Kerosene Hat

The band insulated the Pioneertown soundstage with salvaged mattresses and junkyard material, and Faragher recalls the early days as cold and rainy, spending the first week partly scavenging junkyards for mattresses. They first planned a fully live-to-tape album and scrapped it; four live studio tracks came out as the Tucson EP. Lowery plays vocals and rhythm and acoustic guitar, Hickman lead guitar, backing vocals and lead vocal on track 10, Faragher bass and Urbano drums, with Phil Jones on percussion; Rich Hasal engineered and mixed. The title comes from Lowery's time in Richmond using kerosene heaters and wearing an old wool hunting cap to buy fuel, on Wikipedia without a primary quote. Rox magazine in January 1994 instead credits Bruce Hughes, David Lovering and producer Bill Price, which conflicts, and we follow Wikipedia and Spin.

Singles were "Low", "Get Off This" and "Euro-Trash Girl". It reached 59 on the Billboard 200 and 1 on Heatseekers, 44 in the UK and 123 in Australia, and was certified Gold, though Spin calls it platinum. Hidden tracks include "Euro-Trash Girl" as track 69, which Hickman called the litmus test of true Cracker fans, and "I Ride My Bike" as track 88. AllMusic gave it 4 of 5; Spin called "Low" a ubiquitous signpost of the alternative-as-the-new-mainstream era. Jason Gross called the record the most impressive post-Camper piece of music Lowery has put his name on.