Tangerine

Tangerine is the third album, released on 19 May 1998, on which Vixen stepped toward dry guitars and an alternative air. Jan Kuehnemund and Share Pedersen, however, do not appear on it. Janet Gardner (vocals, rhythm guitar), Gina Stile (guitar) and Roxy Petrucci (drums, clarinet) made it with session bassist Mike Pisculli, producing it themselves. Ed Stasium mixed and Greg Calbi mastered. As the opener “Page” makes clear, the aim is post-grunge: shading and texture come before glamorous choruses. Every song is a Gardner/Stile co-write, the one exception being the hidden track “Swatting Flies in Wanker County,” a bluesy instrumental by Stile alone. After release, however, Kuehnemund sued over the trademark, and the courts recognised her as the sole owner of the band name. This configuration was forced to break up after the tour, and the record became one that is not officially recognised. It is Stile's only Vixen album, and Gardner's last of that era.