Pere Ubu | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Pere Ubu emerged from the urban wastelands of mid-70s Cleveland to impact the American underground for generations to come; led by hulking frontman David Thomas, whose absurdist warble and rapturously demented lyrics remained the bands creative focus throughout their long, convoluted career, Ubus protean art punk sound harnessed self-destructing melodies, scattershot rhythms, and industrial-strength dissonance to capture the angst and chaos of their times with both apocalyptic fervor and surprising humanity. Named in honor of Alfred Jarrys surrealist play Ubu Roi, Pere Ubu was formed in the autumn of 1975 from the ashes of local cult favorite Rocket from the Tombs, reuniting Thomas (aka Crocus Behemoth) with guitarist Peter Laughner; adding guitarist Tom Herman, bassist Tim Wright, keyboardist Allen Ravenstine, and drummer Scott Krauss, the group soon issued their debut single, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," on Thomas Hearthan label. The follow-up, "Final Solution," appeared on the renamed Hearpen in early 1976, and resulted in a series of live dates at the famed New York City club Maxs Kansas City. Laughners longstanding battles with drugs and alcohol forced his exit from Pere Ubu in June of 1976; within a year, he was dead. The group continued on as a quintet, with bassist Tony Maimone signing on in the wake of Wrights move to New York, where he joined the pioneering no wave band DNA. In the wake of their third single, "Street Waves," Thomas was approached by Mercury label A&R; exec Cliff Burnstein, who convinced the label to form a new imprint, Blank Records, for the express purposes of signing Pere Ubu; their debut LP, The Modern Dance, was issued in early 1978, and although the record made little commercial impact at home or abroad, its manic intensity and dark impenetrability proved profoundly influential on countless post-punk acts on both sides of the Atlantic. The follow-up, Dub Housing, was even better, pushing the band to further extremes of otherworldliness, but already the cracks were beginning to show, and upon completing 1979s New Picnic Time (working title: "Goodbye"), Ubu disbanded. Although the group re-formed months later, Herman opted not to return and was replaced by Red Krayola mastermind Mayo Thompson. The Art of Walking followed in 1980, with subsequent tours in support of the record heralding the increasingly pop-centric sound that would distinguish later Ubu projects; a live record, 390° of Simulated Stereo, appeared a year later. Krauss was replaced by drummer Anton Fier for 1982s Song of the Bailing Man, but as before personal and creative differences began taking their toll and Ubu again disbanded; while Maimone and Krauss reunited in the group Home and Garden, Thomas continued the solo career hed begun with the 1981 effort The Sound of the Sand (And Other Songs of the Pedestrians), a collaboration with guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson. He recorded 1987s Blame the Messenger with the Wooden Birds, a backing band including fellow Ubu alums Ravenstine and Maimone; after Krauss sat in for a Cleveland live date, the decision was made to begin working as Pere Ubu again. Guitarist Jim Jones and drummer Chris Cutler were also recruited for 1988s comeback effort The Tenement Year, a vividly idiosyncratic pop album far more accessible than anything in the bands back catalog. 1989s Stephen Hague-produced Cloudland further refined the approach, with the video for the single "Waiting for Mary" even earning limited MTV airplay; after both Ravenstine and Cutler exited Pere Ubu (the former becoming a commercial airline pilot), one-time Captain Beefheart sideman Eric Drew Feldman was installed for 1991s Worlds in Collision. Feldman soon departed as well to join Frank Black, and the remaining quartet recorded 1993s Story of My Life for the short-lived Imago label; Maimone was the next to go, with bassist Michele Temple and keyboardist Garo Yellin stepping in for 1995s planned swan song, Ray Gun Suitcase. As Ubu again slipped into limbo, the bands massive influence was celebrated in 1996 with the release of the five-disc box set Datapanik in the Year Zero; the renewed interest spurred Thomas back into action, and he reunited with Tom Herman for the first time in two decades to record 1998s sprawling Pennsylvania (also featuring holdovers Jones and Temple in addition to keyboardist Robert Wheeler and drummer Steve Mehlman). Four years later, Pere Ubu captured some of their darkest and most theatrical work to date with St. Arkansas. With Pere Ubu once again going strong, Thomas unexpectedly reassembled Rocket from the Tombs for a short run of shows in 2003. (Former Television guitarist Richard Lloyd sat in for the late Peter Laughner.) What was expected to be a short-term revival unexpectedly evolved into a second career with RFTT, following the release of an archival album of old recordings and a set of re-interpretations by the new lineup. In 2006, Thomas returned his attentions to Pere Ubu, releasing the provocatively titled Why I Hate Women. A remix album also arrived that year. In 2009, the band returned with Long Live Pere Ubu!, which featured songs from a musical adaptation of the bands namesake play Ubu Roi and included contributions from Communards Sarah Jane Morris and Gagarin. Pere Ubus next album, 2013s Lady from Shanghai, was nearly as ambitious; described as "an album of dance music fixed," it commemorated the 35th anniversary of The Modern Dance with abrasive, industrial-tinged rhythms and an accompanying book, Chinese Whispers: The Making of Pere Ubus Lady from Shanghai. Also in 2013, the band performed their underscore for the cult classic horror film Carnival of Souls; several pieces from the score became the basis for 2014s Carnival of Souls, which arrived in different CD and vinyl versions. In 2015, as Thomas was releasing a new album with a new lineup of Rocket from the Tombs, he looked back at Pere Ubus past with a pair of archival vinyl-only box sets. Elitism for the People 1975-1978 and Architecture of Language 1979-1982. For 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo, Thomas had the bandmembers -- which included guitarist Gary Siperko and Swans Christoph Hahn -- work on their parts individually, then he combined them into tracks that inspired his lyrics. A concise, noisy set that riffed on blues, surf, and garage, the album arrived in 2017. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 31 Title: The Modern Dance Released: 1978-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Non‐Alignment Pact (03:19) 2 The Modern Dance (03:29) 3 Laughing (04:37) 4 Street Waves (03:06) 5 Chinese Radiation (03:29) 6 Life Stinks (01:53) 7 Real World (04:01) 8 Over My Head (03:49) 9 Sentimental Journey (06:07) 10 Humor Me (02:44) |
