Wilt

Emerging after the breakup of the Irish grunge trio Kerbdog, guitarist and vocalist Cormac Battle together with drummer Darragh Butler shifted toward a more mainstream direction in their next venture. Kerbdog had folded once its strong second album appeared in 1997, prompting Battle and Butler to part ways with former colleague Colin Fenelley. They then linked up with their old school-friend Mick Murphy, creating the band Wilt. The group landed a contract with the Australian label Mushroom Records and brought back Ronan McHugh, a producer previously tied to Kerbdog, to work at Sun Studios in Dublin. Their debut album from 2000 took the name Bastinado, referencing the punishment of striking the soles of the feet. Battle and Butler’s revised style moved closer to contemporary power-pop acts such as Fountains Of Wayne and the Dandy Warhols than to their earlier grunge leanings. My Medicine, like the record before it, overflowed with sweeping melodies and infectious choruses, earning positive notices from the Irish and UK music press.