The Raincoats

t seemed for a while in the wake of Pistols/Clash hysteria that post-punk Blighty might just change the face of popular culture. And no small thanks to some females who didn't care to be written off: The Slits, Kleenex and most enduringly, the Raincoats.

"Their brief career included a few LPs on Rough Trade, but the band fell pray to inner turmoil by the turn of the decade. That was way before their biggest fan, a semi-famous guy named Kurt Cobain began singing their story to every journalist in the land. Soon enough Steve Shelley was behind the drums in a revamped version of the band. With this new lineup, Extended Play came to be, a preface to their triumphant 1994 reunion album on the DGC label.

Somehow, the Raincoats' old records have gotten better since they were made. Invited to open for Nirvana on their 1994 tour, the decade-gone Raincoats reformed, with original members Gina Birch (bass/vocals) and Ana da Silva (guitar/vocals) joined by new violinist Anne Wood and guest drummer Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. Cobain's suicide ended those plans, but the band went on a triumphant American tour anyway. A John Peel session from April