Gumball

After the Velvet Monkeys—and a stint in Dinosaur Jr. as well as frontman of B.A.L.L.—

Don Fleming started Gumball, a grungey project that repackaged the crusty college rock of his previous acts into something a lot fuller, richer, and articulated—in short, something poppier. On Super Tasty, their second LP, which, tellingly, was produced by Butch Vig, guitars squeal as they burn rubber, merciless kicks and toms punch their way through the mix, and the scent of musty flannel permeates everything.

That came out and then Gumball all but went away. A third record was released, Revolution on Ice, and I quite like it at parts, like when Flemming and company cover Blue Öyster Cult's "She's as Beautiful as a Foot" (with that band's original drum, Albert Bouchard, no less!) sunlessly, nihilistically.