The Fall were a pretty great band for two albums, but really took off with Grotesque and Slates.

Talk Talk's evolution from throwaway new wave to ending with a masterpiece is pretty remarkable.

Kraftwerk's early stuff was serviceable but didn't stand out until Autobahn.

built to spill

radiohead

I thought about Pulp inmediately.

Not the target of the topic but Mark Sandman formed Morphine at 39-40. Second Morphine record got a bit of airplay. Previous to that I think he did 3 records with Treat her right were he was the main force (I may be wrong about that). So 42 years old and 5 records to get a bit of success.

Some say good Tom Waits Stuff (and fame) began in 1984. I actually prefer his 70's output.

James did "Pleased to meet you" in 2000, after 17 years of career. By far their best tecord methinks

Mott the Hoople released 4 flop-ish albums and were famously about to break up before Bowie swooped in and gave them All The Young Dudes.

Underworld were an unremarkable synth-pop outfit for 7+ years before they became a hugely successful electronic/dance act in the mid-90s.

Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim) comes to mind as someone who had TWO UK #1 singles (with Housemartins in 1986, and Beats International in 1990). But did anyone really know who he was until "Praise You" and "The Rockafeller Skank" took off in 1998/1999?

hbiden@onlyfans.com wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 6:28 am built to spill

The first two Built to Spill records were/are massively underrated and overlooked in favor of Perfect from Now on and Keep It Like a Secret. Thankfully these days on the web, I'm seeing more praise and general discussion of the first two compared to about 16 years ago when I was first getting into them (BtS are *right now* doing a There's Nothing Wrong with Love 30th anniversary tour!)

chexmixbreath wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 8:07 am

hbiden@onlyfans.com wrote: Thu Sep 12, 2024 6:28 am built to spill

The first two Built to Spill records were/are massively underrated and overlooked in favor of Perfect from Now on and Keep It Like a Secret. Thankfully these days on the web, I'm seeing more praise and general discussion of the first two compared to about 16 years ago when I was first getting into them (BtS are *right now* doing a There's Nothing Wrong with Love 30th anniversary tour!)

I agree with this. First two records are awesome. The next two, particularly the fourth one, were more popular because they were less weird.

Danny Brown. Did a few records that were pretty good, but it wasn't until XXX - when he was in his 30's - that he blew up.

Didn't Leonard Cohen not record his first record until his mid-30's?

Curry Pervert wrote: Wed Sep 11, 2024 9:35 pm Bowie.

Slogged away for years in various incarnations before making any kind of impact.

Yeah, he didn’t really blossom until he did that collab with Trent Reznor