Complete List Of Dada Albums And Songs

Feature Photo: Zepfanman.com, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Dada formed in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1990s around founding members Joie Calio (bass, vocals), Michael Gurley (guitar, vocals), and Phil Leavitt (drums, vocals). The trio signed with I.R.S. Records and released its debut album, Puzzle, in 1992. The album included the alternative-rock hit “Dizz Knee Land,” which reached number five on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, while Puzzle peaked at number 111 on the Billboard 200. Dada became known for a distinctive blend of alternative rock, pop, funk, jazz influences, melodic guitar work, and close vocal harmonies.

Dada has released five full-length studio albums: Puzzle (1992), American Highway Flower (1994), El Subliminoso (1996), Dada (1998), and How to Be Found (2004). The band later released the five-song EP A Friend of Pat Robertson in 2006, the compilation Best of the I.R.S. Years in 2009, and the singles “The Bluebird” and “Take Me to the Song” in 2017. Dada has continued to perform live, and no later full-length studio album had been released through 2026.

DADA STUDIO ALBUMS

Puzzle (1992)

Released September 8, 1992

Puzzle was Dada’s debut album, released by I.R.S. Records and produced by the band with Ken Scott. The album introduced the trio’s combination of melodic alternative rock, muscular musicianship, and vocal harmonies and became their commercial breakthrough on the strength of “Dizz Knee Land.” The album peaked at number 111 on the Billboard 200 and also produced fan favorites including “Dim,” “Dorina,” “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow,” and “Moon.”

CD Track Listings:

“Dorina” – 6:06
“Mary Sunshine Rain” – 4:39
“Dog” – 4:13
“Dizz Knee Land” – 4:06
“Surround” – 3:38
“Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” – 4:42
“Posters” – 4:05
“Timothy” – 4:00
“Dim” – 4:21
“Who You Are” – 3:25
“Puzzle” – 6:20
“Moon” – 5:18

American Highway Flower (1994)

Released September 20, 1994

American Highway Flower was Dada’s second studio album, released by I.R.S. Records and produced by Jason Corsaro with Dada. Recorded at Music Grinder in Hollywood, the album expanded the sound of Puzzle while keeping Michael Gurley’s guitar work, Joie Calio’s bass, Phil Leavitt’s drumming, and the band’s vocal harmonies at the center. “All I Am” reached number 27 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the album peaked at number 178 on the Billboard 200.

CD Track Listings:

“Ask the Dust” – 5:33
“Feet to the Sun” – 3:13
“All I Am” – 4:49
“Scum” – 3:30
“Pretty Girls Make Graves” – 4:52
“Gogo” – 2:54
“Feel Me Don’t You” – 5:24
“Real Soon” – 5:27
“S.F. Bar ’63” – 4:03
“8 Track” – 4:48
“Green Henry” – 4:57
“I” – 3:44
“Heaven and Nowhere” – 5:25

El Subliminoso (1996)

Released April 2, 1996

El Subliminoso was Dada’s third studio album and their final album for I.R.S. Records. Recorded at I.R.S. Studios and El Studioso, the album was produced by Dada with Adam Weiner and Scott Gordon. The record pushed the trio into heavier and more adventurous territory while retaining the melodic writing and harmonies that defined their earlier work, with songs including “Time Is Your Friend,” “Bob the Drummer,” “I Get High,” “A Trip With My Dad,” and “Rise.”

CD Track Listings:

“Time Is Your Friend” – 5:05
“Sick in Santorini” – 3:35
“Bob the Drummer” – 5:32
“I Get High” – 4:57
“The Spirit of 2009” – 5:54
“Star You Are” – 4:18
“A Trip With My Dad” – 4:43
“You Won’t Know Me” – 4:30
“Rise” – 4:51
“No One” – 3:32
“The Fleecing of America” – 5:08
“Hollow Man” – 4:38

Dada (1998)

Released September 8, 1998

Dada’s self-titled fourth studio album was released by MCA Records and produced by Danny Kortchmar with the band. The album marked Dada’s move to a new label following the collapse of I.R.S. Records and returned the trio to a leaner alternative-rock sound. Dada reached number 32 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart, with “California Gold” released as the first single and “Information Undertow” later promoted to radio.

CD Track Listings:

“Information Undertow” – 3:34
“Playboy in Outerspace” – 4:54
“Where You’re Going” – 3:39
“California Gold” – 5:31
“This Thing Together” – 3:49
“Sweet Dark Angel” – 4:10
“Goodbye” – 3:56
“Beautiful Turnback Time Machine” – 4:22
“Baby Really Loves Me” – 4:13
“Spinning My Wheels” – 4:46
“Outside” – 3:09
“The Ballad of Earl Grey and Chamomile” – 3:47
“Agent’s Got No Secret” – 4:23

How to Be Found (2004)

Released March 2, 2004

How to Be Found was Dada’s fifth full-length studio album, released by Blue Cave Records after the trio reunited for touring. The album consists of previously unreleased songs originating primarily from the MCA-era sessions surrounding the band’s 1998 self-titled record. Although the material had been recorded earlier, none of it had previously been commercially released, and the 13-track album became the band’s first full-length release in six years.