THESE ANIMAL MEN (Come On, Join) The High Society 1994

Discogs

Artist Biography by Michael Sutton

The British band These Animal Men were quickly tossed into the "new wave of new wave" revolution, a music scene created mainly by the U.K. press to help publicize a number of young pop-punk revivalists in England circa 1994. Formed in 1993 in Brighton, England, These Animal Men wasted no time in shocking the masses. The group's first single, "Speeed King," was a high-octane tribute to amphetamines; the cover even showed a bowl of suspicious white powder and a couple of straws. Comprised of Julian Hewings (vocals, guitar), Patrick Murray (bass), Boag (guitar, vocals), and Stevie Hussey (drums), These Animal Men capitalized on widespread tabloid rumors of the band consisting of drug-addicted bad boys. The banned "Speeed King" even landed them on the legendary Top of the Pops show. However, when These Animal Men released their debut album, (Come on Join) The High Society, Oasis had just unleashed Definitely Maybe into a stagnant rock & roll market searching for the Next Big Thing after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Oasis brought guitar pop back onto the British charts and showed the world that England was worth listening to again. The "new wave of new wave" movement was left in the dust, taking These Animal Men and their sordid tales of drugs, booze, and masturbation with them. The group recorded another full-length, Accident & Emergency, and then split up quietly in 1997. Hewings and Boag reunited in Mo Solid Gold.

Tracklist

1	Sharp Kid	3:11
2	Empire Building	3:16
3	Ambulance	4:18
4	This Year's Model	3:35
5	You're Always Right	3:00
6	Flawed Is Beautiful (Edit)	2:50
7	This Is The Sound Of Youth	2:39
8	Sitting Tenant	3:51
9	Too Sussed?	3:17
10	(Come On, Join) The High Society	3:52
11	We Are Living	5:07
12	Hight Society (Return)	1:30

 

BELLY Feed The Tree 1993

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Following several years in Throwing Muses, as well as a brief detour in the Breeders in 1990, Tanya Donelly formed her own band, Belly, in 1992. With Belly, Donelly expanded her dreamy pop hooks into more concise, catchy songs, as well as harder-edged rock. The band's 1993 debut, Star, became one of the first beneficiaries of the commercialization of alternative rock; it rode to gold status within its first year of release, as "Feed the Tree" made headway on mainstream pop radio. Despite their strong start, Belly never became genuine stars, and once their 1995 follow-up, King, bombed, Donelly disbanded the group.

Donelly (vocals, guitar) broke away from Throwing Muses in late 1991, forming Belly with fellow ex-Muse Fred Abong (bass), drummer Chris Gorman, and his guitarist brother Tom. Donelly hired Pixies producer Gil Norton to work on the group's debut EP, Slow Dust, which confirmed that her dream pop sensibilities had more hooks than many of her peers. Slow Dust reached number one on the British indie charts in early 1992, and two other EPs followed that year, generating strong word of mouth. Belly's debut album, Star, was released in February of 1993 to strong reviews, and its first single, "Feed the Tree," reached the U.K. Top 40, helping the album enter the British charts at number two. Shortly afterward, the single became a crossover hit in the U.S. The band added Gail Greenwood as bassist -- Abong left the band during the recording of Star -- that spring, and spent the remainder of 1993 on tour, helping send the album to gold status in America.

In 1994, Belly recorded their second album with classic rock producer Glyn Johns. The resulting record, King, was more rock-oriented than its predecessor, partially because of Johns' work and partially because of Greenwood, who was a harder rocker than Donelly. King was expected to be Belly's breakthrough into the mainstream, yet was greeted with mixed reviews upon its spring release and quickly fell off the charts. In the wake of its failure, Donelly disbanded Belly in 1996. She went solo, and released four studio albums and a series of EPs through the early 2010s, as she raised a family with husband Dean Fisher. Greenwood played with L7 and Bif Naked, then formed Benny Sizzler, while the Gorman brothers worked as commercial photographers. In early 2016, the band announced that it was working on new material and planning to tour that year. Following that 2016 tour, the band headed in to the studio and in 2018 they released Dove, their first full-length record in 23 years. In advance of the album's release, Belly put out the lead single "Shiny One."

Tracklist  

1	Feed The Tree	3:28
2	Trust In Me	4:19
3	Dream On Me	4:56
4	Star	3:02

 

TIT WRENCH OK You Homos, Out Of The Car 1995

industrial noise rock from San Diego

Discogs


Last FM 

Tit Wrench United grew out of the ashes of Neighborhood Watch in the late 1980s and spent several years making electronic punk songs, putting out records, playing shows, etc. Bob was always the main guy behind TW, with a wide variety of co-conspirators and pranksters over the years. TW never officially ended, rather it's mostly been on hiatus (along with VC Records) since Bob settled down to start raising his family several years ago. While Gunnar and Bob have made sporadic one-off appearances as TW in recent years, the full-band format hasn't played a show in at least 10 years. We'll be back. Or maybe we don't need to be back, since all our old lyrics pretty much apply perfectly to the whole dubya situation. Now that's progress for ya!!

