New Picnic Time

Track data is currently not available.

Performer: Pere Ubu
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Pere Ubu's third album, 1979's NEW PICNIC TIME, is probably the most underrated album of Ubu's original incarnation. Neither as wildly aggressive as the previous THE MODERN DANCE and DUB HOUSING, nor as compellingly avant-garde as THE ART OF WALKING and SONG OF THE BAILING MAN, NEW PICNIC TIME is the one Ubu album that actually sounds like the artist most often invoked in descriptions of their sound, Captain Beefheart. There's a definite blues influence here, mostly thanks to noisy guitarist Tom Herman, who plays like a member of Beefheart's Magic Band as singer David Thomas works through his increasingly religiously themed lyrics in a variety of vocal styles. Mayo Thompson replaced Herman after this album, leading Ubu into even less accessible arenas. Due to its variety and relative normalcy--relative being a key word--this is a good introduction to early Ubu for the neophyte.

Alternative Press (10/99, pp.105-6) - 4 out of 5 - "...a moodier, artsier record, with more experimental tracks...and less outright boogaloo madness. It's still vital to continued spiritual health, though..."

Pere Ubu was aptly named for Alfred Jarry's Dadaist play. One of the prime movers in post-punk, the influential Cleveland, Ohio, group took the power and volume of punk and the fractured song forms of avant-gardists like Captain Beefheart, then sent David Thomas's free-ranging vocalizing careening across the top. Founded in the 1970s, the group has undergone a multitude of manifestations to become one of the longest-lasting avant-garde ("avant-garage," they have called themselves) music groups, continuing to make uncommercial audio into the 21st century.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5