Customer Reviews

Skag Heaven

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John LeLand called it on this one, way back in '84-- "many bands have rolled around on this mat, trying to nail it down. Squirrel Bait renders them all irrrelevant."

This disc-- which also contains their eponymous debut-- is fabulous. Loud, dense punk rock, with complex drumming and enough interesting rhythmic shifts and smart arrangmenets to keep the ear interested. Kurt Cobain idolised these guys, and guitar god Bob Mould once called this his favorite record of the '80s, and it isn't hard to see why. Indeed, in "Rose Island Road," SB have written a youth-is-gone tune as good as Husker Du's "Celebrated Summer," which smartly avoided metal party-rock cliches by acknowledging that one can only celebrate what disappears. Peter Searcy's vocals bridge the yowl of punk and grunge with smart pop sensibility and the lyrics are elliptical and intriguing. The guitar work is masterful and drummer Ben Daughtry is simply sensational here-- fluid, complex, groovy and massively heavy.

Essential punk/grunge/guitar-rock/whatever.

Quite simply, the best band you've never heard. Aggressive, intelligent rock n' roll with the sub-par recording charm of a true indie record. If you like to expose your friends to bands they don't know, this is a great opportunity. I agree with a previous review in that their first EP is even better than Skag Heaven.

Don't think of them as a pre-grunge band, or as a pre post-rock, math-rock, or moth-rock band; this was a hardcore album, apparently made by guys who took prideful shame (or shameful pride) in mowing their own lawns...see the sleeve photos. A DIY ethic for American suburbia.

This, Skag Heaven, is an amazing album; much better than the first album.

I'm talking about Squirrel Bait: post-punk, pre-math rock, a dense mix of massive hooks, a twin guitar attack and raw vocals which manged to be not punk enough for the hardcore kids but too fast and f--ked up for the indie rockers resulting in Squirrel Bait being, overlooked and TOTALLY UNDERRATED.

The pride of Louisville, Kentucky, these guys were LITERALLY just kids when they started this sonic bombast. A bit thrashy perhaps for power pop purists (boo!), these boys wrote the book on post-hardcore for sure. Good enough (or better than, depending on who you ask) to be as influential SB's second and final release clocks in at under 30 minutes, but even more than their debut, Skag Heaven packs the future of indie rock and the blueprint for post-rock right there in that half hour. This band explodes and offers up song after song dense with strange melodies and furious rocking, delicate arrangements and hooks galore. These guys accomplished more in this half hour than most bands do in their entire careers. They may have been POST hardcore, but the hardcore spirit meant you didn't need a 80 minute double album to say your piece, short and sharp, and pretty darn near perfect. Maybe more twin-guitar buzz this time around, more refined songwriting (without giving up the innovation OR the aggression), some of the best drumming EVER, and vocals that show real angst and depth without devolving into that indie sad boy whine. All this and still not one member legally old enough to purchase alcohol!

When I hear what passes for "alternative", "grunge" or even "punk rock" these days, I can't help but feel sorry for all the kids just getting into the scene who will never know of the ONLY grunge band worth listening to, Squirrel Bait. After retiring all my old vinyl about 5 years ago, I was dismayed for an additional 3 years to find that neither of Squirrel Bait's LP's were in print in a CD format...until these reissues, of course. Ben Daughtrey is a drummer who can rival Neil Peart for out and out talent and the remaining four kids (because that's what they were) pulled together the two most intense aggressive rock LP's ever recorded. Without question.

Failure to buy this album may result in a dismal failure to appreciate a high point of American Rock n' Roll and anal leakage. SB predates and/or outdoes dozens of "celebrated" and "ground breaking" bands. This album alone is worth two dozen Neverminds, nine Dirts, 1.75 Zen Arcades and a Milo Goes to College. And then, later, when you fully realize they were about seventeen when they made this LP...your brain implodes all over again. Get it, get it, get it.

Argueably the sound that would become grunge was born not in Seattle but in Louisville, KY by Squirrel Bait. This band was once quoted as Bob Mould's favorite in Rolling Stone. The raw energy is unsurpassed in any album I've ever heard. This band was the NEW ROCK.

I knew these guys well and helped setup shows (once with Husker Du). That aside the album rocks. One band member went on to Slint, one to Love Jones, one to Big Wheel, and two formed Bastro. The creativity found in this album (which includes the first self-entitled album) is extended by Slint and Bastro.

I worked for many bands in the 1980s and saw what felt like a million of them perform in that decade. I saw Nirvana, Motorhead, Specials, the original Van Halen, Black Flag, Replacements, Scratch Acid, Minor Threat, and so many more.

Blast Skag Heaven going down the highway and discover what Nirvana wished they could be and tried to be. If you love full throttle, hard punkish music, this is the best there is. Buy, play it, delight in it, be exhilarated, share the power, glory and beauty.

The greatest band in American history is Squirrel Bait.

This band features the former members of the legendary "post-rock" band Slint. But don't be fooled, this album is searing punk rock. Personally I prefer their self-titled album to Skag Heaven, s/t being the more punk album. A warning though, this band is kind of "emo", for those of you allergic to that.