Vinyl copies of Dead Tenants’ second album ‘LPII’ are now available. To mark this auspicious occasion the band (Alex C, Doug Tenant and Alex McKendry) take us though some of their own favourite albums, their ‘six of the best’ if you will.
Liars – They Were Wrong So We Drowned
They were probably my first favorite “underground” band. There used to be a free festival in Coney Island called Siren Fest (which eventually became 4 Knots later on). My dad decided it would be a good idea to bring Doug and I to check out what’s going on in music in 2002. Saw Liars and they automatically became one of my favorite bands. The best part about them is that they’re ever changing through experimentation. When this album came out, everyone trashed it. They went from a messy, Gang of Four kind of noise punk to this real strange, eerie, experimental concept album about the witch trials which confused critics who panned it completely. It wasn’t until they put out Drums Not Dead that they saw what was happening. Some publications even went back and revised their previous review. “Broken Witch” is still one of my favorite songs and “There’s Always Room on the Broom” has one of the gnarliest “guitar” samples I’ve ever heard in a song generally. (Alex C)
Dog Faced Hermans – Those Deep Buds
Dog Faced Hermans to me have everything; songwriting chops, lyrical focus, aggression and a willingness to push the rock band format to its limit. Andy Moor is probably my biggest influence as a guitar player. He defies every convention of guitar playing without succumbing to the allure of hiding behind a massive pedal board (not that there is anything particularly wrong with that when done tastefully.) In a way, Moor took the blueprint left behind by Andy Gill in the late 70s and took it to a different universe completely. Great musicians, great band. (Doug Tenant)
Brainiac – Hissing Prigs in Static Couture
One of the most underrated experimental bands of the 90’s. To me, they are the best encapsulation of taking something weird/insane and trying to pack it into a pop/verse-chorus format. Just completely unusual, dissonant and catchy all at the same time. Had a hard time choosing between this one or Bonsai Superstar. I chose this one because it has “70 Kg Man” which we almost covered but decided against it. (Alex C)
Deerhoof – Reveille
-Erratic album flow
-Harsh noise + pop hooks
-Loose energetic drumming
-Seems like Greg Saunier never plays the same way twice
-Just focus on the drums (Alex Mckendry)
This Heat – Deceit
We as a band are very different people and for the most part have pretty different tastes in music (with a good amount of overlap). But the one album I think we can all rally around more than any other is Deceit. A lot has been written about this record, and rightly so. “Rock” is the structural glue that holds everything together here. But somehow, they were able to fuse together so many disparate elements without once making the kind of overt references that have become so common in today’s retro-minded musicsphere. Dub, free jazz, noise, gamelan, its all thrown into the pot. And its a record that feels and sounds as much like the Cold War/Thatcher-era conditions it came out of as its lyrics. A classic. (Doug Tenant)
‘Left-Field Choice’: Squeeze – Singles 45s and Under
Squeeze write perfect songs, PERFECT. Perfect like the most beautiful naturally occuring phenomenon. Because the way they pack so many great lyrics, immaculate hooks, and perfect harmonies and arrangements into each song, it’s hard to believe a human being even made it. We are big fans of this album, and everyone I show it to that hasn’t heard it before always falls in love with it too. I even think a little bit of the way they write songs has rubbed off on our own song writing. Because no matter how far off the grid we go, we always have an eye on trimming as much fat as possible and condensing what we are trying to say. (Doug Tenant)
Dead Tenants ‘LPII’ is available here: https://buzzhowlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lp-ii
