milf - ha ha bus! (1994, Big Deal)

Back in 2009 when I went milf crazy (as in the band folks) and posted the bulk of their discography, I left out two important pieces of the puzzle with the intention of featuring them at a later date.  That "later date" turned out to be today in fact, as my priorities inadvertently shifted in the five year layover.  For those of you with a question mark over your noggin in regards to the aforementioned, let me catch you up to speed with my synopsis on the band from my March 2009 entry for their split single with Tugboat Annie:

Got milf? Buffalo sure did, at least throughout a good swath of the early-to-mid '90s (before most of us actually knew what the now infamous acronym meant). One record scribe likened the trio music to a Husker Du 45 played at 33. Though not the most spot-on description of their sound, milf dispelled a sinewy, distorto guitar sprawl with jawdroppingly tuneful sensibilities bands from the Queen City have experienced before or since. Numerous short form recordings (tapes and 7"s) came and went, but their flooring debut album ha ha bus! on Big Deal Records found them at their creative apex, with the commendable antidope to folllow shortly thereafter. 

Five years on, I wouldn't rephrase a smidgen of that summation, but if these guys are fresh to your eyes/ears milf's proper debut is a good place to start your journey.  ha ha bus! isn't wall to wall fireworks, though it's most stunning offerings (check out this trifecta of perfect tens: "hate me," "model t," and "and there's me") are as visceral and gloriously amped-out as music of this ilk gets.  Dense, gauzy guitars soaked in a dream-pop haze, a noisome delivery system, and Justin Chapmans loud/soft vocal aplomb were milf's killer cocktail, one that was employed to it's fullest extent on ha ha bus!, which unfortunately wasn't quite duplicated on their follow-up, antidope.  Will get to that one soon, and hopefully fix the broken links in my previous ovations to the group.  Enjoy.

01. punch
02. model t
03. bad idea
04. angst and daisies
05. me
06. and there's me
07. hate me
08. hair bitch
09. certain people shouldn't lie
10. primate me

Hear