SUGARTOOTH The Sounds of Solid 1997

By request

Biography

by Greg Prato

In the wake of Soundgarden's breakthrough success in the '90s, several groups decided to follow in the famed Seattle quartet's footsteps with a similar heavy Sabbath-esque sound. One such band was the trio Sugartooth -- Mark Hutner (vocals, guitar) and Josh Blum (bass) were the group's mainstays, joined by a pair of different drummers (Joey Castillo and Dusty Watson) during their short career. The seeds of the band were planted in the early '90s when Hutner and Blum met each other while fronting separate rock bands in the Southern California area. With grunge sound-alikes getting signed left and right (Candlebox, Paw, Seven Mary Three, etc.), Sugartooth had no problem landing a deal with DGC, who issued the band's self-titled debut in 1994. The album spawned a modest MTV hit with the track "Sold My Fortune," as the group opened shows for such big name acts as Slayer, Supersuckers, Stone Temple Pilots, and their heroes, Soundgarden.

Tracklist

1	Club Foot
2	Booty Street
3	Spiral
4	All For Me
5	Otra Vez
6	Come On In
7	Toothless
8	Harajuana
9	Solid
10	Seven & Seven
11	Frisbee
12	We'd

HITTING BIRTH Thirst of the Fast Three Years 1992

By request

Industrial music that also includes the percussionist from Pigface, and the drummer from The Wipers.

BIG CHIEF Drive It Off 1991

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CORDS Taurus No Bull 1993

By request

Review

by Nitsuh Abebe

The Cords' two albums tend to be pretty monochromatic, so it's important to consider musical context when evaluating them -- by these standards, 1993's Taurus No Bull is definitely the better. That's not to say that it's particularly impressive -- the band can pretty easily be described with a single Babes in Toyland references, meaning that Taurus No Bull is a decent but largely unnecessary entry into late-period riot-grrl-ism. An interesting conundrum emerges, however: 1997's Hear! See! Feel! tend to fare better with this sound than Taurus No Bull does -- but at the same time, this sound was growing somewhat tired as of 1993, and it's practically unconscionable that the Cords should be releasing the same sort of work toward the tail end of the decade.

Not the best review the Cords has ever gotten, but a lot of people I know seemed to like them.

SISTER PSYCHIC Surrender You Freak 1994

By request

KING MISSILE self titled 1994

Upped by El Diablo Con Queso

Biography

by Steve Huey

Essentially a vehicle for the musings of John S. Hall, King Missile merged off-kilter spoken word monologues with eclectic, mildly psychedelic rock & roll. Hall's dry, absurdist sense of humor colored much of the group's output, blurring the lines between comedy, Beat poetry, narrative prose, and simple rock lyrics. Yet in spite of their focus on Hall's literary bent and all its New York artiness, King Missile was most definitely a band, and relied on music to play a much more than perfunctory role in their overall effect. The band initially won a following on college radio with several albums for producer Kramer's eccentric Shimmy-Disc label, while surviving a major lineup overhaul. Signed to a major-label deal with Atlantic, they scored a highly unlikely novelty hit with 1992's "Detachable Penis," which conquered MTV and college radio despite its subject matter. Their new audience didn't stick, however, and the second lineup split after another album; Hall later organized a third … » Read more

MOTORHOME Sex Vehicle 1995

By request

Biography

by Mike DaRonco

Formed in 1993 out of Chicago's Wicker Park area, Kristen Thiele (vocals/ bass), Laura Masura (drums) and Josiah Mazzaschi (guitar) got together MotorHome while barely out of high school. With their combined motivations in distorted pop, crunchy guitars and spaced out undertones, the released their first single "Whole in my Head"/"SugarLow" in 1994 with the additional help from Dirty Records. MotorHome's first full-length Sex Vehicle came out the following year.

POEM ROCKET Infinite Retry on Parallel Time-Out 1997

By request

Biography

by James Christopher Monger

New York City-based alternative noise-rock trio Poem Rocket formed in 1994 around the talents of multi-instrumentalist husband and wife Sandra Gardner and Michael Peters and drummer Peter Gordon. They released their first album, a disparate collection of EP tracks and 7"s called Felix Culpa in 1995. It was followed in 2000 by equally creative Psychogeography and by Invasion! in 2007.

THOSE BASTARD SOULS Debt and Departure 1995

By request

Biography

by Heather Phares

Originally a side project for the Grifters' Dave Shouse, Those Bastard Souls formed in 1996 with the release of Twentieth Century Chemical. The album was basically a Shouse solo project, but when he was approached by Sebadoh with an opening spot on their tour, he connected with the Dambuilders' Joan Wasser and former Red Red Meat bassist Matt Fields to flesh out the Souls for the road. As Wasser's and Shouse's main groups broke up (in the case of the Dambuilders) or went on hiatus (in the case of the Grifters), Those Bastard Souls evolved into a full-fledged band. The original trio added another ex-Dambuilder, drummer Kevin March, and former Jeff Buckley guitarist Michael Tighe to the lineup for the recording of their V2 debut, 1999's Debt & Departure.

