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J and Tim dig into the grunge, alt-rock, and indie albums that changed everything—the forgotten classics, the underappreciated masterpieces, and the legends worth hearing again. One album at a time. Let’s dig it out.
Episodes
Nov 17, 2022
Nov 17, 2022
1 hr 7 min
Formed in 1994 out of punk rock roots, Pohgoh’s poppier sounds earned the Florida band comparisons to acts like Velocity Girl and Superchunk. A split single with Braid was released in 1996 and by the time Pohgoh was ready to record a full length, singer Kobi Finley had been replaced by Susie Richardson. What should have been the start of a great relationship with the newly created label Deep Elm Records wound up dissolving quickly after drummer Keith Ulrey unceremoniously quit the band after the full length, In Memory of Bab, had been recorded but shortly before a record deal was signed. Ulrey’s departure led the band to break up in 1997 though Ulrey and Richardson’s relationship developed and the former bandmates wound up getting married in 2000. In 2016, Pohgoh reunited and two years later released Secret Club on Ulrey’s New Granada Records. An opening slot on a Jawbreaker reunion tour happened in 2019 which led to the band recording another new album, Du Und Ich, which came out in October 2022.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Friend X (from The Emo Diaries Chapter One: What's Mine Is Yours)
6:03 - Tell Me Truly (from In Memory of Bab)
Outro - Try Harder (from Secret Club)
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Nov 15, 2022
Nov 15, 2022
45 min
Although Chris Cornell had written solo tracks for soundtracks during the Soundgarden era, it wasn't until the band had broken up that he released his proper solo debut. 1999's Euphoria Morning is both expected and unexpected, as some songs aren't far off from "Blow Up The Outside World" or "Fell on Black Days," minus the band bombast, while others showcase his phenomenal vocal talent over folk, blues, and psychedelic turns.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Can't Change Me
17:15 - Moonchild
21:50 - Wave Goodbye
27:13 - Preaching The End Of The World
33:38 - Disappearing One
Outro - When I'm Down
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Nov 8, 2022
Nov 8, 2022
50 min
Lead by brothers Jag (guitarist) and Chris (drummer) Tanna, I Mother Earth made layered Latin percussion, alternative rock bombast, and hints of progressive and psychedelic rock a part of the formula from the get go. But the band comes into their own on the 1996 sophomore release Scenery and Fish, opening with Afro-Cuban-influenced percussion that weaves throughout the record. Where some bands might trim out extended jams or unexpected divergences mid-song to attract a more commercial audience, the band plants the flag with full-throated bravado that no musical stone will be left unturned.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - One More Astronaut
12:50 - Songburst And Delirium
16:22 - Raspberry
24:41 - Pisser
29:37 - Another Sunday
Outro - Hello Dave
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Nov 1, 2022
Nov 1, 2022
41 min
On their third and final studio album, Bedhead, lead by brothers Matt and Bubba Kadane, craft an intimate record built on space and restraint. But 1998's Transaction de Novo isn't entirely a down-tempo affair, as the band pushes the sonic envelope on noisier tracks like "Extramundane" and "Psychosomatica" with mixed results. The sweet spot lies in the slowcore creep of opener "Exhume," which remains instrumental for most of its four plus minute running time, or expansive closer "The Present," which builds like an Explosions in the Sky song. The band finds new and interesting ways to stay true to their sound while tweaking it along the way.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Lepidoptera
10:25 - Exhume
13:48 - More Than Ever
21:54 - Extramundane
26:09 - The Present
Outro - Half-Thought
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Oct 25, 2022
Oct 25, 2022
1 hr 4 min
The past few decades have solidified Linda Perry as a pop songwriting machine for the likes of Pink, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and many more artists in the 2000s. But the talent was already there in 1992 when "What's Up!" struck a chord with listeners as the first track off of the one and only 4 Non Blondes album "Bigger, Better, Faster, More!" While the neo-folk of "What's Up!" slotted in nicely alongside fellow non-grunge acts like Blind Melon, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Dave Matthews Band, and others, the rest of the record tackles a variety of genres, like the shuffling blues of "Pleasantly Blue" to the bass-popping funk of "Superfly" to mixed results.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - What's Up!
