Singer-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post started working together in 1992.[4] They eventually formed Veruca Salt with bassist Steve Lack and drummer Jim Shapiro, and the four had been a full band less than a year when they signed with the independent label Minty Fresh.[5] In 1994, they released the single "Seether"/"All Hail Me". "Seether" became a hit on college and alternative radio stations, and the band recorded the album American Thighs with producer Brad Wood.[4][5] The album was released through Minty Fresh on September 27, 1994, the title is a reference to a line from the AC/DC song "You Shook Me All Night Long".[6][7]
Veruca Salt then signed with the major label Geffen Records, which re-released the album. "Seether" became a hit on MTV. Two more singles, "Number One Blind" and "Victrola", were released from the album, but neither matched the success of "Seether". American Thighs was eventually certified gold.[4][8]
American Thighs received generally positive reviews from critics. Nick Kelly of Hot Press said, "Given that this is their first record, you can't help asking yourself how a band so young can sing songs so good."[16] Eric Gladstone of CMJ New Music Monthly wrote that "the album works an infectious formula: thick harmonies layered over attack-formation guitars and drums, with lyrics shifting from childlike innocence to guiltless brutality."[5]Spin ranked it number 8 on its list of the 20 best albums of 1994.[17]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called American Thighs "a pure pop album masquerading as the next big thing."[9] In 2014, Rolling Stone ranked it number 21 on its list of the 40 best alternative rock albums of 1994.[18]