Cracker - Cracker

After college-radio faves Camper Van Beethoven's 1990 breakup, frontman David Lowery moved from California to Virginia and whittled his music down to its pickup-truck-rock roots. This more basic approach hardly affected Lowery's piss-and-vinegar stance (witness the singles "Teen Angst," "Can I Take My Gun to Heaven?", and "Don't Fuck Me Up [with Peace and Love]"). The combination would take Cracker to near-platinum status with their second album, Kerosene Hat, but this debut makes an equally convincing argument for Lowery's choice. --Rickey Wright