LAZY The Lazy Music Group 1996

By request

Biography

by Stephen Howell

Guitarist/vocalist Steve Schmoll had been playing around the Cincinnati, OH area since the mid-1980s in bands such as Pink Lady with pre-Brainiac vocalist Tim Taylor. After that group split, Schmoll continued his musical pursuits in local outfits such as Human Zoo and the Tigerlilies. It was around the latter portion of 1991, however, when Schmoll asked his friends Suzann Lynch and Meghan Haas about forming Lazy. Together, the trio released a seven-inch single, a 12-inch single and their full-length debut, Some Assembly Required, all on Roadrunner Records. However, the line-up changed in 1995 when Lynch left, and bassist Kari Murphy stepped in. With Murphy, Lazy released their second album The Lazy Music Group. Poor promotion of the record resulted in poor sales, and as a result, Roadrunner dropped the group. Lazy went on to record two singles for Elastic Records in 1998.

MEDFIELD MA Journal Entries 1994

By request

"Medfield, MA was mostly five guys from Luebeck Germany (near Hamburg) recording two albums, a few compilation songs and two e.p.s while the last e.p. was never really released due to the band's split in 1998. We loved making music without really being able to do so. We did wonderful support-shows and tours with bands like Moving Targets, Screaming Trees, Bedhead, The La's, A Subtle Plague, the Notwist, etc. all in Germany and a few shows in Denmark. Headliningwise nobody ever really showed up to one of our shows unless we played in our home state...but we had a lot of fun. The band's name came from the first Buffalo Tom record. That is what Bill Janovitz says (http://billjanovitz.blogspot.com/2008/12/cover-of-week-7.html); but he is - at least - a bit exaggerating...I never liked the Stones:)" - Jan

Thanks to Jan for the DL!

SWEET 75 self titled 1997

Upped by El Diablo Con Queso

Biography

by Greg Prato

Sweet 75 was ex-Nirvana member Krist Novoselic's first (albeit short-lived) band after Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide. Novoselic and ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl originally contemplated remaining together and working on a set of songs that Grohl had penned, but ultimately opted to go their separate ways (with Grohl using those songs for the Foo Fighters' first album). In May of 1994, Novoselic's then-wife threw a surprise birthday party for him, and hired a Venezuelan street singer, Yva Las Vegas (who was discovered singing outside Pike Street Market in Seattle), to sing "Happy Birthday" at the bash. But Las Vegas wound up staying the remainder of the party and singing Venezuelan folk songs, which got the singer and Novoselic to talking about possibly working together in the near future. Novoselic planned on producing an album for the singer, but after the two began penning original songs together, both decided to form a group -- with Las Vegas assuming vocal and bass duties, and … » Read more

SALEM 66 Down the Primrose Path 1995

By request

Biography

by John Dougan

Just a little ahead of their time, if Salem 66 were at their peak today they would be no doubt be big news. Instead, they are the influential older sisters of many current women-led rock bands and are fondly remembered by those of us living there at the time as one of the best bands of mid-'80s Boston. Judy Grunwald and Beth Kaplan (guitar and bass, respectively) were Salem 66's brain trust, and despite their off-kilter melodies and clashing, not-always-melodic singing, they created a churning, idiosyncratic pop sound that was loaded with smarts and enthusiasm, even when their technical limitations were apparent. But like other technically limited performers both male and female, that never prevented Salem 66 from stretching out and wailing full-on. After a tentative debut EP debut in 1984, the band hit its stride with the release of the accurately titled A Ripping Spin the following year. With a popularity in the then-alternative rock press that went outside the Boston, Salem 66 were … » Read more

HYPNOLOVEWHEEL Angel Food 1992

By request

Biography

by Steve Huey

An underexposed and underrated combo from Long Island, Hypnolovewheel issued several albums in the late '80s and early '90s that offered a distinctive blend of power pop, dreamy psychedelia, noisy '60s-style garage rock, and tense, nervy post-punk. They drew comparisons to bands as far-ranging as R.E.M., Wire, and the Embarrassment, topping off their rather strange brew with a smart, quirky sense of humor that was most overt on their earlier material. Consisting of guitarists Steve Hunking and Dave Ramirez, bassist Dan Cuddy, and drummer Peter Walsh, Hypnolovewheel debuted in 1988 with Turn! Turn! Burn!, which was released on the small Fabian Aural Products label; the same was true of its 1990 follow-up, Candy Mantra. The group got a bit more exposure after moving to the somewhat higher-profile indie Alias Records, for whom they debuted with 1991's well-received Space Mountain.

