The Surrealists did a few songs by the Scientists (particularly "Shine" from The Human Jukebox) and had a similar sound in that Salmon remained the leader and primary songwriter, but the feel of the music was notably different, far less tense and confrontational.

When James Baker and Boris Sujdovic left The Beasts of Bourbon to go full-time with The Dubrovniks, Hooper and Pola joined to replace them.

This new trio put out Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing in 1997, touring Australia, Europe, and the U.S. A horn section was added to the band that included trumpet player Leon de Bruin and saxophonist Michael Redman.

The results were sifted through by Salmon and co-producer Mike Stranges, spliced together in some cases (ala Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew"), and made into songs.

In June 2020, during COVID lockdowns the band performed 2 improvised livestream gigs from Rolling Stock Studios, Melbourne.

In 2022 the band completed the "Ya Gotta Let Me Swamp My Rantings" tour of Australia, included the current lineup, plus previous drummer Greg Bainbridge.