“Feed The Dog” b/w “Coming Back” – Bored! (Fantastic Mess Records)
Before the recent passing of principal member Dave Thomas, Bored! had probably faded somewhat from the collective underground music consciousness.
There was a collection of live material out on Spanish label Bang! that did address that but, being a mail order thing, it was probably only heard by diehard Australian fans. This posthumous, limited-edition single from committed boutique label Fantastic Mess rights this wrong and is a fine tribute to Dave.
Along with “Conquest” and “Little Suzie”, “Feed The Dog” stands as one of Bored!’s very best songs. The mastering and packaging for this wonderful 45 does it justice. This is from the three-piece (Thomas-Russell Baricevic-Buzz Munday) version of the band. It rides a snarling, monstrous wall of wailing, wah-wah guitar and is propelled by a simple bassline and drum feel. “Feed The Dog” is all the things that the mainstream version of the much-vaunted thing called Grunge should have been.
The lead track from the 1991 album of the same name, it’s on a 45 for the first time. Bored! was having success in Europe at the time but imagine if a US label like SubPop had unleashed it onto the American public 29 years ago with major labels taking notice…
Flip the sucker over and “Coming Back” is an unreleased cut from the same sessions that’s right up to the mark. Dave’s vocal is buried back deep in the mix, but the steamroller riff and engine room throb are phenomenal.
The hand-screened art by Glenno Smith will bite if you put your hand too close. Just 300 copies on orange or purple. You know what to do and you can do it here.