| The Modern Dance : Allmusic album Review : There isnt a Pere Ubu recording you can imagine living without. The Modern Dance remains the essential Ubu purchase (as does the follow-up, Dub Housing). For sure, Mercury had no idea what they had on their hands when they released this as part of their punk rock offshoot label Blank, but it remains a classic slice of art-punk. It announces itself quite boldly: the first sound you hear is a painfully high-pitched whine of feedback, but then Tom Hermans postmodern Chuck Berry riffing kicks off the brilliant "Non-Alignment Pact," and you soon realize that this is punk rock unlike any youve ever heard. David Thomas caterwauling is funny and moving, Scott Krauss (drums) and Tony Maimone (bass) are one of the great unheralded rhythm sections in all of rock, and the "difficult" tracks like "Street Waves," "Chinese Radiation," and the terrifying "Humor Me" are revelatory, and way ahead of their time. The Modern Dance is the signature sound of the avant-garage: art rock, punk rock, and garage rock mixing together joyously and fearlessly. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 31 Title: Dub Housing Released: 1978-11 Tracks: 10 Duration: 35:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Navvy (02:42) 2 On the Surface (02:37) 3 Dub Housing (03:42) 4 Caligari’s Mirror (03:52) 5 Thriller! (04:41) 6 I, Will Wait (01:47) 7 Drinking Wine Spodyody (02:46) 8 (Pa) Ubu Dance Party (04:49) 9 Blow Daddy‐O (03:42) 10 Codex (04:55) |
| Dub Housing : Allmusic album Review : Though Pere Ubus tenure on Mercury lasted one record, their departure for their unlikely home of Chrysalis (at the time the label of Jethro Tull) resulted in Dub Housing, widely considered their masterpiece. Darker and more difficult than The Modern Dance (indicated by the covers darkened apartment complex and stormy Cleveland skyline) with plenty of bleak soundscapes (e.g., "Codex"), Dub Housing also includes "Navvy"s bouncy burble (featuring Thomas yelping "I have desires!"), and "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party"s surreal big beat. Make no mistake, as much as Ubu indulged in arty dissonance and mucked about with song structure, this is very much a rock & roll record, albeit one made by a band interested in pushing the envelope when it came to sound, song construction, and performance. As much as this is a band effort, the guitar of Tom Herman and the synthesizer of Allen Ravenstine frequently stand out. Hermans strong, polished playing veers from assertive riffing to assaultive noise; Ravenstine, who may be one of the all-time great synth players, colors the sound with ominous whooshes of distortions, blips, and blurbs that sound like a sped-up Pong game. But, as is often the case with Ubu, its David Thomas singing (here at its most engagingly unrestrained) that is front and center. Part comic foil, part raging madman, Thomas utilizes all of his limited range in a whacked expressiveness built around hiccups, yodels, screeches, and, sometimes, singing. Dub Housing sold next to nothing and signaled the beginning of the end of Ubus relationship with Chrysalis, but it remains an important and influential American rock record. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 31 Title: New Picnic Time Released: 1979 Tracks: 10 Duration: 36:33 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Have Shoes Will Walk (The Fabulous Sequel) (03:07) 2 49 Guitars and One Girl (02:52) 3 A Small Dark Cloud (05:49) 4 Small Was Fast (03:41) 5 All the Dogs Are Barking (03:03) 6 One Less Worry (03:48) 7 Make Hay (04:05) 8 Goodbye (05:20) 9 The Voice of the Sand (01:28) 10 Jehovah’s Kingdom Comes! (03:16) |
| New Picnic Time : Allmusic album Review : It was not surprising that after Dub Housing, Pere Ubu couldnt get a record released in the U.S. New Picnic Time originally surfaced on Chrysalis as a British import, but when Rough Trade made it available domestically, U.S. fans could take solace in that the band had finally hooked up with a label more sympathetic to their decidedly unique approach to music. New Picnic Time was also the last Ubu record with guitarist Tom Herman, and for many Ubu fans this signals the end of Pere Ubu phase one (or phase two, depending on ones feelings for the Datapanik-era band). New Picnic Time also finds David Thomas lyrical explorations reflecting his religious involvement with the Jehovahs Witnesses, pieties that are stated quite emphatically on the records closing track, "Jehovahs Kingdom Comes." | ||
 | Album: 4 of 31 Title: The Art of Walking Released: 1980-07-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 43:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Go (03:37) 2 Rhapsody in Pink (03:36) 3 Arabia (05:04) 4 Young Miles in the Basement (04:20) 5 Misery Goats (02:40) 6 Loop (03:17) 7 Rounder (03:24) 8 Birdies (02:30) 9 Lost in Art (05:16) 10 Horses (02:37) 11 Crush This Horn (03:02) 12 Arabian Nights (03:57) |
| The Art of Walking : Allmusic album Review : The Art of Walking was the first Pere Ubu recording that wasnt completely sensational. Red Krayola guitarist/mastermind Mayo Thompson replaced Tom Herman, and while he freely indulges in pushing the envelope when it comes to soloing, he doesnt have Hermans rock sensibility, so theres less pulsating, Chuck Berry-style riffing emerging from the mix. Also, the songs are a tad more obtuse -- not that previous Ubu songs werent, but this collection, with its focus on the pastoral, falls apart when it becomes overly precious. Such is the fate of utopian concept records. Still, this transitional (if you want to call it that) record offers many rewards, even if as a listener you have to work a little harder to find them. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 31 Title: 390 Degrees of Simulated Stereo: Ubu Live, Volume 1 Released: 1981-03 Tracks: 12 Duration: 51:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Non‐Alignment Pact (03:55) 2 Street Waves (04:09) 3 Real World (04:09) 4 My Dark Ages (05:36) 5 Modern Dance (03:34) 6 Humor Me (02:46) 7 Heart of Darkness (04:11) 8 Laughing (05:15) 9 Can’t Believe It (02:18) 10 Over My Head (04:46) 11 Sentimental Journey (04:57) 12 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (05:41) |
 | Album: 6 of 31 Title: Song of the Bailing Man Released: 1982 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Long Walk Home (02:35) 2 Use of a Dog (03:18) 3 Petrified (02:17) 4 Stormy Weather (03:20) 5 West Side Story (02:47) 6 Thoughts That Go by Steam (03:49) 7 Big Ed’s Used Farms (02:25) 8 A Day Such as This (07:17) 9 The Vulgar Boatman Bird (02:50) 10 My Hat (01:20) 11 Horns Are a Dilemma (04:21) |
| Song of the Bailing Man : Allmusic album Review : Continuing in the spirit of The Art of Walking, this record marks the departure of drummer Scott Krauss (replaced by ex-Feelies Anton Fier), a fact significant in that when combined with the earlier departure of guitarist Tom Herman, means that at this juncture, Pere Ubu was more art and less rock. Why people were so knocked out by Fier is a mystery; here he lacks aggressiveness, plays behind the beat, and generally speaking, he doesnt push the band as hard as a drummer ought to. That said, Song of the Bailing Man is a fine, occasionally wonderful record that, at its slackest moments, sounds strained and forced, as if it were no fun to make, and its this seriousness (instead of the usual Ubu silly seriousness) that prevents Song of the Bailing Man from being great. Its no surprise that the band went on a hiatus for six years after the release of this record, returning with 1988s The Tenement Year. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 31 Title: Terminal Tower Released: 1985 Tracks: 11 Duration: 42:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Heart of Darkness (04:51) 2 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (06:28) 3 Final Solution (05:05) 4 Cloud 149 (02:43) 5 Untitled (03:35) 6 My Dark Ages (04:02) 7 Heaven (03:11) 8 Humor Me (live) (02:57) 9 The Book Is on the Table (04:04) 10 Not Happy (03:28) 11 Lonesome Cowboy Dave (01:54) |
| Terminal Tower : Allmusic album Review : At the outset of their career, Pere Ubu released some of the very first independent-label American punk singles on their own Hearthan (later Hearpen) label, which constitute some of their most celebrated and legendary work. Terminal Tower: An Archival Collection gathers 11 tracks, mostly from the crucial Hearthan/Hearpen period (including the entire Datapanik in the Year Zero EP), plus a couple of later U.K. singles. This musics historical importance is undeniable -- not only because of the bands pioneeringly independent status in an area not as celebrated for its punk scene, but also because Pere Ubu was one of the first bands to push their art punk sound into territory later classified as alternative, a testament to their forward-looking approach. None of that would matter if Terminal Tower didnt hold up so well as a listening experience, but Pere Ubu still sounds utterly original. David Thomas unearthly voice mumbles and sobs the angular melodies over a backdrop of garagey guitars, startling sound effects (from both guitar and synth), and odd dissonances. Moments of jarring, apocalyptic terror ("Heart of Darkness," the creeping, crawling "30 Seconds Over Tokyo") sit next to oddly beautiful introspection, sometimes on the same song (the aching angst and evocative guitar solo of "Final Solution"). Meanwhile, poppier tracks incorporate those avant-garde textures into a gleeful dada bounce. The two tracks unavailable anywhere else, "Not Happy" and "Lonesome Cowboy Dave," are slices of poppy dementia that may make the collection worthwhile for devotees who already own the box, especially since this is such a strong, coherent listen. Terminal Tower stands as the best introduction to the band not only because of its stellar material and relative accessibility, but also because it largely lacks the arty indulgences that popped up even on the groups most consistent albums. Now that its back in print, its essential, groundbreaking listening. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 31 Title: The Tenement Year Released: 1988 Tracks: 11 Duration: 44:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Something’s Gotta Give (05:13) 2 George Had a Hat (04:02) 3 Talk to Me (03:32) 4 Busman’s Honeymoon (04:39) 5 Say Goodbye (04:59) 6 Universal Vibration (02:43) 7 Miss You (04:23) 8 Dream the Moon (03:26) 9 Rhythm King (04:30) 10 The Hollow Earth (04:17) 11 We Have the Technology (03:06) |
| The Tenement Year : Allmusic album Review : In retrospect, The Tenement Year was clearly a transitional album for Pere Ubu. Reuniting with his band after a six-year hiatus, leader David Thomas is still hip-deep in post-industrial weirdness: Whether celebrating the existential dependability of fashion head wear, observing that the zoo is a bad place for bears and penguins, or expressing cautious optimism about technology, Thomas always sounds completely comfortable in his own wholly individual skin. And the band (performing here in its classic lineup with bassist Tony Maimone, drummer Scott Krauss, and synthesist Allen Ravenstine, among others) manages, as always, to stay solidly in the pocket even when pushing the boundaries of song structure and harmonic propriety. But as weird as they get, there are clear portents of the poppier sound to come: "Talk to Me," with its surf guitar bridge and downright singable chorus; the undeniable hook on "Say Goodbye"; and, above all, the sweet-tempered ballad "We Have the Technology" all point to themes and moods that would recur in the following years Cloudland, an album that yielded not only a borderline hit single but also (gulp) an MTV video. What does it all add up to? The most accessible Ubu album that snobs can enjoy without feeling guilty. And astoundingly, given Thomas public pronouncements on such matters, theres even a lyric sheet. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 31 Title: One Man Drives While the Other Man Screams Released: 1989 Tracks: 13 Duration: 50:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Navvy (03:11) 2 Street Waves (04:47) 3 Heaven (03:48) 4 On the Surface (03:02) 5 Dub Housing (05:32) 6 Caligaris Mirror (04:27) 7 Small Was Fast (03:04) 8 Misey Goats (02:51) 9 Go (04:11) 10 Ubu Dance Party (04:22) 11 Birdies (02:57) 12 Rhapsody in Pink (05:29) 13 Codex (02:46) |
| One Man Drives While the Other Man Screams : Allmusic album Review : The second volume in the live Ubu saga, this is sonically better than its predecessor, 390 Degrees of Simulated Stereo. Covering the period from 1978-1981, the tracks on this recording were recorded during the guitarist transition from Tom Herman to Mayo Thompson. And while I prefer Hermans more assertive guitar playing, Thompson acquits himself nicely here, especially on "Birdies" and "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party." Vocalist David Thomas has some extraordinary moments here, as he is less restrained (positively manic) than in the studio. His glee is contagious, and by infusing the songs with such unrestrained joy, the band never sounds too dour and serious. Proof that art-rock can rock. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 31 Title: Cloudland Released: 1989-05 Tracks: 14 Duration: 03:50 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Breath (?) 2 Race the Sun (?) 3 Cry (?) 4 Why Go It Alone? (?) 5 Waiting for Mary (03:50) 6 Ice Cream Truck (?) 7 Bus Called Happiness (?) 8 Love Love Love (?) 9 Lost Nation Road (?) 10 Nevada! (?) 11 Flat (?) 12 The Waltz (?) 13 Pushin (?) 14 Monday Night (?) |
| Cloudland : Allmusic album Review : In a press handout that accompanied the original release of Pere Ubus Cloudland, David Thomas quipped "Wed never been asked to write a pop record before. I guess it never occurred to anyone." Given the sonic Dadaism of much of Pere Ubus work, whats most startling is not that it took so long for someone to suggest they make a pop record but that they were able to comply so successfully. Stephen Hague, who had previously worked with the Pet Shop Boys, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and New Order, produced these sessions, and Cloudland boasts a glossy surface that was unprecedented for Pere Ubus work; the drums sounded crisp and tight, the songs included traditional melodies and melodic keyboard lines, Allen Ravenstines noisy punctuations were pushed to the back of the mix, and the harmonies sounded as if they were performed by actual professionals. However, beneath the hipster friendly production, Cloudland remained a Pere Ubu record -- David Thomas yelping vocal style was as unrestrained as ever, and while the tunes here lack the sharp angles of Pere Ubus first era, the lateral sway of the melodies is still cheerfully off kilter. Lyrically, Cloudland finds Ubu moving cautiously from their passionate defense of the Midwests industrial wastelands to a look at the broad plains that lurked elsewhere, as if they were looking for sunnier climes like many other denizens of the Rust Belt and finding many strange, troubling and wonderful things in their new surroundings. Ultimately, Cloudland showed that however much you dressed up Pere Ubus music, their heart and soul would show through, and that is a very good thing. [In 2007, Mercury Records reissued Cloudland in a new remastered edition created with the input of the band. The new disc includes two non-LP B-sides, "Wine Dark Sparks" and "Bang the Drum," as well as a live BBC recording of "Bus Called Happiness" and alternate mixes of "Breath" and "Love Love Love." David Stubbs liner notes describe the circumstances behind the making of the album as well as Thomas lyrical themes on this material.] | ||
