Head

by The Jesus Lizard

Overview

With McNeilly in to provide a little more human swing to the proceedings -- appropriate given Denison's own jazz-madness tendencies -- the Jesus Lizard fully launched themselves on an unsuspecting world with Head. The brutal, bass-heavy slam of the music, testament to the uncredited engineering/producing abilities of Steve Albini, gives the whole record a punch that most indie rock didn't have at the time, looking ahead to where similarly minded groups like Helmet (also produced by Albini) would end up soon enough. The McNeilly/Sims rhythm dictates the songs, letting Denison and Yow both find their own way over the chugging brusqueness as they see fit. Yow for the most part sounds like he's singing through a wall or through a huge amount of cotton gauze, making his lyrical tales of violence, twisted living, and the like one for lyric-sheet readers to work out, but the amped-up roars and leers evident in his vocals do a fine job on their own. Then again, the song titles aren't exactly ones to suggest flowers and roses, as "My Own Urine," "Waxeater," and the perfectly creepy "If You Had Lips" make rather clear. Yow's Birthday Party worship is now one more readily shared by the band with McNeilly's presence, the fusion of dark blues and proto-punk rampage -- "My Own Urine," in fact, being a good example of just that -- let to run loose. The stentorian stomp of "7 vs. 8" and the stabbing attack of "Good Thing" in particular might as well be early Cave on the vocals, Yow in mad-preacher mode in excelsis. There's a definite weird playful touch all the band's own, though, whether it's in the sassy strut that starts "If You Had Lips" or even, on the start of "Pastoral," a bit of chiming guitar prettiness. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	10/06/2009
Label:	Touch & Go
UPC:	0036172115419
Rank:	28721

Tracks

1. One Evening
2. S.D.B.J.
3. My Own Urine
4. If You Had Lips
5. 7 Vs. 8
6. Pastoral
7. Waxeater
8. Good Thing
9. Tight N' Shiny
10. Killer McHann
11. [Untitled]
12. Blockbuster
13. Bloody Mary
14. Rabid Pigs
15. Starlet
16. Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Jesus Lizard   Primary Artist
David Wm. Sims   Bass
Mac McNeilly   Drums
Duane Denison   Guitar
David Yow   Vocals

Technical Credits

Page Hamilton   Liner Notes
Steve Albini   Engineer,Producer,Remastering
Bob Weston   Remastering
The Jesus Lizard   Composer
Mac McNeilly   Composer,Liner Notes
Joe Lally   Liner Notes
Duane Denison   Composer,Liner Notes
David Yow   Composer,Liner Notes
Henry Rollins   Liner Notes
Pat Blashill   Liner Notes
Doug Coombe   Photography
Debbie Pastor   Photography
James Rodriguez   Photography
Mark Todd   Drawing
Ken Salerno   Photography
Manfred Rahs   Photography