The group worked out their sound while playing frat parties in California, and by the time of their 1990 recording debut, A Baby, A Blanket, A Packet of Seeds, their signature new wave pop sound had fully blossomed.
The band continued touring and releasing twisted pop albums (Power Trips Down Lover's Lane in 1993, Placeholders in 1994), and so many singles and compilation tracks appeared that it became almost impossible for their fans to keep up with their recording output. The peculiar Future of Communications EP appeared in 1995, as well as the superb (and quite necessary) singles compilation album Emotional Discipline in 1997, which serves as an excellent introduction to Nothing Painted Blue. The band spent the remainder of the year writing and recording their next album, The Monte Carlo Method, set for release in spring 1998. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi