Reviews (page 2 of 7)
Best Song: On the Surface. Owner of perhaps the only melody on the whole album. Worst Song: Thriller! Pure distortion and feedback, to little/no creative payback. Lovely. Overall: Good golly is this shit not fun to listen to. It's all drones and noise and buzzing, without any larger sort of musical coherence to make it feel like it's every going somewhere with all that messiness. Not for me.
Weird as fuck lol - for that reason alone, it's worth at least one full listen. Per the website's description: "The title is an allusion to the visual echoes of blocks of identical row houses in Baltimore, presumably reminiscent of the echo and reverberation that characterize dub." If only those same Baltimore rowhouses were still as alive, quirky, and vibrant as the bizarre vocals and instrumentation of this album. All that's left today are mostly echoes of what once was. However, I'd be lying if I said I'd ever be inclined to revisit this one. At best it's weird and experimental; at worst, it's meandering and grating on the ears. It holds up solely as a way of transporting the listener back to the late 70s to see what was weird and 'progressive' back then.
Never heard of this band before. I like the fonts on this album cover. Vocals are like Talking Heads but dialed up to 15 (and therefore pretty darn annoying). I cycled through {"I don't like this", "Wait, maybe it's OK", "I like this bit"} many times. The Sweet Home Alabama/Drunken Sailor song really took me out. '(Pa) Ubu Dance Party' was a high point, at least for a moment. What can I say? This sure is eclectic. But if I don't know if I like it, then I probably don't like it.
2 stars if it shipped without a vocal track. Otherwise one star.
it is not bad by a long shot. but what is it really? a collection of noise? an artsy project? the insane ramblings of a madman?
I liked the music, but the singing was just hard to get past on the first listen. On the second listen I was more okay with it, but still not past it.
Great to hear this, but I did not care for it.
Not entirely sure why I needed to hear this.
Music is great. Vocals, not so much.
The best parts were when the drum beat was present and the vocals were silent. The worst parts had no drum beat and....well.... vocals. This has some value I suppose, not a 1 but I can't get to 3.
Yikes. Somewhere between the Talking Heads and Devo. Some bits sound interesting. However his voice is like fingernails down a chalkboard to me. Enough. It's joyously art rock but not a great experience. 2 I'm afraid.
Ew. This sucked. I cant stand his voice, sorry.
cool music as is, voice custom engineereed to piss me Off
Like listening to someone slowly release air from a balloon for 35 minutes.
Of the 578 albums I have heard there have been 577 better than this one. 1 star or F-.
It's the albums like this that make me question why I am even listening to this list in the first place.
So... is this another one of those "throw ins" to allow us to appreciate good (or better) music? I can think of at east 50 albums more deserving to be in this list instead of this. For example, for example "Start Singing with Barney" by Barney, or "15 Epic Fart Sounds" and even "Master of (Gregorian ) Chants" bt Frank Peterson [Yes these are real albums]
Exactly what the fuck was that
I dunno, this album is pretty bad… really seems like they’re trying to make annoying music. Very little on here that I liked. Not a fan.
I really don't know what this is supposed to be. But I do know what it is - mostly annoying.
(SPOILERS!!!!) There is no way this band deserves to have 2(!!!) Albums in this list. Reading that this Album is considered one of the best of 1978 has me reevaluating the year 1978.
The only way I can describe this is an alien fucking a speaker that's playing shit music
ugh
Back in the early 80’s, a few friends used to occasionally spin some PU at shit hole (name of our rental) gatherings. This being a strictly hardcore punk crowd by then, it rarely went over well. It was fortunate we had plenty of beer and coke to get us through the music. Now that I’m sober, it’s just fucking awful.
Maybe on another day I'd give this more but today I've felt nothing but hatred since the moment I woke up. Pere Ubu, see you in hell.
nope
Someone out there likes this but I fear it is not me.
1 stern
That was pretty bad
I couldn’t get past the fourth song. Just unpleasant to me. 1/5
Like talking heads if talking heads were just shit
The fact that this pile of garbage band has made at least two albums which appear on this list means they have now stolen approximately that many hours of my life. If any of my friends or loved ones ever reveal to me that they like this group, I will immediately sever all ties with them. Dead to me. Like I wish my ears were as I listened to this putrescence.
About 360 albums in, I'm starting to realise that there hasn't been all that much incredible music ever made. If this is good enough to get on the list, I have little hope for the remaining 700 or so This is utter utter bilge. Maybe it's saying something I'm too dumb to understand, but to me it's a band playing that repetitive style so common in the late 70s with unintelligible "singing" over the top. Rubbish!
I give the group credit for charting their own musical path. However, most of the album is trash; many of these entries are just a collection of noises. The singer is difficult to understand. Reminds me of the Talking Heads, but much worse. They should have released a single with Dub Housing/Dance party, and scrapped the rest.
Crap. Tha crapest crap.
Really bad
Maybe a front runner for Talking Heads? I don’t like Talking Heads so logically I don’t enjoy this either. It’s one of those styles of music where you claim to like it to be cool in a contrarian sort of way.
Awful.
Only 35 minutes, but goddamn, that was so painful to hear...
It's getting silly now. This is almost unlistenable.
i've hit a point in my reviews that i'm tired of using the word unremarkable so i've begun using an online thesaurus. pere ubu's dub housing is unexceptional and pointless at best. i can sort of understand its importance in punk history, but whatever. there's better punk out there. and i'm tired of hearing so many distorted noises for no purpose!
hardcore is one of my favorite genres, but what the actual fuck is this album
Not like it
# An In-Depth Review of Pere Ubu's *Dub Housing* (1978) Released in November 1978 on Chrysalis Records, Pere Ubu's second album *Dub Housing* arrived less than a year after their debut *The Modern Dance*, yet it represented a significant leap into darker, more abstract territory. Recorded at Suma Recording Studio in Painesville, Ohio, the album emerged from the same post-industrial Cleveland landscape that shaped the band's aesthetic—bleak, decaying, and fiercely independent . Now widely regarded as Pere Ubu's masterpiece and one of the most important post-punk recordings ever made, *Dub Housing* remains a challenging, rewarding listen that continues to influence experimental rock decades after its release . --- ## Track Listing | Side | Track | Title | Length | |------|-------|-------|--------| | 1 | 1 | Navvy | 2:43 | | 1 | 2 | On The Surface | 2:40 | | 1 | 3 | Dub Housing | 3:40 | | 1 | 4 | Caligari's Mirror | 3:48 | | 1 | 5 | Thriller! | 4:35 | | 2 | 1 | I, Will Wait | 1:46 | | 2 | 2 | Drinking Wine Spodyody | 2:42 | | 2 | 3 | (Pa) Ubu Dance Party | 4:47 | | 2 | 4 | Blow Daddy-o | 3:38 | | 2 | 5 | Codex | 4:56 | **Total length:** 36:46 --- ## Lyrics: Fragmented, Cryptic, and Psychologically Charged The lyrical content of *Dub Housing* represents a significant departure from conventional rock songwriting. David Thomas's words function less as straightforward narratives and more as fragmented transmissions from a distressed consciousness—poetic, abstract, and deliberately elusive. ### Themes of Isolation and Internal Chaos The title track exemplifies this approach. The "house" functions as an extended metaphor for the human mind—a structure filled with "a thousand voices talking," where "the windows reverberate" and "the walls have ears" . This isn't domestic comfort; it's psychic claustrophobia. The relentless repetition of "All I hear is... talk" suggests an overwhelming internal dialogue that cannot be escaped or quieted . The reference to Babel—"about how Babel fell and still echoes away"—connects this personal chaos to something biblical and universal: the fundamental breakdown of communication and understanding . The listing of actions ("syllogize, theorize, idolize") suggests intellectual activity undertaken "in the dark, in the heart," indicating a disconnect between rational thought and emotional truth . ### The Body as Trap and Vehicle "Navvy," the album's opener, presents one of Thomas's most memorable lyrical moments. His yelped declaration—"I've got these arms and legs that flipflop flipflop / I have desire! / 'Freedom!' / I have desire / Somewhere to go!"—captures the absurdity of embodied existence . The repetition of "flipflop" reduces human agency to something almost mechanical, puppet-like, while the shouted "Freedom!" rings with desperate irony. As one critic notes, when Thomas howls "I have desires," the line lands "almost like a punchline to a surreal joke" . ### Black Comedy and Absurdism Despite the album's dark themes, Thomas's lyrics frequently display a grim wit. The treatment of "What Became of the Drunken Sailor" within "Caligari's Mirror" exemplifies this—the traditional sea shanty is distorted, dismembered, and reassembled into something genuinely unsettling, yet the recognition of the source material creates a perverse sort of humor . This tension between horror and comedy runs throughout the record, reflecting the band's debt to Alfred Jarry's pataphysical theater—the absurdist tradition from which the band derived its name . ### Abstraction as Intent Crucially, the band refused to interpret their own songs, leaving meaning entirely to the listener . This isn't obscurantism for its own sake but a deliberate creative stance. By refusing to provide explanations, Pere Ubu forces active engagement. The lyrics function as stimuli for "intense visions" rather than as messages to be decoded . As Thomas himself suggested, this music requires work—"in the head and in the belly"—with the payoff being genuine, earned revelation rather than passive consumption . --- ## Music: Controlled Chaos and Virtuosic Dissonance If the lyrics suggest psychic disintegration, the music of *Dub Housing* provides its sonic equivalent—yet beneath the surface noise lies extraordinary discipline and instrumental skill. ### The Rhythm Section: Foundation of the Madness The band's secret weapon is the rhythm section of bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Scott Krauss. Described as "a pair that rivals Sly and Robbie for tightness and propulsion," Maimone and Krauss provide a stable foundation even during the album's most chaotic passages . Their playing keeps the structure intact when the music threatens to fly apart, creating a crucial tension between order and entropy. On tracks like "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party," when the band locks into a conventional groove, the result is "as sharp and tensile as what you'd hear from any funk or soul band of the period" . ### Tom Herman's Guitar: From Riff to Assault Guitarist Tom Herman delivers a performance that ranges from polished riffing to assaultive noise. His playing on "Navvy" is urgent and driving, while elsewhere he deploys sheets of distortion and feedback that push toward free jazz territory . The guitar solo on "Blow Daddy-o" has been described as "a stream of industrial guitar scree presenting itself as if it were a free jazz sax solo" —a comparison that captures the instrumental role-shifting that characterizes the album. ### Allen Ravenstine's Synthesizer: The Unpredictable Element Perhaps the most distinctive instrumental voice on the album is Allen Ravenstine's synthesizer work. Eschewing the melodic roles typical of late-70s keyboard playing, Ravenstine treated his EML synthesizer as a noise-generating device, creating "ominous whooshes of distortions, blips, and blurbs that sound like a sped-up Pong game" . His approach owed more to avant-garde composers like Edgard Varèse than to any rock or pop tradition . On "On The Surface," his keyboards percolate bizarrely, "at times sound[ing] like interference from the very radio the lyrics evoke" . ### Song Structures: Deconstructed and Reassembled Unlike punk's three-chord minimalism or prog's extended virtuosity, Pere Ubu's song structures on *Dub Housing* feel both fractured and intentional. The songs are often short—"I, Will Wait" clocks in at just 1:46—but within those tight constraints, the band packs remarkable complexity . "Thriller!" functions as "a near incomprehensible collage of stuttering sound" , while "Drinking Wine Spodyody" has been described as "careen[ing] like a compressed spring set loose in a padded cell" . Yet remarkably, as the German review in *Musikexpress* noted, the band is most disciplined precisely when they seem closest to collapse: "When the group is closest to chaos, to the edge of collapse, when the music is full of squeaks and whimpers—then the band is playing most disciplined" . This paradox—controlled loss of control—is the album's essential musical achievement. --- ## Production: Space, Echo, and Industrial Atmosphere The production on *Dub Housing*, handled by the band with engineer Ken Hamann, represents a significant evolution from *The Modern Dance* . While the debut was relatively straightforward, *Dub Housing* is "denser in composition" with "more space in the mix" . The title's "Dub" reference is instructive. Although the album isn't reggae, the production incorporates dub's characteristic use of echo, reverb, and spatial dislocation . The voices on the title track echo and reverberate as if bouncing off the walls of the titular housing complex. The bass is more prominent than on the debut, providing a physical anchor for the more abstract elements . The cover photograph—showing the actual apartment building at 3206 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland where band members lived during recording—extends this thematic concern with housing as both physical and psychic space . The darkened building against a stormy Cleveland skyline visually communicates the album's atmosphere: bleak, industrial, and slightly menacing . Yet for all its darkness, the production is notably brighter and clearer than on *The Modern Dance* . This isn't lo-fi murk but carefully sculpted space, with each instrument occupying its own sonic territory even when the overall effect is one of controlled chaos. --- ## Themes: A Comprehensive Breakdown ### The Psyche as Haunted Architecture The recurring image of the "house"—whether the titular Dub Housing, the "house" of the title track, or the cinematic references of "Caligari's Mirror"—presents human consciousness as a structure that can be entered, explored, and found disturbingly occupied. The "thousand voices" represent not schizophrenia but the universal condition of internal multiplicity—the competing thoughts, desires, fears, and memories that constitute selfhood . ### Communication Breakdown From Babel's fall to the "jibberty jungle" of insect voices, the album obsessively returns to the failure of communication . Voices talk constantly, yet nothing seems to be understood. Thomas's own vocal delivery—with its hiccups, yodels, and word-fragments—enacts this breakdown at the level of performance. Language is present but broken, recognizable but not fully functional . ### The Absurdity of Desire "Navvy" and other tracks present desire as both fundamental and fundamentally absurd. The body has arms and legs that flipflop; it has desires; it wants freedom and "somewhere to go." But the cartoonish presentation—the Tex Avery reference is apt—suggests that these urgencies are also ridiculous . Desire is real and comic, driving and pathetic, all at once. ### Industrial Decay and Post-American Landscape The Cleveland setting matters. This isn't New York art-rock or London punk; it's music from the Rust Belt, from a city of collapsing industry and grey skies. The "bleak soundscapes" of tracks like "Codex" evoke "an expression of emotional malaise" that feels specific to a particular time and place—late-70s America, post-industrial, post-hippie, pre-Reagan, uncertain and angry . --- ## Influence: The Album That Wouldn't Stay Underground *Dub Housing* sold almost nothing upon release and effectively ended Pere Ubu's relationship with Chrysalis Records . Commercially, it was a failure. Yet its influence has proven extraordinary and enduring. ### Critical Reappraisal Within months of release, *NME* named it the 8th best album of 1978, and *Sounds* placed it at number 13 . Robert Christgau famously admitted that while the album initially seemed abrasive and difficult, it eventually became essential: "not only is it abrasive and visionary and eccentric and hard-rocking itself, but it sent me back to *The Modern Dance*, which I liked fine originally and like more now" . ### Legacy in Post-Punk and Beyond The Quietus has called it "the best post-punk album of all time" and noted its kinship with the Residents' *Duck Stab/Buster & Glen*—released the same day in 1978—as twin peaks of American experimental rock . Novelist Steve Erickson, in his novel *Zeroville*, captured the album's strange power: > "It's like the first time I heard the second Pere Ubu album and thought it just blew completely, I thought anyone who liked it must be stupid and full of shit – and then for about a year it was practically the only album I listened to... It sets something in motion, some understanding you didn't know you could understand, it's like a virus that had to get inside you and take hold." ### Influence on Subsequent Artists While direct commercial influence is difficult to trace, *Dub Housing*'s DNA can be heard in countless later artists. The combination of avant-garde noise, rhythmic discipline, and theatrical vocals anticipates everything from post-punk bands like Mission of Burma and Gang of Four to art-rock acts like The Fall (Mark E. Smith was certainly listening), to noise-rock bands like Sonic Youth. The album's treatment of the synthesizer as a noise instrument rather than a melodic one prefigured much industrial and experimental music. More broadly, *Dub Housing* demonstrated that American rock could be as intellectually ambitious and sonically adventurous as any European avant-garde music—without losing its rhythmic drive or visceral power. --- ## Pros and Cons ### Pros | Category | Assessment | |----------|------------| | **Innovation** | Groundbreaking fusion of punk energy, avant-garde composition, and dub production techniques. Unlike anything before or since | | **Instrumental Performances** | Rhythm section (Maimone/Krauss) provides extraordinary foundation; Ravenstine's synth work is sui generis; Herman's guitar moves from riff to noise seamlessly | | **Lyrical Depth** | Cryptic, poetic lyrics reward repeated listening and active interpretation. Themes of isolation, absurdity, and industrial decay remain resonant | | **Production** | Clever use of space, echo, and separation creates immersive atmosphere