes Gustafsson auctioning off a watch.[1]

The album was well received, but Shivering Spines broke up later in 1993.[1][5] Häll has since been in several bands including Hellspray.[10][11]

Discography

Desert Hum / Power (7", Tilt Records, Spines 001, 1989)

Judas Kiss / Pros and Cons of Convertible Homes (7", Tilt Records, Spines 002, 1990)

Live Kulturhuset 14 sept-91 (MC, Tilt Records, Spines 003, 1991)

Heaven is... / The Night Before Today (7"/CD, PolyGram, 866750-7, 1992)

Garlic Escargots (CD, Brimstone Production, BRCD 9301, 1993)

Videos

Desert Hum (1989)

Heaven is... (1992)

December Live (1992) (live from Kåren in Jönköping, Brimstone Production, BRVD 9212)

Lying Awake (1993) (from Garlic Escargots, Brimstone Production, BRVD 9306)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Shivering Spines". Rockarkivet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Pöbel Möbel". B-sound (in Swedish). 4 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Gunnar Hagberg (1993). "Shivering Spines: Gourmetpop från Jönköping". Sound Affects (in Swedish). Vol. 20. Retrieved 4 July 2025 – via Blaskoteket, 18 January 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e Andréas Nyberg (January 1990). "Shivering Spines". New Kind of Kick (interview) (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 July 2025 – via Blaskoteket, 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b Olle (10 October 2015). "Irländsk folkmusik och ökendamm". The Musical Box (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 November 2023.
  6. ^ Patrik Kenth (January 1990). "Shivering Spines—'Judas Kiss'". New Kind of Kick (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 July 2025 – via Blaskoteket, 9 August 2023. Debuten 'Desert Hum' var en hyfsad debutsingel, varken mer eller mindre. Det nya alstret däremot, träffar mitt i prick.
  7. ^ "The Swedish Stand 1990 (1990)". Swedish Hard n' Heavy Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Shivering Spines - Heaven Is". Swedish Charts. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  9. ^ Terry Ericsson (1993). "Album: Shivering Spines—Garlic Escargots". Pop (in Swedish). Vol. 4 – via Tidskriften Pop Revisited, 13 July 2012. när de på 'Red Raincoat' lyckas baka in Skäggmanslaget, en jig, Queens 'Killer Queen' och Jellyfish i en och samma pirog ...
  10. ^ "Artist bio: Hellspray". ReverbNation. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Venture". Swedish Hard n' Heavy Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.