Uterus & Fire in Bloomington, MN

If minimalist punk group
Flipper
had incorporated the excesses of
Pere Ubu
, then created a hybrid of
the Cramps
'
Lux Interior
and
the Make Up
' s
Ian Svenonius
to sing vocals, this
Old Time Relijun
album would be the result. Vocalist/guitarist
Arrington De Dionyso
explores the guitar's fretboard in every non-standard method possible, whether it's detuning and retuning during the middle of a song (
"Telephone Call"
), sounding like an uncontrollable factory machine (
"Giant Boat"
), or picking the guitar strings near the bridge to create piano-like noises (
"Broken Water"
). Along with drummer
Phil Elvrum
and bassist
Aaron Hartman
, the band destroys any preconceived notions of what rock is supposed to be. They take a metallic, simplistic, and chaotic approach, where instruments sound as if they're melting (the bass at the end of
"Johnny Appleseed"
) or dying (the bass clarinet in
). The group even manages to explore free-form noise (
"Hot Oven"
) that puts
the Stooges
"L.A. Blues"
to shame. The album would be an all-around success in noise rock if not for a two-and-a-half-minute Jew's harp solo (
"Khomuz"
) and a drawn-out acoustic guitar/vocal ditty (
"Office Building"
). Fans of no-wave punk, or experimental renegades like
Captain Beefheart
, should take note of this record. ~ Stephen Howell