5 out of 5

Produced by: Tom Rothrock, Rob Schnapf

Label: Interscope

I, too, slept on Possum Kingdom.  Like much of the 90s, post-Nirvana grunge, I admitted to the inherent catchiness of whichever single – I Come From the Water in Toadies’ case – but looked at the anti-religion venting lyrics, and singer Vaden Lewis’ quirky snarl, as marks of something more juvenile than my refined palate of Reel Big Fish could tolerate.  I secretly coveted the album… but no, I couldn’t taint my super cool CD rack.

Years on, my super cool CD rack got lost in the digital shuffle, everyone had 1800 guilty pleasures on their playlists, and it was easy to find Toadies back catalogue in used bins.  As I did, and purchased, and was shocked and how good the album is and how well it holds up.  I hear the 90s hallmarks, for sure, but it’s still a fantastic set.

Another 90s grunge trend: Your second album blows the first out of the water, but no one hears it, having moved on to, uh Staind.

Hell Below / Stars Above is pretty much a masterpiece.  Toadies are kicking ass to this day, but I think its this album that went through the post-spotlight crucible to confirm their identity as stone cold rockers, ringled by the enigmatic Lewis, whose angsty themes broadened – though still angsty – to a more world-weary point of view.  Rob Schnapf is back at the knobs, and if the nuance of the Pixies tributes on  Possum were a pleasure, the group rolls out even more satisfying layers of keys and strings – not flourish, this stuff is definite background to heavy riffs – on Hell Above, given an excellently crispy pop stomp by the production.  The Pixies thing is still there (You’ll Come Down is the template, pretty much), but again, this is now Toadies’ show, free of some grunge shackles and making the sound theirs.

This is one of those discs where you don’t skip songs because each one is so damn good.  It’s also impeccably sequenced, maintaining momentum throughout and achieving several moments where you feel like the song would be a great ending note… and then the group follows it up with something even better.  From the kick-off of Plane Crash, fittingly started with a identifiably Vaden yelp, to the slow and powerful Pressed Against the Sky, and Jigsaw Girl, Hell Below solidified, for me, Toadies as a group to stick by, and I feel honored that they’ve made it through the label wringer to head over to an indie (Kirtland Records) and continue to drop musical delights.