 | Album: 11 of 31 Title: Worlds in Collision Released: 1991 Tracks: 13 Duration: 42:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Oh Catherine (02:54) 2 I Hear They Smoke the Barbecue (04:08) 3 Turpentine! (02:41) 4 Goodnite Irene (04:12) 5 Mirror Man (03:31) 6 Cry Cry Cry (02:46) 7 Worlds in Collision (03:43) 8 Life of Riley (02:34) 9 Over the Moon (03:07) 10 Don’t Look Back (04:05) 11 Playback (03:30) 12 Nobody Knows (02:37) 13 Winter in the Firelands (03:08) |
| Worlds in Collision : Allmusic album Review : Pere Ubus 1989 album Cloudland seemed like a strange pop anomaly to many longtime fans, but unbeknown to them the group had something even slicker up its sleeve. Gil Norton, best known for his work with the Pixies, was brought in to produce 1991s Worlds in Collision, and it marked an even more dramatic attempt to fuse Pere Ubus sensibilities with the pop mainstream (which, in the year Nirvana would break through with Nevermind, probably didnt seem quite as forbidding a place as it once did). With Allen Ravenstine largely out of the picture (he amicably quit the band to pursue a career as a pilot) and the less willfully eccentric Eric Drew Feldman taking his place, Pere Ubu were a less noisy ensemble this time out, and under Nortons tutelage David Thomas vocals gained a new degree of precision and control (though no amount of coaching and mix-fixing would ever turn the guy into, say, Morrissey). However, while Norton buffed off even more of the rough edges of Pere Ubus approach than Stephen Hague on Cloudland, the group created a bizarro-world triumph; "I Hear They Smoke the Barbecue" is a brilliant pop single that still finds room for Ubus lyrical obsessions and clattering sonic underpinnings, the opening "Oh Catherine" is pretty in a way Thomas vocals have never been before, "Mirror Man" is a sideways shout-out to a primal influence, "Cry Cry Cry" finds room for a dash of country twang in the Ubu formula, and "Turpentine!" is as crazy as they wanna be. If there were ever a band destined never to make the charts, its Pere Ubu, but not unlike the Velvet Undergrounds Loaded, Worlds in Collision shows that they could make an album capable of appealing to a broader audience without losing touch with what made them a singular creative force in the first place, something not every band that signed to a major label was able to manage. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 31 Title: Story of My Life Released: 1993-04-06 Tracks: 16 Duration: 59:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Wasted (02:38) 2 Come Home (04:50) 3 Louisiana Train Wreck (03:23) 4 Fedora Satellite II (03:29) 5 Heartbreak Garage (03:53) 6 Postcard (02:50) 7 Kathleen (04:25) 8 Honey Moon (02:55) 9 Sleep Walk (04:25) 10 Story of My Life (04:07) 11 Last Will & Testament (03:48) 12 Come Home (Hague Mix) (03:37) 13 Fedora Satellite II (03:29) 14 Gripless (03:23) 15 Through The Windshield (03:50) 16 Stoughton 529 (04:11) |
| Story of My Life : Allmusic album Review : After the grand experiments of Cloudland and Worlds in Collision failed to make Pere Ubu the darlings of Americas youth, 1993s Story of My Life found them in less polished studio circumstances, though they were still in a new and different form. Pere Ubu had been pared down to a quartet when they recorded Story of My Life, and while guitarist Jim Jones, bassist Tony Maimone, and drummer Scott Krauss all manned various pieces of noisemaking equipment in the absence of Allen Ravenstine (and producer Al Clay added keyboards), this is still an uncharacteristically lean-sounding Pere Ubu album, dominated by Jones guitars and leaving plenty of open space for Maimone and Krauss to shine through. In many respects, Story of My Life finds David Thomas sounding a great deal freer and more playful than he had on Ubus two previous albums, but without an adversary to battle against as he had on Worlds in Collision, there arent any moments of unexpected genius like "I Hear They Smoke the Barbecue" or "Oh Catherine," either. However, the opening track of Story of My Life -- "Wasted," which starts out as some sort of damaged sea shanty and suddenly mutates into grand-scale guitar rock -- shows that regardless of what challenges faced them in the studio, Pere Ubu never failed to deliver the goods, and the head-scratching travelogue of oddities in "Postcard," the slightly fractured folk-rock of "Kathleen," and the childhood nostalgia of the title track are superb examples of Ubus witty side. If Story of My Life feels in retrospect like a stepping stone between Ubus art pop period and their return to classic form with 1995s Ray Gun Suitcase, it also brings together some of the virtues of both sides of their aural personality, and its a slightly flawed but underappreciated gem. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 31 Title: Ray Gun Suitcase Released: 1995-08-21 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:11:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Folly of Youth (04:55) 2 Electricity (04:30) 3 Beach Boys (04:01) 4 Turquoise Fins (03:13) 5 Vacuum in My Head (04:24) 6 Memphis (04:08) 7 Three Things (04:54) 8 Horse (05:05) 9 Dont Worry (03:14) 10 Ray Gun Suitcase (03:52) 11 Surfer Girl (02:17) 12 Red Sky (05:28) 13 Montana (06:03) 14 My Friend Is a Stooge for the Media Priests (03:09) 15 Down by the River II (03:55) 16 Memphis (demo) (04:16) 17 Down by the River II (demo) (03:49) |
| Ray Gun Suitcase : Allmusic album Review : Returned to indie label status for their tenth studio album, Pere Ubu again made music in the style familiar from their earliest recordings -- staccato rhythms and noisy guitars backing David Thomas disjointed singing of repeated, obscure lyrics. Typical was "Vacuum in My Head" (with some of the ominous tone of "30 Seconds Over Tokyo"), in which Thomas spoke-sang, "Vacuum cleaner in my head/It sucks up everything I know." The playing often had more delicacy and precision than early on, and Thomas varied his effects from mutters to shrieks. An acoustic guitar rendition of the Beach Boys "Surfer Girl" was a distinct change of pace, even if its author, Brian Wilson, might not have recognized it in Thomas performance. But Ray Gun Suitcase was an album for the cult of fans who delighted in the bands offbeat lyrical viewpoint and musical cacophony, which was just as well, since the more conventional orientation attempted in the late 1980s and early 90s did not pay off in an expanded following. