Trip merrily along with the fun-loving fellows from your favorite
noise rock
band, now sadly defunct.
Bang
assembles material from the
Jesus Lizard
's EPs and singles, throwing in a few unreleased tracks as well. So it's not someone's idea of a best-of collection (if it were, omitting
"Nub"
and
"Puss"
would be inexcusable), nor is it as cohesive and powerful as 1991's tour de force
Goat
. But if you don't want to go searching for the
"Mouth Breather"
7", and you simply have to hear their cover of
Trio
's
"Sunday You Need Love,"
is a more than worthwhile purchase. Speaking of
, the
Lizard
must have some inordinate fondness for the German
synth pop
group, as
also features a previously unreleased cover of
"Anna."
(So where's
"Da Da Da,"
we wonder?) The band obviously has fun doing other people's songs, smoking through the
Dicks
'
"Wheelchair Epidemic"
(singer
David Yow
and bassist
David Wm. Sims
were originally in
Scratch Acid
and were most likely influenced by the
, as they're all from Austin, TX) and a
Chrome
medley that they entitle, simply,
"Chrome"
(the original songs are
"TV as Eyes"
"Abstract Nympho"
). And the live tracks are appropriately blistering, like the mind-blowing
"Killer McHann,"
with all it's creepy lyrics and unorthodox time signatures. And
"Dancing Naked Ladies"
"Fly on the Wall,"
from
Down
, respectively, vary from the versions found on those albums, making them necessary for completists. ~ Will Lerner