Royal Trux - Sweet Sixteen (1997)

Royal Trux always subverted classic rock by neglecting to learn how to play their instruments and taking the junkie myths of Keith Richards and Johnny Thunders as fact. When they moved to a major label with 1995's Thank You, they cleaned up their sound and wrote actual songs, so it makes sense that its followup, Sweet Sixteen, is where they learn how to stretch out on their instruments. Opening up with a riff lifted from the Allman Brothers, Sweet Sixteen is a sloppy mess, filled with grime, sleaze and filth -- just like the broken toilet that graces the album's cover. While Royal Trux is now able to play these blues riffs, they don't have the desire to make them palatable. At heart, they still want to tap into what originally scared people about rock & roll, and to a certain extent they do -- they are a viciously anti-social band, snarling vocals and throwing riffs out carelessly. However, they are falling into a netherworld with music that is too slick for indie and too weird for the mainstream, which means Sweet Sixteen is unlikely to appeal outside of their cult.