while maintaining clarity | | **Influence** | Essential post-punk landmark that continues to inspire experimental rock musicians | | **Cohesion** | Despite stylistic variety, album maintains consistent atmosphere and vision throughout its 36-minute runtime | | **David Thomas's Vocals** | Uniquely expressive instrument—part comic foil, part mad prophet. Unforgettable and inimitable | ### Cons | Category | Assessment | |----------|------------| | **Accessibility** | Extremely difficult for first-time listeners. The vocals, dissonance, and abstract lyrics are actively off-putting to many | | **Second Half Energy Dip** | Some critics note the album "loses some steam on the second half" after the intensity of side one | | **Production Limitations** | While effective, the 1978 recording technology and budget limitations are audible compared to later reissues and remasters | | **Vocal Acquired Taste** | David Thomas's singing style—described as "strangled-penguin" and "whacked expressiveness built around hiccups, yodels, screeches"—is a deal-breaker for many listeners | | **Lack of "Hooks"** | For listeners accustomed to conventional songwriting, the album offers few entry points. Melodies are fragmented, choruses are rare | | **Commercial Failure** | Sold "next to nothing" upon release, limiting its immediate impact and leading to label troubles | --- ## Conclusion: A Difficult Masterpiece *Dub Housing* is not an easy album, nor does it aspire to be. It demands work, patience, and a willingness to surrender to something initially uncomfortable. Yet for those who make the effort, the rewards are substantial. This is music that reveals new depths over years and decades—an album that can become, as Steve Erickson suggested, "practically the only album I listened to" for months at a time . The tension at the heart of *Dub Housing*—between chaos and control, horror and comedy, noise and groove, abstraction and raw physicality—is precisely what makes it so compelling. Pere Ubu pushed rock music to its breaking point on this record, but they never let it quite fall apart. The band's extraordinary discipline ensures that even the most outré moments serve the song rather than mere shock value. For listeners seeking comfort, melody, or straightforward emotional expression, *Dub Housing* will likely prove impenetrable. But for those interested in the outer limits of what rock music can accomplish—in its capacity for genuine strangeness, for intellectual ambition, for sonic innovation that serves emotional truth rather than technical display—this album remains essential listening, nearly five decades after its release. As one critic concluded, "*Dub Housing* won't be for everyone... But it's also one of the most original albums you'll hear and a must-listen for post-punk fans who want to explore its outer fringes" . **Rating:** Essential for fans of experimental and post-punk music; approach with patience for all others. --- ## Further Listening If *Dub Housing* connects with you, explore: - **Pere Ubu** – *The Modern Dance* (1978) – The slightly more accessible predecessor - **The Residents** – *Duck Stab/Buster & Glen* (1978) – A kindred spirit released the same day - **This Heat** – *This Heat* (1979) – UK experimental rock with similar intensity - **Captain Beefheart** – *Trout Mask Replica* (1969) – The obvious touchstone for this approach to rock music - **Wire** – *154* (1979) – UK post-punk with similar structural adventurousness
Badass album. Had no idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised with an album full of post punk goodness.
another I don’t need to listen to give the 6-star treatment (what do you mean that's not an option?!?!). an absolute gem of noisy post-punk goodness. also one of the cherished few that i can listen to on vinyl
J'adore Pere Ubu. Mon hypothèse personnelle c'est que Céline a toujours voulu imiter David Thomas sans jamais être capable d'y arriver.
po esse aqui conseguiu ser (no meu gosto) ainda melhor do que o anterior, que já era do caralho pqp deus abençoe o post punk experimental pqp
eu frequentaria uma ubu dance party. pedrada máxima. mantém a qualidade do primeiro album, mas com um ritmo mais dançante. um art punk puxadinho prum new wave, mas sem perder a experimentação e a barulheira. dobraram a aposta e ficou um absurdo. essa banda ter nota baixa nesse site me deixa maluco, os mano moldaram metade do rock gringo """alternativo""" que tá aí até hoje. enfim, eh bão pra caraio, quem não gosta eh má pessoa!!!!!!!
Rad weird stuff
Oh, a stone-cold classic album. It's brilliant from the get-go, with real jagged earworm tracks that are wholly memorable.
Industrial anxiety having a nervous breakdown in a warehouse. Rating: 4.2/5 Short Review: Jagged, weird, confrontational. This album doesn’t care if you like it. It lurches and mutates and makes you slightly uncomfortable on purpose. Favorite Track: Navvy. Chaotic, twitchy, almost mechanical in its paranoia.
Changed my taste in music entirely - I'm always happy to relisten to it. Weird punky synth things ♥️
weird, difficult, wonderful there are times when the records selected for the books make me ask "who has not heard loads of stuff exactly like this already?" - but not for this one, a great band relentlessly moving onwards to new sounds, new challenges 5 stars
Whilst not a step-change from 'The Modern Dance', this feels tighter and more consistent. Stomping geek-rock opener 'Navvy' lays down much of the template for later bands in the lineage - Pixies, Modest Mouse, Young Knives. As soon as it starts to feel too conventional they pull the rug again - such as 'Caligari's Mirror' with a solo that The Residents would be proud of. 'Dub Housing' also has that Residents out of tune guitar feel. 'Thriller!' sounds unrecognisable from the Michael Jackson cover; this one tips into the avant-garde, and although it has some excellent atmosphere (and 90s dance effects by the end), it does break the flow of the album. This is borderline top marks; I find the Ubus so distinctive, interesting, unique - and this album marginally better than the four-rated last - that surely I must bestow that highest honour.
My favourite Père Ubu album
I previously enjoyed the Modern Dance when it was generated, but I don’t remember it being as weird as this. I remember the Modern Dance was a solid noisy post-punk record, but Dub Housing sounds like a surreal mix of the Talking Heads and Devo, which is kind of perfect for me right now as I’ve been exploring Devo after watching the Devo documentary and have been obsessed with David Byrne for awhile now. I really want to know what was in the water in Ohio in the early 70s to produce these wildly avant-garde bands. Well, probably a lot of rubber by-products and too much lead actually.
It's a little difficult to describe how this band, or at least this album, feels a bit tailored to me.
I am so glad that I was not alive instead of a 20 something in the late 70s to early 80s because I would have been the most insufferable prick if I found art punk and no wave as it was dropping. I had never heard of this band before today but I'm immediately into it. Such a nice blend of the weirdness of No Wave with the accessibility of garage rock. I'll be coming back to this frequently.
Oh..this is just what I needed today. I think heardsome tracks before,but didn't know what band it was Awesome 10 out of 10, added to favourites
First half is perfection and second half kind of is a bit slow for me but it's okay because I'm biased because this is the same Pere Ubu that did The Modern Dance so it's gonna get a 5 I don't give a fuck bitch it's my review and my rules
Awesome and unexpected
Never heard this before. Proper weird shit. Definitely helps to be in the right mood and place for this. Luckily, I am today. Really love the strangeness. Great title, great cover art. An odd surprise.
strikes the perfect balance bw weird and groovy; chaotic neurtral weaponized dissonance...puts the post in post-punk 10/10
Very great, I didn't think Captain-Beefheart-circa-1969-meets-new-wave sounds good!
Fragmented and ominous and I loved it.
One of the most hated albums on this list. Why I can understand. The music is somewhat avant garde rock and the singer sounds like a dying pig. It is an acquired taste, but also an adventurous album with lots of ideas and great guitar riffs. We are in the 21 century now and I would like to think people would not find an album from 1978 still that shocking.
I would not have liked this when I started this challenge but today I really liked it. I was thoroughly entertained at every moment. Delightful strangeness Torn between 4 and 5 but I’m just gonna give a 5 since I was entertained the whole time
What a great record. Intense and insane. Just like I like my Post-punk.
Funny, but listening to this the the first time in a decade, I'd almost classify this as noisy ambient, it's almost non musically hard to listen to, but at the same time I find that radically brilliant. I love the unorthodox self belief that let's them get away with this. 5 stars.
I dig this insane shit.
Fantastic album and clearly an influence on a wide range of genres and bands.
I love this album. I had read about these guys for years and always wanted to check out their music, but their entire early catalog was out of print. Finally they re-released it in the early 2000s, but the only way to get it was to buy an expensive box set. I bought it on pure faith, hoping I'd dig it as much as the critics said I would. Thankfully, I did, and I did so from the very first note on this album. I know this music isn't for everyone, but it sure as shit is for me, and I'm glad it's on this list.
This was a real gem. Glad I got to hear it.
Utterly unique and bizarre. This is the kind of album that made growing up during post-punk such a weird journey of musical discovery.
Loved the hell out of this.
I had no idea what to expect, as I had never heard of Pere Ubu nor do I research them first. I loved the style. Experimental, with a proto-Talkinhlg Heads feel. Will definitely listen again
such a unique sound and David Thomas has such a distinctive voice it creates a wondrous sound, too easily dismissed but not forgotten.
Wacky harmonies (naavy), octave jumping bass(on the surface), unbelievable dumb lead vocals(dub housing), david bowie ass chorus's (caligari's mirror), studio fuckery (thriller!), post-punky jams(I, will wait) lavender town ass synth (drinking win spodyody), danceable "pop" grooves ( (pa) ubu dance party), repetitive jams (blow daddy-o), unsettling... everything (codex) Overall a pretty awesome listen, and fun collection of quirky aspects. Enjoyed it more than their debut when I listened to it a few years ago, but I think I'll go back to check it out again because I enjoyed this so much. Easy 4 stars, could be even better than that with more listens.
incredible for 1978
Really really good stuff. 5 stars/
This album is insanely ahead of its time. It's some of the best post-punk I've ever heard but can drop into a tight groove when it needs to. The sounds on this album range from traditional rock instrumentation, to noise and synth experimentation. It reminds me a bit of the Talking Heads and the Pixies. The vocals are abrasive and sung (shouted?) with a sense of urgency as if everything might fall apart if the singer doesn't get the words out. I can hear some rockabilly, ska/2-Tone, and garage influences in additional to the upfront punk and avant-garde influences. It's truly a fantastic and fascinating album. I can see why others might find it off putting, but the chaos is just so well orchestrated that I really love it.
Not necessarily regularly listening for me but the importance of this album is clear. Considering the time this came out and the influence it has had it is a landmark album
very cool
4.5
Lovely stuff, one of their best
Zero idea about album or band going in. Always interesting. If there IS an audience for this album, I do suppose I am it- future me. 1978 me was a baby, though it does seem the perfect soundtrack to throw your puréed carrots and bananas onto the wall to. It did make my dogs leave. Always the first sign that the “music” is less than harmonious. Rating it. Now there’s the rub. Said rating is going to be completely arbitrary. I love the weirdness. I love that this got made. I would never, ever throw this on. But I may mix a track in a playlist. Codex. That would go nicely in a mix. 4 Boolean: True
What a treat. As a record collector Pere Ubu was one of those bands that was on everyone list of bands that you needed in your collection. This is the second of their albums and you can kind of tell that they are still trying to figure out their sound.
Thursday, 3 June, 2026 Amazing. Strange. Haunting. Silly.
I see this has lots of haters but I really enjoyed the album. First time I’ve listened to it and I can see how it influenced Peter Murphy/Bauhaus and Joy Division and can even see how Pete Ubu influenced R.E.M.
Never heard before, sounds like a lot of fun actually
Experimental and fun
nasty work. so chill.
Ubu was a band hell-bent on destroying rock and roll and rebuilding it from first principles, and they did just that with their second record. Everyone from Fugazi to Pavement to the jazz punks of today are all building from Ubu's blueprint which starts firmly in new wave and ends in utter sonic chaos. In fact the only reason it's not perfect is because of how far they push into noise or experiments - there's some songs that just can't sustain. But this is a truly powerful record, even if it's a bit off the rails.
Pere Ubu - Dub Housing My first Pere Ubu but not my last, I suspect. Started off with a riff that could have come from Keith Richards only for it to be assaulted by rogue synth sounds. And that is what this felt like. A deconstruction of rock that had come before and a rebuilding into a new chapter. Kind of like if this hadn't happened we coudnt have had the New York scene that gave us Blondie, Talking Heads, Television and others. Tracks all flowed and all had their way of pulling me in for a journey that wasn't wholly pleasant. Best Track - On the Surface but Blow Daddy O, Navvy and I Will Wait were close behind. Worst Track - Caligari's Mirror. I didn't need a deconstructed sea shanty in my life. 7.5/10
Very strange.
Raw enerjetic. Emotional.
Chaotic lyrics. Sounds weird at times. I fail to see the point of most songs. Anyway it was great.
Off putting vocals but dig these extended moody instrumentals. Codex and title track were great
Fuck it, throw Talkings Heads into a blender with Jazz players and season with psychedelic rock and jamming sessions to boot—as if any one of those weren't weird/singular enough on their own. Sounds nothing like anything before (or frankly after) it. Might be my favorite discovery on this so far (600ish albums kn), insofar that I would never have discovered it otherwise.
I think if you played this for a child they would likely enjoy it I also think a casual music listener would be put off This might be the first time that an album on this list actually strikes me as way ahead of its time. I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that this album was contemporary. Their use of sound is creative. I think the vocals should be perceived as just another sound. If you try to analyze them as singing compared to Frank Sinatra for example, well. . . But the vocals are very innovative and reminiscent of Death Grips, Geordie Greep, artists that would come decades later I had fun listening and I think it warrants more listening, but it's certainly not something I would put on anytime
Some fairly twisted post punk, as you might expect from Pere Ubu. Like their other music, this is slow burn and takes some time to fully appreciate. Despite claims that this album would make them pop stars, Pere Ubu exist firmly underground, probably too opaque to get much radio play or mass attention. But sit with the music for a while and it does start to make sense. "Dub Housing" even gives you a few accessible breaks, such as the sea shanty inspired "Caligari's Mirror", which you can actually sort of sing along to. Well partly. The whole album includes such a varied palette of sonic experiments that I think I'll need to explore this more in the future.
Pretty cool, and very avante garde. I'm not sure I loved it enough to revisit, but it was impressive.
Rough, abrasive, contrary, yet addictive too.
i cant give this album four stars
I was just right in the mood for this. Maybe I finally need a major Pere Ubu/David Thomas phase, especially because I've learned various Henry Cow people and Richard Thompson played with him in the 80s. I'm enjoying the idea of a meeting of minds between Pere Ubu and Def Leopard as mentioned in the Wikipedia entry. How much did they horrify one another? Or did they have an unlikely workers in song camaraderie?
No entiendo cómo este terminó entre los 20 peores álbumes; es divertido y enérgico a más no poder. No se toma demasiado en serio ni se hace pesado, ¿qué más se puede pedir?
Weird, interesting, and short enough to not outstay its welcome. 3.5/5.0: Very Good
Quite enjoyable or listen to.
7/10
7/10 – Good
Yep, this was weird. It was at times joyous (Ubu Dance Party) and yet equal parts annoying. It is one of those albums that I'm glad that I had a chance to listen, but it's doubtful that I'll listen a second time.
This is what I like about this project, never heard of this, it's weird, I like it.
Gotta love a creative fat guy
I always forget how weird this album is every time before I listen to it but it grows on me a little more each time.
i enjoyed way more than i expected , fun experimental sounds!
4/5 - With the exception of “Thriller!” which was straight up annoying, I found something in almost every track here. I don’t think anyone is here for the vocals, but I thought the instruments and loops were mesmerizing. Pere Ubu is one of those bands I’ve heard of my whole life, but never checked out. Really weird, but in a good way.
I'd never listened to Pere Ubu before this list and I was very impressed with The Modern Dance - which was my first of their albums. Dub Housing is good, but it didn't quite resonate with me in the way The Modern Dance did. A strong four.
I had never heard of this album or band but damn, did I get into this. Funky. Experimental. Every song is a new groovy adventure.
Surprising. Great
pretty interesting, would probably listen to this again
Incredible and influential album
Love the middle finger in your face attitude of this one. Great energy, cool motifs, some of it is just a little too weird but so groovy, will have to listen to more of them.
What the. This was... impactful. I don't know if I hated it deeply or kinda enjoyed going through it. Cold and unpleasant, surprising and unheard, brave and avantgarde, cacophonic and tedious. Is this a 2/5 or a 4/5? What I know is that I never lost interest in it while listening. It kept me with it. It stuck with me. And this has value. I don't know if I'll ever go through it again. Maybe if I feel weird. This 4 is gonna stick out and bother me just like the album bothered me to listen to it. Somehow, for me, it makes sense.
A groovy, zany collage of sound. Fantastic.
Obviously this guy isn't a great singer, but I think there are some really interesting and unique ideas here. It is very ahead of its time and something I will definitely be returning back too. Low 4.
Part of me wants to not like this based on the guy's goofy, affected vocals, but I can't deny the album is pretty good all around. Some original sounds for sure--I'd listen to again, maybe I'll start to get over the vocals. 4/5
joyous and interesting as hell
Had heard their name a lot but had never listened to them. This is my type of music... imperfect, off-key, weird patterns, haunted Melodie's. Will revisit
I know I started listening to Pere Ubu within the past year. They were a long-running avant-garde rock band that went through several lineup changes, with singer-songwriter David Thomas as the lone constant member until his death earlier this year. They proved to be highly influential to several underground and alternative rock artists, to the point where their first two records appear in the 1001 Albums series. Dub Housing is the latter of those two, written and recorded with the intent of having a cohesive set of tracks, as opposed to standalone songs. Did it work? Well, I'm not sure about the cohesiveness, considering this album is weird to begin with. There were a lot of strange compositional choices and elements added to this record - the Morse code in the background of "On the Surface", the howling saxophone on the title track, the demented sea shanty on "Caligari's Mirror", the dilapidated noise instrumentals "Thriller!" and "Big Daddy-O", and especially David's caterwauling vocals throughout. What Pere Ubu managed to do could be described as intentionally obtuse, without fully sacrificing the fundamental understandings of song structure or only half-committing to ideas. Most of the songs here stand well enough on their own that not only do I respect the experimental musicianship, but I came around to liking this album. Not every track worked for me, notably "Thriller!" with the slowed-down warbly slide guitar and liberal use of filtered audio recordings. But more often than not, I reveled in the madness these lads thrived in, probably a lot closer to my enjoyment of krautrock acts like NEU! and Can. Honestly, I'm amazed at how much I enjoyed Dub Housing in all its controlled insanity. This has me looking forward to the other Pere Ubu record.
Better than Coldplay
Dub Housing by Pere Ubu was such a fun surprise. I’d never heard the album before, and it’s completely different from anything I usually listen to. The mix of strange sounds, off-kilter rhythms, and experimental beats made the whole thing a really enjoyable experience. There’s so much variety packed into it that it never gets dull. Favourite track: Every track had something interesting going on, but I especially enjoyed the ones with strong vocal parts. Least favourite track: Honestly, nothing here felt weak—everything was worth a listen. Album artwork: A very cool, intriguing cover that fits the album’s odd, experimental vibe.
This list really does give you the whole history of Post-Punk through stuff like this. First you get the stuff that started it like Roxy Music, then you get early Post-Punk like this album, and then you get the stuff when the genre became fully established like Talking Heads. I feel like this one is especially a good history lesson that gets written off for being way too experimental for most people. Granted, most of the bottom 25 on this list is in the bottom 25 because it's too experimental for most people. I'm not most people and I love Post-Punk, so this was great. It's a lot messier than most Post-Punk, but that's a part of the fun. Reminds me a lot of No Wave music from around the same time as this album's release like Swans' self-titled EP or No New York.
Experimental and rather interesting.
This has such an unique style. When I first started this journey to the book, I actually thought most albums were going to be like this one. Experimental and not for everyone, but things you should at least hear once, in order to get an idea of how widespread musical innovation can get. I love this inclusion after many of the 'safer' albums. Is it good though? Well, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Sure the experiments don't always land, but when it does, a new realm of post-punk created.
Soft 4 but I respect the sound these guys were generating in the mid 70's. Not everything in there works but its a fun listen. Lots of bands that sound like this later on.
Navy: bedankt voor de nieuwe stim. Boy that sounds swell! On the surface: funky ringtone Dub housing: Caligari housing: what is happening? Thriller: it certainly is a song? (Pa) Ubu dance party: slaps Overall: strange but interesting. Niet een album wat ik ooit nog een keer zou willen luisteren behalve misschien bepaalde nummers als ik in een goblin bui ben. Als artistieke expressie geef ik het een 4
Funky, would not relisten voluntarily, but enjoyed. First number was best tbh
Would I ever recommend this album to anyone? No Do I think I will ever go and listen to this album again? Also no But I can say I did listen to it with great pleasure and had an awesome time with it. It's weird and dissonant and funky, and I can't say I didn't like it.
Can’t believe the average is so low for this, so underrated
Really saying something! 3.7
Pere Ubu is a band I’ve known about for a good 25 years, but I never really gave their albums a shot because whenever I heard a song from them on a compilation, it never left much of an impression. Now that I’m actually diving into their albums, they’re definitely growing on me. It does take me a few listens before I really start to appreciate them, but once the album sinks in, I’m completely drawn in. They lean heavily into the avant-garde side of post punk, but they still maintain enough structure to keep things somewhat accessible, which is probably why they stand out among more experimental bands.
Kind of like Talking Heads and Devo with added weirdness. My favourite track was Blow Daddy-O, a light four.
This was insane for a 1978 album.
Another post-punk classic
I liked this quite a lot; more than the debut Pere Ubu we got a while back (which I gave four stars). This is catchier, almost poppy in places, though Thomas's voice is still a love-it-or-loathe-it oddity. This is in the upper echelons of four for me; I suspect it could go to five with repeated listens.
Could only come from Cleveland, after the river catches fire and before the balloons smother people on the lake. In a record presumably designed to defy most pleasant expectations, the guitar work consistently stands out and engages. The singing… honestly, maybe it was Stockholm syndrome, but I started to enjoy it later in the record. Really reminds me of the work of Brian Ennals and Infinity Knives.
Æ vet æ hørte på den, men det festa sæ jammen lite!
Lowkey unsettling.
Little touch and go. Some songs I absolutely adored and some were a little rough, but overall a great intro and an album I'm surprised I was unfamiliar with.
Cleveland’s own! One of the better things to come out of my home town. Not always accessible, this has more in common with Talking Heads than 70s gutter punk - but just as essential. Glad this was on the list.
Avant-garde, jazzy, funky, weird arse/out there post punk. I think ‘Dub Housing’ is a bit more focused overall than ‘The Modern Dance’. I scratch and shake my head in wonder at how low the reviews are for this. I think it’s an interesting and solid record that more than justifies its place on the list. 3.5/5 rounded up to 4.
there’s some extra emphasis on ‘post’ in post-punk regarding this album. firstly I thought that the voice was to irritating and it was ruining the whole melody, but then i realised that it was intentional. i’ve saved some tracks that wouldn’t bother me too much if i get them while listening to my music on the shuffle. don’t think i’d like to listen to the whole record once again, yet it was an interesting experience and interesting experiences is why i’m using this platform in the first place
The singing was weird, but then I guess that's the point. Had some good parts and some not so good parts. I'm on the fence a little, but I'm going to go with four stars, as I feel I would want to hear this again.
I have heard before, and do think I prefer their previous album but this is still good. But does not deserve its very low rating on this site! Interesting post punk noise. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? Some Owned: No 14/1001, 14/54 (25%) Will I get? Maybe
Highlights: Navvy, On The Surface
Never change Pere Ubu
This is #day387 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... boy, that sounds swell! Now, I've seen this album cover before and, being an early post-punk/new wave lover, I'm familiar with the band's name, but somehow I never got to listen to Pere Ubu properly, album-wise. So, it's a case in point: this list is a nice opportunity to catch up on what's been postponed or overlooked. Dub Housing, though? An absolute hell of an avant-garde post-punk from 1978. Weird, experimental, jazzy... Loving the sax in the title track and "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party." What a year for music. R.I.P. David Lynn Thomas. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day388.
I really enjoyed this. New wave? Avant garde? Their second album and it is excellent.
Lite spretigt och ofärdigt stundtals. Men när det sitter ihop är det avant-garde, proto-punk på samma nivå som Talking Heads. Svag fyra
Really interesting, I feel like there’s not really one style your can say this is, parts remind me of hardcore punk and also post-hardcore like husker dü and stuff, but there’s also some really new wave ish and arty parts. The vocals fit the chaotic bits well, but are a bit one note sometimes as he’s just yelling most of the time. The really low bit synths are also very interesting and something not in a lot of later heavier music. I also feel like some parts just get lost in experimentation, which I suppose can be both good and bad. Favourite songs: navvy, dub housing, on tbe surface, I, will wait, (pa) ubu dance party, blow daddy-o, codex. Overall around 7/10
Phenomenal sound. Would sit on the record shelf between TV on the Radio and Parquet Courts
this might be one of the most discordant albums i've ever heard - it stretches from loud raucous guitar and vocals that sounds almost like mewithoutyou to intensely slowed down psychedelic dub music with discordant noises and polyrhythmic overlapping percussive elements.
this is fucking weird i like it. 80/100
Great album.
