Nirvana

Formed in 1987 in Aberdeen, in the murky depths of Washington state, in the beginning, nobody – not even the band members themselves – could comprehend just how culturally important Nirvana would become. Created by frontman and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic, the band would go through numerous lineup and name changes before settling on Nirvana and drummer Chad Channing.

Refining their sound, which fused the anger of hardcore punk acts such as Black Flag with the muscular sludge of Melvins, with the pop melodies of The Beatles sprinkled on top for good measure, the trio released their first album, ‘Bleach’, in 1989. Released on Sub Pop, it featured tracks such as ‘About a Girl’, ‘Blew’ and their cover of Shocking Blue’s ‘Love Buzz’. Via word of mouth and the fresh sound of the band – which shouldn’t have been catchy but was – ‘Bleach’ became an underground hit and set the scene for all the brilliance and tragedy that was to come.

Nirvana then returned to the drawing board, and in September 1991, they produced their sophomore effort, 1991’s ‘Nevermind’, which was coloured by the multi-layered production of Butch Vig. They released the lead single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ early that month, making the demand for the album unprecedented and confirming the trio’s status as the most important act of their generation. ‘Nevermind’ refined the foundations the band had laid on ‘Bleach’, with the songs better written, dynamics more interesting, and new drummer Dave Grohl’s efforts far more scintillating than his predecessor’s.

Upon the album’s release at the end of September, Cobain was hailed as one of the most significant songwriters of all time, with the bleak themes of his work finding a place in the heart of the masses, even with Cobain’s perennial enemies, the jocks, something that made him deeply uncomfortable. In a horrifically ironic twist of fate, the spectacular level of fame that Nirvana experienced from the album being so critically and commercially successful set the scene for the death of Cobain and the end of the band.

As Cobain and the band became increasingly uncomfortable with their newfound fame and position as their generation’s answer to The Beatles, his drug use became more severe, compounding the mental health and personal issues he had long suffered. This impacted their work, with the Steve Albini-produced ‘In Utero’, the 1993 follow-up to ‘Nevermind’, considerably darker than anything they had released, with ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ and ‘Scentless Apprentice’ conveying this newfound darkness emphatically.

The record was followed by their most iconic performance in November that year, MTV Unplugged in New York, which wasn’t released as a record until 12 months later. The final hurrah of the band, it is a masterful set comprised of originals and covers, with fans clinging onto Cobain’s inter-song patter, as it is one of the last-known recordings of him before his suicide in April 1994.

Although the end of the band came out of nowhere, and it dramatically reset the courses of all those involved – not to mention Grohl and Novoselic – no one would doubt the importance of their efforts, with Cobain’s legacy cast in stone.