#272: Human Cannonball by School of Fish

We’re back with our latest requested review, this week we’re checking out the second and final album by School of Fish, 1993′s Human Cannonball. The band scored a minor hit on their first album, but none of the singles reached the same level of success from this release, and we try to figure out why. While the main songwriting tandem of Josh Clayton-Felt and Micheal Ward stayed in tact, the rhythm section changed, and that might have had some impact, while other parts that should have made an impact didn’t. We struggled with this record, are we justified in our criticisms? Tune in hear what we’ve got to say, and let us know if you agree or disagree.

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#271: Digging Your Scene - Roundtable Discussion on Chicago in the 90s

Last year we had a lot of fun (and learned a lot) during our Australian music of the 90s episode. In fact, we had so much fun, we decided to turn it into new series we’re calling “Digging Your Scene,” where we explore a city or region that made an impact on alternative and indie music in the 1990s.

To kick off the series, we’re heading to a city once described (like a few others) as “the next Seattle,” Chicago, Illinois. To help us getting dig deep into the Chicago music scene, we’ve invited back Andy Derer of the Chicago-based Andy Derer Show podcast, Chicagoist Senior Editor Jim Kopeny and Annie Zaleski, writer for AV Club, Salon and more, to talk the history, the bands, the venues, the record stores, the legacy and more of Chicago.

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#270: Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf

Another week, another requested review! This week we’re checking out the 1993 debut album Icky Mettle by Archers of Loaf. Check out any music website, blog or magazine, and when the best alternative albums of the 90s are ranked, you’ll usually find this album somewhere on it. Propulsive drums, melodic bass, dissonant guitars and urgent vocals are combined in short bursts without adhering to the verse/chorus/verse format. The results are definitely superior to most of their 90s counterparts, but does that make it a perfect record? We have thoughts, tune in to find out what they are.

Note: we apologize for the audio quality on this one, we had some technical difficulties with Jason’s microphone.

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#269: Gram by The Welcome Mat

Our latest requested review brings us The Welcome Mat’s debut release Gram from 1993. This four-piece from Sydney, Australia packs some power-pop worthy hooks thanks to crisp vocal harmonies, well-crafted tunes and expert guitar riffage. It’s only when either of the vocalists steps out on their own that the songs start to suffer, but how much? It’s (mild) disagreement time!

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#268: Interview with Jamie Hutchings of Bluebottle Kiss

Thanks to a requested review, we’re joined by Bluebottle Kiss lead singer/guitarist Jamie Hutchings to revisit the 1996 album Fear of Girls. We chat about his earlier years playing drums and how that influenced his guitar playing and singing. We discuss seeing late 80s/early 90s American indie-rock bands touring Australia before forming Bluebottle Kiss, then getting signed and working with producer Jack Endino on Fear of Girls. We talk touring, songwriting, going solo, his new band Infinity Broke and more.

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