A very nice, but unfortunately short-lived, south London acoustic pop quintet,
Katydids shared an affinity with contemporaries like
Fairground Attraction and
the Bible. American-born singer
Susie Hug and guitarist
Adam Seymour met in 1987 when both were working as session musicians for the short-lived duo Big Bam Boo; the pair's rapport was obvious, and they were soon working together. Adding acoustic guitarist
Dan James, bassist Dave Hunter, and drummer
Shane Young,
Katydids signed with the
Reprise label, which wisely paired the group with producer
Nick Lowe, whose rootsy sensibility was perfectly in sync with the group's lack of pretension. Their debut, 1989's
Katydids, was a terrific album with an interesting mix of '60s pop and folk-rock influences. 1991's
Shangri-La, produced by
the Lightning Seeds'
Ian Broudie, modernized the sound a bit and there's a somewhat darker undercurrent to many of the songs, but it's nearly the equal of the debut. Unfortunately, neither album sold particularly well and
Katydids broke up after
Reprise dropped them. ~ Stewart Mason