Spanaway is an album by the American band Seaweed.[1][2] It was released in 1995 on Hollywood Records.[3] The album is named for the Washington community.[4]

Spanaway
Studio album by
Released1995
LabelHollywood
ProducerAdam Kasper, Seaweed
Seaweed chronology
Go Your Own Way EP
(1993)
Spanaway
(1995)
Actions and Indications
(1999)

The first single was "Start With", which peaked at No. 38 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[5][6] Seaweed supported the album with a North American tour, which included playing the 1995 Warped Tour.[7][8] Spanaway was a commercial disappointment.[9]

Production

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The album was produced primarily by Adam Kasper; it was mixed by Andy Wallace.[10] Barrett Martin and Matt Cameron played drums on some tracks.[11] Seaweed wrote the songs over a period of two years.[12] "Magic Mountainman" is about singer Aaron Stauffer's farm near Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake; "Not Saying Anything" is about domestic discontent.[13][14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]

Trouser Press noted that "increases in budget and studio time enable Seaweed to deliver its best work, an inspired major-label detour."[16] The Austin Chronicle deemed it "a raw, in your-face, post-punk record."[17] The Philadelphia Inquirer called Spanaway "sugar-charged anthem rock."[7]

CMJ New Music Monthly noted that the band "is at its best when slathering anthemic vocals, sharp hooks and meatgrinder guitars on top of a blistering 4/4."[4] The Record determined that "the overall effect ... is still one of numbing, hyperclenched assault, with the group's chief virtue being mere moshability."[18] The Sun-Sentinel concluded that Spanaway "follows the loud-fast rule of the new melodic punk genre with stinging guitars and maximum volume."[19]

Track listing

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  1. "Free Drug Zone" - 3:37
  2. "Crush Us All" - 3:58
  3. "Start With" - 4:02
  4. "Common Mistake" - 2:47
  5. "Magic Mountainman" - 3:46
  6. "Saturday Nitrous" - 3:11
  7. "Undeniable Hate" - 3:34
  8. "Defender" - 2:40
  9. "Assistant (to the manager)" - 3:35
  10. "Punchy (the clown)" - 0:54
  11. "Not Saying Anything" - 4:05
  12. "Last Humans" - 3:22
  13. "Peppy's Bingo" - 1:07

References

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  1. ^ "Seaweed Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  2. ^ "1995 marked the end of the major-label explosion of weird". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  3. ^ Crain, Zac. "Shacking up". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  4. ^ a b Jarman, David (Oct 1995). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (26): 42.
  5. ^ Boland, Steve. "AND THE SEAWEED WILL TELL". Westword. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (June 11, 2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-89820-174-1. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ a b Sherr, Sara (20 Oct 1995). "Tonight at the Trocadero...". FEATURES WEEKEND. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 17.
  8. ^ Cohen, Howard (August 11, 1995). "SEAWEED". Miami Herald. p. 16G.
  9. ^ Cook, John (January 1, 2009). Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small. Algonquin Books. ISBN 978-1-56512-624-4. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Jaeger, Barbara (July 7, 1995). "Album Notes". LIFESTYLE/PREVIEWS. The Record. Hackensack. p. 8.
  11. ^ Stout, Gene (June 30, 1995). "Seaweed for sale". What's Happening. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 10.
  12. ^ Booth, Philip (October 20, 1995). "Seaweed surface with major-label debut". FRIDAY EXTRA!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 22.
  13. ^ Reader, Stephanie (August 22, 1995). "TIDE IS HIGH FOR SEAWEED". The News Tribune. p. SL3.
  14. ^ Hawkins, Robert J. (August 31, 1995). "SPANAWAY SEAWEED". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 10.
  15. ^ "Seaweed Spanaway Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11 – via www.allmusic.com.
  16. ^ "Seaweed". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. ^ "The Year That Slipped Away". www.austinchronicle.com. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  18. ^ Weiler, Derek (5 Oct 1995). "Seaweed Spanaway". The Record. Kitchener. p. D6.
  19. ^ Schulman, Sandra (19 Nov 1995). "Punk living in Tacoma". Sun-Sentinel. p. 3F.