Regurgitator - Tu-Plang

MINE

Sometimes frenzied and always entertaining, Regurgitator are one of those bands who hovered just outside my orbit.  Oh sure, I'd turn them up when they came on the radio, but they didn't quite make it into my hot little hand when I ventured into a music shop.

And that doesn't really surprise me when I listen to this album.  For me, it has its moments... but that's where I stop.  The change of pace and style throughout the album feels to me like a lack of cohesiveness.  And I don't really know enough about the band to comment about why  that might be.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Coming out in 1996, Tu Plang was a breath of fresh air to an industry overwhelmed by post-grunge bands, wanna be indie popsters and *shudder* Savage Garden.  Their magpie-like eclecticism was brave, daring and a little bit naughty too.

Opening with a sharp, self-deprecating dig at the music industry in the form of I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am (and the laugh but gag but laugh line of I keep on rinsing again and again), the 'Gurge swing between indie-pop gems, frenetic electronica, savvy hip hop and even a stab at surf music instrumentals with 348 Hz, all with equal aplomb.  Fittingly, it won both Alternative Album of the Year and Best Debut at the Australian Recording Industry Awards (ARIA) that year.

Importantly, it showed a fickle industry that there was plenty of room for bands to explore the boundaries of contemporary music and gain a strong fan base at the same time.  And while record companies struggled then (even as they do now) to try and pigeon-hole music for the sake of demographics, bands like this consistently prove them wrong by saying fuck categorisation and fuck demographics.

For all the years Regurgitator has been around, all the hits they've had and all the albums they've released, this remains my favourite by far.  In my mind, not only was it one of the best releases of the 90s but one of the best Australian releases ever.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://regurgitator.net/

Nada Surf - High/Low

YOURZ

Released right in the middle of the 90s, it always seemed to me that Nada Surf provided the link between the sounds of grunge, the nerd-rock of bands like Weezer and the smart art-rock of Sonic Youth and others.  This despite their first single being a huge anthem to the downside of being the coolest kid at school with Popular.

Unfortunately, while High/Low has travelled the years very well and more recently has achieved recognition as a defining piece of music, this was a long time coming.  It didn't help that the band, full of promise, were completely hobbled by a relentless record company, Elektra, looking for a follow-up hit.  When the band presented their second album, the record company basically turned their back on them, letting the album languish until they eventually dropped the band.

While the centre-piece of High/Low is undoubtedly the single, it is so different to the rest of the album, the way it sticks out from the rest of the album is a bit like a sore thumb (I imagine the band probably feel the same way about the song too).  While there is not a dud track here, I particularly like Treehouse, The Plan, Sleep and the closer, Zen Brain.  Definitely a Forgotten Gem for me, so...

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Of course I remembered Popular but I hadn't heard any of the rest of the album before, and I was pleasantly surprised.  Good fun, well put together, nice hooks - a shame the "long dark corridor" of the recording industry didn't treat them better.

But it got me thinking - wouldn't this be a great Glee episode?  They could do all those school-type songs.  How about adding in Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and of course Smells Like Teen Spirit? Then I guess we'd have to have Rock and Roll High School and Beck's Loser.  An episode about high school songs: an instant classic.

Anyway, I loved High/Low and I wasn't expecting to.  Yay!

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.nadasurf.com/