Based in California, Los Angeles, USA, introspective guitar rock trio Acetone comprises Richie Lee (b. 10 October 1966, Los Angeles, California, USA, d. 23 July 2001; bass, vocals), Mark Lightcap (guitar, vocals), Steve Hadley (drums). The three members first came together in 1987 while Lee was studying painting at Cal Arts in Valencia, California. Here he met Lightcap, a compositional music student and tuba player, while Hadley was an acquaintance of Lee's from Newport Beach. The trio originally played together behind a succession of singers in the surf/garage-inspired Spinout, before they began recording on their own in 1992 as Acetone. On the strength of a demo tape they were signed to the Vernon Yard label, a subsidiary of Virgin Records. The 1993 debut, Cindy, was a laboured drone-rock album that betrayed the band's Velvet Underground influences. A tour of America with the UK's similarly inclined the Verve followed, but failed to generate much interest. By 1994's I Guess I Would, a mini-album of country cover versions recorded in Nashville, the trio had changed tack and were exploring their roots rock affinities. Of particular note was an extended version of Kris Kristofferson's "Border Lord". These influences found their way onto the band's If You Only Knew. Marking a great step forward in the band's use of dynamics, the album seamlessly merged acoustic melodies into their atmospheric psychedelic soundscape. After being dropped by Vernon Yard in 1997, the band relocated to Neil Young's independent Vapor Records label. The same year's eponymous album benefited from a sparse, introspective production that saw them bracketed alongside "sleep-rock" bands such as Spiritualized and the Verve. The excellent follow-up, York Blvd., finally appeared at the beginning of 2001, but in May it was announced that Hadley had left the band. Two months later tragedy struck when Lee took his own life.

Listen to Acetone at Finetune.

• (2005)  Acetone
• (2005)  York Blvd.

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