Pere Ubu - Why I Hate Women
Rating
RIYL
Butthole SurfersThe Mars Volta
Blood Brothers
Velvet Underground
Tracklist
1. Two Girls (One Bar)2. Babylonian Warehouses
3. Blue Velvet
4. Caroleen
5. Flames Over Nebraska
6. Love Song
7. Mona
8. My Boyfriend's Back
9. Stolen Cadillac
10. Synth Farm
11. Texas Overture
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As much as any Pere Ubu fan would love for this review to be written by someone who is intimately aware of their extensive back catalogue, someone who can relay entire life histories of all the members who have come and gone over the years and every band they've played with, recorded for, filled in for one night when the bassist was drunk, I'm not that guy. Instead of taking the well-informed, snooty music reviewer approach, I shall take the road less traveled, since my knowledge of the band is limited only to three things: knowing that I should know who they are; that this little tidbit led me to purchase Pennsylvania used (it was the cheapest) and never listen to it; and that, somehow, this latest album, Why I Hate Women ended up on my doorstep for review.
Instead of blaming you for never having heard one of the most influential bands of the last thirty years, turning a blind eye to musical geniuses as if you're too good for them or they're not for you as their time has passed, this review will tell you exactly what it told me: That it's never too late to become a Pere Ubu fan. As stated above, Pennsylvania didn't exactly blow my skirt up. This new record, Why I Hate Women may be a complete departure for the group. I don't know. The important thing is that, on it, Pere Ubu mastermind David Thomas has found a way to bridge the twenty-five-year gap between his band's humble beginnings and their current state. Anyone who's worth their weight will be able to identify the hefty Velvet Underground / Captain Beefheart sound and anyone who listens to even the most mildly underground music of today should be able to see some slight comparisons to the latest releases by Blood Brothersp ("Flames Over Nebraska") or perhaps the White Stripes ("Love Song").
You can call it art-punk or psychedelic rockabilly or electro-sludgepop, but the fact is, it's Pere Ubu and this record proves that, even if you've avoided them your whole life and members have shifted time and again, they're still masters of not just themselves, but of music as a whole. They play with more energy than bands half their age and have the chops to shame many of their contemporaries. Instead of retreading ages-old sounds like a band such as AC/DC or the Rolling Stones would and have done, Pere Ubu is on a never-ending voyage to avoid being a novelty act, a band people see every five years on the reunion tour, the last tour ever! They're real musicians making music they want to hear, not complacent to continue on as a laughable greatest-hits, crowd of 10,000 octogenarians band.
I don't care if you never listen to another Pere Ubu record. It's not important. What is important is that you hear this record, as it is marvelous to hear. There are too many ideas here, crafted to perfection, to avoid. Not one swelling guitar riff is uninteresting. No electronic intersection is wasted, unlike current art-band du jour Mars Volta, who don't know when to reel it in and keep it interesting, proving that perhaps even today's biggest bands can still learn a thing or two from a band like this.
While you may not necessarily agree with the title of the record, Pere Ubu's Why I Hate Women may be the benchmark record for Why You Hate Other Music.
--Ben Rice
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Tucson, AZ