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 31 Title: Datapanik in the Year Zero Released: 1996 Tracks: 78 Duration: 4:52:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (06:23) 2 Heart of Darkness (04:46) 3 Final Solution (05:00) 4 Cloud 149 (02:38) 5 [untitled] (03:34) 6 My Dark Ages (04:02) 7 Heaven (03:06) 8 Non‐Alignment Pact (03:19) 9 The Modern Dance (03:29) 10 Laughing (04:37) 11 Street Waves (03:06) 12 Chinese Radiation (03:29) 13 Life Stinks (01:53) 14 Real World (04:01) 15 Over My Head (03:49) 16 Sentimental Journey (06:07) 17 Humor Me (02:44) 18 The Book is on the Table (03:56) 1 Navvy (02:42) 2 On the Surface (02:37) 3 Dub Housing (03:42) 4 Caligari’s Mirror (03:52) 5 Thriller! (04:41) 6 I, Will Wait (01:47) 7 Drinking Wine Spodyody (02:46) 8 Ubu Dance Party (04:49) 9 Blow Daddy‐O (03:42) 10 Codex (04:55) 11 The Fabulous Sequel (03:07) 12 49 Guitars & One Girl (02:54) 13 A Small Dark Cloud (05:49) 14 Small Was Fast (03:33) 15 All the Dogs Are Barking (03:03) 16 One Less Worry (03:48) 17 Make Hay (04:05) 18 Goodbye (05:20) 19 Voice of the Sand (01:28) 20 Kingdom Come (03:14) 1 Go (03:37) 2 Rhapsody in Pink (03:36) 3 Arabia (05:04) 4 Young Miles in the Basement (04:20) 5 Misery Goats (02:40) 6 Loop (03:17) 7 Rounder (03:24) 8 Birdies (02:30) 9 Lost in Art (05:16) 10 Horses (02:37) 11 Crush This Horn (03:02) 12 The Long Walk Home (02:35) 13 Use of a Dog (03:18) 14 Petrified (02:17) 15 Stormy Weather (03:20) 16 West Side Story (02:51) 17 Thoughts That Go by Steam (03:49) 18 Big Ed’s Used Farms (02:25) 19 A Day Such as This (07:22) 20 The Vulgar Boatman Bird (02:50) 21 My Hat (01:20) 22 Horns Are a Dilemma (04:21) 1 The Incredible Truth (02:34) 2 Its in Imagination (04:43) 3 Never Again (02:20) 4 Sunset in the Antipodes (02:26) 5 (Please) Fix My Horn (My Brakes Dont Work) (03:24) 6 Baking Bread (02:13) 7 Atom Mind (02:29) 8 Autumn Leaves (04:17) 9 Dear Richard (05:55) 10 Youre Gonna Watch Me (01:40) 11 Amphetamine (05:32) 12 She Smiled Wild (03:57) 13 Jaguar Ride (01:46) 14 Steve Canyon Blues (04:16) 15 Home Life (06:43) 16 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (07:00) 17 Heart of Darkness (08:46) 18 Pushin Too Hard (03:53) |
 | Album: 15 of 31 Title: Pennsylvania Released: 1998-04-21 Tracks: 19 Duration: 1:09:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Woolie Bullie (03:42) 2 Highwaterville (01:41) 3 SAD.TXT (03:23) 4 Urban Lifestyle (02:56) 5 Silent Spring (04:16) 6 Mr Wheeler (03:34) 7 Muddy Waters (03:28) 8 Slow (01:11) 9 Drive (04:18) 10 Indian Giver (01:00) 11 Monday Morning (03:32) 12 Perfume (04:32) 13 Flys Eye (02:39) 14 The Dukes Saharan Ambitions (05:00) 15 Wheelhouse (05:07) 16 Flys Eye (Alt. Mix) (02:48) 17 SAD.TXT (live) (03:51) 18 My Name Is... (live) (07:37) 19 Dr Sax (out-take) (05:11) |
| Pennsylvania : Allmusic album Review : On self-imposed exile in England yet still obsessed with industrial America, Dave Thomas looks back to his hometown and finds that its not what it used to be. The factories are still there, still belching out smoke to the heavens. There are still vast landscapes of concrete and steel. The difference is, its all been homogenized, run through the grinder of corporate consumer culture. Although hes half a world away, he doesnt like what he sees, and thats the essence of Pennsylvania, Pere Ubus eleventh album in 20 years. Its a return to the clastrophobic, complex, darkly paranoid sound of their early albums; only occasionally is it graced with the relatively tamed alterna-pop stylings that marked their early-90s records. Thomas, thankfully, hasnt abandoned his satiric wit, and thats what makes Pennsylvania provocative, not insular. Its been many years since Pere Ubu has delivered a record as sweeping in lyrical and musical scope as Pennsylvania, and its been worth the wait. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 31 Title: Apocalypse Now Released: 1999-08-22 Tracks: 14 Duration: 53:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 My Theory of Spontaneous Simultude (06:47) 2 Life of Riley (03:08) 3 Wine Dark Sparks (03:15) 4 Heaven (03:28) 5 Worlds in Collision (02:49) 6 Cry Cry Cry (03:10) 7 Non-Alignment Pact (04:34) 8 Caligaris Mirror (03:33) 9 Invisible Man (03:38) 10 We Have the Technology (03:10) 11 Humor Me (04:17) 12 Busmans Honeymoon (03:19) 13 Oh Catherine (04:24) 14 Misery Goats (04:22) |
| Apocalypse Now : Allmusic album Review : Pere Ubus third live album is only the second to feature decent sound (the first, 390° of Simulated Stereo, was a compilation of dodgy fan bootlegs and almost equally dodgy board tapes), and it has the added virtue of offering a pretty thorough overview of the bands history, from its first album to its most recent work, including bandleader David Thomas forays into solo work. In fact, its Thomas whimsical "My Theory of Spontaneous Simultude" ("Tony, complete this phrase: I am like...") that opens the program. From the old band book they pull out an inferior version of "Heaven" and the epochal "Non-Alignment Pact" (and append to it an abridged version of the Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog"). "Caligaris Mirror" goes almost as far back, but there are also fine versions of the poppier and more recent "We Have the Technology" and "Oh Catherine." Guitarist Jim Jones is playing acoustic on this set, but hes got a Rat pedal that he can stomp when he wants to rock out, which gives the album a nice variety of moods and textures -- though the bands segue from the bludgeoning proto-punk of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" to the 6/8 lilt of "Caligaris Mirror" is enough to give you whiplash. David Thomas is in rare form throughout, warbling and hooting in that strangled-penguin voice of his, just sounding like hes having a great old time. You will, too, though neophytes might want to start with the studio albums first. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 31 Title: The Shape of Things Released: 2000-10 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:07:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Heart of Darkness (07:48) 2 Cloud 149 (03:20) 3 Gone Gone Gone (05:38) 4 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (08:59) 5 Life Stinks (02:30) 6 Final Solution (06:41) 7 Pushin Too Hard (05:57) 8 The Way She Looks (05:15) 9 Doris Day Sings Sentimental Journey (05:16) 10 Cant Believe It (02:39) 11 I Wanna Be Your Dog (04:51) 12 Heroin (08:55) |
| The Shape of Things : Allmusic album Review : Though the sound quality is less than desirable, The Shape of Things is an important release in that it adds more than an hour to the scant recorded legacy of cult figure Peter Laughner. Captured on cassette by an audience member, The Shape of Things documents an April 7, 1976, Cleveland performance at the Mistake soon after Pere Ubus inception, and just months after the dissolution of vocalist David Thomas and Laughners pre-Ubu band, Rocket From the Tombs (between their first two singles, "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" and "Final Solution"). On this particular evening, the young band is full of wide-eyed exuberance and volatile energy. The feeling that almost anything could happen is tangible. Future Ubu classics are included on the set list, as well as covers of the Stooges "I Wanna Be Your Dog," the Seeds "Pushin Too Hard," and Lou Reeds "Heroin." Soon after this show, Laughner quit Pere Ubu, and a few months later he was dead. It might be hard to get a hold of a copy of The Shape of Things, as it was available only at live shows and through Hearpen directly, though only Pere Ubu completists -- or cult-icon enthusiasts -- will be interested anyway. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 31 Title: St. Arkansas Released: 2002-06-18 Tracks: 10 Duration: 41:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Fevered Dream of Hernando DeSoto (02:45) 2 Slow Walking Daddy (04:52) 3 Michele (03:11) 4 333 (03:59) 5 Hell (05:12) 6 Lisbon (03:30) 7 Steve (02:48) 8 Phone Home Jonah (02:39) 9 Wheres the truth (03:25) 10 Dark (09:16) |
