Ferment is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Catherine Wheel, released in 1992 by Fontana Records.

[1] Produced by Tim Friese-Greene and John Lee, the album combined aspects of shoegazing, alternative rock and neo psychedelia.

[3] The album was reissued in March 2010, containing bonus tracks (including the 1992 30th Century Man EP and both sides of the "Balloon" single) and extensive sleeve notes.

23 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time", with reviewer Ben Cardew commenting that "a good half of the songs on Ferment [...] are enduring shoegaze-disco classics, while 'Black Metallic', in its full seven-minute glory, makes a strong claim to being the genre's 'Stairway to Heaven'.

[9] Chris Ott, also of Pitchfork, described Ferment as "the unknowing inheritor of an American shoegaze fanbase that had grown steadily through word of mouth, mixtapes and the tireless efforts of The Cure, who first made dream-pop bankable here.