90s Album Reviews

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 Piñata 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

From the other side of the country, Clutch tapped into the California stoner and desert rock sound on their self-titled 1995 album

On 1993's Rid Of Me the sound-shifting PJ Harvey created a visceral and vital record, deconstructing blues and punk with poetic tension

By their debut 1991 studio album Frizzle Fry, Primus had already mastered their strange distillation of funk, metal, and progressive rock

Drive Like Jehu combined shifting time signatures, manic energy, and an ear-splitting attack on their 1995 swan song Yank Crime

On their second full-length Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, Mudhoney expanded their fuzzed-out sound but missed on delivering a killer track

Extreme's 1995 Waiting For The Punchline album is full of pointed lyrics and gritty guitar licks that mostly went undeservedly unheard

The third record by that dog. almost didn't happen, but luckily Retreat From The Sun found the light of day loaded with fuzzy goodness.

On his 1998 solo debut Boggy Depot, Jerry Cantrell stretched the Alice In Chains sound with both successful and overindulgent results

We're joined by members of Triplefastaction and some special guests for a deep dive on the reissue of their 1997 sophomore Cattlemen Don't

Combining old school rockabilly and country on 1995's Dirt Track Date, Southern Culture on the Skids filter it through 1980s college rock