Foetus - Male (1990)

Foetus - Male (1990)

rock, electronic | 2cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 620MB

BigCat

Allmusic:
Recorded at a show at legendary New York venue CBGB's in late 1990, the two-disc Male shows Foetus and a crack band ripping through songs old and new, plus a few fun surprises along the way. Engineered by Martin Bisi, the recording packs all the brutal, unrelenting punch and atmosphere of Foetus' studio work, while the band itself avoids slouching at any and all points. The band membership itself is worthy of note, containing as it does a number of worthy names, many of whom also worked with Foetus' friend and sometime collaborator Michael Gira of Swans -- bassist Algis Kizys, guitarist Norman Westberg, and drummer Vinnie Signorelli are present and fully accounted for. Matched thus by similarly minded aesthetic souls (and with longtime underground type David Ouimet contributing samples for that particular Foetus touch), Foetus himself lives up to the proceedings. Starting with the virulent burn of "Free James Brown," which makes the similarly-minded song by Big Audio Dynamite seem like an effete whine, Male captures Thirlwell in over-the-top insane-preacher, end-is-nigh mode. Matching the band both in total calamitous rage or slow, doomy jazz-noir crawl (and even a bit of country psych on the Elton John-quoting "Puppet Dude"), he makes a perfect frontman for a trip through hell. His affinity for Tom Waits' own raspy voiced delivery is clear, but Foetus is his own man throughout, not a soundalike. The one-two punch of "Butterfly Potion" and "I'll Meet You in Poland, Baby," the latter's vicious conflation of romance and World War II extremely chilling, makes for a particular highlight. Two creative covers surface -- a vicious take on the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's obsessive glam classic "Faith Healer" and, reflecting a nicely open listening sensibility, a rumble through cult grunge band Tad's "Behemoth."

Tracks
cd1
-1. "Free James Brown" – 4:36
-2. "Fin" – 1:56
-3. "Hot Horse" – 5:08
-4. "English Faggot" – 6:25
-5. "Faith Healer" (Alex Harvey / Hugh McKenna) – 7:20
-6. "Honey I'm Home" (Thirlwell / Roli Mosimann) – 9:25
-7. "Butterfly Potion" – 3:09
-8. "I'll Meet You in Poland Baby" – 7:43
cd2
-1. "Anything (Viva!)" – 8:41
-2. "Death Rape 2000" – 1:59
-3. "Puppet Dude" (Thirlwell / Don Fleming / Jay Spiegel / Jim Dunbar) – 4:56
-4. "Stumbo" (Thirlwell / Mosimann) – 7:55
-5. "Someone Drowned in My Pool" – 9:25
-6. "Behemoth" (TAD) – 8:05
-7. "Your Salvation" – 14:24
All songs by J. G. Thirlwell unless noted.

Personnel
* Clint Ruin - vocals
* Algis Kizys - Bass
* David Ouimet - Samplers, Trombone
* Norman Westberg - Guitar
* Hahn Rowe - Violin, Guitar
* Vinnie Signorelli - drums

 sample & buy: Male

 

Wiseblood - PTTM (Pedal to the Metal) (1991)

Wiseblood - PTTM (Pedal to the Metal) (1991)

rock | EP | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 200MB

BigCat

wikipedia:
Wiseblood is an electronic noise-rock band formed by Clint Ruin (aka J. G. Thirlwell) and Roli Mosimann. In Ruin's words, Wiseblood is "violent macho American [music] made by non-Americans." The material tends toward the realm of the darkest and most sexual Foetus songs, with Mosimann's Swans lineage showing in the slow, crushing pacing of many tracks. Thematically, Wiseblood's lyrics center around the misanthropic exertion of power, typically via murder, sex or assault. Wiseblood existed on-and-off from the mid 1980s through early 1990s.
CMJ:
Ol’ Jim Foetus/J.G. Thirlwell strikes again, this time as Clint Ruin with former Swan Roli Mosimann for another Wiseblood effort, which finds them fusing blustery noir swing with enough sleaze to maintain an underside edge. PTTM opens with the jitterbug pummel of “Pedal To The Metal” (which could be construed as a title track-check the abbreviation), whose jazzy broadness gets exponentially magnified by the scat seaminess of the closing track, “Grease Nipples.” In between are the hip-hoppish wrenching rant of “Stop Trying To Tie Me” and the standout 9:50 “Hey Bop A Ree Bop”-a seething, creeping blues crawl where Ruin’s voice stretches from growl to screech, augmented by Dan Hovey’s eerie guitar, evoking an oppressive atmosphere Hazel Motes would feel at home in.

Tracks
-1. "Pedal to the Metal" - Mosimann, Ruin - 4:47
-2. "Stop Trying to Tie Me" - Mosimann, Ruin - 5:50
-3. "Hey Bop a Ree Bop" - Mosimann, Ruin - 9:50
-4. "Grease Nipples" - Mosimann, Ruin - 4:30

 sample & buy: PTTM (Pedal To The Metal)