The Toadies

Today's youngsters may have familiarized themselves with the Toadies' "Possum Kingdom" through Guitar Hero II, but in the game's multicolored dots and horrendously processed guitar tone, it's hard to comprehend how foreign and chilling the Dallas band's bass-driven post-grunge masterpiece sounded in its mid-'90s context. As part of a weirdo radio-rock movement spearheaded by oddballs like Cake and Primus, the band perfected its demented alt-rock craft (equal parts upside-down bar-band riffs, simply effective time changes and demented vocal hooks) before officially disbanding in 2001. Seven years later, a sneak preview of comeback album No Deliverance's title track proves that the Toadies are still the same band that came from the water and showed you dark secrets behind the boathouse.