Crash Test Dummies revving up hits on tour coming to the Englert in Iowa City

When vocalist/keyboardist Ellen Reid decided to retire from touring and singer/songwriter Brad Roberts had back problems in 2015, it appeared that Crash Test Dummies was finished.

Roberts, 60, bounced back from his ailments and toured as a solo artist. The quirky Canadian band resurfaced for a full reunion, save multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Darvill, when the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra invited the group to perform.

“The money was good, so we played with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2019 and we enjoyed it so much we said, ‘Let’s do it again,’ ” Roberts said while calling from Austin. “There’s nostalgia for the ’90s. People want to hear us again and we’re here to ride that wave.”

Crash Test Dummies members are no dummies. The band, performing Friday at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, is giving fans what they want. Expect a steady diet of tunes from the early ’90s, particularly hits from the act’s surprising breakthrough album, 1993’s “God Shuffled His Feet.”

The left of center hit “Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm,” “Afternoons and Coffeespoons,” and the title track helped catapult the Crash Test Dummies out of obscurity.

“That was an amazing time for us,” Roberts said. “I’ll never forget how things changed for this band. I’m glad we stuck with this.”

Considering Roberts’ rich baritone, it’s surprising that he was a reluctant singer.

“When I started writing songs, I thought my voice was too low to be viable as a vocalist,” he said. “So I tried to get other people to sing my songs. But I couldn’t find anyone to deliver the songs the way I wanted, so I became a singer by default.”

Roberts has such a mellifluous speaking voice that he sounds like a natural broadcaster or voice-over artist.

“That's funny that anyone would think that, since I tried to do voice work but I couldn’t land a job,” he said with a laugh. “Maybe if I continued to try, it would have worked out. But I didn’t think much of my voice when we put out our first record.”

“The Ghosts That Haunt Me,” is a solid debut, but the 1991 album, which includes the clever single “Superman’s Song,” got lost in the shuffle with the rise of grunge. The amusing folk-pop on that initial album isn’t very different from the “God Shuffled His Feet” tunes.

Literary background

The Crash Test Dummies’ early work is impressive because of how well-constructed the songs are, and courtesy of Roberts’ poetry.

“It worked out for me, since I was around 30 when I started writing the songs for ‘God Shuffled His Feet,’ ” Roberts said. “The lyrics are important to me. I have a degree in English literature and philosophy. I read a lot of everything, but I particularly read a lot of poetry and that helped me with the strategies of writing lyrics.”

Roberts has been penning a number of songs of late. “Sacred Alphabet,” the first Crash Test Dummies song released as a full band in more than a decade, dropped in 2023.

“I will keep writing songs, and when I get to 10 songs, we’ll probably get together and put out a record,” he said.

Perhaps the Crash Test Dummies will record some covers. The band has altered the arrangements of some of its favorite songs, such as XTC’s “Peter Pumpkinhead.” Roberts is a huge fan of XTC singer/songwriter Andy Partridge.

“He writes songs with such beautiful chord changes,” Roberts said. “He’s so underrated.”

Roberts, who is also a huge Leonard Cohen fan, has enjoyed dusting off the Crash Test Dummies tunes.

“The reaction we’ve received has been amazing,” he said. “We’re playing the songs that our audience is familiar with. We’re playing the same songs every night, but each night the experience is new for me, since it’s a different audience vibing on the songs, and so it’s a fresh experience for everyone.”