📬 Get the Newsletter: Weekly podcasts, 'History of the Band' articles, new music reviews & more

Podcast Episode
Season
Eleven
number
531
Type
Album Review
Post Date
3/16/2021

Ammonia

531 Mint 400 by Ammonia

Mint 400

Label
Murmur
Release year
1995
Producer
Kevin Shirley

Tight songwriting, killer bass tone, and blistering guitars elevate Ammonia's debut album Mint 400 out of the pack of mid-90s rock bands

Author & Special Guests

By 1995, it was difficult for American "alternative" bands to make a dent in the US, let alone a rookie Australian band on a new label with just a handful of releases to crack MTV and radio. Ammonia did that with the quirky single "Drugs," which found singer/guitarist Dave Johnstone melding the quiet/loud bombast of Nirvana with a delivery more reminiscent of Wayne Coyne. But "Drugs" is the classic case of a single not exactly representing the sound of the record, as the rest of Mint 400 shifts between big fuzzed-out riffing in the vein of Swervedriver's shoegaze and Superchunk's early noise pop. The band works best in short, loud bursts, only losing focus when the tempo drops and running time drags.

Coming soon

We haven't reviewed this record yet. However, you can compell us to grab our shovels and dig it out. Request a review and we'll devote a full episode to discussing this album. Heck we might even invite you on as a guest. Support the show and help rock fans discover a lost album of the 90's.

Patreon: $2.50 a month

Support us for the year (12 consecutive months), and you’ll be rewarded with an album review for 2017 that you can join us to talk about.

Visit Patreon

PayPal Donation: $30.00

This is the fastest option to get your recommendation on the show. Make a donation and put the artist and album title in the payment comments. We’ll follow up with any questions and let you know the episode release date.

Donate

Dig ME Out - 90s Rock review

Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Songs in this episode

  • Intro - Drugs
  • 22:17 - Suzi Q
  • 30:40 - Ken Carter
  • 43:41 - Mint 400
  • Outro - Sleepwalking

Follow us to know when this episode is available

We are a weekly podcast with new episodes published every Tuesday morning. Subscribe to the show in iTunes or your favorite podcast app to get new episode delivered to you. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for episode releases, previews and 90's rock news.

View in iTunes
Social media

Playlist

Spotify playlist for this episode

Mint 400