Classically trained violinist Tracy Bonham emerged from Boston with her first major-label release, The Burdens of Being Upright. The album yielded a significant radio hit with "Mother Mother," which leads the album, raising the bar for the rest of the record. Bonham and bandmates tear through tracks like "Navy Bean" and "Bulldog" with energetic punk abandon.

The album went gold within six months and later that year she was nominated for the Best Alternative Music Performance at the Grammy Awards and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (for "Mother Mother").