While Strapping Fieldhands had plenty of other moments of brilliance throughout their too brief catalog, this is seemingly where it all came together for them. Reminiscent of an even more bizarre Piper At The Gates Of Dawn at times and as courageous as early Guided By Voices this record is truly a diamond in the rough. Spin Magazine called it "one of the greatest albums you've never heard". Drawing on British folk and psychedelia, Pere Ubu, and Red Krayola-style quirkiness, this album is a low-tech affair which experiments with some unorthodox instrumentation and has at its heart a delicate and crafty song sensibility that brings to mind Tall Dwarves and Television Personalities.

Debuting in 1991 as a three-piece support act for the Frogs, Strapping Fieldhands made a few waves as one of the more charming -- albeit ramshackle -- bands in indie-rock's decidedly ragged lo-fi movement. ... Read more »

Imagine that Syd Barrett and the Bonzo Dog Band had been born in Stinking Creek, KY, and joined forces to create bizarre, darkly humorous backwoods psychedelia in a variety of styles. Or that the Holy Modal Rounders decided to go electric and sing with fake British accents. Or that there was a time in the early '90s when groups as dissimilar as Guided By Voices, Tall Dwarfs, and Freakwater could be somehow lumped together. The latter is, of course, the real-life environment into which the Strapping Fieldhands sprang with a series of cracked singles on the Siltbreeze label, something of an American version of New Zealand's Xpressway. Gobs on the Midway compiles 17 songs from these singles, from the nearly straightforward rocker "October Kentucky" to "Ol' Jimmy Cole," which sounds like a manipulated country blues field recording. "Mysterious Girl" and "Eggs in the Reservoir" suggest a hillbilly ... Read more »

Unlike most people, I got introduced to the music of Fred Frith through his arguably least typical work, a collection of home-recorded 4-track "pop" songs. If you hear this album after hearing the rest of his work you might be disappointed - no exquisite guitar solos, fairly straight-forward arrangements, and shockingly, vocals on most of the tracks!

If however you look at this album with an open mind you'll quickly notice how utterly fantastic it is. Oozing with creativity, it's easily Frith's most playful work. Some of the songs are featured in the amazing documentary "Step across the border". If you haven't watched this you really should, it's one of the most captivating music documentaries I've ever seen. Amazon has the DVD in stock< ... Read more »

One of my favorite punk rock records of all time...and sadly, one of the most unknown.

...every honest man must be cryin', every honest man should be lyin'

After a bevy of cherished singles, Columbus, Ohio's favorite inebriated sons turned out this spit-caked debut full-length. How it managed to find its way out on a major label is anyone's guess, but it nevertheless confirmed Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments' stature as one of the most excellent rock band's ever to drink and spew its way out of Cowtown's sloppy bars and subterranean clubs. Bait and Switch is punk rock at its snotty, anarchist best, music to both revere (the band was championed by none other than Thurston Moore) and revile (Ron House's cat-screech voice is an acquired taste, to say the least). Depending on where you're standing in the crowd, the album is either fingers on the blackboard or a perfect, thrilling sor ... Read more »