| St. Arkansas : Allmusic album Review : No band has sustained as much alt-credibility as long as Pere Ubu. While St. Arkansas doesnt divert from the paths the bandmembers have already traveled, its worth remembering that these guys started this trip 27 years prior to this album, and noting as well that their lyrical and musical creativity is undiminished by time. Recorded dry, with a boxlike ambience, David Thomass vocals gnarl like a weed, repulsive yet irresistible, in a garden of broken glass. While the band scatters shards of pointed sound around him, Thomas tells cryptic, twisted tales; on "Slow Walking Daddy" his strangled bleat transplants a Willy Loman character into shadows of vague but looming doom. For the song "Hell" he switches to a smoky mumble and reflects, with odd detachment, on finding himself in perdition -- a place depicted musically by a muffled, lurching drum motif, some keyboard wheezes, and a distant out of tune piano. The closing track, "Dark," wraps up the theme of the album -- tragic self-delusion in a world filled with indifference; Thomas delivery of the key line, a hopeless mantra to "AM radio," is a masterful bit of expression. On each track he presents himself as more of an actor or a performance artist than a singer, an assumption of identity that would challenge almost any bands approach to accompaniment. In this sense, as well as in his poetic integrity and superb connection to his musicians, and in the dark majesty of his declamation, Thomas casts a dangerous spell with St. Arkansas and reaffirms his stature as a peer of Tom Waits. | ||
 | Album: 19 of 31 Title: Why I Remix Women Released: 2006 Tracks: 9 Duration: 46:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Moon, Im Coming Home (remix by Keith Moliné) (05:06) 2 Blue V Woman (remix by Michele Temple) (05:04) 3 My Eyes My Lovely (remix by Gagarin) (05:19) 4 Big Fuzz (Bass & Drums) (Alt. mix by David Thomas) (04:27) 5 I See You (remix by Michele Temple) (03:39) 6 Dust and Dogs (remix by Keith Moliné) (04:46) 7 Texan Farewell (remix by Keith Moliné) (05:29) 8 Blue Gagarin (remix by Gagarin) (04:33) 9 Light It Up (remix by Keith Moliné) (08:04) |
 | Album: 20 of 31 Title: Why I Hate Women Released: 2006 Tracks: 11 Duration: 46:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Two Girls (One Bar) (03:38) 2 Babylonian Warehouses (04:27) 3 Blue Velvet (05:50) 4 Caroleen (04:33) 5 Flames Over Nebraska (03:08) 6 Love Song (06:08) 7 Mona (02:47) 8 My Boyfriends Back (00:58) 9 Stolen Cadillac (06:12) 10 Synth Farm (03:01) 11 Texas Overture (06:10) |
| Why I Hate Women : Allmusic album Review : Pere Ubus thirteenth studio album, Why I Hate Women, opens with a powerful dose of staccato psychodrama, "Two Girls (One Bar)," and closes with arguably the closest thing to a boogie the band has ever recorded, the playfully loping "Texas Overture" which offers a joyous aural travelog (largely culinary) through "the land of the free." So it starts great and ends great -- its whats in the middle thats often problematic on Why I Hate Women. Though the reason for the title isnt made obvious, Why I Hate Women often detours into stories of problematic relationships, and in David Thomas world, things become problematic in very interesting ways. In "Love Song," he croons to his sweetheart "My eyes are growin tentacles for to grab you/ My eyes are growin hand grenades for to have you," while in his homage to "Caroleen" he declares "You know her name rhymes with gasoline/ Her perfume, I think its turpenteen," and "I fear its you, I hope its you" in "Babylonian Warehouses" sums up both attraction and dread about as well as anyone could hope. But while this edition of Pere Ubu leans to the musical approach of the groups classic period (1977 through 1982), they arent as good at generating excitement amidst the waves of oddly constructed sounds; Robert Wheelers amelodic synthesizer work lacks the internal logic Allen Ravenstine brought to his clouds of noise, Keith Molines guitar work is expert but rarely cuts as deep as it should, David Thomas infatuation with odd vocal recording techniques often robs his singing of needed presence, and songs like "Stolen Cadillac," "Blue Velvet," and "Synth Farm" simply meander rather than moving forward. All of which is a shame, because when this band fires on all cylinders -- the cracking "Caroleen," the simple but foggy rock & roll charge of "Flames Over Nebraska" and the ghostly stomp of "My Boyfrends Back" -- its clear that Pere Ubu still have plenty of good ideas and both the ability and the enthusiasm to execute them. And even on a flawed album, thats more than you can say about 90-percent of bands working these days, let alone one thats been together for three decades. | ||
 | Album: 21 of 31 Title: "Long Live Père Ubu!" Released: 2009-09-14 Tracks: 13 Duration: 43:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ubu Overture (02:43) 2 Song of the Grocery Police (01:46) 3 Banquet of the Butchers (02:57) 4 March of Greed (03:36) 5 Less Said the Better (02:33) 6 Big Sombrero (Love Theme) (03:47) 7 Bring Me the Head (03:39) 8 Road to Reason (03:56) 9 Slowly I Turn (04:26) 10 Watching the Pigeons (03:25) 11 The Story So Far (08:00) 12 Snowy Livonia (01:19) 13 Elsinore & Beyond (01:32) |
 | Album: 22 of 31 Title: Live at the Longhorn April 1, 1978 Released: 2013 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:01:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Heart of Darkness (04:45) 2 Modern Dance (04:20) 3 Cloud 149 (03:46) 4 Heaven (03:40) 5 Real World (04:15) 6 Street Waves (04:12) 7 My Dark Ages (06:24) 8 Laughing (05:42) 9 Humor Me (02:48) 10 Over My Head (05:53) 11 Sentimental Journey (07:39) 12 Life Stinks (03:55) 13 Final Solution (04:22) |
 | Album: 23 of 31 Title: Lady From Shanghai Released: 2013-01-07 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Thanks (02:14) 2 Free White (02:29) 3 Feuksley Maam, the Hearing (05:11) 4 Mandy (07:14) 5 And Then Nothing Happened (04:14) 6 Musicians Are Scum (03:33) 7 Another One (Oh Maybellene) (02:47) 8 The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed (04:13) 9 Lampshade Man (06:20) 10 414 Seconds (06:48) 11 The Carpenter Sun (05:57) |
