Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, contrasted their early work as "a melange of screaming guitars did battle over a rumbling rhythm section.
Yet, beneath the distorted riffs and lyrical angst, the band boasted a melodic and harmonic sensibility usually disregarded in such aggressive music" with later work "brimming with powerful, dark songs and inspired musicianship".
[1][3] The Lizard Train's first gig was in May 1985 and their first recording was as backing musicians on Liz Dealey and the Twenty Second Sect's debut single, "The Wailing House", in 1986.
And I sort of knew Dave and Shane... they'd been in a band called Risque Humour, and we bumped into them through a mutual friend who became our sound engineer and they said let's have a jam, so we all got together and it all started from there, just jamming in Shane's lounge until we got a little more serious and hit the practice room.In August 1986 The Lizard Train released their debut extended play, Thirteen Hour Daydream, on Greasy Pop Records.
[2] Australian music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the EP, "a melange of screaming guitars did battle over a rumbling rhythm section.
[1] McFarlane felt the album "stands as the high point in the band's career, a work brimming with powerful, dark songs and inspired musicianship".
[1] In October 1993 they followed with a six-track album, Couch, produced by Darren McBain, Dave Lokan and Lizard Train; and recorded at Big Sound Studios in April.
[1] In a 1998 interview with Slide Show Fanzine Willard recalled The Lizard Train's music as "a sort of heavy pop / psychedelic band".
[10] By June 1997 they had signed with Rubber Records and issued their debut album, Walk the Earth, which was produced by Martyn Robinson at Domestic Bliss Studios.
The Dumb Earth's second album, Blessings in Disguise, was released in September that year with David Nelson producing at the Yarn Factory for the Hour of Need label and was distributed by Sony Music.