Whiteout

Whiteout formed in Glasgow in the early 1990s, fronted by Andrew Caldwell, and developed a sound that drew on the melodic guitar rock of the era while retaining a distinctly Scottish directness. Signed to Silvertone Records — the label that had launched The Stone Roses — they arrived with considerable expectation and a debut single that announced a band with real melodic gifts.

‘Bite It’ (1995) was their debut album — a sharp, energetic record of melodic alternative rock that arrived at the height of Britpop and somehow failed to find the audience it deserved. The album’s combination of Caldwell’s direct vocals, strong melodic hooks, and a production that captured the band’s live energy made it one of the most underrated British albums of the decade.

A second album, ‘Feel the Noise’, followed in 1996, but the commercial breakthrough never came. Whiteout disbanded in the late 1990s, leaving behind two albums that reward rediscovery — a reminder of how many genuinely good bands the Britpop era produced and how few of them got the recognition they merited.