Strangers from the Universe

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Strangers from the Universe
Strangers From The Universe tful282.jpg
Studio album by
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Released1994
RecordedLowdown, San Francisco, California
Genre Indie rock, experimental rock, noise rock
Length46:38
Label Matador
Producer Greg Freeman, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 chronology
The Funeral Pudding
(1994)		Strangers from the Universe
(1994)		 I Hope It Lands
(1996)

Strangers from the Universe is an album by the American band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in 1994 through Matador Records. [1] [2] The band supported the album by touring with Live. [3] Strangers from the Universe was a moderate commercial success. [4] Mark Davies used an Optigan keyboard on some of the tracks. [5]

Contents

It was reissued in 2022. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography 4/10 [9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [10]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5 [11]

Trouser Press wrote: "Berserk rhythms are presented with deadpan simplicity, like the sickly funk riff of 'Socket' that keeps sticking a banana peel in its own path." [12] Spin opined that "for once the Thinking Fellers have made an album that you can comfortably hear straight through, and its dark mood deepens along the way." [13]

The Washington Post determined that the album "can be elusive, but much of it deserves the title the band bestowed on the closing track, 'Noble Experiment'." [14] The Santa Fe New Mexican noted that "sometimes stringed instruments, such as banjo or mandolin, are used as rhythm instruments, or to create a throbbing drone ... It's usually unsettling, but sometimes beautiful." [15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282.

No.TitleLength
1."My Pal the Tortoise"2:47
2."Socket"4:23
3."Bomber Pilot WWII"1:14
4."Hundreds of Years"4:29
5."Guillotine"5:13
6."Uranium"1:14
7."February"3:09
8."Pull My Pants Up Tight"0:59
9."Cup of Dreams"6:40
10."The Oxenmaster"1:49
11."The Operation"5:24
12."The Piston and the Shaft"5:11
13."Communication"0:24
14."Noble Experiment"3:11

Personnel

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Production and additional personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Lost Classics: Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 "Strangers From The Universe"". March 1, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Thinking Fellers Union Local #282 Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Perfect Sound Forever.
  4. ↑ Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press. ISBN   9781627883795 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ Gettelman, Parry (August 11, 1995). "An Alternative with a Difference". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 6.
  6. ↑ Segal, Dave. "Embrace the Effortless Weirdness of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". The Stranger.
  7. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Strangers from the Universe". AllMusic. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  8. ↑ "The encyclopedia of popular music". 1998.
  9. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1999). The great alternative & indie discography. Canongate. ISBN   9780862419134.
  10. ↑ Spin Alternative Record Guide , page 402-403
  11. ↑ "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Strangers from the Universe (Album review ) | Sputnikmusic".
  12. ↑ "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Trouser Press. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  13. ↑ Ross, Alex (February 1995). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 11. p. 77.
  14. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (October 21, 1994). "Fellers' Experiment; Salem's Solo Debut". The Washington Post. p. N17.
  15. ↑ Terrell, Steve (November 18, 1994). "Terrell's Tuneup". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 29.
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