The Beasts of Suburban explained

The Beasts of Suburban
Type:EP
Artist:TISM
Cover:beastsofsuburban.jpg
Released:July 1992
Recorded:March–April 1992
Studio:Atlantis Studios, Port Lincoln, Australia
Genre:Alternative rock
Label:Shock
Producer:Tony Cohen
Prev Title:Gentlemen, Start Your Egos
Prev Year:1991
Next Title:Australia the Lucky Cunt
Next Year:1993

The Beasts of Suburban is an extended play (EP) by Australian alternative rock band, TISM. It was produced by Tony Cohen and released in July 1992 via Shock Records. Its title is a pun on the name of fellow Australian band, Beasts of Bourbon (also produced by Cohen). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, the album was nominated for Best Independent Release while Cohen was nominated for Producer of the Year for his work on the Cruel Sea's album This Is Not the Way Home and TISM's track, "Get Thee to a Nunnery".[1] [2]

On 10 November 2023, the album was reissued as a 3-disc boxset, containing a double CD with over 50 unreleased demo recordings made by the band between 1991 and 1992, as well as the four iTunes bonus tracks for the first time on a physical release. The reissue hit No. 2 on the Australian independent album charts.[3]

Reception

Tyler Jenke of Beat reviewed The Beasts of Suburban in his overview of TISM's career in June 2022, stating that the band had "returned to their pub-rock roots" with the seven-track EP.[4] He noticed that they were "far more comfortable with the music they were making."[4]

Australian feminist groups criticised TISM's sexism in their use of Sophie Lee in "Get Thee to a Nunnery". The song allegedly protests the use of sex to sell a product via Lee's appointment as the host of the TV series Sex in 1992, contrasted with her presenting the Nine Network's cartoon show, Looney Tunes in 1990. Karen Fletcher of Green Left Weekly described the latter appointment, "middle-aged men... rush home from work in time to watch Sophie throw to Bugs Bunny cartoons." Lee described TISM's song as "a boring song by a boring bunch of bourgeois boys."[5]

In 2015 ToneDeafs Corey Tonkin listed "Mourningtown Ride" as one of the 10 Greatest Songs About Melbourne.[6]

Track listings

On the cassette version, the same program is repeated on both sides of the tape.

Reissues

Expanded version.

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)EditionLabelCatalogue
AustraliaJuly 1992StandardShock RecordsCatalogueSHOCK CD0022 / SHOCK MC0022
June 1997Re-issueCatalogueSHOCKCD0022
October 2009Genre B.Goode Catalogue
November 2023CatalogueGBG0032 (single LP) / GBG0033 (4-LP boxset) / GBG0034 (CD boxset)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ARIA Awards Best Independent Release . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) . 9 June 2021.
  2. Web site: https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20040222130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/40484/20040223-0000/aria_awards/main.htm . 17th Annual ARIA Awards . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) . 22 February 2004 . 6 June 2015. Note: User may be required to access archived information by selecting 'The History', then 'By Award', 'Producer of the Year' and 'Option Show Nominations'.
  3. https://air.org.au/chart/?date=20231120
  4. Web site: TISM Are Back: the Long-awaited Return of Melbourne's Cult Heroes . Jenke, Tyler . . 15 June 2022 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20220803152545/https://beat.com.au/tism-are-back-the-long-awaited-return-of-melbournes-cult-heroes/ . 4 August 2022 . 18 September 2022 .
  5. News: Green Left Weekly . … and ain't i a woman?: No to a nunnery . Karen Fletcher . 2 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090202072252/http://www.greenleft.org.au/article.php/70/2522?id=2522.
  6. Web site: The 10 Greatest Songs About Melbourne . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20150721215300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/152679/20150722-0753/www.tonedeaf.com.au/416922/the-10-greatest-songs-about-melbourne.htm . dead . 21 July 2015 . Tonkin . Corey . ToneDeaf . 22 August 2014 . 31 July 2016.
  7. Web site: Part of TISM ARIA chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022. ARIA. Imgur.com. 2 December 2023. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.