DIGGING STUFF UP: Pist.On - '$ell Out'

Staten Island's bitterest sneered this one out in 1999 shortly before taking a twenty year break

PIST.ON
’$ell Out’
Mayhem Records/Music For Nations

Originally released April 6, 1999 (US) / March 1, 1999 (Europe)

The wonderfully named Pist.On’s second album wasn’t exactly received with a bang at the time - if there’s any kind of commercial success to be remembered, in fact, one should report instead to their debut ‘Number One’, which even led them to be picked up by Atlantic, who reissued it and then promptly dropped the band, one of those typical major label moves that music history is unfortunately peppered with. True to their cynical sense of humour, the title of this follow-up is naturally a reference to the accusations levelled against them after having signed for Atlantic - a bitter joke that is further reinforced by stuff like frontman Henry Font holding up a copy of a book called ‘How To Write A Hit Song’ in the booklet’s photos, for example. Maybe this confrontational attitude put off some of their more po-faced fans at the time or something, because even though it wasn’t a huge hit, as it turns out, whether it was because of being fuelled by that frustration or whatever else, this has remained as their most consistent, timeless collection of songs to date.