Australia's
Magic Dirt managed to secure some impressive touring partners in the mid-'90s, sharing stages with bands like
Sonic Youth,
Pavement, and
Dinosaur Jr.. While the sloppy, distorted rock of their self-titled album doesn't have a whole lot in common with these first two bands, there is some appeal of
J. Mascis and company lurking in the overdriven riffs and loosely pop melodies packed into
Magic Dirt. The album doesn't seem quite as vital or impressive as those of
Dinosaur Jr., or those of a lot of American indie bands for that matter, but the same underlying aesthetic makes
Magic Dirt a reasonably appealing listen.