Smashing Orange

Smashing Orange was an American band formed in 1990. They released three albums before splitting up in the mid-1990s. Their early sound saw them classified as "shoegazing". The band was formed by siblings Rob and Sara Montejo, with Rick Hodgson, Steve Wagner, and Tim Supplee, all of whom worked together in a local record store, and had left or dropped out of college prior to forming the band. When Lush played at The Marquee Club in London, Smashing Orange provided the support, unfortunately Sara was unable to enter the UK as she was under 16, so the band played their European tour as a four piece. The band was signed by UK label Native Records, their first release being the single "My Deranged Heart" in April 1991, gaining comparisons with the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Galaxie 500. Their sound has also been described as sounding "like Ride would if they had any balls about them". This was followed a month later by a self-titled mini-album, and in November of that year by second single "Not Very Much To See". Their gig at the Camden Rock Garden London, was reviewed in the NME [www.nativerecords.co.uk/smashingorange]thus "Mudhoney meet My Bloody Valentine on a cold Thursday night in north London. Outside its raining, inside the crowd is drenched by a steam like mist, a stirring hum and crackle, as Rick Hodgson swaying gently over his low strung guitar peels out the opening chords of My Deranged Heart. its especially fine. Rob Montejo wails, a swirling vocal that build with the guitar to deliver a thundering finish - a tormented element beneath a veneer of tempered and serene melodies. zippi And the gig at Couvent des Recollets, Paris as "one of the best kept secrets the Americans have yet produced. Smashing Orange storm Europe. They cling to their napkin sized stage, helplessly bobbing along on the maelstrom they have unleashed and their set spontaneously combusts only after two hours when they have played every song the know. The French will remember their concert here for some time and Smashing Orange are unlikely to forget Paris, either. Zippi While they were in the UK, Native arranged for them to record a session for the John Peel BBC radio show, which was broadcast in February 1992. Native released the mini albumAbove Ming Gardens in 1992. Their first full-length album, The Glass Bead Game, was released in 1993, with Fourth album, 1994's No Return in the End seeing a shift in style towards a harder garage rock sound, and also a move to MCA Records. Sara Montejo had left earlier and Supplee had been replaced on drums by Stroller White, but a disappointing response to the album saw the band split soon after its release. An anthology of their early work, 1991 was issued by Elephant Stone Records in 2005.