The Belltower

The Belltower were something of an anomaly in the early '90s, a shoegaze band from the U.S. But calling them a shoegaze band would be somewhat limiting, given the strength of vocalist Britta Philllips' voice. Most shoegaze bands buried their vocals in washes of guitar fuzz; this is where the Belltower differed, existing as more of a proper pop band.

Co-founding members <a href="spotify:artist:6VWHWGvsfZm3cOsRCOqwq6">Phillips</a> (also known as the voice of Jem on the '80s cartoon of the same name) and <a href="spotify:artist:4ZuSMUWpsVCEJSOHy9yD2q">Jody Porter</a> moved the band from New York City to London in 1990 and began issuing their material on the independent Ultimate label. The Terry Bickers (<a href="spotify:artist:4tfyTbsNNN5xfxKDwG4VfP">House of Love</a>)-produced Exploration Day single was hailed as NME's single of the week upon release, paving the way for a couple more anticipated singles (In Hollow and Flight) and the full-length Popdropper, released on Ultimate in the U.K. and East/West in the U.S.

Following some personnel shakeups, the Belltower headed back to New York. After a stint with future <a href="spotify:artist:2TpNrO0G2ahji2IOR94TLA">Ivy</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1pgtr4nhBQjp9oCUBPyYWh">Fountains of Wayne</a> member <a href="spotify:artist:2rO9L8VYkT25Ira3hCRw9d">Adam Schlesinger</a> on bass, the band moved to South Carolina and released a 1994 single on Scratchie, Underwatertown. By 1996, the Belltower had dissolved. Porter went on to help out with Schlesinger in <a href="spotify:artist:1pgtr4nhBQjp9oCUBPyYWh">Fountains of Wayne</a> and formed Astrojet, while <a href="spotify:artist:6VWHWGvsfZm3cOsRCOqwq6">Phillips</a>' later involvements included Ultrababyfat and <a href="spotify:artist:2AACqFGo8offvHCKGvrWxq">Luna</a>, in addition to a stretch playing with <a href="spotify:artist:06y1hH4hu3rcTUXHJevPCf">Ben Lee</a>. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi