Fixed up Static

Brainiac - Hissing Prigs in Static Couture

Touch & Go; 1996

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I first bought this CD in 1998. I was in high school. Tripping Daisy had just recently covered "Indian Poker" on their then recent release "Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb" (which, by the way, is one of the greatest albums that no one has ever heard) and Brainiac had found a home on the Butthole Surfers' old label, Touch & Go. I figured it was a safe gamble.

I hated this CD. I hated it so much that I left it in somebody's stereo and never looked back. Until about six or eight months ago. I started listening to other noisy acts from Touch & Go, and remembered back. And that led me to "Electro Shock for President." And after liking that, I went online and re-purchased Hissing Prigs. And I still hated it!

Now I can't get enough of it. It's so noisy and grating and everybody I play it for thinks I'm crazy. And honestly, I don't really know what I like about this album. It goes against most of what I look for in music.

The production is very very lo-fi, but it isn't raw - it's deliberately drenched in noise. That's the first thing you'll notice when you listen to track one. There are very present guitars and drums and vocals. But underneath all of that, at least in parts of the album, is a lot more noise. It comes and goes. And while everything still sounds lo-fi and pretty much shitty, there is an intensity complexity to the music.

The vocals are either yalped or squeaked or mumbled, except for one song - Hot Seat Can't Sit Down - where Timmy Taylor comes across as a dead ringer for Kurt Kobain. At least for a while. For the most part, I can't make out the words. But it sure is cool when he says "chihuahua."

The whole album has this cocky strut to it. Sort of like STP on Tiny Music. Something almost glam. But not glam! I guess I would say that Timmy Taylor sings like Marilyn Manson would dance if he were a stripper and had rabies.

See, the last time I talked about a Brainiac album (link above), I ended up using stupid metaphors, and it didn't really lend to description much. Now I'm starting to do it again. I guess I can sum it up like this:

Frantically rabid.

Listen to it sometime. It might not be for you. If track one doesn't capture you, start at track 9.

chihuahua

chihuahua

chihuahua chihuahuahuahua