Tracklist

1	Ex-Mutant	4:35
2	Survey Said . . .	0:43
3	Cops Hate Firemen	1:34
4	Sausage People Rule	2:54
5	Need Another Seven Astronauts	1:40
6	Untitled	1:06
7	Believe, It's Carbohydrates	1:55
8	Sausage People (Chorizo Mix)	4:07
9	Untitled	1:11
10	Thusly Neutered (They're Gone)	2:14
11	Untitled	1:56
12	John Goff's Christmas Present	4:15
13	Untitled	0:41
14	Untitled	0:25
15	Untitled	0:58
16	Untitled	5:24
17	Untitled	0:12
18	Untitled	0:14
19	Untitled	0:12
20	Untitled	0:22
21	Untitled	0:15
22	Untitled	0:22
23	Untitled	0:07
24	Untitled	0:19
25	Untitled	0:08
26	Untitled	0:09
27	Untitled	0:11
28	Untitled	0:25
29	Untitled	0:08
30	Untitled	0:27
31	Untitled	0:11
32	Untitled	0:12
33	Untitled	0:23
34	Untitled	0:37
35	Untitled	0:44
36	Untitled	0:38
37	Untitled	0:16
38	Untitled	0:20
39	Untitled	0:29
40	Untitled	0:30
41	Untitled	0:14
42	Untitled	0:56
43	Untitled	0:20
44	Untitled	0:52
45	Untitled	0:48
46	Untitled	1:14
47	Untitled	0:46
48	Untitled	1:22
49	Untitled	0:29
50	Untitled	1:13
51	Untitled	1:20
52	Untitled	0:44
53	Untitled	0:18
54	Untitled	0:29
55	Untitled	0:11
56	Untitled	0:25
57	Untitled	0:19
58	Untitled	0:27
59	Untitled	0:38
60	Untitled	0:30
61	Untitled	0:06
62	Untitled	0:17
63	Untitled	0:06
64	Untitled	0:21
65	Untitled	0:06
66	Untitled	0:35
67	Untitled	0:06
68	Untitled	0:13
69	Untitled	0:38
70	Untitled	0:06
71	Untitled	0:07
72	Untitled	0:29
73	Untitled	0:26
74	Untitled	0:30
75	Untitled	0:43
76	Untitled	0:32
77	Lazer Grunge In 3-D	0:22
78	Untitled	0:29
79	Untitled	0:10
80	Untitled	0:05
81	Untitled	0:12
82	Untitled	0:27
83	Untitled	0:38
84	Untitled	0:10
85	Untitled	0:30
86	Untitled	0:19
87	Untitled	0:44
88	Untitled	0:28
89	Untitled	0:10
90	Untitled	0:08
91	Untitled	0:06
92	Untitled	0:24
93	Untitled	0:39
94	Untitled	0:31
95	Untitled	0:29
96	Untitled	0:44
97	Untitled	0:33
98	Untitled	0:09
99	Untitled	0:10

 

TALL TALES AND TRUE Looking for a Place 1992

by request

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Brendan Swift

Formed by Australian vocalist and guitarist Matthew de la Hunty, along with bassist Paul Miskin and drummer Willie McCracken (the latter was replaced by Dave Rashleigh in 1984), Tall Tales & True first sprang to life in Sydney in 1983. It took three years, however, for the release of their self-titled debut album, which contained the single "Wasted Life"/"Good Heart Gone Bad." Two four-track EPs followed, Up Our Street (1987) and You've Got Your Troubles (1988), before the band contributed a remixed version of the single "You've Got Your Troubles" to the Youngblood compilation album in September 1988.
A deal with rooArt resulted and the band shared a single with the Trilobites in 1988: "You've Got Your Troubles"/"All Hail the New Right." Their second album, Shiver, was released in May 1989 and produced the singles "Trust"/"Heaven Knows" (April 1989) and "Hold On"/"Lullaby Number 1" (June). Violinist Vanessa Lucas joined Tall Tales & True for their next EP, Superstition Highway, released in April 1991. A tour with the Hummingbirds and Canadian band the Pursuit of Happiness followed, as did two new singles: "Lifeboat" and "Summer of Love"; both found their way onto the band's second album, Revenge (May 1992). Two further singles were lifted from the album, "Watching the Wind Blow" (May) and "Looking for a Place" (October).
Tall Tales & True's final album, Tilt, featured more or a garage rock tone and produced two EPs, You Sleep I'll Drive (October 1994) and Moonshine (January 1995). The band broke up soon after and de la Hunty's solo career kicked off with the album Scissors, Paper, Rock in May 1999. 

Tracklist

1	Looking For A Place
2	Superstition Highway
3	3 Tired Words
4	Lifeboat