I've never encountered an album that so alters listeners' perceptions of the world around them so much as this record. I can say with a straight face that it is actually slightly dangerous to listen to while driving. There is alot of talk about how artists in performance either enhance or destroy the space between them and their audience that is, by default, present due to the stage. On their 1978 debut Pere Ubu, however, transcend the boundary that devides the sound of music and the sounds of the world around you. Even on the most avant-garde of rock records, it is usually pretty clear which sounds are being generated by the musicians on the record and which are coming through from the outside. Mainly because of the atonal synthesizer work of Allen Ravenstien, which sounds like a middle ground between a steel mill and a malfunctioning Atari 2600,
The Modern Dance does not grant you this courtesy. Samples such as crowds gathered at places like ball parks, restaraunts, and comedy clubs, Ravenstien's free jazz influenced saxaphone playing, corpulant frontman David Thomas' usage of a middle-ages instrument called the musette, and even some odd noises courtesy of guitarist Tom Herman also contribute to this effect. Of course, this blurred aural reality wouldn't be worth inhabiting if Pere Ubu did not deliver on the songs. Thankfully, they do so with flying colors. With the exception of the haunting soundscape "Sentimental Journey," most of them are actually quite dancable, and built on solid, chugging garage rock groves pounded out by guitarist Tom Herman, bassist Tony Maimone, and drummer Scott Krause. There is most certainly an indescribable element that makes these riffs Pere Ubu's own, though they do make reference to everything from the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, and Dub Reggae to old TV themes (check the title track's similarity to the old
Batman theme) and No Wave. David Thomas' voice truly defies description, though one could say it is a very post punk take on the raspy yelp of an aging bluesman. He doesn't dominate the mix though, or even the album. Although he'd eventually wind up the only constant member of Pere Ubu throughout the band's 30+ year history, he is only part of the whole which makes up Pere Ubu. All five band members are talented in their own way, but it takes their congregation for those talents to shine and make sense.
The Modern Dance relates to other post punk records in a curious way. Most of Pere Ubu's contemporaries, for example Wire and Mission of Burma, have a clear affection for the straight ahead rock and roll fury of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, whereas Pere Ubu, while eccentric, seem a little more studied and reverent. To use the old cliche, there's very much a method to their madness. At certain points, espescially during "Chinese Radiation" and "Sentimental Journey," it almost feels as if this album fits in more with my Yes and King Crimson records than it does with my albums by Gang of Four, Joy Division, and even Pere Ubu's Ohio neighbors Devo. It's more art rock you can pogo to than punk rock you can think to. I'd reccomend acquireing this classic as soon as possible. Pere Ubu:David Thomas-VocalsAllen Ravenstien-Synthesizer, keyboards, saxaphoneTom Herman-GuitarTony Maimone-Bass Scott Krauss-Drums[PS: If you can, see if you can locate the two Pere Ubu singles released previous to this, espescially their recording debut "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," which seems to be their take on the doom-laden sound of early Black Sabbath.]
Comments (5)