Sponge were formed in Detroit by guitarist Mike Cross and singer Mark "Vinnie" Dombroski after the demise of Loudhouse, a mediocre industrial metal band. Joined by slide guitarist Joey Mazzola, they recorded Rotting Pinata (Chaos, 1994), an album of uninspired albeit occasionally infectious grunge-pop (Plowed, Molly, Rotting Pinata and Drownin).

Horns, piano and cello embellish the decadent concept album Wax Ecstatic (Columbia, 1996). An Inxs-like Wax Ecstatic did well on the charts, but a misplaced David Bowie pathos ruined most of the ballads.

New Pop Sunday (Beyond/BMG, 1999) offers the best imitation of Bowie yet (Planet Girls) and a batch of catchy refrains (Polyanna, Live Her Without You), but the slide down glam-rock and pop has taken away whatever artistic merit Sponge's music had.