Adopting their moniker from a New Zealand/Australian slang expression for freeloaders, Champaign, Illinois' the
Bludgers found regional success in the mid- to late 1990s with a sound that combined open-road Americana and bracing power pop. The band went on hiatus in 1997, but reunited in 2017 and released the full-length effort Separate Ways, An EP, Full Steam Ahead, followed in 2020.
Featuring the talents of vocalist John Pheloung, guitarist Andy Leach, bassist Craig Walls, and drummer Sean Fogarty, the
Bludgers issued their debut album, History of the World, in 1994 on Hammerhead Records. High-profile support slots for sonic contemporaries like
Uncle Tupelo and
the Bottle Rockets helped expand the group's fan base, and they released two more long-players for the label, 1996's
Better Off at Home and 1997's
Set Your Sights Low, before going on hiatus. The
Bludgers continued to play sporadically over the next decade and those infrequent reunions eventually paid dividends in 2017 with the arrival of a new studio LP, Separate Ways. Three years later the band returned with the EP Full Steam Ahead. ~ James Christopher Monger