LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

• Tad Made Grunge Metal a Thing
• Inhaler Was Their 1993 Major Label Debut, on the Giant Imprint
• Produced by Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis (quote: “This Tad album is awesome, you gotta get it”)
• Piledriver Riffs and Hooks Laced with Wicked Humor and Disturbing Song Topics (e.g. Ted Bundy)
• Only Originally Out on Vinyl for a Moment
• Album Jacket with Printed Inner Sleeve
• Tan with Black & Red Swirl “Mutt Mix” Vinyl Pressing
• Limited to 3000 Copies, Exclusive to Record Store Day

Grunge metal greatness! This 1993 record marked Tad’s major label debut (on the Giant imprint), and for it the band brought in Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis to produce. The result was a more focused album than Tad’s previous outings, laced with piledriver riffs ‘n’ hooks and some wicked humor, even as the band grappled with such disturbing topics as Ted Bundy and child abduction.

The band toured with Soundgarden behind this record; though that didn’t lead to the hoped-for commercial breakthrough, it did cement Inhaler’s status as the go-to record in Tad’s catalog. Only out on LP for a heartbeat upon its initial release, and never reissued since, Inhaler comes with a printed inner sleeve and in tan with black and red swirl “Mutt Mix” vinyl limited to 3000 copies for Record Store Day.

Track Listing

SIDE A

• Grease Box
• Throat Locust
• Leafy Incline
• Luminol
• Ulcer

SIDE B

• Lycanthrope
• Just Bought the Farm
• Rotor
• Paregoric
• Pansy
• Gouge