Ivy & the Big Apples
The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake made Spiderbait stars in Australia, and Ivy and the Big Apples consolidated their position as one of the most popular Australian bands of the late 90s. The gap between those two albums saw them trying to bring a more melodic approach to their music, which is certainly a welcome change. But once again this release is more of the same: buzzing guitars and half-sung, half-shouted vocals. However, songs like "Calypso" (with bass player Janet English on vocals, doing her best Juliana Hatfield impersonation) provide some respite from the thrashy punk of the rest of the disc.
While Spiderbait is starting to transcend their influences, they still have a long way to go before their music could be regarded as anything but disposable.