Butthole Surfers Albums (11)
What The Critics Say
As a slice of danceable, oddball pop confection, Weird Revolution glides seamlessly along as millenial ear candy -- bizarre, languorous, and utterly surreal. Only a band with such a varied past -- splatter-painted with psychedelia, avant-punk, and hardcore, the acid-damaged scatology of Chrome, the pastoral beauty of acoustic and folk guitar, and the acid guitar pyrotechnics of Led Zeppelin -- could attempt such a massive career about-face. Agreed, when the Beck-ish "Pepper" sailed up the charts in the late 1990s, with its casual, trippy sampled beats, the vast preponderance of old-school fans were aghast. The radio friendly -- not to mention dance club friendly -- Weird Revolution will do nothing to assist those people back into the Butts peculiar belief system. Certainly, an album like this is not without precedent in the band's camp. At the tail end of the 1980s, former bassist Jeff Pinkus and ringleader Gibby Haynes assembled some binary code mish-mash under the name the Jackofficers using little more than a couple of Macintosh computers. And that was merely a lark. This time, one guesses, the band is as serious as a band like the Butthole Surfers could be. Unfortunately, all organic drumming has been cast overboard in favor of the studio friendly ProTools unit. There are numerous occasions of pop brilliance; "The Shame of Life" and the "Sweet Jane"-flavored "Dracula From Venus." Gibby Haynes' vocals are the designated focus of Weird Revolution, and even though he has always shown tremendous range in years past, from the disturbing ("Gravyard," "Concubine") to Roxy Music-esque crooning, this time he's flexing his Texas hip-hop muscles. Perhaps this is precisely the album they've been waiting to make. Perhaps it was a career imperative; the only way to financially salvage a 20-odd year run of genius and mayhem that suddenly went awry, causing everyone involved trouble with the bank. That is forgivable; that is fine. Certain bands, given their dedication and catalog, are nearly exempt from traditional standards, but the near absence of Paul Leary's LSD-drenched guitar wizardry is unconscionable, as it had always been the band's most mesmerizing feature. This signals a weird revolution in sound and vision, indeed: from the damaged terror, brilliance, and whimsy of the '80s and early '90s to the ecstacy-lined trenches of electronica. ~ Patrick Kennedy, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
When compared to past albums like Rembrandt Pussyhorse and Independent Worm Saloon, the Butthole Surfers' After the Astronaut is rather tame. There's been a total change stylistically -- gone are the days of puzzling demented humor, real drums (almost the entire album features a beat box or drum machine of some sort), and shockingly over-the-top performances. Wildman Gibby Haynes used to have a singing style all his own, with distortion and other effects added to his voice, but now he seems to be caught in a rut, sounding uncannily like John Lydon at times ("Jet Fighter" and "Venus"). And there's also a shortage of material that leaves any sort of long-lasting impression. The band seems to be obsessed with water-related sound effects, used on "Yentel," "Mexico," and "I Don't Have a Problem." The only standout tracks on the album are the stiff and geeky "Intelligent Guy," and the album closer "Turkey & Dressing," which is the only song in which the band can muster up enough energy to almost match past spirited performances. Hopefully, this once-great cutting-edge band will wake up from their lackadaisical hibernation and make music that matters. [This album went unreleased when critical and label reception was unanimously negative, and Weird Revolution eventually came out in this album's place] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On Electriclarryland, their second major-label album, the Butthole Surfers continue the streamlined direction they began with Independent Worm Saloon, which basically means it's a loud guitar rock album. Even though there's potential for the record to become unnecessarily generic, it's to the Buttholes' credit that they still have the desire to throw enough bizarre wrenches into the machinery to keep most of their diehard audience satiated. Certainly, Electriclarryland will sound way too tame for fans of Locust Abortion Technican and Hairway to Steven, and they're right, to a certain extent. For listeners accustomed to their unhinged, perverse '80s recordings, there is nothing on this guitar-heavy record to please them. But Electriclarryland is a logical maturation for the band. It's odd to think of the Buttholes maturing, but that is the case with this album. They have a couple of jangly pop numbers that appear to be played relatively straight and the heavier numbers have a piledriving inevitability that make them memorable. In short, Electriclarryland rocks and it rocks hard, with enough energy for bands half of the Buttholes' age. And underneath the seemingly normal surface, the Buttholes have thrown in enough jokes and have twisted around enough clichés to prove that the band may mature, but they'll never really grow up. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'The Hole Truth...and Nothing Butt'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 17
