TISM www.tism.wanker.com

Prankish anti-heroes of the Australian music scene, TISM achieved unlikely fame in the late 1980s and ’90s, despite obscuring their identities via black balaclavas and cartoonish stage names. After their early success with alt-rock and a subsequent breakout with their more electronic-leaning third album, 1995’s Machiavelli and the Four Seasons, the anonymous ensemble pushed their caustic humour further past the realm of decency on their 1998 follow-up. Cue tracks like “Been Caught Wankin’” and the widely banned “I Might Be A Cunt, But I’m Not A Fucking Cunt” delivered over canned beats and hooks with a gleeful disregard for authority. That combination of demented wit and karaoke-like sing-alongs made this record another pass-around-to-mates essential. It also helps that the songs’ targets are painfully familiar: “Yob” takes square aim at Aussie rednecks without neglecting a catchy chorus, while “Dumb ‘n’ Base” mocks the same sort of ready-made dance motifs that TISM exploit throughout the album. A later reissue added even more ridiculous bonus tracks, and www.tism.wanker.com earned its own deluxe vinyl box set for its 25th anniversary. Following an almost two-decade absence, TISM’s surprise return to select live shows in 2022 set off much fan speculation about the possibility of new material.