Lots of albums are stuffed with songs about the feelings shared or otherwise between the players (Rumours being the most famous), but The Charlatans’ third was on the next level. Prior and during the recording of Up To Our Hips the band’s muse-in-chief Rob Collins had been on trial and then jailed for his part as a getaway driver in a Post Office robbery; it could’ve been the end, but instead it provided inspiration.
It was a much needed directional change as well. After the success of their Baggy-influenced debut Some Friendly in 1990 the scene had evaporated post Nevermind – and with the stirrings of Suede and Blur it was clear British guitar pop was quickly establishing a new identity.
Up To Our Hips as a title represented the strife the band collectively felt they were in, but whilst it’s two big hitting tunes Jesus Hairdo and Can’t Get Out Of Bed remain the most memory grabbing, there was plenty of new gristle too, the likes of Feel Flow and Inside Looking Out both inherently jam orientated. Thirty years on, the additional material doesn’t admittedly shed much light on the tense back story, but Up To Our Hips remains a turning point in The Charlatans’ history, one worth revisiting.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 