"Black Bugs" is a song by Australian rock band
Regurgitator
Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, ''Tu ...
. It was released in January 1998 as the second single from the band's second studio album, ''
Unit
Unit may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''
* Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation
Music
* ''Unit'' (alb ...
'' (1997). The single peaked at number 32 in Australia and was ranked at the same position on
Triple J's Hottest 100 in 1998. The single also peaked at number 88 in the United Kingdom, becoming Regurgitator's first and only song to enter the top 100 in that country.
Reception
Nick Stillman from Happy Mag said "'Black Bugs' is the perfect archetype of how to create rock music with a metallic heart
€¦In a nod to 80s pop, the guitars are wrapped in a sheet of shimmering modulation, and the drums reverberate with digital desolation. There's a curling keyboard solo too and a persistent sampled drum track that ties the whole song together."
In 2019, Tyler Jenke from The Brag ranked Regurgitator's best songs, with "Black Bugs" coming in at number nine. Jenke said "'Black Bugs' was something of a timely anthem about being addicted to video games, backed by a computer-generated film clip that made listeners keen to head home, boot up their
Nintendo 64
The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
, and blast some black bugs."
Music video
The
computer animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...
music video sees the four members of the band, portrayed as cartoon animals, performing and dancing to the song.
It was directed by Regurgitator frontman Quan Yeomans.
[ The video was nominated for Best Video at the 1998 ARIA Music Awards.]
Track listings
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1997 songs
1998 singles
East West Records singles
Regurgitator songs
Song recordings produced by Magoo (Australian producer)
Songs written by Quan Yeomans