This week’s edition of Auxtra Weekly is another abstract one–the house pet edition. We’ll look at bands whose names contain a domestic animal you’d find in any suburban home, from furry friends to scaled saurians.

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— Will Thomas

Lungfish belongs to a long list of 90s rock bands who developed a cult following but unfortunately went under the radar commercially for the vast majority of their career. The four piece from Baltimore released 12 studio albums across their nearly 20-year lifetime, each one full of garage rock that surges with an infectious youthful energy.

My favorite release is their 1992 album, “Talking Songs for Walking/Necklace of Heads,” their first on the Washington D.C. label Dischord, who they’d stay with for the rest of their career. The guitars are heavy, the drums punch hard, and lead singer Daniel Higgs’ raspy twang propels each song with a vicious fervor.

Higgs’ style of songwriting reminds me of Beck’s. His lyrics are drenched with ironies and absurd images of nineties America, but you can’t help but feel nostalgic over a time long past.

For fans of : Pixies; Cracker; Sebadoh

For fans of lo-fi melodic pop, The Cat’s Miaow is truly the cat’s meow.

The Melbourne-based group released a series of albums on cassettes throughout the nineties, but never truly expanded outside of Australia until the recent digital release of their music in the 2020s.

Their music feels like a warm hug. The soft production alongside lead singer Kerrie Bolton’s velvety vocals creates a nostalgic atmosphere that’s sure to soothe even the most troubled minds. Their 2020 compilation album, “‘94-’98,” shows the past through rose-colored glasses, a wistful longing to return to what was, good or bad.

For fans of: Broadcast; Rocketship; Tiger Trap

Singer-songwriter Martin Newell is one of the few musicians whose quality of music never diminished despite his prolificacy. From The Cleaners From Venus to a fruitful solo career, most everything Newell touched turned to gold.

Look no further than his 1988 side project, The Brotherhood of Lizards. After The Cleaners From Venus broke up in 1988, Newell and Cleaners’ bassist Nelson Nice formed the band to continue their output of lo-fi, jangly pop music.

The music sounds incredibly similar to The Cleaners From Venus, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Newell and Nelson are able to craft so much with the essential elements that made their original band so special. Their English wit and melodic instrumentation construct a hypnagogic listening experience that’s truly entrancing.

For fans of: The Cleaners From Venus; Chris Spedding; Suicide