Happy 25th Anniversary to Lush’s third studio album Split, originally released June 13, 1994.

There are occasions when a band’s best album is their least commercially viable. History reminds us that The Velvet Underground’s albums only found audiences with those very people who went on to form some of our favorite bands. Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique (1989) and The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds (1966) failed commercially; yet, they shaped—and continue to shape—popular music in their own inimitable ways. To measure musical success by Soundscan numbers and Billboard chart rankings is to fail to understand the impetus behind making art.

By 1994, London’s Lush had released two genre-shaping works that left indelible impressions on artists and fans alike: Scar (1989) and Spooky (1992). In spite of grunge’s monolithic influence during the early ‘90s, Lush had managed to land a spot as the opener on 1992’s Lollapalooza tour. Wearing a t-shirt gifted to them by the band Silverfish during their performance in San Francisco that read “HIPS, LIPS, TITS,” Lush were the only female-fronted band on a testosterone-heavy line-up.

Today, however, it would be easy to label them as a relic of tokenism, especially in the face of male dominance that included Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. And by Lollapalooza founder and Jane’s Addiction front man’s own accurate admission, Perry Farrell, he described Lush’s sound as “music to soothe the savage beast,” which was a much needed contrast to the agro sounds of summer.