While The Fab Four will forever live dormant in the complex paradox vortex Herpes simplex of being both mainstream as it gets by every stretch or measure, and underrated by every portion of your lack of imagination, even their least popular full-length studio album, likely “Yellow Submarine” or “Beatles For Sale” cannot be listed here for legal or notary purposes. Same goes for the mall screamo sensations known as The Beach Boys, and heavy, heavy grindcore icon Katy “Blegh” Perry. However, the ten records that we deem most underappreciated from Capitol Records are. Spoiler alert: SOME are from large bands, but ALL are underrated LPs. “I” may have prevailed much, much more than “static,” but you’re so much more highly evolved than 2017 mainstage Taylor Swift cover bands could ever be, so break down the paper walls and yell till the balloon pops!
Blind Melon “Soup” (1995)
Let’s start with something sad, as things can only go up from here: The alternative rock and children bumblebee communities lost a real one when Blind Melon’s vocalist Shannon Hoon left this earth, and “Soup,” the band’s sophomore full-length studio album, was the band’s last to be released whilst Hoon was a living breathing thing on this earth. While it is nearly impossible for any band to have a sequel that did commercially better than Blind Melon’s breakout debut LP, this one definitely deserved almost as many sales and way, way better reviews. Thankfully it’s more of a grower than a shower, and “Soup” has achieved the fanfare it deserved from the same people that say things like “I don’t really like The Beatles.” Plus, how badass is the album cover? Also, remember hidden tracks that start before an album a la another Capitol Records release called “Losing Streak” by Less Than Jake. If not, we’re boomers, besties.
The F-Ups “Self-Titled” (2004)
Minnesota is for punks, and The F-Ups showed the world that Rochester was also a solid breeding ground for rock acts, despite not being Rochester, New York, home to both the garbage plate and The House of Guitars. It’s quite ballsy for a band to have a cover of a revered song like Mott the Hoople’s “All The Young Dudes,” and it is even riskier for a band to cover a cover that has been covered before in mainstream fashion like World Party did on the “Clueless” soundtrack, but The F-Ups are full of stones. Anyway, The F-Ups’ opening track on this LP, “Lazy Generation,” was featured in several video games, but sadly, the band split two years after their debut LP. Happily, they reunited in 2020, so look at your son now!
Jimmy Eat World “Static Prevails” (1996)
“Clarity” is typically the oldest JEW, yes, JEW album to be namechecked publicly, but “Static Prevails” deserves your time as well for many reasons. First off, “Claire,” track three right here, is a top ten Jimmy Eat World song. Secondly, while he sang lead for less and less JEW songs and records in succession, guitarist Tom Linton got ample vocal lead time to shine on half of the tracks, and his voice provided a counterpart and some diversity to crooner Jim Adkins. Lastly, despite not being in Drop D, it’s the band’s heaviest and most angular album. So pretend that you’re listening to Drive Like Jehu, never stop thinking AT all, and triple the fook out of anything fast or actionable.
Mae “Singularity” (2007)
After two critically and commercially successful full-length efforts, the emo/rock masterpiece, “Destination: Beautiful,” and the ambitiously orchestral, “The Everglow” LPs, for indie Tooth & Nail, Mae was hyped and poised for mainstream success with their major label debut “Singularity.” However, somehow somewhere something and somebody it failed before it ever had a chance, and said stat was catastrophic for Mae causing the band to lose key members and eventually break up. Even though they formed a few years later, the band would never rise to the heights of “The Everglow” and wouldn’t rock as hard as they did on the album’s single “Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone.” Perhaps the record was too mainstream/Warped Tour for Mae’s “cool” listeners who were neither cool or hot, or possibly, these little twerps scoffed at the sight and thought of said band selling their souls to a major label.