| Lady From Shanghai : Allmusic album Review : Thirty-five years after releasing The Modern Dance, Pere Ubu delivered Lady from Shanghai, an album that bandleader David Thomas described as "dance music, fixed." Thats a pretty bold declaration, and almost as attention-getting as the band naming its 2006 album Why I Hate Women (after a fictional novel). Dance music may or may not need fixing, but for a band as dedicated to questioning authority and assumptions as Pere Ubu, even the mindlessness of a hip-shaking beat could become the enemy. While most of Lady from Shanghais controversy resides in its concept, the results find the band subverting the notion of danceable music in clever ways. "Thanks" starts the album by chewing up the melody of Anita Wards disco classic "Ring My Bell" and spitting it out as "go to hell" as tinny programmed drums make the track as stiff and wintry as possible. The band uses a colder-sounding palette here than it did on Why I Hate Women, but like that album and most of Pere Ubus work since their early-2000s reboot, Lady from Shanghai finds them looking to their history as much as pushing their legacy forward. Their previous album, 2009s Long Live Père Ubu!, featured songs from their adaptation of Ubu Roi, the 19th century surrealist play by Alfred Jarry that inspired the bands name and outlook. This album doesnt skimp on surrealism either; "And Then Nothing Happened" pairs a snippet of guitar pop with an extended passage of the bands best impersonation of alarm bells. Perhaps perversely, Pere Ubu succeed more when they use dance beats for their own purposes than they do when they try to thwart that power. "Mandy" is the pinnacle of Lady from Shanghais uneasy listening, where lurid synths, a relentless rhythm, and a clarinet suggest something sinister is happening as Thomas listens to a "crazy jukebox." On tracks such as this, "Musicians Are Scum" (which nods to the Chambers Brothers "Time Has Come Today" on its choruses), and the circular nightmare of "414 Seconds," where Thomas repeatedly wonders "What part of the dream is true/What part of the truth is a dream?," Pere Ubu provide just enough storytelling dots for listeners to connect them into darkly captivating tales. As with Why I Hate Women, Lady from Shanghai also has its share of rambling tracks; aside from the noir-ish "The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed," the collages of murky electronics and fractured rhythms on "The Carpenter Sun" and "Feuksley Maam, the Hearing" remain more interesting in theory than in practice. Nevertheless, Lady from Shanghai intrigues more often than not, and shows that Pere Ubu can tap into paranoia, loathing, and the downright weird with nearly as much ease and eloquence as they did almost four decades before. | ||
 | Album: 24 of 31 Title: Carnival of Souls Released: 2014-08-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 46:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Golden Surf II (04:10) 2 Drag the River (04:01) 3 Visions of the Moon (03:33) 4 Dr Faustus (04:22) 5 Bus Station (04:28) 6 Road to Utah (04:20) 7 Carnival (05:01) 8 Irene (04:13) 9 Brother Ray (12:02) |
| Carnival of Souls : Allmusic album Review : Continuing their trilogy of albums inspired by classic films, Pere Ubu move from the noir ambiance of The Lady from Shanghai to songs based on Carnival of Souls, director Herk Harveys influential, low-budget horror movie from 1962. Lady from Shanghai revitalized the bands creativity, especially on songs like the equally catchy and unsettling "Mandy," which delivered dance-pop Pere Ubu style. Carnival of Souls goes even further, digging into the bands darkest, most challenging realms as well as surprisingly serene ones. Many of these songs came from Pere Ubus score for the movie, which they developed and performed during The Lady from Shanghai tour; the stress of working so much acted as a crucible for this volatile album. As Midwestern experimentalists with a decidedly spooky bent, Pere Ubu are uniquely equipped to use Carnival of Souls small-town surrealism for their own devices. "Dr. Faustus," one of the albums most score-like pieces, combines metallic percussion, spare guitars and David Thomas muttered vocals into something rustic and rickety, yet threatening at a moments notice (an effect the band magnifies on the epic 12-minute closer "Brother Ray," which the band describes as a prequel to Nathanael Wests The Day of the Locust). "Carnival," which slows a lilting organ melody to a zombies pace, could be a more literal exercise in horror music, but with Thomas threatening that "96 tears will burn your cheeks" and "monkey knows best," its disorienting in the best possible way. Throughout the album, the band leaves their own mark on the films iconic imagery. "Road to Utah" unfurls like a lonesome highway, its organ melody nodding to the films original score by Gene Moore; more elliptically, "Visions of the Moon" reflects the isolation protagonist Mary Henry feels as the plot thickens. "Drag the River" captures the films circular feel and visions of death so perfectly (hearing Thomas bellow "Moon-faced! Doom-struck!" is one of the albums most satisfying and terrifying moments) that its virtually a musical spoiler. However, Carnival of Souls most immediate moment, its "Mandy," is "Bus Station," which weaves Screaming Jay Hawkins "I Put a Spell on You" into the films oppressively monotonous world via herky-jerky rhythms and Thomas sing-song delivery. Pere Ubu also manages the not-insignificant feat of tying this album to Lady from Shanghai thanks to newest member Darryl Boons clarinet, which gives an alien yet vintage feel to songs as far-flung as the thundering surf-meets-metal workout "Golden Surf II" and the lovely "Irene," which reprises the allusions to "I Put a Spell on You" in oddly comforting fashion. Even more ambitious, rewarding and exciting than its predecessor, Carnival of Souls is a thrilling album that raises expectations for the trilogys final installment to the skies. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 31 Title: Elitism for the People 1975–1978 Released: 2015-04-18 Tracks: 35 Duration: 2:22:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Non‐Alignment Pact (03:18) 2 Modern Dance (03:28) 3 Laughing (04:35) 4 Street Waves (03:05) 5 Chinese Radiation (03:28) 6 Life Stinks (01:52) 7 Real World (04:00) 8 Over My Head (03:51) 9 Sentimental Journey (06:05) 10 Humor Me (02:43) 1 Navvy (02:40) 2 On the Surface (02:35) 3 Dub Housing (03:39) 4 Caligari’s Mirror (03:48) 5 Thriller! (04:36) 6 I, Will Wait (01:45) 7 Drinking Wine Spodyody (02:43) 8 (Pa) Ubu Dance Party (04:46) 9 Blow Daddy‐O (03:38) 10 Codex (04:54) 1 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (06:21) 2 Heart of Darkness (04:43) 3 Final Solution (04:57) 4 Cloud 149 (02:36) 5 Untitled (03:31) 6 Street Waves (03:04) 7 My Dark Ages (03:59) 8 Modern Dance (03:28) 9 Heaven (03:04) 1 My Dark Ages (06:53) 2 Heaven (03:55) 3 Sentimental Journey (06:56) 4 Over My Head (07:38) 5 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (06:56) 6 Life Stinks (02:29) |
 | Album: 26 of 31 Title: Coed Jail! Released: 2016 Tracks: 10 Duration: 32:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 On the Surface (02:37) 2 Dub Housing (03:43) 3 Real World (04:03) 4 Humor Me (02:46) 5 The Fabulous Sequel (03:09) 6 Make Hay (04:05) 7 Rounder (03:26) 8 Go (02:57) 9 West Side Story (02:49) 10 The Long Walk Home (02:35) |
 | Album: 27 of 31 Title: The Hearpen Singles 1975–1977 Released: 2016-03 Tracks: 9 Duration: 36:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (06:23) 2 Heart of Darkness (04:48) 3 Final Solution (05:00) 4 Cloud 149 (02:39) 5 [untitled] (03:34) 6 Street Waves (03:08) 7 My Dark Ages (I Don’t Get Around) (04:03) 8 Modern Dance (03:28) 9 Heaven (03:04) |
