Customer Reviews

Lurch/Butterfly Love

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A lot of search engines see this band as a metal band. I'm speaking for myself, of course, when I say that it's an insult to see these guys being lumped with other "metal bands". They are beyond classification. I've never heard a band that fits such heinous notes in such a poetic fashion. Steel Pole Bathtub is a brilliant band that hit their peak far before the right ears were ready to hear them. I saw them at several places, but my favorite show was at The Unicorn in Milwaukee. Such a small place with the bombasticy(is that a real word?) I'm surprised that the roof didn't crumble and fall on our heads. They cannot be classified or imitated!

Moody, creepy, sociopathic are a few words that come to mind when I think about this incredible band's music. This band's music can not really be placed in to a genre, however. This album is my favorite of all their works. It could easily be a soundtrack for a domestic disturbance (perhaps even a murder) at the trailor park. Or a soundtrack for a snuff flick. Just picture a broken man, who loved someone he shouldn't have; exhausted options have lead him to despair/anger/hatred/violence and murder. "[...], Don't make you call the cops on me!" Fun fun fun - for the whole family. I love the tribal drumming and the psychotic/feed-backing guitar work. Extremely intelligent writing; both music and lyrics. A must have if you're in to dark and seething music.

This is a solid album (or 2 ep's). As the other reviewer noted, it is well beyond a disservice to categorize Steel Pole as a metal band. This was a band that would play any dive that would put them up and blow people away. Then they'd sell their CD's and t-shirts for practically nothing from a backpack they kept on the side of the stage. They played towering rock riffs, but there wasn't the slightest bit of "rock star" b.s. about them. Steel Pole, with their tape loops and LOUD guitar, occupied a nice space in the indie rock scene. If you like the Butthole Surfers earlier albums, Scratch Acid, or the bands that came out of Amphetamine Reptile records, then this is right up your alley.

Steel Pole Bath Tub was one of the more creative, underappreciated bands of their time. Indeed, they may have been casualties of their own uniqueness--their sound didn't really fit into any of the generally-accepted categories of mainstream music, and no one really knew how to market or promote them.

Lurch/Butterfly Love combines this band's first EP (Lurch) and first LP (Butterfly Love). There is a strong diversity of material here. The first five tracks have a tense, dreary, claustrophobic feel to them, both musically and lyrically. It's great stuff to listen to if you're in a really crappy mood. The remaining tracks are a little more varied; ranging from punkish (Time to Die, I Am Sam I Am), to sludge (Heaven on Dirt), to pop (Through the Windshield of Love), to just outright weirdness (Hey Bo Diddley).

Personally, I like their later albums better (particularly Tulip and The Miracle of Sound in Motion), but this album is definitely worth buying if you want to hear unique rock music which defies genre conventions.