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Tumbleweed

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Wollongong's finest exponents of stoner rock return for a run of shows.

Editorial

An enduring symbol of grunge-era Aussie rock, the original lineup of Tumbleweed has reunited just in time to blast the cobwebs off its legacy. Playing a festival trifecta of Meredith, Homebake, and Big Day Out recently, the band boasted a deafening heft of volume on top of its usual spread of hungry hooks, hickory-smoked licks, and churning bass and drums.

The monster wall of stoner-fuzz is also very much intact, which should remind fans that Mudhoney's Mark Arm co-produced the first Tumbleweed single back in 1992. Of course, the band toured Australia supporting Nirvana that same year and later released five albums in the midst of shifting trends and a fairly erratic lineup. Not bad for a couple of scruffy, longhaired boys from Wollongong, eh?

Lest you mistake this current incarnation for a byproduct of growing '90s nostalgia, Tumbleweed has already penned songs for a new album, which will be on full display when they perform live. There's also a double-disc retrospective being readied that focuses on those seminal releases on the classic Sydney label, Waterfront Records. But history be damned, this Melbourne gig will be all about showing a weedy new generation how it's really done.

Doug Wallen, June 2010

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