Acetone will release I’m still waiting. on November 17, 2023, via New West Records. The definitive, career-spanning, limited-edition 11-LP box set includes the Los Angeles band’s acclaimed full-length studio albums: Cindy (1993), If You Only Knew (1995), Acetone (1997), and York Blvd. (2000). The collection also includes their debut EP, Acetone (1993), available on vinyl in the US for the first time; the mini-LP, I Guess I Would (1995), available commercially on vinyl in the US for the first time; and the nine-song bonus LP, Prime Cuts. Spanning 63 total tracks, I’m still waiting. features 8 previously unreleased recordings.

Rising from the ashes of the short-lived Spinout (whose debut was issued by Delicious Vinyl), Acetone formed in 1991, rehearsing endlessly and recording frequently at drummer Steve Hadley’s ramshackle pool house in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. During the post-Nirvana major-label feeding frenzy of the early 1990s, the band signed with Vernon Yard Recordings, a new subsidiary of Virgin Records, yet they were singular among the new wave of alternative rock bands. On their eponymous EP and their full-length debut, Cindy (both released in 1993), Acetone showcased a dizzying range of influences: from the Everly Brothers to Isaac Hayes, the Velvet Underground to Martin Denny, Brian Eno to the Meat Puppets. The result was a sunbaked power-trio sound that left vast canyons of space in their songs.

Following the release in 1995 of a mini-LP of country covers called I Guess I Would and a new studio album called If You Only Knew, Acetone toured the world opening for Oasis, Mazzy Star, the Verve, Spiritualized, and Garbage. They signed to Neil Young’s Vapor Records and released their critically acclaimed self-titled album in 1997. Following the release of 2000’s York. Blvd., frontman Richie Lee tragically committed suicide in 2001. Their albums lapsed out of print and until recently, were largely never released on streaming platforms, yet Acetone developed an incredibly avid following. The band is the subject of Sam Sweet’s brilliant nonfiction novel Hadley Lee Lightcap, published by All Night Menu, as well as the rarities anthology Acetone 1992-2001, released by Light in the Attic.

I’m still waiting. celebrates the 30th anniversary of Acetone’s debut. All of the full-length albums have been expanded to double LPs housed in gatefold jackets, and If You Only Knew is available on vinyl for the first time ever. Additionally, the Acetone LP features the band’s original mix, previously available only on rare first pressings. Pressed on crystal clear vinyl, the recordings were remastered by John Baldwin at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville, with lacquers cut at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The set also includes a 60-page, full-color book featuring never-before-seen photos and extensive liner notes written by J Spaceman of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3 and Drew Daniel of Matmos and the Soft Pink Truth.

Mark Lightcap offers, “It’s amazing to me how much love there is for Acetone out in the world, especially considering how few records we actually sold at the time. That love, unrequited as the catalog moldered in record company vaults, has now been fully consummated in the form of this box set. Infinite gratitude to New West for pulling out all the stops on this project. Records that were squeezed onto one disc in the vinyl-as-an-afterthought 90s have all mushroomed into doubles, and I can truthfully say that it’s like hearing them for the first time. With really beautiful liner notes by our pals Drew Daniel and Jason Pierce, and a bonus LP of personal favorite, unreleased recordings from the band’s own vault, this thing is the mother lode for Acetone fans. Salut!”



Recently, a previously unreleased demo version of the Cindy highlight “No Need Swim,” included on the bonus LP Prime Cuts, was released. The song was recorded at the band’s practice space—drummer Steve Hadley’s rented pool house—in 1991 before Acetone had even settled on a band name. Lightcap says, “This was one of the first batch of recordings we sent out in search of a record deal. This track is a direct transfer from the actual cassette that got us signed to Vernon Yard. It was graciously returned by (label head) Keith Wood in 2022, and it also happens to be the best surviving version of these recordings.”

Acetone’s full-length studio albums—Cindy, If You Only Knew, Acetone, and York Blvd.—will also be available individually on limited-edition black vinyl. The standalone albums as well as the I’m still waiting. limited-edition box set are available for pre-order now.