Dig Me Out: 90s & 00s Rock

Latest Episodes:

#539: Killjoy by Shihad May 11, 2021

Show notes

On their 1995 sophomore album Killjoy, New Zealand's Shihad might fool you with their opening Helmet-like salvo of "You Again" and "Gimme Gimme," two tracks of chugging down-tuned riffage with bass and kick locked-in. But this is not a Helmet clone, or a clone of any American post-punk band you might conjure, as the band shows off a variety of stylistic and rhythmic approaches that recall late 80s albums by The Cure. Somehow this band managed to slip under our radar in the mid-nineties, which is surprising considering the comparisons to bands such as Barkmarket and Jawbox.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - You Again

19:22 - Deb's Night Out

26:55 - The Call

34:34 - Bitter

41:49 - Silvercup

Outro - Gimme Gimme

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#538: Abort by Tribe May 04, 2021

Show notes

Eclectic bands can be a tricky proposition. Too much genre-switching and musical diversity can strip a band of an identity, with the disparate parts not adding up too much. But done right, and finding a unified sound in the song-to-song evolution, can make for an exciting listen. Luckily, with Boston's Tribe and their 1991 album Abort, it's the latter. While chronologically they're at the start of the emerging 90s rock scene, their sound harkens back to the 80s in a variety of ways, weaving in new wave, jangle pop, and underground college rock with layered harmonies, nods to shoegaze and dream pop, while keeping the arrangements tight.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Joyride (I Saw The Film)

19:19 - Abort

21:03 - Here At Home

29:42 - Jackpot

32:25 - Daddy's Home

Outro - Tied

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#537: Are You With Me? by Cowboy Mouth Apr 27, 2021

Show notes

Regionality isn't talked about much outside Seattle with regard to 90s rock, but just like how the Pacific Northwest was experimenting with punk and metal in unique ways, other parts of the United States had an impact on the bands from their locales. Like our recent Better Than Ezra episode, Cowboy Mouth is from Louisiana, a state which boasts a deep and rich musical history that can't help but imprint on the latest generation. In the case of Cowboy Mouth and their 1996 album Are You With Me?, and the members' previous 80s bands Dash Rip Rock and Red Rockers, the influence of roots rock, blues, Americana, and more can be heard throughout in subtle nods and swinging rhythms. Unfortunately, some of the personality gets sanded off for a sound that is ready for mainstream radio, but also lacking some needed edge.

Song In This Episode

Intro - Jenny Says

20:39 - Man On The Run

30:27 - God Makes The Rain

34:28 - Love Of My Life

38:02 - How Do You Tell Someone

Outro - New Orleans

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#536: Lo-Fi in the 90s Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

Lo-fi isn't unique to the 1990s, but it is the first decade that the recording technique (meaning literally "lo-fidelity") merged with indie rock and take on a genre identity. Artists like Pavement, Sebadoh, Guided By Voices, Liz Phair, and more found their bedroom and basement recordings appealing to more than just a tape-trading crowd with the advent of cheap CD reproduction and small labels with better distribution. But it begs the question - is lo-fi simply a recording technique based on circumstance, or an aesthetic artists strive for to attain a particular emotional effect.

Song In This Episode

Intro - I Am A Scientist by Guided By Voices

12:57 - Splendid Isolation by The Bevis Frond

22:49 - Drive All Over Town by Elliott Smith

32:37 - Losercore by Sentridoh

45:56 - Parting Shot by The Grifter

1:06:38 - Anytime You Want by Eric's Trip

Outro - Summer Babe (Winter Version) by Pavement

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#535: Rotting Piñata by Sponge Apr 13, 2021

Show notes

After the early 90s explosions of Seattle grunge and alternative rock, labels swept up bands from across the country (and globe) that had any sonic resemblance to the chart toppers. By 1994, the signing frenzy was in full swing, and bands new and old found their way to major labels. Some were teenagers from Australia, while others might have veterans of midwestern hard rock and metal bands, as was the case with Sponge. If there is a reason why their major label debut Rotting Piñata from 1994 sounds so confident, it's because these weren't first timers figuring it out. That confidence shows as the album balances tight, melodic singles with album tracks that incorporate a wide pallet of influences from 80s Psychedelic Furs and R.E.M. to 90s shoegaze and metal.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Molly

16:32 - Miles

18:00 - Neenah Menasha

28:00 - Giants

31:36 - Pennywheels

Outro - Drowned

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#534: Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope by Jimmie's Chicken Shack Apr 05, 2021

