Sparkle And Fade, the second album from U.S. alt-rock band Everclear turns 25 today, and serves as one of those albums that drops you right back in the ’90s, provoking memory after memory of the good ol’ days.
Released back in 1995, Sparkle And Fade served as the group’s second album, following the release of World Of Noise two years earlier. Their major label debut, the record was an immense success for the group, gaining widespread acclaim, and climbing charts around the world.
Spawning singles such as ‘Heroin Girl’, ‘Santa Monica’, and ‘Heartspark Dollarsign’, the album’s content was not for the faint of heart, with biographical themes of addiction (specifically those faced by frontman Art Alexakis) threaded throughout each of the tracks.
Their highest-charting record in Australia, Sparkle And Fade managed to bring the group down to local shores for their first-ever tour of the country, kicking off a long-standing love affair which continues to this day.
As the group’s monumental album turns 25, join us as we look back on the classic record, and hear testimonials from those who cite the album as one of music’s most important.
Check out ‘Heroin Girl’ by Everclear:
“I still remember the first time I heard Everclear. I was sitting in my room alone when the radio began to play the opening chords of ‘Santa Monica’. Before it was even to the first chorus, I’d written down the lyrics, intent on finding out what it was. Not long after, the same thing happened with ‘Heroin Girl’, and without even knowing the band’s name, I was hooked.
“While my beat up copy of the album was later replaced by an inexplicably-signed copy I found in the group’s home of Portland, the record remains one of those mesmerising releases which captures a time and place for everyone, though my own recollections took place a few years later than most.” – Tyler Jenke, Editor of Rolling Stone Australia
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Check out ‘Heartspark Dollarsign’ by Everclear:
“‘Santa Monica’ from Sparkle And Fade always brings back memories of when I was in that town, on the beach, in May of the year the album came out. I spent the entire day on the sand, watching the waves, and the sun as it kissed the Pacific waters at sunset. The lyrics of the song almost illustrate that time for me.” – Jack Skinner, Freelance Writer
“Everclear practically encompasses a good amount of my childhood memories with my father. From listening to it in the car in the ’90s to rocking out at a concert at the local state fair with my dad in the mid 2000s, the songs in Sparkle And Fade bring back such strong nostalgia, and they’re able to do that with just the first few notes of ‘Santa Monica’ and ‘Heroin Girl’.” – Brittany Jenke, News Editor for The Brag Media
Check out Everclear’s ‘Santa Monica’:
