THE JESUS LIZARD
BLUE
by Lorenzo Pizza

The Jesus Lizard are a difficult bad to pigeonhole. Labels such as punk or "hardcore exponents" do not do justice to a band who are one of the most interesting post-punk underground outfits to come out of the U.S. in recent years. This Chicago foursome arose out of the demise of noise bands Scratch Acid and Rapeman. Working with known producer Steve Albini (who has achieved notoriety for "ruining" Nirvana's "in Utero") on 7 of their 9 releases, the Jesus Lizard's albums have earned considerable praise from critics.

Past live shows at the Big Day Out and Livid have also satisfied Australian fans. There was the usual onstage stripshows (which resulted in one night in a Cincinnatti jail a few years ago) and thrashing around on the stage of vocalist David Yow. There was also integrity, live aggression and surprisingly intelligent lyrics that current "punk" bands can only hope to match.

So with Blue, the Jesus Lizard embark on a new album conscious that their growing fanbase will measure any new release against the benchmark "Goat" of 1991, an incredibly clear and tight example of perfect alternative hard rock. By Yow's own admission, Blue is an attempt at moving further away from the noisy extremes of early releases. Blue's "Eucalyptus" is the most obvious example of this with string samples meshed around David Sim's bass lines. Fans need not be concerned or disappointed at the band's decisions on direction however. Songs such as "And then the Rain", "A Tale of Two Women" and "Soft Damage" are classic Jesus Lizard sonic assaults and are as violent, disturbing and strong as anything this band has released. Though Blue doesn't match the sustained brilliance of "Goat", it is still the work of a band that continues to produce difficult but essential music.

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