This was one of the standout records of the 80's- a sometimes tuneful blend of guitar thrash & drum machine with lyrics beyond any taboo you could iamgine...'Jordan, Minnesota' is the vile opener, a town conspires to commit mass child abuse a la 'Salo'- the sleevenotes don't help. As don't Albini's breathy vocals, like your father through a bedsheet...'Passing Complexion' & 'Big Money' are strange slabs of noise- the latter a reference to a John Dos Passos book and a relative of the later classic, 'Pete,King of all Detectives'...'Kerosene' is probably BB's best song- the drum program similar/appropriate to Led Zep's 'When the Levee Breaks' (a regular hiphop sample). Arson & sex combine and combust with mindblowing sonic assaults...'Bad Houses' is a downbeat closer, a tribute to The Cure's '17 Seconds', it recalls their 'In Your House'and covers similar themes as the later 'Precious Thing'. In many ways BB's predecessors are Throbbing Gristle- anything can be said- and along with Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (circa-'Nail') provide the most extreme music EVER!!!

'Strange Things' is quite tuneful and a highlight in the darker climes of Side Two- 'Fists of Love' takes in fisting, while 'Bazooka Joe' evokes a White trash nutcase back from the 'great war'...'Stinking Drunk' could be a Fugazi style put-down of the non-sober (which I sometimes agree with). The final track is a live take of 'Cables'- the band as tight as a meathook in a slaughterhouse; if you like this track I reccomend 'Hammer Party'.

A classic; if you believe in those sort of things.

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful

Meh 20 Mar 2012

By N. Smith - Published on Amazon.com

No big deal really. 3, maybe 4, good songs and they all suffer from the malaise of late '80s undie rock and that was getting louder and more violent as the band had less to say. Side 2 is pretty much a total loss and "Big Money" was ok, but was not great, so why the 45 release? When all is said and done, early NR blows this away and Albini would probably be the first to agree!

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