Show notes

Bands only get to make their debut album once, but for Jimmie's Chicken Shack, a few practice swings paid off. Taking tracks from several low-profile independent releases and combining them for the 1997 major label debut means the material on Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope sounds refined and well-thought-out without being stale and lifeless. Unlike some contemporaries who relied on thick, down-tuned guitars to push their angst, JCS work in layers of intricate guitar leads that recall 1970s progressive rock or 90s math rock but with a funk metal twist.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - High

21:00 - Dropping Anchor

24:16 - When You Die You're Dead

33:14 - This Is Not Hell

36:02 - Milk

Outro - Hole

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#533: Bring On The Juice by Hoss Mar 30, 2021

Show notes

We've listened to plenty of Australian 90s rock that made little to no impact in the United States many times but rarely has a band sounded so US-based in its influences as Hoss. On their third album Bring On The Juice, swinging punk rhythms recall Detroit's 70s action rock scene, while more dissonant moments sound like pre-90s grunge from the likes of Mudhoney or early Dinosaur Jr. Attitude, confidence, and swagger abound on these eleven tracks, sometimes leading the band into overly long excursions that could use some trimming. But overall, Hoss finds a way to sound off the moment and timeless concurrently, not an easy feat to pull off.

Songs In This Episode

Intro - 11:11 Again

21:36 - Mighty Hand

28:04 - Lip From Lip

31:27 - Gentle Claws

Outro - The Tiredest Man Awake

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#532: Sophomore Slump Revisited - Congratulations, I'm Sorry by Gin Blossoms Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

While 1996's Congratulations, I'm Sorry charted higher than 1992's New Miserable Experience for the Gin Blossoms, it failed to produce the same number of singles and managed only a quarter of the sales. The simplistic answer is to pin the decline on the loss of guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, who penned their biggest and most enduring hit "Hey Jealousy." But as we have learned, the landscape changed fast for bands in 90s rock. NME singles made an impact in 1993 and 1994, and the band's contribution to the Empire Records soundtrack, "Til I Hear It From You," was also a hit. Is it possible listeners had Gin Blossoms fatigue in 1996? The album charted well upon release, and "Follow You Down" was a hit, but no other singles connected, and the band would break-up the following year for a four-year hiatus. So does Congratulations, I'm Sorry deserve its sophomore slump status, or is it worthy of redemption?

Songs In This Episode

Intro - Follow You Down

20:38 - Virginia

30:54 - Day Job

45:46 - Competition Smile

Outro - As Long As It Matters

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#531: Mint 400 by Ammonia Mar 16, 2021

Show notes

By 1995, it was difficult for American "alternative" bands to make a dent in the US, let alone a rookie Australian band on a new label with just a handful of releases to crack MTV and radio. Ammonia did that with the quirky single "Drugs," which found singer/guitarist Dave Johnstone melding the quiet/loud bombast of Nirvana with a delivery more reminiscent of Wayne Coyne. But "Drugs" is the classic case of a single not exactly representing the sound of the record, as the rest of Mint 400 shifts between big fuzzed-out riffing in the vein of Swervedriver's shoegaze and Superchunk's early noise pop. The band works best in short, loud bursts, only losing focus when the tempo drops and running time drags.

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - Drugs

22:17 - Suzi Q

30:40 - Ken Carter

43:41 - Mint 400

Outro - Sleepwalking

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#530: Friction, Baby by Better Than Ezra Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Of the all bands that scored alternative hits in the 90s rock, few managed to recapture that sales magic on ensuing albums. But that doesn't mean their follow-ups records were lesser, and in some cases they made superior albums that got overlooked by fickle record buyers. Case in point: Better Than Ezra. After having their 1993 self-released sophomore album Deluxe repackaged and reissued by Elektra in 1995, and scoring a hit single with "Good," the band quickly reconvened and recorded the follow-up Friction, Baby. What the 1996 album lacks is the killer-hook single, but what it gains is confidence. While still boasting a pair of quality radio friend tracks in "King of New Orleans" and "Desperately Wanting," the album overall has the air of a band confident and secure in the sound while still stretching. That can lead to some magic, like on the blazing "Long Lost" and somber "Speeding Up To Slow Down," but also some hubris to go too far on the bad funk of "Normal Town" and "Still Live with Cooley."

Songs In This Episode:

Intro - King of New Orleans

19:36 - Long Lost

27:33 - Scared, Are You?

31:24 - Speeding Up To Slow Down

34:31 - Normal Town

Outro - Desperately Wanting

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Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.