Superdrag -- Regretfully Yours (Elektra, 1996)

Coming out of Knoxville, TN, not exactly a musical hotspot during the '90s, it's amazing Superdrag landed a major label gig with Elektra in the first place (the story goes someone heard their track on one of those old CMJ compilation CDs).

Regretfully Yours, their debut, mixed Cheap Trick anthemics, the melancholy of Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers filtered through '90s alt-rock. Ironically, "Sucked Out," a song about the fleeting attentions of audiences and fame, became their sole hit and Weezer took them out on the band's somewhat ill-fated tour in support of Pinkerton.

But the record was rife with cynical power-pop gems like "Destination Ursa Major," "Rocket" and "Whitey's Theme," like labelmates Nada Surf, Superdrag were booted from Elektra after their second album stiffed (and like Nada Surf, their second album was almost as great as their debut). Superdrag never got their second go the way that New York trio did, though, and were never able to top their debut. Still, Regretfully Yours stands as a rare bright spot in the wave of post-grunge mediocrity.