Bis

Taking inspiration from the amateurish antics of Huggy Bear and then acting like they were seven years old, The Bis were one of the strangest phenomenons of late '90s British indie-rock. Aggressively primitative and defiantly childish, The Bis claimed to be at the forefront of "the Teen-C Revolution," which apparently translated as young adults wishing they were still in elementary school. Inspired by The Nation Of Ulysses, Huggy Bear, Blur and the "cutie" indie movement of Sarah Recrods, the group crossed D.I.Y. aesthetics with the incessant bounce of New Wave dance pop. Bursting out from nowhere in early 1996, The Bis became the first unsigned band to appear on Top of the Pops, and over the first six months they became a sensation within the British music press. But just as quickly as they rose to prominence the backlash began, and by the end of the year, only a handful of supporters remained in the UK. However, The Bis had won fans in The Beastie Boys, who signed them to Grand Royal Records, positioning the band to join the ranks of the international pop underground, where the message was just, if not more, important than the music.

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