Screamadelica by Primal Scream (1991)

With all due respect to The Stone Roses, and plenty is due, I see Primal Scream's 1991 opus as the absolute tippy top peak of Madchester. Obviously the era's sound was largely definitely by the sunny psychedelic intersection between indie rock and electronic dance music.

Lovely in theory, but (at least from my perspective) largely untrue in practice. Looking at what Wikipedia considers the kings of the era — James were always straightforward britpop, The Stone Roses were overwhelmingly indie rock with brief detours into psychedelia, similar but watered down angle from The Charlatans, Happy Mondays' 'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' though superb in its own right is pure 80s indie with subtle influences pointing in these aforementioned directions.

For my money it is (ironically Scottish born, London recorded) Screamadelica and Screamadelica alone that truly blends what Madchester was supposedly about - acid house, balearic beat, 60s psychedelia, indie rock etc - rather than just funky indie rock these are all otherworldly hybrids of songcraft. Songs that perfectly encapsulate the drug fueled euphoria of the moment. Screamadelica went on to win the inaugural Mercury Prize, an honor bestowed upon many future legends such as PJ Harvey, Pulp, Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, Dizzee Rascal, Antony and Arctic Monkeys.

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