ORANGUTANG

The Rewards of Cruelty
1993

Dead Sailor Acid Blues
1994

I HATE THE 90s Volume 4

1. Vegetarian Meat Let’s Pet

2. Heave Pepper’s Ghost

3. Go Kart Go Camera

4. Pop Sickle Revolver

5. Black Lab Wash It Away

6. Roads to Space Travel When I Gave Up

7. Kevin Salem Lighthouse Keeper

8. The Figgs Favorite Shirt

9. Sebadoh License to Confuse

10. Catfish Jenkins The Wishing Time

11. Frontier Trust Untitled

12. Supersuckers Dead in the Water

13. Eat Shame

14. Morrissey We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful

15. Ultra Vivid Scene Staring at the Sun

16. Beekeeper Hesitation

17. Califone Pink and Sour

18. Vitapup Syphilis

19. Insane Jane Daisy

20. Godzuki Magic UFO

NAKED self titled 1997

Thanks to El Diablo Con Queso

Discogs

Review

by Tom Demalon

Produced by Kevin Maloney and Robbie Adams, Naked released their debut record in 1997 and gained immediate attention with the radio track "Mann's Chinese." Over a driving musical bed of guitar rock, lead singer Jonathan Sheldon gives husky voice to the tale of urban decay with Los Angeles as the backdrop. Unfortunately, "Mann's Chinese" is both the opening track and the best one. Not that Naked is a bad record; it's just a rather pedestrian one. With a sound that is like a harder-edged Wallflowers, the members of Naked offer melodic and even insightful elements at times, but they never really sets themselves apart from a lot of other bands. However, the unbridled optimism of "The Road Home," with its tumbling drumbeat and ringing guitars, and the dramatic, passionate "The Great Escape" are worth checking out. 

Tracklist

1	Mann's Chinese	4:18
2	The Road Home	3:42
3	The Color Decays	4:27
4	What About You?	4:24
5	Raining On The Sky	4:03
6	Love Supreme	4:00
7	Red	4:25
8	Drift Away	4:32
9	Headlights	4:15
10	The Great Escape	4:38

BEEKEEPER Anywhere Will Do 1997

By request

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Wake Up	3:28
2	Hesitation	3:00
3	Sip	3:49
4	Knocks The Head	3:07
5	Breathing	4:38
6	Winding Down	4:02

SILKWORM Even a Blind Chicken Finds a Kernel of Corn Now and Then 1998

By request

Review

by Andy Kellman

Even a Blind Chicken thankfully reissues the majority of the impossible-to-find L'ajre LP and the excellent, vinyl-only His Absence is a Blessing EP, buttressing them with various singles and compilation tracks spanning five years. Aside from the Blessing EP, nothing here quite lives up to the high standard of Silkworm's other works, but the compilation is essential for any fan. A self-released 1992 single comprising renditions of the Comsat Angels' "Our Secret" and Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" is a major highlight. They make the Comsats song very much their own, exchanging the original's ringing guitars for agitated roars. Joel Phelps and Tim Midgett repeatedly shout "We will never give it up" as a defiant mantra. There's even some atmospheric synth added in, just for the hell of it. The Fleetwood Mac cover is storming, done completely without irony, unlike your token ha-ha ska band cover. All vocalists chime in at various points as Midgett makes a bitchin' Lindsey. Loudon Wainwright, Tom Petty, and the Walkabouts also receive the Silkworm treatment. A couple moments of misguided infancy are pretty embarrassing, perhaps documented with the diehard in mind. The thrashy "Inside Outside" has an uncharacteristic bass lead-in and goofy vocal trickery. Phelps' vocals veer dangerously close to Geddy Lee-with-laryngitis territory. A handy, well-warranted package, Midgett's often hilarious liner notes provide added value, recalling van wrecks and recording processes. He also lucidly expresses the instability of even the most durable bands, stating that they "...walk a thin line between satisfying individual egos and caving into them." Valuable words for any band.

VARIOUS ARTISTS Does The Word Duh Mean Anything To You? - Another Che Compilation 1995

Track 1 from "36 cents an hour"
Track 2 is exclusive to this compilation.
Track 3 is exclusive to this compilation.
Track 4 from Tribute To A Bus
Track 5 from I Had A Thought / America
Track 6 from Will They Turn You On Or Will They Turn On You
Track 7 is exclusive to this compilation.
Track 8 is exclusive to this compilation.
Track 9 from V-Neck
Track 10 from V-Neck
Track 11 from Side Effects
Track 12 from Side Effects
Track 13 from Trip Fuck / Hummingbird Mountain
Track 14 from Bufo Alvarius, Amen 29:15
Track 15 is exclusive to this compilation.
Track 16 from So, You Got Anything Else?
Track 17 from In Debt
Track 18 from In Debt