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Podcast Episode
Season
Eight
number
389
Type
Album Review
Post Date
6/26/2018

The Nixons

389 Foma by The Nixons

Foma

Label
MCA
Release year
1995
Producer
Mark Dodson
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With Foma did The Nixons make the album that, for better or worse, perfectly encapsulates what people think the 90s sounded like?

Author & Special Guests

The story of The Nixons is not unlike a number of 1990s bands. Record some demos and release them on your own, find a small regional label to release your first album recorded on a shoe-string budget, get some buzz, the major labels swoop in, offer to re-release the album with a few new tracks, new cover art and a fresh mastering job, then throw out a single or two in hopes of a "next big thing" hit, only to see the follow-up album a year or two later (if they got one) get lackluster promotion and be promptly dropped. If bands like this were lucky, they managed one single that made an impression. With their 1995 album Foma, The Nixons managed just that with "Sister," which finds itself at the perfect crossroad of early Pearl Jam earnestness and Matchbox 20 radio pleasantry. What struck us and our guest about Foma was not the second wave of grunge sound that pins it so specifically to the decade, but the unexpected amount of social and political commentary in the lyrics that come across equally daring and off-putting. Listeners can still hear "Sister" on alternative rock radio stations across the country today, but thanks to a sound that covers all the 90s alternative rock touchstones, do they even know their listening to The Nixons?

Does This album bring back some great vibes?

Remember when you first discovered this album? We’re grateful to dig into these hidden gems and bring them the attention they deserve. Your support helps us uncover more albums deserve another moment in the spotlight.

Songs in this episode

  • Intro - Sister
  • 17:37 - Sweet Belief
  • 30:45 - Drink The Fear
  • Outro - Happy Song

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Foma