More postpunk weirdness from Dave Thomas and Pere Ubu. I love it--these songs hang on by their fingernails to your expectations of what constitutes a pop song. They meet our basic requirements of a beat, some idea of A-B-C format, more or less conventional instruments and arrangements, but challenge the ears at every turn in terms of melody and harmony. In those terms, Dub Housing is not a big stretch from The Modern Dance (their debut), so I wonder, as much as I love this album, why are both on the list?
Such a strange band but I do enjoy them.
I really don't understand genres. How can an album from 1978 be considered post-punk? This is obviously the raw material for Talking Heads, Pixies, and everything else I like, so I am having trouble comprehending why everyone hates it. Yeah, some of it is grating, but it seems like it gave Black Francis permission to sing however he wanted, showed David Byrne how to combine rhythm and chaos, and demonstrated the uses of noise in the service of a song to a generation of punk bands.
Loved this one more than their classic Modern Dance. It’s more experimental and more weird than their debut, which makes it more enjoyable for me.
Wierd, Old school.
I enjoyed listening to this unorthodox album. I am not sure how I would classify the music and I’m sure it’s polarizing but I liked it.
Liked this quite a bit made me listen to Wipers the rest of the day
Never heard, was deep and interesting. Gave me a parquet quarts vibe here and there.
Extremely my thing I wish I knew this had existed earlier.
This band must have been very fun to be in, edges the debut slightly as I prefer my post punk a little more melodic
I guess this is a great week for this one, given the title's meaning. But enough about politics. It retains a semblance of a beat throughout, even on the more avant-garde songs. Were those sneakers rubbing on the floor? Who knows? I liked the energy and its range, pinging from surrealism to more rock-sounding tracks. Chaos reigns.
Absolute fever dream
Can’t quite articulate why, but the album has a real SpongeBob SquarePants kind of energy. Fav tracks: On The Surface, Caligari’s Mirror, and Ubu Dance Party. I like this, a lot, but while it does interesting things with structure and sound and language, it doesn't really grab me on an emotional level. I am really glad that punk as an artistic movement liberated a lot of people to start making experimental music. Pere Ubu singer Dave Thomas, passed away in April of this year so I had been listening to this album and Modern Dance recently. If we had to sit through Brian Wilson's "genius" when he died, we should have got more Dave Thomas too. I really did consider a 5 for this one.
This is like if one of those annoying skronky bands from C86 (MacKenzies, bIG fLAME, the Shrubs) was actually good! All the hate this gets on here is mostly because of his voice, right? It's not even that bad, and there's not really anything else on here that feels too hateable.
Wow, I was not expecting to be into this, but it blew me away. Almost gave this a 5.
this was weird to me at first but i pushed through and felt elitist and pretentious for liking it and “getting” it. did i actually “get” it? the world may never know
I didn’t really like it at the start, but it grew on me towards the end of the album. Very early Talking Heads vibes.
Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing is jarring (Jarry?), nonsense filled fun on the one hand and compact, composed compositions on the other. I picked up The Modern Dance first in the 2000s and found it to be post-punk brave enough to blend its influences without apology (and pretty much snapped up the back catalogue after that). David Thomas is like a more unhinged version of another David (Byrne) from a band of this era — sometimes singing, sometimes shrieking. What was in the air between Cleveland and New York City (by way of Providence)? Dub Housing shifts from punk to pub/party vibes, occasionally veering into circus music, hypnotic/hypnagogic patterning or flirting with the chanty — they’re a band perpetually curious about where a song might take them (and us). Anyway, this review is just noodling at this point — a bit like Pere Ubu’s guitar and bass meandering over a steady beat and a vocal yelp or absurd spoken word. It’s either a 3- or 4-star record for me depending on the mood and weather.
This one might be better than their debut. Much more refined sounds. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Like Talking Heads in a pirate garage
Całkiem niezłe. 4/5 Chociaż głos wokalisty mógłby być inny.
rip david thomas
Not exactly pleasant but fun and major points for weirdness.
Now this is fun album, probably not for everyone but I quite enjoyed this from cover to cover
Jeg skal måske tilbage og høre den forrige Pere Ubu plade vi havde igen. Det er meget cool når man ved, hvad man kan forvente
Den her slags plader er et af de fedeste resultater af punk-gennembrudet. Der er ingen regler for hvordan musik skal lyde
Interest post punk album
Could be Frank Black was a fan? 😂
Honestly it's another one of the worst rated albums on this site and it's just another weird album that I love for its weirdness. In between singer songwriters that keep the same tempo for 20 hours, there's this weird little gym that sounds as if The Voidz decided to turn off autotune, and it's a bit hard to listen, but it has more soul that a lot of other records on here
A hard one. It keep my interest but had a few real low points like Thriller. Between a 3 and a 4.
It's a pretty good and entertaining album that is rather hard to define. Avant-garde rock funk pop might be as close as I can make it. Pere Ubu often travels on the border of cacophony, but never really crosses it, instead being really relaxing and interesting. Positive vibes and positive outcome.
Quite unsettling, yet interesting. The frontman has lots of emotion in his voice, he sounds almost crazy. The use of split audio was really cool, especially for the 70s. I feel like I’m on drugs in a bad trip listening to this. And it’s kinda awesome? Okay Codex is scaring the crap outta me. Mixed feelings fs.
Never ever heard of this band but I quite enjoyed it. The singer was pretty unique and the music was also good.
I absolutely hated Pere Ubu’s first album when I listened to it last year. Now I find myself weirdly enjoying this. Even David Thomas’s god-awful voice has grown on me like blight on a tree… or perhaps some kind of malignant fungus. 7/10
Weirdly ahead of its time sounding
Deliciously strange. Almost off-puttingly so in some places but overall it had a thin sense of familiarity driving it from within. Intriguing album
Right up one's alley – angular and abstract, deep an discordant, think-y, fully committed and totally original, assertively contrarian and resolutely anti-commercial. Opener gets us off to an intriguingly, off-kiler start, title cut is engaging, and "Cagilari's Mirror" veers and swerves in surprising, counterintuitive directions (which could be said of the whole record, of course). One thinks one might even be able to dance to it, if one tried hard enough – particularly the "Dance Party" track. The eeriest/edgiest bits suggest that they might well have morphed into Sonic Youth, too. To state the obvious: they deserved more recognition.
This album is the first time I really feel challenged by anything I've listened to from this list. Dub Housing is a weird experience full of strange sounds awkward performances, unconventional songwriting and structure. But all of that comes together as something greater than the sum of its parts. By the end of the record I felt like I really understood it. It's challenging and boundary pushing on purpose, but not in a pretentious way. It feels like the music understands what it is and finds freedom in that understanding. Everything in its right place by extension. I really enjoyed my time with this and I feel like I'm going to enjoy it even more on a second listen. 8.5/10
While I don't think two albums by Pere Ubu is needed for this list, I did very much enjoy this. I have been told I have pretty horrible taste in music, however. Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Great stuff
I found this a really interesting album... like half of it felt like it belonged to David Lynch type movie and other parts reminded me of talking heads.
Pere Ubu is a band I’ve known about for a good 25 years, but I never really gave their albums a shot because whenever I heard a song from them on a compilation, it never left much of an impression. Now that I’m actually diving into their albums, they’re definitely growing on me. It does take me a few listens before I really start to appreciate them, but once the album sinks in, I’m completely drawn in. They lean heavily into the avant-garde side of post punk, but they still maintain enough structure to keep things somewhat accessible, which is probably why they stand out among more experimental bands.
This is my second Pere Ubu album on this list. I'm quite surprised this band had 2 albums make the list. This album was sick. Very weird, psychedelic, and from what I can tell, influential. It sounds like it influenced bands like Talking Heads and some of those other 80s groups that kind of sing similarly. The title track reminded me so much of Modest Mouse which was cool since they're one of my favorite bands. It makes sense that they have so few monthly listeners on Spotify since this music is so weird but it also surprises me because with how influential they seem to have been, you'd think they'd have more of a cult following.
