lucifer_sam

you missed Rodan:
Jason Noble
Jeff Mueller
Tara Jane O'Neil
Kevin Coultas

i wouldn't suggest it but their LP Rusty is far and above my favorite record that this entire clan has produced, you should look into it. this is also the same band that went on to form Shipping News, Rachel's and June of 44.

otherwise a fantastic idea for a thread and one i shall certainly be revisiting. i have heard/heard of all of the connected artists so it should as least refresh me on what keeps bringing me back to them.

EDIT: shit, Will Oldham is connected to this group? i am officially confused.

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first.am

Engine

I'm acquainted. Actually, I am in the middle of trying to figure out how to include all of those bands in this thread since they don't technically relate to Squirrel Bait other than being in the same scene in the same city at the same time. I'm sure a connection through members can be found but it won't be very direct.

Exciting, eh? Oldham/Palace/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy is one of my all time favorites and yes he was there. In fact members of Squirrel Bait and Slint have been playing on Oldham albums from the early-90s to at least the early 00s. I plan on entering an entire section of 3 reviews here devoted to Will Oldham.

lucifer_sam

yeah, it just seems a bit empty if you leave out a huge centerpiece like June of 44, but then you have a whole mess of other bands to consider: Rodan, Lungfish, Codeine, Hoover, Reptile House, etc. and by that point you might as well review the entirety of Touch and Go's back library. hehe.

maybe it's better if you just leave it as is. =)

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first.am

Engine

Well, I do have a couple tricks to get those bands in: David Grubbs played briefly on Codeine's 'The White Birch' which gives me Doug Sharin on drums which gives me June of 44. Also, one of my favorite post-rock albums that I would love to review is 'Directions In Music' starring Bundy K. Brown (last incarnation of Bastro) and Doug Sharin on drums again. Actually I think of Sharin as a true master so we'll get there.

Engine

Released by Homestead Records

Tracklist:
1. Tallow Waters
2. Filthy Five Filthy Ten
3. Guapo
4. Flesh Colored House
5. Short Haired Robot
6. Can of Whoopass
7. Decent Skin
8. Enagaging in the Reverend
9. Wurlitzer
10. Hoosier Logic
11. Shoot Me a Deer

Lineup:
David Grubbs – vocals, guitar
Clark Johnson – bass
John McEntyre – drums

If you hear somebody say, “I like ‘those’ bands but only stuff like Big Black, not the quiet instrumental bands” they are talking about Bastro. This band is the result of our hero, David Grubbs, beginning to come of age. He left Squirrel Bait for college but apparently never stopped making music. This time around he is the front man, responsible for both guitar and vocals. Presumably he wrote most of this too.

Bastro started out as Clark Johnson (also Squirrel Bait) and Grubbs playing alongside a drum machine. Before long they recruited the drum wunderkind himself, John McEntyre. This man has the Midas touch; every drum set he touches turns somebody’s album to gold. Well, nobody moved a million units but you get the idea. Diablo Guapo is Bastro as a three piece making smart, brutal music. It is the bespectacled nerd who will kick your ass when pushed.

The opener, ‘Tallow Waters’, displays what you are in for: chaotic punk rock held together with a great rhythm section and pushed forward by Grubbs’ aggressive guitar and varied vocal delivery. Like many of their songs, it almost degenerates into noise but ends before that can happen. Next up is ‘Filthy Five Filthy Ten’ that features an angular guitar riff and a big indication of what you will hear come out of the Louisville underground for years. This song is post-rock and math rock before either existed. On top of repetitive heavy riffing, Grubbs seems to vocalize whatever comes to mind. ‘Guapo’ is controlled noise that vaguely resembles a punk song with vocals again yelped at will. The end of the song breaks down with a flurry of brass instruments playing freely over the established rhythm. This is perhaps the first moment that associated the Louisville punks with Jazz. The album contains others bits such as the song ‘Wurlitzer’, an instrumental piece with a freely swinging piano in the lead.

The album goes on like this for eleven songs. The main difference among them is whether the vocals go wild and loud or mumbled and quiet. I hate describing bands with comparisons to other bands but in this case I can hardly help it; Bastro sounds like a combination of Slint and Big Black. They also set the bar really high for avant-garde rock bands in the 90s and Diablo Guapo is another album made by the Squirrel Bait family that seems to me like it should show up on more ‘best’ lists and generally get more respect. It gives you something to think about and still rocks hard – what more do you need? If it’s more intellectualization of rock music then just move on to Gastr Del Sol or Brise-Glase. For now just rock out to this handsome devil of an album.

8.7/10