'90s Music Obscura Thread: The Unheralded Ladies of Alternative Music Edition

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The Spinanes were an American indie rock band, primarily active during the 1990s.[1] The band was founded by and initially consisted only of singer-songwriter/guitarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf.[1][2] They released three albums on the Sub Pop label before Gates retired the name in 2001 and began releasing music as a solo artist;[2] Plouf began playing with Built to Spill in 1996 and left The Spinanes shortly thereafter to become their permanent drummer.[1]

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The duo formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1991,[1] just as worldwide interest in the music scene of the Pacific Northwest was beginning to crest. The Spinanes played one of their first shows at the International Pop Underground Convention in August 1991 in Olympia, Washington.[3] After releasing two singles on the local label IMP Records in 1992, they were signed by Sub Pop, who issued the single "Spitfire" in mid-1993, followed that October by their first full-length album, Manos.[1] Much was made of The Spinanes' unorthodox lineup – specifically, the lack of bass guitar – but it proved invaluable in helping them forge a more singular, original sound. In a March 2010 review, nearly two decades after the album's release, eMusic praised them for having "a sense of negative space that's rare for a rock band", then went on to describe their sound as "Gates's dreamy murmur and resonant, open-tuned riffs up top, Plouf's inexorable attack at the bottom, and nothing but air between them."

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