This album tickled my brain in all the right ways, every track except for one was engaging to listen to. The exception was Thriller! I never want to hear that again. It made my skin crawl. Anti-ASMR.
I could create a folder for albums like this: Avant-garde or experimental music that was just beyond my tastes growing up but I'm open to listening to now.
'You should hear how we syllogize / You should hear / about how Babel fell and still echoes away.' All of this, and the rest, is very, very good - original, dynamic, not too deep in strange land, and off kilter enuf - but founded on the pleasure principle, I'll not return as often as I do to others. For sure, it's an unforgettable listen, not that demanding, a pleasurable thing in the end. 'Caligari's Mirror' and '(Pa) Ubu Dance Party' prove it's so. Maybe a bit too cool for school. And not as perfect as Marquee Moon.
Clangorous, unsettling avant-rock that transforms Cleveland's industrial decay into surreal sonic architecture.
Another great, but musically not as diverse album by this very innovative band.
Very different from their first album. Feels more experimental and improvised. Classic situation where a band has years to write material for the first album and a lot less time for the second? Either way, you are unlikely to hear another record that sounds like this, but then again it fits alongside contemporaries like PiL and Talking Heads. I'm also fascinated by the lack of articles about Pere Ubu. Not easy to friend writings about them, leaving it entirely to your instincts. Boy that sounds swell!
Damn I needed this this morning. Not really sure why I like this so much--maybe it's the desperate urgency in the vocals coupled with incredibly sharp, confident music. . The music is sharp even when it's fuzzy, distorted, scratchy. Only exception to the strength is Thriller which should have been jettisoned.
Is there something wrong with me if i enjoyed it? Because i felt like i shouldn't, but the album even felt kinda comforting.
Day 62 - November 10th, 2024 This is now the second Pere Ubu album I have stumbled upon, and I love it. 4/5
3.5 rounded up could be right up my alley but i feel like it just drags a bit. either way ….. does a gay little jig that pisses you off highlights: navvy, (pa) ubu dance party (jan 15 2025)
What a magnificent slab of weird
Dime store Talking Heads. No doubt ahead of its time. But lacking the polish to hold up through time.
Pere Ubu son una banda poco conocida y muy poco comercial, que no encajan en ningún estilo particular (avant-garage, art-punk...) sin embargo a nivel de crítica son muy reputados y su influencia es enorme en la no-wave, el Post-Punk y muchas más corrientes. Navvy podría ser una estupenda canción de Pixies, solamente cambiando el tono de voz de David Thomas por el de Frank Black (recordemos que Eric Drew Feldman, frontman de Capitán Beefheart y que estuvo con Pixies o Frank Black, se unió a Pere Ubu en posteriores discos además de participar en numerosos y fabulosos proyectos). On the surface y Dub Housing tienen rasgos de los mejores Talking Heads. Caligari's Mirror es un delirante versión del clásico tabernario Drunken Sailor. Thriller! anticipa 4 años a Michael Jackson, solo que este sí que da miedo de verdad. I, Will Wait con su punk de estructura más normal. Drinking Wine Spodyody es loud-quiet-loud del que bebieron Pixies y todo un tropel de grupos hasta el día de hoy. (Pa) Ubu Dance Party, efectivamente invita a levantar los pies del suelo y ponerse a saltar. Blow Daddy-O es un alucinógeno viaje electrónico Cierre con Codex . Un disco apabullante. Otros discos de 1978: The Man Machine de Kraftwerk, debuts de Kate Bush, Pere Ubu, Magazine, , Public Image Ltd., Dire Straits, Police, The Only Ones, Devo, The Cars y Siouxsie and the banshees, (también Chris Rea y Midnight Oil), así como discos esenciales: C´est CHic, Plastic letters y Paralell Lines, Some Girls, This year´s model, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Incantations, Équinoxe, Ambient 1: Music for Airports, All mod cons, Some girls, One Nation Under A Groove, Outlandos d´amour los directos de Cheap Trick, Thin Lizzy, Bob Marley, AC-DC y The last waltz, e incluso Grease.
i haven't heard a single second of Pere Ubu before now, so i was surprised to find out they were an electric cockroach jugband playing blues from your bathroom floor. they're celebrating -- the radio is on, the shower is running, and you are dead. sometimes i dread running into foundational post-punk classics, but sometimes you find something really fun and crazy. Pere Ubu, despite recording from miserable conditions (Cleveland), bring as much fun as they do crazy.
Noise noise wonderful noise brings me tears brings me joys.
Kind of Talking Heads-esque but a bit more out there, neither of which is a bad thing
interesting album. very quirky, rough around the edges, noisy in a way that tickles my brain. i did enjoy my time with this one, although i felt a little bit less impressed with it than their debut album, which i loved. still, i enjoyed moments like 'caligari's mirror' and the weird, but fun, '(pa) ubu dance party.' i definitely suspect this is not going to be everyone's bag, but i find pere ubu's music to be challenging enough while not being completely obtuse, which is a nice middle ground for me.
The glorious, thrilling midpoint of Devo, Talking Heads (if they were cool) and the gibbering monkey brain of the human id. There's a jet black sense of humour at play, and hell, you can even dance - or lurch around - to some of this. The deconstruction of western music in real time - I love it.
"Dub Housing" is the second album by American rock band Pere Ubu. It is labeled as one of the most important post-punk recordings. The album title is allusion to the visual echoes of blocks of identical row houses in Baltimore reminiscent of the echoes and reverberation that characterize dub music. Dub is also a reference to Jehovah's Witnesses of which lead singer David Thomas was a member of. Other band members included Tom Herman (bass, guitar, organ), Tony Maimone (bass, guitar, piano), Allen Ravenstine (synthesizers, saxophone) and Scott Krauss (drums). Guitar strumming opens "Navvy." Thomas comes in with his high pitch vocals. This is very bass forward which drives the sound. The song builds. Very busy at the end. "I've got these arms & legs that flip-flop. I have desire." The synth and drums are pushed to the forefront of "On the Surface." It's driving and danceable. This sounds like a mixture of the Doors, Talking Heads and Modest Mouse. That's not bad. The band takes the traditional English sea shanty "Caligan's Mirror" on a ride. The song goes slow and fast. An eerie guitar. An groovy 60's sounding organ. The band sounds like they're having a lot of fun in "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party." Bluesy guitar. More of the driving rhythm section. Wave sounds in the background. The whole band singing it seems. I think Ween must have been in the room during the recording. Now, this is an experimental album to like. Thomas' vocals are frantic, screaming, talking and operatic. There's also a minimalism to the lyrics which are pretty much abstract. Expert musicianship throughout especially the bass and drums. I love that particular aspect of post-punk music. The music is very experimental but there's a feeling of humanity and joy as opposed to being cold and distant. This album gets better with repeated listens. If you're willing to risk to get a reward, this is good album to listen to.
Very good electronic album. Took me by surprise.
A strong Pere Ubu album - I can see why this is in the list, but did not find it as impressive as its predecessor "The Modern Dance" or their earlier singles (all 10/10). vote: 8/10.
Interesting punk rock album. Quite inaccessible at first, with lots of dissonance and weird sounds, but gets better with repeat listening.
Wow, this is intriguing music, it definitely grabs me although the vocals are at times a bit hard to digest.
I listened to this album as the brunt of a tropical storm was passing over my house. So maybe it helped to be listening to 70's post punk while, outside my home office, rain poured down in buckets and the wind bent the trees nearly sideways.
This is the kind of spazzy art-punk stuff I can get behind. Lots of frantic tension throughout, echoing the dystopian claustrophobia of the album cover's project living quarters. They really effectively infuse their paranoia and sense of societal vertigo into their approach, whether through slide guitar-playing, buzzy background effects, mumbly & chanty vocals that you have to second-guess if you heard in the first place... the list goes on. Altogether really good grooves here combining art-punk, funk, and early ideas of hardcore. These guys aren't caving to anyone else's ideas of who they should be and I love that. They took the lemons of their anxiety and made gems like "Drinking Wine Spodyody" and "(Pa) Ubu Dance Party" (epic 2 track run on side 2). Genre-wise they touch on post-punk way ahead of their time, ambient experimental, krautrock, and hardcore ahead of it's time as well. This may not be everyone's cup of tea but these guys are on one. The first exposure I had to them was on "URGH! A Music War" doing the track "Birdies", which was a memorable trip. I'm happy to hear how much more facets there are to their catalogue.
