The Jesus Lizard – GOAT (1991, US)
[This guest post was written by @Defiance about number 429 on The List. The album was submitted by platenworm.]
Another Steve Albini-produced classic. And perhaps the best album by this American noise rock/post-hardcore band. It’s fitting that the album title is also an acronym for Greatest Of All Time.
I was already a fan of Scratch Acid, the predecessor band. My best friend turned me onto them in high school.
So when I was in college and just starting to DJ, I was eager to play their new stuff. I can still remember getting the band’s first 7” in the station’s “new bin”, 1989’s “Chrome b/w 7 or 8”. The following year the band released their first LP, 1990’s Head. I liked that album and played it regularly.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, their second full length album. But GOAT is a step up in every way.
The bass grooves are unlike their prior albums. They’re more…groovy! Probably why this is my favorite album from the band. It’s more accessible, but still raw and driven by David Yow’s intense and almost indecipherable yelling. The Jesus Lizard was one of the first bands of this era and genre that increasingly focused on dynamic hooks, and GOAT really delivers in this regard.
The album opens with “Then Comes Dudley”, which features the classic Jesus Lizard / Scratch Acid sound. Dark, loud, and relentless. The crunchy snare drum and driving bass guitar have that distinct Albini sound.
The pace really picks up with track 2, my favorite, “Mouth Breather”, and then hits a new peak with the slide guitar driven song “Nub”. The rest of the tracks are a mix of dynamic tempos and dark, sometimes droning noise and rhythms over which singer David Yow wails and moans. It’s almost as if The Birthday Party had released another album in 1991.
An interesting side note is that the picture on the album cover can be easily misinterpreted. At first glance, it looks like an orange flame on black background. I thought this the case for years. But it’s actually a topless woman with a close-up image of nails projected onto her body.
By the way, The Jesus Lizard still makes good music to this day. Earlier this year (2024), they released another great album, Rack.
Play GOAT at high volume!
– Defiance!
mastodon uno admin 
... mixé par John Congleton à Electrical Audio.
minimaliste et tendu d'un de mes groupe rock préféré du moment !
!!
filippodb ⁂ 
