Pasted Youth

About the album

Pasted Youth is the first digital-era re-examination of early 90s cult figures Clag, from Brisbane, Australia. Formed around high school friends Bek Moore, Rachael Cooke and Alison Bolger in the very early 90s, Clag played a kind of psychotic kiddie punk, full of one note Casio keyboard solos and lyrics about cows, goldfish and gravy-covered hot chips. Their apparent innocence, however, was merely a front, disguising examinations of the human psyche that grew darker as the band progressed.

Live, the band would face away from the audience and play with masks taped to the backs of their heads, or dress in hospital gowns and bedeck the stage with fluffy Mr Men toys. Musically they were equaly confusing, staking out a bizarre middle ground between the Shaggs, Bikini Kill and the Banana Splits, In short, Clag were one of the most head-scratchingly strange bands in the world, and those who came across them either recoiled immediately or developed a lifelong obsession. The band released three vinyl singles and were beginning to make an international mark, with releases on US and Canadian labels, before they disintegrated in the mid 90s.

Clag members went on to play in bands such as Beaches, Panel Of Judges and Minimum Chips, but in the intervening years a considerable legend has grown up around their first musical venture. Copies of their original singles are now treasured artefacts. This 23 track reissue comes with a 16 page booklet packed with photos and extensive liner notes. It includes all their officially released recordings, plus a whole raft of bonus material, including a live-to-air session on Brisbane’s 4ZZZ-FM, and a chaotic, foul-mouthed live recording from Melbourne’s Empress Hotel. Finally, one of Australia’s oddest and most compelling bands is available on CD for the first time.