Biography
Caroline Finch, responsible for vocals and guitar, first crossed paths with guitarist Paul Jones in 1991 while both were employed at a store on London's Kings Road. Three years passed before the pair began composing material and performing together. Dave Nice, a friend of Finch's, was added on drums several months afterward. Bassist Emma Tornaro, whom the musicians had met at the 1994 Phoenix Festival, completed the lineup in February 1995. The name Linoleum was picked solely for its sonic qualities. Finch remarked, "We think it suits the band because we're not what we appear to be at first glance. And linoleum is like that."
CMO, the management company that also represented Blur and Elastica, signed the band toward the end of 1995. Linoleum launched its own imprint, Lino Vinyl, to issue the debut 7-inch "Dissent/Twisted," which was tracked in January 1996. The single, limited to 1,000 copies whose sleeves were constructed from linoleum, sold out within three days. A second release, "Smear," followed in July 1996; capped at 1,500 copies, it likewise disappeared in short order. DGC Records secured the group later that year, and the debut album Dissent was recorded with producers Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, whose prior credits included Radiohead and the Pixies.
Linoleum's style alternates between intensity and calm. Some pieces feel jagged and unsettling, while others drift into soft, immersive textures. Finch's skeptical words, delivered through her removed vocal approach, evoke paranoia, alienation, and disillusionment, which she terms "the antithesis of the archetypal love song."
CMO, the management company that also represented Blur and Elastica, signed the band toward the end of 1995. Linoleum launched its own imprint, Lino Vinyl, to issue the debut 7-inch "Dissent/Twisted," which was tracked in January 1996. The single, limited to 1,000 copies whose sleeves were constructed from linoleum, sold out within three days. A second release, "Smear," followed in July 1996; capped at 1,500 copies, it likewise disappeared in short order. DGC Records secured the group later that year, and the debut album Dissent was recorded with producers Paul Kolderie and Sean Slade, whose prior credits included Radiohead and the Pixies.
Linoleum's style alternates between intensity and calm. Some pieces feel jagged and unsettling, while others drift into soft, immersive textures. Finch's skeptical words, delivered through her removed vocal approach, evoke paranoia, alienation, and disillusionment, which she terms "the antithesis of the archetypal love song."
Albums
