Down | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 30, 1994 | |||
Recorded | Early-mid 1994 | |||
Genre | Noise rock | |||
Length | 40:40 | |||
Label | Touch and Go Records | |||
Producer | Steve Albini | |||
The Jesus Lizard chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Beats Per Minute | 65% [2] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
NME | [4] |
OndaRock | 7/10 [5] |
Pitchfork Media | 7.9/10 [6] |
Q | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Spectrum Culture | 4.5/5 [10] |
Down is an album by the Chicago band The Jesus Lizard. It was their last album for Touch and Go records and the last to be produced by Steve Albini.
The song "Horse" was labeled as "Pony Beat" on set lists for live shows. David Wm. Sims plays an organ on the album version.
A video was created for the song "Destroy Before Reading," featuring David Yow as simply a head in a laboratory.
The painting on the cover is "Falling Dog" by Malcolm Bucknall, for which Bucknall asked no pay and offers no explanation. [11] Bucknall also did the cover art for the Puss/Oh, the Guilt split single with Nirvana and the Jesus Lizard's Liar album. [12]
All tracks are written by The Jesus Lizard, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Fly on the Wall" | 3:06 |
2. | "Mistletoe" | 1:53 |
3. | "Countless Backs of Sad Losers" | 3:00 |
4. | "Queen for a Day" | 2:26 |
5. | "The Associate" | 5:00 |
6. | "Destroy Before Reading" (Lyrics by Whitney O'Keeffe) | 3:13 |
7. | "Low Rider" | 3:36 |
8. | "50 Cents" | 2:49 |
9. | "American BB" | 2:18 |
10. | "Horse" | 3:10 |
11. | "Din" | 3:19 |
12. | "Elegy" | 3:48 |
13. | "The Best Parts" (Lyrics by Mark Todd) | 2:55 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "blank track" | 0:09 |
15. | "White Hole" | 3:21 |
16. | "Glamorous" | 3:06 |
17. | "Deaf as a Bat" | 1:39 |
18. | "Panic in Cicero" | 3:28 |
Chart (1994) | Peak position |
---|---|
Scottish Albums (OCC) [13] | 97 |
UK Albums (OCC) [14] | 64 |
Rapeman was an American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass and Rey Washam on drums. In the years since their brief tenure, Rapeman’s sound has also been described as post-hardcore.
Rid of Me is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, released on 26 April 1993 by Island Records, approximately one year after the release of her critically acclaimed debut studio album Dry (1992). It marked a departure from Harvey's previous songwriting, being more raw and aggressive than its predecessor.
In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 21, 1993, by DGC Records. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, Nevermind (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albini to record In Utero, seeking a more complex, abrasive sound that was reminiscent of their work prior to Nevermind. Although the singer and primary songwriter Kurt Cobain claimed that the album was "very impersonal", many of its songs contain heavy allusions to his personal life and struggles, expressing feelings of angst that were common on the band's previous album.
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show.
Noise rock is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme levels of distortion through the use of electric guitars and, less frequently, electronic instrumentation, either to provide percussive sounds or to contribute to the overall arrangement.
Goats Head Soup is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 31 August 1973 by Rolling Stones Records. Like its predecessor Exile on Main St., the band composed and recorded much of it outside of the United Kingdom due to their status as tax exiles. Goats Head Soup was recorded in Jamaica, the United States and the United Kingdom. The album contains 10 tracks, including the lead single "Angie" which went to number one as a single in the US and the top five in the UK.
"Dumb" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on the band's third and final studio album, In Utero, released in September 1993.
David Yow is an American musician and actor born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and the Jesus Lizard. Yow's debut solo album, Tonight You Look Like a Spider, was released in June 2013 on Joyful Noise Records.
"Puss"/"Oh, the Guilt" is a split single, released as a double a-side, from the American rock bands the Jesus Lizard and Nirvana, released via Touch and Go Records.
Head is the debut studio album by the American band the Jesus Lizard. It was released on Touch and Go Records in 1990. It was their first album to feature a drummer, Mac McNeilly.
Scratch Acid was an American post-hardcore/noise rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1982. One of the pioneers of noise rock in the 1980s, the band is best remembered as a stepping stone for its frontman David Yow, and bass player David Wm. Sims, both later of The Jesus Lizard.
Goat is the second studio album by The Jesus Lizard, released in 1991. The album was produced by Steve Albini.
Liar is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Jesus Lizard, released in 1992 by Touch and Go Records. The album is considered to be among the band's best work: according to Mark Deming of AllMusic, "Liar isn't quite the wildest or weirdest album the Jesus Lizard ever made, but it may well be the strongest, and perhaps the best." The artwork is "Allegory of Death" by painter Malcolm Bucknall, who also provided art for the album Down and the "Puss/Oh, the Guilt" split single with Nirvana.
Shot is an album by the band The Jesus Lizard, its first release on Capitol Records. Some copies of the album were accompanied by a documentary titled "Sho(r)t".
Two Nuns and a Pack Mule is the only studio album by the Chicago noise rock band Rapeman, released by Touch & Go Records on August 23, 1988. The CD re-release contained the Budd extended play in its entirety.
Britt Walford is an American musician best known for being the drummer, co-founder, and occasional guitarist for the post-rock band Slint.
Blue is the sixth studio album by The Jesus Lizard, released in 1998. Produced by Andy Gill, it is something of a departure for The Jesus Lizard, exploring some of the more experimental instincts hinted at on earlier songs like "Happy Bunny Goes Fluff-Fluff Along" on Pure. It is one of only two releases by the band to feature new drummer Jim Kimball, the other being the self-titled EP released two months prior. A limited edition vinyl pressing was released on Jetset Records on April 21, 1998. The album was released in Canada only by Sonic Unyon Records under license from Capitol Records in the USA after EMI Canada passed on releasing the album.
Dumb Numbers is the musical project of Adam Harding. Harding selects musicians for each Dumb Numbers project from a large group of friends and collaborators.” Lou Barlow, Dale Crover, Bobb Bruno and others contributed to the first two studio albums.
"Mouth Breather" is a 1990 song by American rock band The Jesus Lizard from the album Goat. It was revealed in the documentary Breadcrumb Trail that the song was based on Steve Albini's opinion of Slint drummer Britt Walford, after Walford had house sat for him.
Rack is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Jesus Lizard, which was released on September 13, 2024, on Ipecac Recordings. It is the first studio release by the band in 26 years since Blue (1998). The record was praised by music critics upon release.