OK Go “Self-Titled” (2002)
OK Go’s music videos involving treadmills, and attention to detail may have gotten more attention than this self-titled release, but their debut self–titled LP is a power-pop/pop-rock masterpiece front to back, and easily our favorite from the band that seemingly quintupled to the quintuple power in fame with their sophomore album, “Oh No,” and particularly via the band’s hit, “Here It Goes Again”. Oh no is literally right on all fronts as this one should’ve gotten way, way more fanfare than it had. What to do? Well the fix is in, as you’re so damn hot, and we want you to travel back to 2002, a much simpler time, and rock out to all twelve tracks one at a time for all flowers, returns, and white uncolored automobiles.
Relient K “Five Score and Seven Years Ago” (2007)
“Five Score and Seven Years Ago” is Relient K’s best overall body of work. You think that all of its predecessors and its immediate sequel are all superior in every way, shape, or form: Well, crayons can melt on you for all we care over your deathbed of devastation and lack of reform. Sadly, while this LP had a solid debut week, it didn’t reach the heights of its prior album “Mmhmm,” thus becoming the band’s second of two full-length studio albums for Capitol Records; the buying and PureVolume streaming public must have done something wrong. Fun fact: One of the main reasons that this album is easily their best produced effort is because the band actually had a pre-production budget; what the hell is a record budget anyway?
Skeleton Key “Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon” (1997)
Easily the most underrated full-length studio album listed here, despite being nominated but not winning a Grammy Award for its, wait for it, wait for it, uniquely and pristinely designed artwork, and if you want more proof, try to find Skeleton Key’s “Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon” on DSPs. Fun fact: you likely remember MTV’s non-hit show “Oddville, MTV,” and if you aren’t, you’re just weird in another way that is too weird to mention. Regardless, go on YouTube and watch the band’s WTF performance. Done? Sweet. Now watch blink-182’s, Wild Orchid’s (a girl group featuring a young Fergie years before she became Fergalicious with The Black Eyed Peas), Descendents’ and more in the digital rabbit hole. Cool? Sweet. So, dear reader, don’t nod off just yet so you can desperately watch the fat man swing… Scratch that as the needle never ends!
Smoking Popes “Born to Quit” (1994)
Bayside, Mike Park, your elderly cousin who still lives with his stepmom, and Alkaline Trio love this band like a milkshake, so why shouldn’t you? This Smoking Popes entry is interesting in a non-ugly painting way, as this album, “Born to Quit,” was big enough for the band NOT to get dropped, but not large enough to be mainstream. C’est la vie! Smoking Popes released one more full-length studio album for Capitol Records after this sleeper and realized that their major label party was over. Why didn’t the three Caterer brothers become pop stars like the three gents in Hanson? We gotta know right now as we can’t help the teardrops from getting cried. In closing, take a gander at this album cover, which thirty years later in the present year could NEVER be created via a major label release.
The Vines “Winning Days” (2004)
The Vines’ debut full-length studio record “Highly Evolved” righteously swam successfully in the “garage rock” Big Four portion of the early-aughts wherein each band had a “The” in the beginning and something pluralized like “White Stripes,” “Hives,” and “Strokes.” However, its less grungy but still catchy sequel “Winning Days” may have had success in an Apple commercial, which ain’t a bad thing, but we don’t recall too many people stateside singing its praises. So drown the Baptists, burn the Westboro Baptist Church, look into the life/sterling career of John the Baptist, and hail Satan towards Sydney, Australia’s The Vines… and if you have time, which we believe that you do as you’re reading this, ride with the five follow-up LPs to “Winning Days”.
Yellowcard “Paper Walls” (2007)
Dear Bobbie, in a perfect world, this particular record would have been the follow-up to Yellowcard’s breakout and Radio Disney approved LP, “Ocean Avenue,” and the band’s best release (you know we’re right) “Lights and Sounds” would have been Capitol Records’ third Yellowcard album, but sadly that was not the case. We know that you know as well as we do that this world is far from perfect, so our shadows and regrets will forever darken the sky and cut Mick Jagger with a plastic fork. “Paper Walls” likely fell under your radar for more reasons than its meh single “Light Up The Sky,” and you need to remedy that stat! Honestly, approximately half of the record’s songs would’ve been better as highlight tracks, but you didn’t hear it from us. The band took a hiatus after this one, and made an incredible comeback before disbanding and reforming again!