Geneva

Drawing from the sounds of Suede and the Smiths alongside the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful, Geneva established a singular and unconventional place within the late-'90s British indie-rock landscape that followed Brit-pop.

The group came together in Aberdeen, Scotland, during 1992 after vocalist Andrew Montgomery and guitarist Steven Dora connected and started composing material. At the time Montgomery held a position as a journalist with the Sunday Post, while Dora pursued studies in marine biology at university; neither had prior band experience. They later added guitarist Stuart Evans and bassist Keith Graham, and after experimenting with a drum machine they brought in Douglas Caskie on drums. The musicians rehearsed under the name Sunfish, mixing original songs with '60s folk-rock standards, and began performing in Scottish clubs from 1992 onward. Enthusiasm faded over the following year, leading them to cease mailing out demos, yet they persisted with live shows and developed fresher, more personal songs that helped secure a London performance. One of the newer recordings reached Nude Records, prompting the label to sign the band after attending a single rehearsal session. With the name change from Sunfish to Geneva complete, the group issued its first single, "No One Speaks," to notable acclaim in the second half of 1996. Early the next year "Into the Blue" appeared, at which point factions within the UK weekly music press either championed Geneva or dismissed the act as artificially assembled.

Further, the band's debut full-length album, surfaced in the first part of summer 1997. Three years afterward came the follow-up effort, Weather Underground.