THE WANNADIES Bagsy Me 1998

by request

Discogs

Artist Biography by MacKenzie Wilson

The Wannadies are one of Sweden's sweetest secrets, a band that was lucky enough to look beyond the pop sensations of ABBA, Ace of Base, and Roxette to establish a career inside modern rock. Hailing from Skelleftea, The Wannadies formed in the late '80s and brought Sweden's alternative rock scene to the forefront nearly a decade later. Pär Wiksten (vocals/guitar), Stefan Schönfeldt (guitar), Fredrik Schönfeldt (bass), Gunnar Karlsson (drums), and Christina Bergmark (organ) issued two independent albums in the early '90s, but it wasn't until 1995 that The Wannadies truly got what they were looking for. Their sound was more glossy and the U.K. quickly took notice. A deal with Indolent led to the release of a third album, entitled Be a Girl. Singles "You & Me Song" and "Might Be Stars" crashed the U.K.'s Top 20 and became NME favorites. Festival gigs across England also plugged The Wannadies campy rock appeal, allowing the fourth album, Bagsy Me, to also skyrocket in 1996. Drummer Gunnar Karlsson left the band shortly thereafter and Erik Dahlgren stepped in just in time for a joint tour with the Lighting Seeds. The Wannadies seemed unstoppable. Producer Nellee Hooper handpicked "You & Me Song" for the multi-successful Romeo & Juliet soundtrack in 1997, and the band gained college radio play in North America. Success was short-lived, however. The Wannadies constantly battled record labels and contractual responsibilities during the latter '90s. They took a two-year break from the industry and worked with Ric Ocasek for 1999's Yeah. The U.S. finally saw the release of Yeah a year later.  

Tracklist

1	Because	2:17
2	Friends	2:53
3	Someone Somewhere	4:49
4	Oh Yes (It's A Mess)	4:21
5	Shorty	3:30
6	Damn It I Said	3:15
7	Silent People	3:12
8	What You Want	2:44
9	Hit	2:22
10	Bumble Bee Boy	2:57
11	Combat Honey	2:26
12	That's All	8:38

PRUNELLA SCALES Dressing Up the Idiot 1997

by request

 

 

Discogs

 

 

Tracklist

1		Crisp
2		Deadman
3		Freak Machine
4		When
5		Fifty Tons Of Life
6		Don't Let The Flowers Die
7		Toms River
8		TV Is King
9		Had To Look
10		Talk Myself Down

 

GROOP DOGDRILL Half Nelson 1998

by request

Discogs 

 

Artist Biography by Mario Mesquita Borges

Discharging energizing concepts within the most extreme grounds of raw heavy rock, Groop Dogdrill seemingly creates a unique brand of unadulterated rock & roll. Founding their compositions on styles like stoner metal united with the rhythmic features of punk, Dogdrill succeeds in providing novel and constant substance for their own musical choices. Groop Dogdrill formed in the early '90s, in Doncaster, U.K., with a lineup consisting of Damo Fowkes (bass), Pete Spiby (vocals, guitar), and Hug Kelly (drums). In 1996, the British trio released its debut record, the single Gentleman's Soiree, and made some of its first live performances. Gracelands, the group's second single, presented the crew with even more media exposure, and within a short while, the band gained a respectable and always growing fan base, along with good reviews within the local music scene. During the time that followed, the squad entered an extensive tour alongside Cable that eventually only ended in 1997. Following one year of studio work, Dogdrill finally issued its first full-length disc, Half Nelson, in 1998. Two years after its debut release, the group decided to record their sophomore studio effort. Every Six Seconds, Groop Dogdrill's second album, hit the record stores in 2001, again receiving enthusiastic praise and considerable results. 

Tracklist

1	Lovely Skin
2	Cocksucker Blues
3	Gentlemans Soiree
4	Lifestyle
5	Oily Rag
6	Southbound Tuxedo
7	Jackie O
8	Gracelands
9	Hessus
10	(That) Texaco Feeling
11	Salt Peter
12	Personal
13	Silver Boots

 

BRACKET 4 Wheel Vibe 1995

by request

 

Artist Biography by John Bush

California-based Bracket -- comprised of vocalist/guitarist Marty Gregori, bassist Zack Charlos, guitarist Larry Tinney, and drummer Ray Castro -- got together in the early '90s and first showcased their power pop and punk sensibilities on the self-released 7" Giant Midge EP. Playing all around the San Francisco area, they signed to Caroline Records and released 924 Forestville St. and 4-Wheel Vibe to a growing fan base. Four tracks left off the latter album were issued on the 1996 EP 4 Rare Vibes, and their catchy guitar-driven punk soon caught Fat Wreck's attention. While the label had previously put out a few of the band's 7" singles, Bracket officially joined their ranks in the summer of 1996. Their first official Fat releases came that same year with the double 7" F Is for Fat and the E Is for Everything CD/EP.

Touring all over the world followed, including U.S. dates with SNFU, NOFX, Smoking Popes, MXPX, Everclear, and Tilt, before Bracket issued the full-length Novelty Forever in September 1998. Guitarist Angelo Celli joined on in Tinney's place the following year. When All Else Fails appeared in May 2000; two years later their installment of the Fat Wreck Live in a Dive series surfaced complete with a comic-book booklet and an enhanced CD of videos and interviews. They inked a deal with Takeover in July 2005, and for their next album, Bracket enjoyed a newfound sense of freedom and control by recording in a self-made studio inside an abandoned trailer, producing, mixing, and engineering the record themselves. The resulting exploratory 17-song Requiem was released in February 2006 to rave reviews. 

