New Miserable Experience cover

New Miserable Experience

Released

These Tempe, Arizona-based power poppers hit it big in the early- to mid-1990s with hits that you’re still hearing in department stores everywhere: “Hey Jealousy,” “As Long As It Matters,” “’Til I Hear It From You,” etc. Unfortunately, their debut album was dogged by tragedy: lead guitarist and songwriter Dog Hopkins’ depression and alcoholism had become such a problem that he was fired after the New Miserable Experience was completed, and he eventually killed himself; the band never fully recovered its mojo. But their particular brand of high-energy jangle rock never went away either (despite snobby critical backlash in the wake of their hits), and this album is now generally regarded as a hallmark of power pop’s 1990s resurgence.

Rick Anderson

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