Aurora Gory Alice (Blue)

Letters to Cleo's debut album offers a classic indie rock rags-to-riches story we just don't hear enough of anymore. The band was close to breaking up (vocalist Kay Hanley had already started another band on the side) when they released Aurora Gory Alice on a small, local (Boston) label called Cherrydisc Records in 1993. A year later, after receiving extensive airplay in New England, Billboard finally reviewed the album and the next day the band played a much-celebrated show at South by Southwest. Major labels then came calling, and Warner Brothers imprint Giant Records signed Letters to Cleo, re-releasing the album in 1994. But fame and fortune STILL eluded the band until Giant was asked to compile a soundtrack for the TV Show Melrose Place and put "Here & Now" on it. Success, however long-delayed, was swift; the song went Top Ten on the Modern Rock charts and the album likewise cracked the album charts. That success was also richly deserved; Aurora Gory Alice presents smart, melodic indie pop graced with Hanley's soaring vocals.