LOCAL H

Ham Fisted

1995

 

 

Pack Up The Cats
1998
 

 
Discogs

 

 

Local H Biography

by Mark Deming

Rock band from Zion, IL best known for their 90s hit "Bound For The Floor".
The band has its origins with multiple people that Scott Lucas played with under different band names. The name was finalized and a stable lineup finally came around 1990, with Lucas on guitar and vocals, Matt Garcia (2) on bass and Joe Daniels on drums. In 1993, Garcia left and Lucas and Daniels decided to go on as a two-piece. This lineup continued until 1999, when Daniels left and was replaced by former Triplefastaction drummer Brian St. Clair. St. Clair then left the band in 2013 and was replaced by Ryan Harding. 

Ham Fisted


Tracklist

1		Feed	2:37
2		Cynic	5:00
3		Mayonnaise And Malaise	4:45
4		User	2:49
5		Manipulator	4:10
6		Bag Of Hammers	2:38
7		Scott-Rock	3:27
8		Sports Bar	5:38
9		Chicago Fanphair '93	4:00
10		Strict-9	6:11
11		Skid Marks	5:02
12		Grrrlfriend	1:27

Pack Up The Cats


Tracklist

1		All-Right (Oh, Yeah)	3:10
2		"Cha!" Said The Kitty	2:57
3		Lucky	0:48
4		Hit The Skids Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Rock	4:39
5		500,000 Scovilles	1:37
6		What Can I Tell You?	4:52
7		Fine And Good	4:09
8		Lead Pipe Cinch	1:05
9		Cool Magnet
4:08
10		She Hates My Job	4:09
11		Stoney	1:42
12		Laminate Man	3:17
13		All The Kids Are Right	3:48
14		Deep Cut	2:27
15		Lucky Time	4:59

CLAYTOWN TROUPE Out There 1992

by request

 

 

Discogs

 

 

 

Claytown Troupe are an alternative rock band from the south-west of England.

 

 

Tracklist

1 Big Wheel 6:03 2 Wanted It All 3:59 3 Ways Of Love 3:37 4 Demon Seed 5:14 5 How Can Anybody Do This? 5:00 6 Skybound 4:14 7 Rainbow's Edge 5:41 8 Devil's Highway 4:50 9 Saddest Day 4:35 10 Magic Dies 6:23

 

MY SISTER'S MACHINE Wallflower 1993

 Thanks to Jabber Wocky

Discogs

Tracklist

	Inside Of Me
	Broken Land
	This Is Fear
	Steamy Swamp Thang
	Feed
	Empty Room
	16 Ways To Go
	Enemy
	I Slip Away
	Burn
	Mockingbird
	Cracking New Ground

DIRT Sahara of the Bozart 1992

by request

 

 

Discogs

 

 

 

Noise rock

 

 

Tracklist

1		Mopar
2		Skag Fight
3		Tam Po Po
4		Casa de Hee Haw
5		Peet
6		Serret
7		Gorgeous Weed
8		Dirk Flemming
9		Sinister Purpose

 

 

 

LOCAL H As Good as Dead 1996

by request

 

Discogs

Review by Mark Deming 

Of the dozens of grunge (or "heavy alternative") bands that emerged in the wake of Nirvana's success, one of the few that managed anything close to Kurt Cobain's emotional resonance was Local H. Just as much of Nirvana's early material was informed by Cobain's experiences growing up as a misfit in blue-collar Aberdeen, WA, Local H's Scott Lucas spun a loose concept album out of life in Zion, IL, a dead-end town in the industrial Midwest, for the group's second disc, As Good as Dead. Though Cobain's artier ambitions added an oddball sonic undertow to his neo-Sabbath dropped chords, Lucas' tastes obviously run to meat-and-potatoes hard rock, with just enough of a melody line to give you something to hum while you bang your head. But while Lucas has the guitar (and bass) style of a rock dude, like Cobain, he has the soul of a punk rocker, albeit one growing up in a nowhere town who isn't sure how to get out. With 13 songs written in the voice of a guy who never got past the city limits, As Good as Dead is a litany of bitterness over a life that's being wasted before your very eyes, from the dumb-ass machismo of "High-Fiving MF" and the delusional nostalgia of "Back in the Day" to the self-destructive dysfunctional relationship of "No Problem" and the alcoholic self-loathing of "Fritz's Corner." Even the album's funny moments speak of disappointment and dashed hopes -- in "Lovey Dovey," Lucas sounds happiest when his best friend is fighting with his girlfriend, and while the line "If I was Eddie Vedder/Would you like me any better?" cuts several ways at once, there's something in the delivery that suggests Lucas knows the answer...and doesn't want to hear it. Musically, As Good as Dead sounds just as brutal as its lyrics; while there's a graceful minor-key lyricism to quieter number like "No Problem" and "Eddie Vedder," Lucas and drummer Joe Daniels bash with an unsettling intensity on "Nothing Special" and "I Saw What You Did and I Know Who You Are." While the two sludgy slow numbers that close the album bring As Good as Dead to a disappointing conclusion, maybe it's appropriate -- you can't end an album about failure on a note of triumph, and anyone who grew up in a one-paper town will doubtless wince with recognition at the bitter hopelessness of As Good as Dead.

 Tracklist

1		Manifest Density Pt. 1	0:51
2		High-Fiving MF	4:50
3		Bound For The Floor	3:42
4		Lovey Dovey	2:57
5		I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are	3:16
6		No Problem	4:14
7		Nothing Special	3:59
8		Eddie Vedder	3:29
9		Back In The Day	3:35
10		Freeze-Dried (F)lies	4:00
11		Fritz's Corner	2:51
12		O.K.	6:53
13		Manifest Density Pt. 2	4:37