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Album reviews that explore obscure, alternative and pop rock music of the 90s
Clouds' 1991 album Penny Century sounds like a lost college rock album that would have fit nicely alongside Belly, Lush, and The Breeders
The 1993 collaboration between Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Whitesnake's David Coverdale is a listenable but not quite classic rock album
Always out of step with the 90s alternative rock explosion, The Black Crowes released their most confident album with 1994's Amorica
With 1993's Today's Active Lifestyles, Polvo creates a guitar-centered indie rock album unlike almost any other from the decade
On 1997's Give It Back!, The Brian Jonestown Massacre overcome influence to successfully combine '60s psychedelia with '90s indie rock
Six years ago, The Wildhearts debut didn't drive us wild. Will their 1995 sophomore album be more of the same or win over our hearts?
The 1997 debut Exile on Coldharbour Lane by Alabama 3 somehow combines trip-hop, acid house, country, blues, and gospel and make it all work
Phantom Blue's second and final album Built to Perform got lost in the early 90s alternative wave but is a hard rock record worth revisiting
Creeper Lagoon's 1998 debut I Become Small and Go finds the right balance between Dust Brothers production and lo-fi
Tom Waits' Grammy Winning eleventh album Bone Machine from 1992 is a wild ride of strange characters and stripped-down production
Mixing catchy garage rock, fuzzy desert rock, and psychedelic weirdness make the 1999 album by Wellwater Conspiracy a frustrating listen
The intimate minimalism of Pinback's 1999 self-titled debut paralleled the downbeat post-hardcore of the era but left us wanting more
Layered vocal harmonies, sparse arrangements, and subtle genre-mixing entrance the listener on Ida's 2000 album Will You Find Me
Dual bassists helped Ned's Atomic Dustbin standout in the crowded alternative scene, we revisit their 1992 sophomore album Are You Normal?
On their lone self-titled album from 1995, Chicago's Wicker Man laid down bruising riffs with enough variety for any kind of metal fan
On their 1995 debut Fluke, Rusty criss-cross genres with layers of ragged garage rock fuzz over raspy shredded vocals to maximum effect
Can a mid-90s alternative rock radio staple produce a solid album's worth of material? We check out Disciplined Breakdown by Collective Soul
Can southern rock jam band Widespread Panic successfully capture their legendary live performance on the studio album Bombs and Butterflies?
On their fourth album Too Many Days Without Thinking, Swell make the most of acoustic moodiness, jittery rhythms, and frazzled distortion
On the lone release by Hash, the band encapsulates the wild, genre-hopping world that was the late 80s and early 90s alternative music scene
On the third and final album Make A Pest A Pet by The Age of Electric, the band backs smart songwriting with hooky melodies and guitar riffs
Throwing Copper exploded Live globally and produced a handful of radio and MTV hits but does this album stand the test of time?
On their lone release, Moler find the right combo of Ash pop-punk and Cosmic Psychos fuzz on 1997's Golden Duck
A big but restrained sound on Maximum Sincere makes this Big Heavy Stuff album a post-hardcore record worth digging out
Jellyfish followed up their instant classic jangle and power-pop debut Bellybutton with the ambitious final curtain of 1993's Spilt Milk
What happens when you mix Helmet's down-tuned riffs and The Cure's slinky rhythms? The 1995 sophomore album Killjoy by Shihad is the answer.
The 1991 major-label debut Abort by Tribe puts its five members to good use exploring every aspect of late 80s alternative and indie rock
Cowboy Mouth combines radio-friendly rock with Southern flavor to mixed results on their 1996 album Are You With Me?
Was Rotting PiƱata another take on Seattle grunge, or did the debut by Sponge differentiate itself from 1994's class of alternative rock?
Jimmie's Chicken Shack's major-label debut avoids funk metal cliches on 1997's confident Pushing the Salmanilla Envelope
On their third album Bring On The Juice, Melbourne's Hoss mix Detroit rock with Seattle grunge for a loud, loose, and raucous good time
Tight songwriting, killer bass tone, and blistering guitars elevate Ammonia's debut album Mint 400 out of the pack of mid-90s rock bands
Better Than Ezra's 1996 follow-up album on the heels of their radio hit Good is a confident stride forward with a few glaring missteps
On their fifth album and major-label debut Eyewitness, Shades Apart refined their sharp punk edges for radio-friendly power-pop-punk
What is Tokyo Anal Dynamite by The Gerogerigegege? Our ears are still ringing, trying to figure it out. Punk? Noise? Nothing? Everything?
On Cats and Dogs, Royal Trux synthesized 70s blues and psychedelic rock through a 90s lo-fi lens to create a unique if frustrating listen