| The Hearpen Singles 1975–1977 : Allmusic album Review : Heres a handsome box of the first four singles, all in their original sleeves (that ought to take the teeth out of the bogus collectors market!). Singer David Thomas originally released these on his own Hearthan label (later Hearpen) from 1975-1977, pressing about 3,000 copies. Of the four, "Final Solution" is still the enduring classic, though "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" is wild, insidious, diseased music. These singles seem as commendably out there and forward thinking now as they did back then and, along with the bands first LP, The Modern Dance, capture Pere Ubu at its best. | ||
 | Album: 28 of 31 Title: Architecture of Language 1979–1982 Released: 2016-03-18 Tracks: 41 Duration: 2:20:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Have Shoes, Will Walk (The Fabulous Sequel) (03:07) 2 49 Guitars & One Girl (02:51) 3 A Small Dark Cloud (05:49) 4 Small Was Fast (03:38) 5 All the Dogs Are Barking! (03:02) 6 One Less Worry (03:46) 7 Make Hay (04:02) 8 Goodbye (05:17) 9 The Voice of the Sand (01:27) 10 Jehovah’s Kingdom Comes! (02:51) 1 Go (02:55) 2 Rhapsody in Pink (03:35) 3 Arabia (05:51) 4 Misery Goats (02:39) 5 Young Miles in the Basement (02:59) 6 Loop (03:15) 7 Rounder (03:24) 8 Birdies (02:27) 9 Lost in Art (04:33) 10 Horses (02:35) 11 Crush This Horn (03:00) 1 The Long Walk Home (02:35) 2 Use of a Dog (03:18) 3 Petrified (02:17) 4 Stormy Weather (03:20) 5 West Side Story (02:47) 6 Thoughts That Go by Steam (03:49) 7 Big Ed’s Used Farms (02:25) 8 A Day Such as This (07:19) 9 The Vulgar Boatman Bird (02:48) 10 My Hat (01:19) 11 Horns Are a Dilemma (04:21) 1 Humor Me (live) (02:51) 2 The Book Is on the Table (04:01) 3 All the Dogs Are Barking (alt. mix 4) (03:46) 4 Arabian Nights (03:57) 5 Tribute to Miles (04:17) 6 Horses (alt. mix 3) (02:35) 7 Rounder (alt. mix 1) (03:54) 8 Not Happy (03:39) 9 Lonesome Cowboy Dave (01:54) |
 | Album: 29 of 31 Title: Drive, He Said 1994–2002 Released: 2017-05-26 Tracks: 44 Duration: 2:44:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Folly of Youth (04:05) 2 Electricity (04:08) 3 Beach Boys (03:15) 4 Turquoise Fins (02:38) 5 Vacuum in My Head (03:51) 6 Memphis (03:47) 7 Three Things (04:08) 8 Don’t Worry (02:47) 9 Red Sky (03:58) 10 Montana (04:23) 11 My Friend is a Stooge (02:38) 12 Down by the River II (03:16) 1 Woolie Bullie (02:51) 2 Highwaterville (01:29) 3 SAD.TXT (03:18) 4 Urban Lifestyle (02:56) 5 Silent Springs (02:51) 6 Mr. Wheeler (03:35) 7 Muddy Waters (03:20) 8 Drive (04:38) 9 Indiangiver (00:51) 10 Monday Morning (02:26) 11 Perfume (04:26) 12 Fly’s Eye (02:37) 13 Wheelhouse (05:01) 1 The Fevered Dream of Hernando DeSoto (02:41) 2 Slow Walking Daddy (04:51) 3 Michele (03:07) 4 333 (04:02) 5 Hell (04:57) 6 Lisbon (03:28) 7 Steve (02:45) 8 Phone Home Jonah (02:40) 9 Where’s the Truth (03:16) 10 Dark (09:14) 1 My Name Is Ellipsis (07:35) 2 Surfer Girl (02:58) 3 Horse (05:11) 4 Electricity (board mix) (04:28) 5 Dr Sax (04:54) 6 Slow (01:09) 7 The Duke’s Saharan Ambitions (06:52) 8 Ray Gun Suitcase (03:32) 9 SAD.TXT (live) (03:48) |
 | Album: 30 of 31 Title: 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo Released: 2017-09-29 Tracks: 12 Duration: 33:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Monkey Bizness (02:17) 2 Funk 49 (01:57) 3 Prison of the Senses (02:12) 4 Toe to Toe (01:34) 5 The Healer (03:18) 6 Swampland (01:50) 7 Plan From Frag 9 (03:20) 8 Howl (03:01) 9 Red Eye Blues (01:52) 10 Walking Again (04:37) 11 I Can Still See (04:09) 12 Cold Sweat (03:41) |
| 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo : Allmusic album Review : Over their decades-spanning career, Pere Ubu have changed and grown without losing any of their inventiveness. On 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo, they reorient their music once again: inspired by the concept of putting people in a dark room with an object or animal and having them describe it based on what they felt, David Thomas had his musicians work on their parts independently, then edited the pieces together. Though these intentionally fractured tracks are much shorter than Lady from Shanghai and Carnival of Souls epics, unlike Pere Ubus early-90s alt-rock flirtations, 20 Years feels less like a compromise and more like a challenge to see just how much wild creativity the band can pack into a short amount of time. "Monkey Bizness," which opens the album with a dose of nightmarish nursery rhyme surf-punk, barely passes the two-minute mark. The brevity of 20 Years outbursts only adds to their mystique; when Thomas sings "Im the man you know so well/But which part of me is hard to tell" over chugging boogie-woogie, it distills the albums feeling of stumbling around in the dark, grasping for clues. Similarly, the bands inspired subversions of familiar sounds, whether its the stalking blues of "Howl" or the stomping punk of "Red Eye Blues," just add to the unease that culminates on the albums more experimental tracks. Pere Ubu remain masters of wasteland soundscapes on songs like "I Can Still See" and "Plan from Frag 9," on which Thomas compares himself to a pencils ability to leave -- or remove -- a mark over seething electronics, jittery handclaps, and Darryl Boons swirling clarinet. However, Thomas is 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silos main attraction, and he uses the albums wailing, clanking, and gurgling instrumentation to complement some of his most expressive vocals. On "Funk 49," he mutters "Yeah I got a bit of soul/I keep it in a cage" with the deadpan delivery of a comedian as synths and guitars lurch at Dutch angles. Later, hes surprisingly tender on the windswept acoustic ballad "The Healer" and "Cold Sweat," where hes both sarcastic and vulnerable as he sings "Thank you/Youve been great/And I really mean that" over a sea of synth strings. 20 Years in a Montana Missile Silos glimpses at lifes unknowability are disturbing, affecting, and always fascinating -- and prove that Pere Ubu are as vital as ever in the 2010s. | ||
 | Album: 31 of 31 Title: Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés 1987–1991 Released: 2018-04-06 Tracks: 49 Duration: 2:41:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Something’s Gotta Give (05:05) 2 George Had a Hat (04:00) 3 Talk to Me (03:29) 4 Busman’s Honeymoon (04:29) 5 Say Goodbye (04:38) 6 Universal Vibration (02:19) 7 Miss You (04:20) 8 Dream the Moon (03:24) 9 Rhythm King (04:27) 10 The Hollow Earth (03:34) 11 We Have the Technology (03:00) 1 Breath (03:58) 2 Race the Sun (03:17) 3 Cry (02:32) 4 Why Go It Alone? (02:49) 5 Waiting for Mary (03:23) 6 Ice Cream Truck (02:49) 7 Bus Called Happiness (02:49) 8 Love Love Love (03:20) 9 Lost Nation Road (02:17) 10 Nevada! (03:20) 11 Flat (02:21) 12 The Waltz (03:27) 13 Pushin’ (02:29) 14 Monday Night (02:14) 1 Oh Catherine (02:52) 2 I Hear They Smoke the Barbecue (03:59) 3 Turpentine! (02:40) 4 Goodnite Irene (04:09) 5 Mirror Man (03:27) 6 Don’t Look Back (04:05) 7 Worlds in Collision (03:41) 8 Life of Riley (02:34) 9 Over the Moon (03:06) 10 Cry Cry Cry (02:43) 11 Playback (03:27) 12 Nobody Knows (02:33) 13 Winter in the Firelands (03:07) 1 Down by the River (02:40) 2 Around the Fire (03:13) 3 Like a Rolling Stone (02:59) 4 Invisible Man (02:48) 5 Fedora Satellite (01:59) 6 Fire (03:41) 7 Bang the Drum (03:52) 8 Postman Drove a Caddy (02:58) 9 Wine Dark Sparks (03:06) 10 The Wire (03:15) 11 The B Side (04:45) |