Hailing from Tempe, AZ,
the Refreshments
launched their short-lived career as a solid frat boy band, and
Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy
captures that period with muscled guitar riffs and strong vocals. Though much of this debut is about alcohol, Mexico, and girls (topics that the band later revisited on 1997's
The Bottle & Fresh Horses
, albeit with a stronger southwestern influence), the album also sports a sense of humor and lack of pretension that helped make
minor stars. Listening to
"Girly"
or
"Banditos,"
the album's flagship single, is like kicking back with a college bud and a brew: summery, smirky, and somewhat yearning. The irreverence in
' lyrics makes all the difference between them and other increasingly self-serious bands in the same vein. All the anguished
grunge
and
post-grunge
posing got old fast -- and with clever lyrics, solidly melodic guitar work, and
Roger Clyne
's marketable voice,
kept fun alive on the alternative scene throughout the decade's latter half. ~ Bryan Buss