Shudder To Think - X French Tee Shirt
What happened to you, man? Where was your head when the world of popular music suddenly turned its ADHD-like attention span ever so briefly to the majesty of this Shudder To Think album called Pony Express Record in 1994? I'm not sure, but I don't think Epic Records even seemed to know who they were. They certainly didn't know how to market their singularly fascinating interpretation of rock and roll. I guess they were too busy pushing a little band from England called Oasis to pay proper attention to STT. Hordes of Dischord Records fans had already tasted Craig Wedren's glamorous and unpredictable vocal dynamite on five previous albums. Chris Matthews and Mike Russell had moved on from the original lineup and, in their place, like snakes on the head of Medusa, grew Nathan Larson's blistering guitar riffs, former Jawbox member Adam Wade's mathematically-improbable drum style that meshed seamlessly with original bassist Stuart Hill's consistently skillful basslines.
By the time Pony Express Record came out in 1994, STT had already caught the attention of, and landed a precious opening slot on tour with, a then still-largely-unknown Smashing Pumpkins just as the Pumpkins' Siamese Dream was being released. I remember seeing them on this tour October of 1993 and...well, without getting too complicated, I was overwhelmed. So here they go down the road with the Pumpkins; however, the rapidly-increasing popularity of the Pumpkins probably tended to overshadow the fresh sonically inventive layering of STT. Mind you, this was only one tour. As the Pumpkins grew, their relationship with STT stayed strong. They asked STT to join them once again, and STT toured second stage at Lollapalooza '94.
My pick, "X-French Tee Shirt", was the single that Epic worked to commerical alternative radio without much success. I'd like to think that it didn't catch on because Alternative radio hadn't experienced the necessary bleed out to notice something truly out-of-the-ordinary. Instead, I'll continue to blame Oasis since it's faster and probably more accurate. Oh, and that other pesky Epic band....Pearl something....? They worked with, and were friends with the late Jeff Buckley (Buckley played Bass for Larson's other band, Mind Science of the Mind in 1996). They continued to tour constantly, releasing two more albums with Epic. Between Pony Express Record and the follow-up 50,000 B.C, Wedren succesfully won a life-threatening battle with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Alas, this and other circumstances led to the band's break-up.
Since splitting, Wedren and Larson have, individually, created music for various films & television projects over the years. However, I gotta tell you, my loyal readers...these tracks are the lifeblood of what I think is still a critically and commercially overlooked piece of 1990's musical heritage that is so complex and engaging, it deserves your review. When you listen to this album, you have to just scratch your head and realize: these cats were so far ahead of their time, we still don't have a name to describe this kind of genius. Until you come up with one (or I do), 'genius' will have to suffice.
BONUS TRACK: Hit Liquor No Rm. 9, Kentucky
