Making their intentions clear with the indescribably manic
garage
stomper
"Pig Sweat,"
which kicks off this 1987 album,
Pussy Galore
proceeds to mash it up dumpster style with 19 minimal short players riddled with the best elements from
the Stooges
,
the Cramps
, and the band's own askew, Lower East Side world view. Immensely satisfying and generally disturbing, too, the band delivers a surprising range of moods in the midst of the monolithic beats, out-of-focus production, and pervasive
punk
snarl; the mix veers from
the Velvets
-like
rockabilly
thrash
heard on
"Biker Rock"
and the hard,
psychedelic
slab of
"Loser,"
to a handful of
Sonic Youth
and
Fall
knockoffs. With
Jon Spencer
spewing epileptic vocals all over the place,
Neil Hagerty
Julie Cafritz
doing their
guitar best (or worst), and
Bob Bert
hurling his mess of trashcan drumming into the mix,
hits new heights of
lo-fi
fuzz
minimalism
on this crucial, yet often overlooked, entry into the late-'80s,
proto-grunge
free-for-all. ~ Stephen Cook