Various artists: C91 review – the worst circle of indie pop hell

For those of a certain age, 1991 accumulates more resonance with the passage of time. Sonic Youth crowned their tour movie 1991: The Year that Punk Broke, which was partially filmed in Sir Henry's in Cork and the Top Hat in Dún Laoghaire.

Nineteen ninety-one witnessed the release of the Birmingham Six and the first Gulf War. The latter prompted the BBC to heavily censor radio playlists. Massive Attack renamed themselves Massive to avoid the axe, which bizarrely fell on Into Paradise with It Burns my Skin and Something Happens with Parachute.

Speaking of Irish music, U2 chopped down The Joshua Tree with Achtung Baby and My Bloody Valentine unleashed Loveless. Meanwhile, Primal Scream, The Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Teenage Fanclub, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, REM, Nirvana and (ahem) Garth Brooks all released landmark albums.

Looking back on it all now, on the surface it appears to be one of the greatest years of recent musical history. The latest compilation from Cherry Red Records emphatically reveals that this was not entirely the case. C91 is a turgid parade of B-list indie pop that should be consigned to the Ned's Atomic Dustbin of history, rather than be resurrected in this bloated and entirely unnecessary release.

C91 is aimed at people whose idea of a good time is a festival of tribute bands called Northern Love, where headliners include The Clone Roses, Oas-is and Happy Mondaze

With some very honourable exceptions (including The Sultans of Ping FC and The Cranberries) the music is truly awful. C91 makes the extremely flimsy case that we should hold the likes of Daisy Chainsaw, World of Twist, The Sweetest Ache, See See Rider, Spirea X, and the band with the most honest name of the lot, Dodgy, in the same high esteem as we do the decade's trailblazers.

The only way to stomach this collection would be in the caustic company of a panel consisting of the late Mark E Smith of The Fall, Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen and Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers ripping every two-bit excuse for a band for breakfast. No wonder David Stubbs's hilariously lacerating Mr Agreeable column in Melody Maker was never short of material.

C91 is aimed at people whose idea of a good time is a festival of tribute bands called Northern Love, where headliners include The Clone Roses, Oas-is, The Smiths Ltd and Happy Mondaze. This is the worst conceivable circle of indie pop hell. An all too real hell on earth where middle-aged men think it is still acceptable to don baggy clothes, wear fishermen hats, pout like Ian Brown and adopt a pathetic simian swagger.

Of these 59 songs, two stand out by several country miles; Stay Beautiful by Manic Street Preachers and Nothing Can Stop Us by Saint Etienne. Tellingly, both of these artists still have successful careers.