Grinspoon Grinspoon

For the making of Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills in 2004, Grinspoon rejected any songs during the writing process that sounded like anything that had defined their breakout single “Sickfest” and rumbling 1997 debut, Guide to Better Living. The Sydney quartet’s third album, 2002’s New Detention, had already cued a backlash from longtime fans by edging away from post-grunge into mainstream rock. Rather than pander to detractors, Thrills, Kills & Sunday Pills was purposefully—even defiantly—written with mass appeal in mind. Opener and lead single “Hard Act to Follow” doubled as a statement piece, personifying and poppily subverting the band’s opinion of itself. Given that Grinspoon wished to dramatically pare back the strontium-plated pace and guitars of songs like perennial favorite “Lost Control,” absconding to Los Angeles to record with noted Mötörhead producer Howard Benson seemed an odd choice—but his minimalist pedigree was the key to the sing-along simplicity of tracks such as “Hold On Me.” While the band had never sounded more twee than on “Rising Tide,” their fondness for Seattle’s finest still crept into the rusty sentiments of “Bleed You Dry” and “Hideaway”—even as second single “Better Off Alone” ironically invited a whole lot of new people to Grinspoon’s party via the airwaves.