Earlier this week I made my case for why the English anarcho-pop group Chumbawamba ought to be considered more than just a one hit wonder from the 90's. Today it's all about the pudding of that proof, a small introductory playlist for anyone interested in Chumbawamba's sound outside of their Top 10 gracing "Tubthumping". The ironic part is that most of the band's material doesn't sound a whole lot like their hit. Really, it's just a tone-setting intro track. Most of Chumbawamba's music is considerably more lyric-heavy (not to mention smarter). Though they've been putting out albums since the mid 1980's and released their most recent LP in 2008 with a new one on the way later this year, so far the strongest period for Chumbawamba was between 1992 and 1997 with a block of four albums.

1992's Shhh was really the beginning of Chumbawamba's developed sound. Like most of their work it's a topical album, concerned mostly with the themes of censorship, copyright and the media in general. The title track is an early example of the band's mix of rock, samples and multiple vocal parts. Later in the album, Chumbawamba digs back into the old pub song material they latched onto with English Rebel Songs 1381-1914 in the track "Nothing That's New", followed by the serenely electronic "Behave!". Shhh is a snarky little record of experiments and evolutions.

Chumbawamba's sixth studio album Anarchy is their all-around strongest. It came out in 1994 and it's stacked with excellent songs. "Give The Anarchist A Cigarette" is the first time the band really used a horn section to full effect and "Heaven Hell" has a Garbage-like electronica tinge that they would do even better on Tubthumper.

A year after Anarchy, Chumbawamba took a break from their usual MO to do a brief, two-part album called Swinging With Raymond. The second half, "HATE", is loud and raucous but ultimately the weaker side of the album. "LOVE" is a refreshing divergence from the band's otherwise non-stop politics. Even in their most ironic moments, songs like "Just Look At Me Now" can't avoid being sunny and uplifting. They prove once and for all that, regardless of their hard protesting edge, Chumbawamba is still a pop group with all the sensibilities of an apolitical band.

Tubthumper, as mentioned before, really does deserve attention beyond its hit single. "The Big Issue" is probably the catchiest song about homelessness and sexism in existence, while "Outsider" beats the hell out of any angsty rock song about alienation. It's basically a club track about defiance, even if it's a somewhat adolescent take on defiance. Tubthumper is certainly an album of its era and some of the tricks and twists sound a bit dated today, though no more than any of its electronic/rock contemporaries.

For the past decade, Chumbawamba has more or less abandoned the electric guitars and samplers that defined them for the first twenty years of their career. Today they rely on harmonies and acoustic instruments. The result is frequently very pretty, such as on "When Alexander Met Emma" from A Singsong and a Scrap. This recent turn is probably better than any attempt to keep making pop after thirty years. Chumbawamba never really aimed for platinum record sales, so it only makes sense that they wouldn't spend their late period trying to stay on top. Still, the band has a deep and varied discography that deserves a thorough review. Few politically motivated groups have made so much good music.