Bleach

(Sub Pop)

When Nirvana's "Bleach" was first released in 1989, it made plenty of noise. The trouble is, for all its scratching and clawing, the bludgeoning heavy metal and menacing punk rock, barely anyone heard the band's screams.

In light of the musical revolution ushered in by "Nevermind," just two years later, the most remarkable aspect of "Bleach" might seem to be the fact that it was never reviewed in the first place. That, however, would not do justice to a debut that still holds up as a triumph of focused musical aggression, even in the post-Nevermind universe.

Despite sludgy production (the entire record cost only $606.17), "Bleach" kicks and screams with remarkable precision. "School" -- which ends with Cobain repeatedly shrieking, "No recess" -- is pure antisocial assault, while "Negative Creep," a mouthful of bile that spits out the words "I'm a negative creep and I'm stoned," proves, once and for all, that anger truly can be power.

What ultimately makes Bleach a cut above most albums' ranting is the glimpse at Cobain's growing pop genius. "About a Girl," an almost-whispered three minutes of sing-along heaven, is as pure a songwriting moment as anything that would follow it in the Cobain canon. Toss in "Love Buzz" -- the cover of a hit by the Swedish band Shocking Blue that was Nirvana's first-ever Sub Pop single -- and it's immediately clear that the group's later schlock-pop allegiances were not simply affectations.

Sure, Cobain's lyric-writing skills were less than fully developed. There is very little insight to be offered by songs like "Floyd the Barber" or "Blew," but who cares? Who really knew what the hell he was saying in "Smells Like Teen Spirit" anyway? With Nirvana, the medium is the message, and "Bleach" is a frighteningly wonderful introduction to their world.

CHRIS MUNDY

Copyright 1997 by Rolling Stone