I saw Number One Cup only one time, at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton Ohio. It was sometime shortly after their first album, Possum Trot Plan, was released in 1995. I first heard the album while DJ-ing at WVXU in Cincinnati. The band was lumped in with the lo-fi movement of the time, though, much like Guided by Voices, their live shows were anything but. When asked about the validity of the lo-fi sound, the band responded:
"[lo-fi is] As valid as hi-fi. If the recorded version of the song kills me, I don't care what "fi" it is. But I'll say this about lo-fi: contrary to what Lou Barlow says, he or Robert Pollard or whoever don't release lo-fi recordings just because they're quicker and cheaper and easier to do. They know better than anyone that those recordings have a realism and an authenticity that is as important to the feel of the song as the chord changes or the melody. In the end, recording choices become a compositional element"
If I had to describe their music, I probably couldn't do much better than tagging it as lo-fi indie rock myself, which truly would not do them justice. Instead, I'll avoid any cliches and use another band quote:
"It's foreground music. It's pop rather than experimental, but with experimental touches"
Hear for yourself:
Connecticut (the first single from 1994)
From Possum Trot Plan:
Just Let Go
No Particular Style
Divebomb
She Plays the Numbers
From Wrecked by Lions:
Paris
Astronaut
Malcolm's X-Ray Picnic
From People People, Why Are We Fighting?:
Unison Bends
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