Label Trance Syndicate
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What The Critics Say
Originally released as a bootleg by the shadowy Totonka outfit, The Hole Truth got the highest form of legitimacy around when Surfers' drummer King Coffey simply took a copy and released it on his own label Trance Syndicate. More bands and labels should be so clever: given its bootleg origins, The Hole Truth sounds fairly good throughout on its collection of mostly live material, including an early 1983 studio demo featuring the song "Butthole Surfer" and three numbers from a date on the Saloon tour. As a ten-year snapshot of the band's evolution from freakish punk weirdness into a more professional but no less insane band, it's manna from heaven for the hardcore fan. Casual listeners probably shouldn't start here, but could find a lot to like nonetheless. Some of the best moments come from hindsight; the 1983 demo of "Something," a slow stomp and throb with what almost sounds like a horn section coming from Leary's deathdrone guitar work, sounds utterly unlike the Pioughd version. Haynes' screeching makes everything even nuttier. The four songs from a 1985 San Antonio gig are mighty strong, with a straightforward version of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and a snippet of the Beatles' "Come Together" as a bit of out of nowhere fun. Other highlights include an even more ridiculous version of "Lady Sniff" taped in San Francisco in 1986 and a 1987 interview on a New York college station featuring various insults about Oliver North and bizarre takes on "Kum Ba Yah" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Essentially a self-released bootleg, Double Live is a mammoth collection of 29 songs (on the CD version) featuring a cover of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love." Unfortunately, the band can't quite duplicate its manic studio sound onstage, given their reliance on tape manipulation and effects, but the album still gets crazy in places. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'Independent Worm Saloon'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 17
Label Capitol
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What The Critics Say
After Pioughd's semi-misfire and Rough Trade's subsequent collapse, the Surfers were in a surprising position. Not only were they courted and signed to Capitol thanks to the Nirvana-led alternative explosion, they also got high-profile arranger and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones to produce the new album. When Saloon surfaced in early 1993, some accused the band of basically cloning Haynes' memorable collaboration with Ministry, "Jesus Built My Hot Rod," for the entire album. It's true that "Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales," simply takes the lyrics from that number and grafts it onto a quick rip from the band, but Saloon is far from a clone of Ministry or anything else. More energetic than the straggling Pioughd and benefiting from Jones' brilliant ear and tight, crisp arrangements, Saloon starts with the fierce "Who Was In My Room Last Night?"; from there, the Surfers tear through hilarious and strong numbers. Creating radio-friendly unit shifters was clearly the last thing on the band's mind, as numbers like "The Annoying Song," with Haynes sounding like what a radar dish would do if it could sing, and the wittily solemn acoustic ditty "The Ballad of Naked Man" demonstrate. The Surfers' taste for rude grostequerie surfaces throughout -- the foul "Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate," the series of vomit sounds that conclude the record after "Clean It Up"'s heavy trudge and the extremely disturbing artwork are just a few examples. Combined with numerous examples of Surfer-mania at its finest -- the dipsomaniacal rager "Alcohol," the electric country hoedown "You Don't Know Me" and more -- and Saloon is that rarest of records, a major-label debut that surpasses the indie release preceding it. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Pioughd was the Buttholes' first album of original material in three years, and considering the time it took to make the record, it's a bit of a disappointment. Not that it's bad; in fact, some of it is their best. But it's rather uninspired and restates many of their old ideas in a more streamlined, accessible fashion. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The final album for the Surfers' legendary run on Touch and Go got a reception probably not even the band figured on -- lead reviews in major music magazines, increasingly higher profiles, and more. As it is, though, Hairway is actually a touch lazy in comparison to the previous releases, sometimes sounding almost all too normal. When it connects, though, Steven works wonders, whether continuing in the punk/psychedelic fusion vein of the past or exploring a gentler, tuneful side. The lengthy opener "Jimi" is the album's high note, and as one might guess from the title it's something of a tribute to Hendrix -- at least, if "Third Stone From the Sun" sounded like it was recorded in a sewer tunnel and was even more gone than it already was. Haynes' alternately deep and hyper-high-pitched vocals work perfectly against Leary's searing, crazed guitar noises, while the Pinkus/Coffey rhythm section lays down a massive beat. Everything concludes with deceptive peacefulness: acoustic guitar, tweeting birds, sounds of bowling, and the like. Other highlights include "I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas," a relatively straightforward, mostly acoustic-plus-rhythm section number sung clearly (!) by Haynes, and the mock live recording "John E. Smokes," with Haynes often sounding like a rural preacher gone mad. The humming guitar buzz of "Backass" and the quick blast of "Fart Song" concludes Steven with vim. As a final note, the song titles themselves can't be found anywhere on the release -- instead, and quite notoriously, a series of cartoon drawings stand in for them. Some are fairly calm, but most show things like nude women displaying their butts and rabbits taking dumps on deer. Juvenile? Of course, but the Butthole Surfers never pretended to be nice and sweet. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Rembrandt Pussyhorse'
Release Date 4/11/1990
Tracks 13
Label Touch & Go
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What The Critics Say
Everything seems to start almost normally on Pussyhorse with "Creep in the Cellar," even with the rather gone violin line -- Haynes is intelligible, the piano part is quiet serene. Then again, Haynes is talking about the creep in question doing things like taking off his skin, so clearly all is still at least somewhat tweaked in Surferland. The rest of the album makes that pretty clear; if not quite as strong as Psychic...Powerless, Pussyhorse is still a strong slice of homegrown art/psychedelia gone to a murky hell. Gentler songs like "Sea Ferring" still have a distinct queasiness to them, its sea chanty feeling undercut by the nagging bassline and Haynes' yelps. When the group goes totally nuts, as on a drum-blasting, squiggly voiced cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman" that makes the later Lenny Kravitz version seem like the redundant slice of nostalgia it is, no prisoners are taken. "Perry" is another definite nutter, with Haynes or somebody talking about this and that to his "baby" over a slow, organ-heavy groove. This said, the trick about Pussyhorse, and arguably why it's slightly lesser than Psychic...Powerless, is its overall subtlety in comparison. Things are more dark and gloomy throughout, downright gothic, even, with the organ start and whispery lyrics of "Strangers Die Everyday" being a good example. Leary keeps his playing low and strange throughout, fitting in with new bassist Pinkus rather well as a result. Get past the slight surprise of not always hearing the Surfers going near-all out most of the time, though, and Pussyhorse is still mighty fine, whether talking about the drony guitar weirdness opening "Whirling Hall of Knives" or the echo-treated reprise of "In the Cellar." CD versions of Pussyhorse conveniently include the Cream Corn From the Socket of Davis EP. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Locust Abortion Technician'
Release Date 4/11/1990
Tracks 11
Label Touch & Go
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The aural equivalent of a nightmarish acid trip and arguably the band's best album (or worst, depending on your point of view), Locust Abortion Technician tops the psychedelic, artsy sonic experimentation of Rembrandt Pussyhorse while keeping one foot planted firmly in the gutter. The record veers from heavy Sabbath sludge (even parodying that band on "Sweat Loaf") to grungy noise rock to progressive guitar and tape effects to almost folky numbers in one big, gloriously schizophrenic mess. Gibby Haynes debuts his "Gibbytronix" vocal effects unit here as well. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
