The Beasts of Suburban
EP by
TISM
ReleasedJuly 1992
RecordedMarch–April 1992
StudioAtlantis Studios, Port Lincoln, Australia
GenreAlternative rock
Length31:43
LabelShock
ProducerTony Cohen
TISM chronology
Gentlemen, Start Your Egos
(1991) 		The Beasts of Suburban
(1992) 		Australia the Lucky Cunt
(1993)

The Beasts of Suburban is an extended play (EP) by Australian alternative rock band, TISM. It was produced by Tony Cohen and released in July 1992 via Shock Records. Its title is a pun on the name of fellow Australian band, Beasts of Bourbon (also produced by Cohen). At the ARIA Music Awards of 1993, the album was nominated for Best Independent Release while Cohen was nominated for Producer of the Year for his work on the Cruel Sea's album This Is Not the Way Home and TISM's track, "Get Thee to a Nunnery".[1][2]

On 10 November 2023, the album was reissued as a 3-disc boxset, containing a double CD with over 50 unreleased demo recordings made by the band between 1991 and 1992, as well as the four iTunes bonus tracks for the first time on a physical release. The reissue hit No. 2 on the Australian independent album charts.[3]

Reception

Tyler Jenke of Beat reviewed The Beasts of Suburban in his overview of TISM's career in June 2022, stating that the band had "returned to their pub-rock roots" with the seven-track EP.[4] He noticed that they were "far more comfortable with the music they were making."[4]

Australian feminist groups criticised TISM's sexism in their use of Sophie Lee in "Get Thee to a Nunnery". The song allegedly protests the use of sex to sell a product via Lee's appointment as the host of the TV series Sex in 1992, contrasted with her presenting the Nine Network's cartoon show, Looney Tunes in 1990. Karen Fletcher of Green Left Weekly described the latter appointment, "middle-aged men... rush home from work in time to watch Sophie throw to Bugs Bunny cartoons." Lee described TISM's song as "a boring song by a boring bunch of bourgeois boys."[5]

In 2015 ToneDeaf's Corey Tonkin listed "Mourningtown Ride" as one of the 10 Greatest Songs About Melbourne.[6]

Track listings

On the cassette version, the same program is repeated on both sides of the tape.[7]

The Beasts of Suburban
No.TitleLength
1."Michael Jackson's Conveyor Belt"3:04
2."Bishop = Handjob"2:25
3."Get Thee to a Nunnery"2:41
4."Father and Son"2:29
5."Lillee Caught Dilley Bowled Milli Vanilli"2:41
6."If You're Ugly, Forget It"3:41
7."Mourningtown Ride"10:51
8."Losers"3:55
Total length:31:43

Reissues

Expanded version.[8]

The Beasts of Suburban (1997 reissue)
No.TitleLength
1."Michael Jackson's Conveyor Belt"3:03
2."Bishop = Handjob"2:24
3."Get Thee to a Nunnery"2:41
4."Father and Son"2:29
5."Lillee Caught Dilley Bowled Milli Vanilli"2:41
6."If You're Ugly, Forget It"3:49
7."Mourningtown Ride" (Followed by a short interview and list of credits)5:52
8."Lose Your Delusion I"3:48
9."Jesus Pots the White Ball"4:07
10."Mr. Ches Baragwanath, State Auditor-General"3:52
11."Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's The House of Representatives"2:41
12."Recorded By JJJ, 24-1-93, Melbourne Showgrounds" (Followed by 5 minutes of silence, then "Losers")11:53
Total length:49:06
Digital bonus tracks (2009)
No.TitleLength
13."The Lead Singer of the Pogues Is Gonna Die" (From the rehearsal tapes)3:56
14."Subliminal Satanic Message" (From the rehearsal tapes)2:44
15."Consumption Tax" (From the rehearsal tapes)4:08
16."Aussiemandias" (From the rehearsal tapes)2:48

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 132

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Edition Label Catalogue
Australia July 1992
Standard Shock Records SHOCK CD0022 / SHOCK MC0022
June 1997 Re-issue SHOCKCD0022
October 2009
Genre B.Goode —
November 2023
GBG0032 (single LP) / GBG0033 (4-LP boxset) / GBG0034 (CD boxset)

References

  1. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Independent Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  2. ^ "17th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 22 February 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2015. Note: User may be required to access archived information by selecting 'The History', then 'By Award', 'Producer of the Year' and 'Option Show Nominations'.
  3. ^ https://air.org.au/chart/?date=20231120
  4. ^ a b Jenke, Tyler (15 June 2022). "TISM Are Back: the Long-awaited Return of Melbourne's Cult Heroes". Beat. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Karen Fletcher. "… and ain't i a woman?: No to a nunnery". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009.
  6. ^ Tonkin, Corey (22 August 2014). "The 10 Greatest Songs About Melbourne". ToneDeaf. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  7. ^ T.I.S.M. (Musical group) (1992), The Beasts of Suburban, Genre B. Goode, retrieved 18 September 2022
  8. ^ T.I.S.M. (Musical group) (1993), The Beasts of Suburban, Genre B. Goode, retrieved 18 September 2022
  9. ^ "Part of TISM ARIA chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022". ARIA. Retrieved 2 December 2023 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
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