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Zen Arcade brings together two voices--a screaming voice in Bob Mould and a a warmer, more yearning one in Grant Hart--to tell vignettes of twentysomething white Minnesotan masculinity, doing so mostly in a loud three-piece rock format. There's a fourteen-minute instrumental, a short piano instrumental, a song with percussion swirls and general noise underscoring a reference to Hare Krishna's chanting practices, a frenetic acoustic number, and other points of variation. But mostly it's that three-piece arrangement, with Mould's guitar often a sheet of blazing noise that feels like a corrugated aluminum wall shattering in your face, other times a queasy backward masked swirl; Norton's bass skipping along and digging deep, standing out just enough to matter; and Hart galloping and crashing behind his drum kit. This is a band still chasing the land speed record that was the title of their first release, but with the added maturity shown in a greater sense of melody and purpose. A great rock band finding its authentic voice.

Some really great stuff and some really OK to bad stuff. Kinda wish it was condensed down to 10 best songs, but that's totally against the punk mentality. Probably the most experimental punk record I've heard (cause I've heard like 10... hehe).

Very good albums!

Favorite tracks: Something I Learned Today, Broken Home, Broken Heart, Never Talking To You Again, The Biggest Lie, Standing By The Sea, Turn On The News

A-
7.5

A sprawling record the size and depth of life itself in the mode of brainy punk. Spawned a generation of alt-people. Leans too far in no direction, with tracts of rage giving way to gorgeous pop songs, finalizing with a fury of guitar noise.

Ahead of its time. I thought it was an 1985 album.

Because, Timtooky, it's a little more cerebral than your beloved Toy Dolls LP. I hope you didn't read that it was a concept album and were expecting another Dark Side...

And yes, having looked at your chart, your music taste is disastrous. Maybe giving this album more than 3 minutes would help address that (and starting with Turn On The News rather than Dreams Recurring). Otherwise it's Europe LPs and sodding Life is Live by Opus until you shuffle off, I'm afraid.

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A masterpiece because of how messy, loud, and uncompromising it is. So many different styles and genres somehow mesh into a quasi-concept album that takes the listener on a wild ride. It's crazy to think that it was all recorded in less than two days (apparently one two tracks required multiple takes). My only gripe is that I wish the lyrics weren't drowned out so much.

tommy of the mighty underground!