Expando Brain - Mother of God, its... (1986, Vacant Lot)

Hmmm.  These Massachusetts punks are tricky to pin down.  An exciting and frankly raw blend of early Soul Asylum and Mission of Burma might be a good starting point in describing Expando Brain.  Or, how about New England's response to Squirrel Bait?  Something very sonically unkempt is at play in these grooves - dissonant yet approachable after a concerted spin or three.  There are some strikingly melodic guitar lines here that sound too lucid to be true given Mother of God’s combustible, off-the-rails aplomb.  "Don't Know" and "Thyroid" are worth their weight in ramshackle gold, and those my dear friends, are only a couple of the highlights.  It’s sad to think that no one would dare put out anything as spontaneous or approximately chaotic as this record in the Pitchfork era, one that we're apparently ensconced in for good...unless someone with a little gumption and ingenuity is willing to belly up to the bar.  BTW, an already schizoid album jacket was further marred when I opted to remove an equally unsightly radio station sticker in the lower left corner.     

01. Happy Part
02. Thyroid
03. Get Even
04. Bored
05. Metal
06. It Grew There
07. Don't Know
08. Corpuscle
09. Flogging a Dead Relationship
10. Circle 

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