6 Underrated Artists from the 1990s You Need to Hear

The 1990s popular music landscape marked a major cultural change following the visual and musical excesses of the Decade of Decadence. Many bands and solo artists preferred a stripped-down, more direct approach to their music. Beyond the explosion of grunge and alternative that heralded this big paradigm shift, the ‘90s saw a number of genres gain popularity to varying degrees, including ska, swing, goth, world music, and techno. Yet despite this diversity, there were a number of artists who for one reason or another did not manage to capture a larger audience they deserved. Some of them didn’t fit into a major-label box. Others were equally individualistic and tricky to market on an indie level. Or bad luck played into it. Regardless, they released some great music.

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Here are six artists and bands from the 1990s that certainly deserved more attention. Some of them are still active, and others have music that lives on through streaming.

Wendy MaHarry

MaHarry is an unusual solo artist who released two albums on A&M Records, her 1990 self-titled debut and the 1991 follow-up Fountain of Youth. Her airy vocals and graceful piano playing, along with embracing a wide variety of songwriting approaches, made her a truly special artist at a time when major labels were pumping out cookie-cutter albums. Her debut single “California” was one of those rare songs with a lilting oboe melody! On both albums, MaHarry’s music spanned everything from dreamy ambient introspection to twangy, string-laden rock. She put out the double album Released in 2000, and two of her songs emerged in the 2004 movie Frozen Stars. MaHarry is also a talented painter whose art was used for her albums. Fingers crossed we’ll get some new music someday.

Naked

Although they definitely sounded like a ‘90s alternative band, Naked had the spirit of a ‘70s classic rock band lurking underneath their music and social consciousness. This Los Angeles quartet had the misfortune of having their self-titled debut album released on the ill-fated Red Ant imprint that barely lasted a couple of years. It’s a shame because they had engaging anthems and moody ballads that dealt with the uncertainty and turmoil of modern life, particularly in post-Rodney King riots L.A. The brilliant closing cut, “The Great Escape,” starts off subdued and melancholic before bursting into a dissident climax expressing the overwhelming frustration of someone trapped in a faceless nine-to-five grind. This was their only album but the stuff was compelling. Frontman Jonathan Sheldon went on to produce indie films and formed a musical duo with his sister Jane called American Bloomers.

Ozric Tentacles

Although they began self-releasing their music on cassettes throughout most of the ‘80s, British progressive space rockers Ozric Tentacles came to mainstream prominence with their IRS Records trilogy in the first half of the 1990s. A trippy band that predominately played instrumental tunes, the Ozrics were influenced by the likes of Gong and Steve Hillage and transposed their ideas into a new decade. A highly skilled collective of musicians who swirled metal, reggae, ambient, dance, and psychedelic music into a very distinct blend, they were equally potent in concert. The group has soldiered on through different iterations, with founding guitarist Ed Wynne bringing in some members of his family to record and tour behind new music. While they were likely never destined to be chart-toppers given their sonic brew, they certainly deserve a greater degree of notoriety.

Splashdown

If one wants to talk about a band that didn’t stick to the straight and narrow, Boston trio Splashdown embodied that concept in the late ‘90s on their self-released Stars and Garters album and Halfworld EP. Singer/pianist Melissa Kaplan, guitarist/bassist Adam Buhler, and synthesist/programmer Kasson Crooker explored a wide variety of styles—lush techno-pop, atmospheric rock, dark trip-hop. They garnered some attention when their songs were used in the TV shows Angel and Charmed and the movie Titan A.E. They were signed to Glen Ballard’s Java Records label, and due to friction between Java and parent company Capitol Records, among other things, the trio’s new music (beyond the Redshift EP) ended up in limbo, with demos and unreleased songs later being leaked out for fans to hear. They split up in 2001. It’s a shame Splashdown didn’t get further because they had a very bold and promising start. In 2023, they released a new track (“Metamorphosis,” inspired by Buhler’s years-long battle with a genetic illness) and an older demo-turned-new song (“Nomadic”). Could more be coming?

This Ascension

The ‘90s was an exciting time for the goth underground after the original post-punk boom of the genre in the ‘80s. There was a new generation of bands coming along, extending the music into different areas. Hailing from Santa Barbara, California, This Ascension bucked the growing trend of electronic-based projects. This was a full-on, five-piece rock band that combined the beauty of ethereal goth with the vigor of classic goth rock. They produced four albums for Tess Records between 1989 and 1999 and evolved with each one. Vocalist Dru Allen had a captivating vocal presence, and they could really bring it live. They disbanded in the early 2000s but have reunited for a few live shows over the years, and put out the 2014 compilation Deeper and Further Away (an introduction). Their 1995 recording of the Christmas song “Carol of the Bells” was used in a 2012 episode of Brothers and Sisters. Here’s hoping for a reunion album.

Jai Uttal

Emerging during the ascension of the ‘90s world music movement, singer and sarod player Jai Uttal found a way to blend Indian music and chants with electronic sounds, pop, rock, jazz, and even reggae with his group the Pagan Love Orchestra. Trumpet icon Don Cherry appeared on his 1990 debut Footprints, and Uttal’s high energy 1992 follow-up Monkey continued with his blend of instrumental and vocal tracks, many of them in English. Reportedly popular in yoga circles, and a Grammy nominee for Best New Age Album in 2002 for Mondo Rama, the eclectic Uttal has made close to two dozen albums, his most recent being Dust & Tears in 2022. His ‘90s work was groundbreaking and doesn’t fit neatly into one category.

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Photo of Ozric Tentacles via ozrics.com