17:12 - Drifting
23:56 - Old Mr. Heffer
32:15 - Calling All The People
Outro - Superfly
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Oct 18, 2022
Oct 18, 2022
36 min
Soulwax is best known for their remixes of such 2000s artists as LCD Soundsystem, Tame Impala, Gorillaz, Tiga, and more, but the band actually got their start as a catchy alternative rock band produced by the Chris Goss (of Masters of Reality) on their debut and Dave Sardy (Barkmarket) on their sophomore album, Much Against Everyone's Advice. Splitting their sound between chunky distorted guitars on tracks like "Too Many DJs" and "Conversation Intercom" and more a delicate approach on "Overweight Karate Kid" and "Flying Without Wings," it gives the album variety. But depending on which version you listen, the album can run long after an elongated lull in the middle that could be rectified with a reshuffling of the track list.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Much Against Everyone's Advice
14:27 - Too Many DJs
16:48 - Overweight Karate Kid
21:05 - Flying Without Wings
25:13 - My Cruel Joke
Outro - When Logics Die
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Oct 11, 2022
Oct 11, 2022
41 min
An established artist starting a new musical project is always a tricky proposition, and the 90s were no different. Whether releasing a solo album or starting a new band, quality doesn't always matter when it comes to fans accepting a new sound or direction. After the amicable split of Bikini Kill in 1998, Kathleen Hanna returned a year later with the retro-inspired Le Tigre, forgoing punk bombast for dancier sounds rooted in homemade drum loops, Farfisa organs, 60s girl groups, 80s new wave and electroclash. But that doesn't mean politics and social commentary take a back seat, as Hanna is as sharp lyrically as ever on the self-titled debut album while balancing pop melodies with a lo-fi approach.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Deceptacon
11:22 - Les and Ray
17:36 - What's Yr Take On Cassavetes
24:46 - Phanta
28:56 - Eau D'Bedroom Dancing
Outro - My My Metrocard
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Oct 4, 2022
Oct 4, 2022
50 min
The line between influence and blatant copying is thin, but bands like Salmonblaster fall more towards the former on their 1996 self-titled and only officially released album. The howling vocals and chugging guitar riffs easily recall Nirvana but in a way that pays respect rather than simply aping the sound, and it's not the only trick the band has up their sleeves. Guitars are big and occasionally chaotic in a shoegaze way that makes the more restrained elements shine brighter, while the band shifts between sounds as easily as their lead vocalist jumps from cathartic screams to melodic harmonies.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Sugarrush
14:26 - Transistors & Turbines
20:36 - Freeway
26:46 - Brian Jones
31:49 - Visonblur
Outro - The Perfect Fit
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.
Sep 27, 2022
Sep 27, 2022
1 hr 17 min
Garage rock can be a catch-all term that rubs shoulders with punk, rockabilly, surf, and more. But thanks to a variety of known and lesser-known bands, there has always been a group of dedicated musicians writing and playing revved up and relatively simple rock that traces its lineage back to the primitive and raw sounds of 60s that popped up after the British Invasion with roots in American rhythm and blues. After a very underground 80s, the sound returned in fits and starts with bands like Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and later The White Stripes, The Hives, The Strokes, and plenty of other bands starting with "The." We dig into the whole sound, the local scenes that helped foster the sound over decades, and much more.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes
16:20 - Paint It Black by The Avengers
21:49 - Touch Me I'm Sick by Mudhoney
31:09 - (Gotta Get Some Action) Now! by The Hellacopters
40:11 - Heaven by The Hydromatics
1:07:31 - The Reproduction of Death by The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Outro - Singin' A Song About Today by The Mooney Suzuki
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Sep 20, 2022
Sep 20, 2022
48 min
Shoegaze is a term tossed out whenever a band leans in on the wall-of-sound distortion and pairs it with obscured vocals and dreamy feedback. But few bands actually stuck to My Bloody Valentine's template, adding their own flavors like the 1993 debut album Against Perfection by Adorable. Here the vocals are less obscured, and even hooky at times, recalling everyone from Echo & the Bunnymen and The Smiths to The Verve and Spiritualized. But it's not just the vocals that give Adorable a unique twist, as the rhythm section, especially an occasional Pixies-like bassline, gets their times to shine as well.
Songs In This Episode:
Intro - Breathless
17:49 - Sister Chapel Ceiling
21:26 - Homeboy
28:07 - Sunshine Smile
34:45 - Still Life
Outro - A To Fade In
Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon.