THE JESUS LIZARD-liar-SCRATCH ACID-industrial-TAPE

 This audio tape is ORIGINAL - NOT A COPY. It comes in the original tape's case in excellent condition, no slots or holes drilled in case.

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REVIEWS-

(NOTE: Some of the reviews may mention things not pretaining to the item for sale or up for bid.)______________________________________________________________________

It's bands like the Jesus Lizard that make me regret wasting my teen years in the mid '90's listening to FM radio-approved drivel, and Liar is one of the main reasons why. Liar is a wild, unhinged piece of punkish, metallic alt-rock, one that obliterated petty genre distinctions at the same time that it exposed the legions of pretenders that were just starting to pop up at the time. Want to know how ahead of its time Liar was? It came out before such boring Seattle knockoffs as Bush and Silverchair had even emerged, to say nothing of the ridiculous throwbacks (this means you, Puddle of Mudd) polluting the scene right now. Of course, being ahead of the curve is a virtual guarantee of going unnoticed by the masses, but then I don't think mainstream success was high on the Lizard's list of priorities.

Anyway, in the grand tradition of Steve Albini acts such as Shellac and Big Black (and yes, I know the Lizard's albums were merely *produced* by Albini, but why get picky?), Liar is assaultive, abrasive, and decidedly in contrast to all things commercial. Melody, good taste, and traditional rock-song structures are thrown right out the window here in favor of swirling collages of noise complete with twisted rhythms and the singular nasal howl of the great David Yow. Opener Boilermaker sets the tone literally from its first second, conjuring up a psychotic atmosphere out of a series of spastic drumbeats, hellish guitar riffage, and Yow's nightmarish chants. The next song, Gladiator, might be even more frightening, with Yow menacingly intoning such oddball lyrics as "You should see her use a gun," backed by a bass riff that hits with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the stomach. On slower tracks like Perk and Zachariah, Duane Denison's creepy-crawly riffs scratch against the surface of Yow's bizarre vocal impressionism, but fortunately the album loses nothing by slowing down because its oppressive atmosphere is never compromised one bit.

So, what more can be said about Liar? Well, unfortunately, not much. This is definitely one album that must be experienced to be fully comprehended. But let me leave you, gentle reader, with this: Liar is a supreme testament to a band that may not have released a classic every time out, but had a singular vision and didn't allow the temptations of fame or money to get in the way. If only more acts had their integrity, I might not have to comb the internet looking for stuff to listen to.

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BIOGRAPHIES-

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Willfully abrasive and atonal, the Jesus Lizard emerged in the early '90s as a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground. During the first part of the decade, the band turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial noise, all of which received positive reviews in underground music publications and heavy college-radio play. By the mid-'90s, the group's following had grown large enough to convince a major label, Capitol Records, to sign the band.

The Jesus Lizard was formed by Duane Denison (guitar), David Yow (vocals), and David Sims (bass), the latter two being former members of the Austin-based post-hardcore noise group Scratch Acid. After Scratch Acid disbanded, Sims joined Rapeman, an abrasive indie rock group led by Steve Albini. The recording and performing schedule of Rapeman was rather erratic, so Sims formed the Jesus Lizard with Yow and Denison in 1987. Originally, the group performed with a drum machine, much like Albini's previous band, Big Black. Albini produced the group's debut EP, Pure, which was released on Touch & Go in 1989; the producer would work on every Jesus Lizard release on Touch & Go.

The Jesus Lizard added a human drummer, Mac McNeilly, in late 1989 and he appeared on the band's first full-length album, 1990's Head. The following year, the group released its second album, Goat, which received positive reviews from mainstream music publications such as Spin. By the time of the release of Goat, the band had cultivated a large cult following among the American indie rock underground, based on both their records and their notoriously reckless, occasionally violent and vulgar, live performances.

In 1992, the Jesus Lizard released a split single with Nirvana ("Puss" [Jesus Lizard]/"Oh the Guilt" [Nirvana]), who had just broken into the rock & roll mainstream with their second album, Nevermind. That same year, the band released its third album, Liar. In 1993, the group was relatively quiet, releasing only the "Lash" single.

Early in 1994, the Jesus Lizard released a one-shot album on Giant Records called Show, their first appearance on a major label. The fact that the Jesus Lizard released a record on a major label caused tension between the band and their longtime producer, Steve Albini, who was notorious for his indie-centric beliefs. Although he produced Down, the group's final Touch & Go album, he severed ties with the band by the time the record was released in the fall of 1994.

In 1995, the Jesus Lizard signed with Capitol Records and the band toured with Lollapalooza 1995. At one of the shows on the tour, David Yow was arrested for exposing himself on-stage. Later in 1995, the group recorded their major-label debut. The resulting album, Shot, was released on Capitol in the spring of 1996. Blue followed in 1998; in mid-1999, the Jesus Lizard disbanded.