True freaks making post-punk before punk was even codified. This direct sonic lineage between this and like... Circus Lupus is undeniable
Su puta madre. No he llegado a sufrirlo tanto como la gente por aquí y me ha gustado mucho (esperable por las comparativas con Talking Heads), pero las últimas canciones del disco me hacen que caiga esto de un 5 estrellas a unas 4 muy altas. Sin duda merece oírse mínimo una vez antes de morir (y mucho antes que los cientos de álbumes de rock cuasi iguales que hay en esta lista).
I wish I had discovered these guys when I was younger. Thomas has something to say, but he shouts and barks it. How do you critique something that is almost wholly unique and stands outside of the mainstream so fully that it doesn't even acknowledge your rules? Not may favorite Pere Abu album, but it's a really good one. It's the kind of weird that I fully approve of.
Some wacky shit, but I dig it. I feel like I can hear a lot of ideas that influenced bands that I love.
Didn't know this as well as The Modern Dance, but damn, it's just as good. 4.5🌟
delightfully freakish
How have I not heard this album before; or even heard of this band? Enjoyed on first listen, and on second found it even more interesting.
I don't know if enjoyed is the right word, but there were standout parts of this and it definitely wasn't like anything else I've heard. Kind of like proto-Bloc Party with some elements of noise electrnoica
This will not be for everyone - but I really enjoyed it. The singer gives some David Byrne sounding vibes but over a mishmash of post-punk noise.
They're having a lot of fun and creating a joyous racket. Will listen again and may regret not giving 5 stars. music: appreciated. (⌐■_■)
Sickos: Yes… ha ha ha… Yes!
Haha, ein Dub-Album erwartet und dafür einen krautrockigen David Byrne bekommen. Nice
funky and upbeat- super short songs
Its fun listening to these old experimental albums. Often you can find music that never got popular itself, but ended up influencing more accessible music that got popular and i think thats cool
A new discovery on my radar for post-punk. At the edge of the 70s before new-wave but has that sprinkle anticipating the coming change. A wonderful new addition to anyone's collection.
Bonkers Devoesque nonsense and I fully support it
a truly unique sounding post-punk band. Singer David Thomas delivers his high pitched vocals sounding fairly deranged, and the music is right there with him. Bass playing is right out front and finds some solid grooves with the drums. The guitar, synths, and sax squeaks and squonks around the rhythm section to build the atmosphere. Quite out there overall. It can be grating or groovy depending on your preferences, those who really like it will find some of both and be pleased with the result.
Talking Heads meet the Minutemen. Coming out in 78, it had to be on the forefront of the post punk movement and I am sure it was a huge influence on bands that came after. DIY and experimental, punk and weird. A fun listen.
Vähän Talking Headsia muistuttava, hieman nyrjähtänyt ja kiinnostava levy. 4/5.
I'd never heard of these guys before but I gotta say I really enjoyed this album. I honestly expected it to be dub like raggae dub. But then seeing the year 1978 I thought that was too early for dub. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was almost like experimental punk or something. Lots of Talking Heads vibes but what I liked most about it was the sinister vibe through out. I'll give this one 4 stars. Listening to this a second time actually lol only cause I was kind of distracted the first time through
I think I’m just not ready for this band. It has its moments but the experimental moments drag a bit. I can see it being a five star later but I’m just not there yet.
Very interesting. Not something I would return to often, but it definitely is not boring
Such a weird band, Pere Ubu. I love them as a concept, I enjoy their their music but I can never put a finger on what it is they're actually doing. I mean they aren't quite as weird as The Residents (although Thriller is approaching it), there's accessible stuff scattered throughout and every song sounds like it could be by a different band. And yeah the vocals are mental. There's surely no way to appreciate this fully off one listen, but do I want to come back for repeat listens? Boy, that sounds swell. Faves, Navvy, Ubu Dance Party, Blow Daddy-O
What a strange experience listening to this album was and I'm grateful for that. Never heard of Pere Ubu, not sure I'll listen again that often, but thoroughly enjoyed it (even the sometimes jarring vocals). All over the place and yet wonderfully cohesive as an album. An antidote to most of what's generally heard day to day.
Weird. Very weird. And I was pretty into it, for parts. I think the weakest part of this album is the vocals. I just don't like them all that much. All that said, a couple songs here are really unique and piqued my interest several times on my listen. My favorites were On The Surface, Dub Housing, Drinking Wine Spodyody, and Codex. I didn't love this album, but I did have a surprisingly great time with it and I am glad I listened.
One that was missing from my musical knowledge banks.
4/5
quite intense & experimental. need to be in the right mood
very very unique sounds. could understand why someone thinks this is a music culture changing album
Bottom line: that was quite something. But my initial WTF pretty easily gave way to me liking this. Not exactly loving, though: the often edgelord vocals unnecessarily shot the whole thing in the foot and that Spodyody tune was ghastly, but... I had fun with this album. Wild, weird, unpredictable. loved how they used their synth(s), 46 years ago. Two songs went into my basket, glad I listened to this. Definitely an AYMHBYD.
Very unusual, experimental, and original while still being reminiscent of Talking Heads and Devo. I’m not sure if they were using actual words sometimes, but I liked the sound.
What a wild record. Never heard of this group before, but I liked this. It's characterized as a post-punk record, which I can hear in lots of parts, but they also swing wildly to other styles, like in Caligari's Mirror where they go into an almost Buffalo Springfield style 60's rock sound.
Pretty decent, surprised I haven’t heard this before! Not really a fan of the vocals but I am otherwise on board. B-
Checking off the first box for Punk accreditation - 35 mins or shorter, Pete Abu's Dub Housing is a cacophony of noise translated into an art and music project. In what sounds like the soundtrack to a Contemporary Art installation in an abandoned warehouse at night you can smell the must of the exhibit and the urine on the floor through your headphones. And I like it. Pere Ubu take the Talking Heads and dial up the experimental art school house band schtick successfully. 4/5.
Der Gesang ist etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, es ist aber dennoch ein cooles Album zwischen rockigem Post-Punk und experimentellen Elementen. Auf jeden Fall ziemlich fortschrittlich für 1978 und generell sehr individuell. Von daher völlig zurecht auf dieser Liste.
Now this is OUT THERE! I can see why this is among the most polarizing records on the list. It’s an all-out assault on the senses and a complete deconstruction of a movement that wasn’t even fully realized at the time this was realized. So wild, so cool, so weird, I’m a big fan. I’d highly recommend the tracks Final Solution and Heart Of Darkness by this band which I was turned on to by group legend Mack years ago, they’re a bit more digestible and I think help place the angle this record is going for. Not 5 stars because decent chunks stray a little too far into chaos and become difficult to listen to, but overall a great piece. Top tracks: Navvy, On The Surface, Dub Housing, I, Will Wait, (Pa) Ubu Dance Party
Freak shit, but you like that don’t you piss pig
Albums like this are the reason I really like the generator. I really enjoyed this. I just like post-punk. Not a huge fan of Codex. Favorite songs are On The Surface, Caligari’s Mirror, Ubu Dance Party, and Drinking Wine Spodyody.
Right up my alley. Screechy weird vocals, experimental synth, from Cleveland? Check, check, check. Similar vibe to Devo in some ways. Exact opposite of yesterday’s album (no creativity)
Easily the most tuneful of Pere Ubu's record (not a high bar, admittedly) and almost fun (if not quite fully danceable) at time, one is just pleased that Pere Ubu exists, and that all such artists that place their vision above their commercial prospects. To honor such commitments (and because one likes to be contradictory and generally enjoys a certain amount of austerity and thorniness), one resolves to spend more time with these cats.
Every song sounded like another artist: David Byrne/Talking Heads (even Tina’s bass); The Police et al. Doubt we will ever listen to again. But this is exactly the kind of lp that belongs on this list. :)
More avant garde then The Modern Dance, which I do prefer, there are still plenty of good songs here it's just the ration of straight ahead punk anthems to more dissonant / difficult songs is lower than on Modern Dance. An altogether darker more challenging listen still highly rewarding. A hell of an album, to my knowledge unlike anything else at the time. 4 stars
interesting experimental sound, would like to listen some more.
I like this a lot. It's weird, but not annoying post-punk. Very dissonant, but it sounds intentional. Favorite song: on the surface.
Wild, never heard of this one. Seems like it would go well between my Cramps and the Dead. Thanks for this rambling gem
Now this is what this list is all about. Super weird and awesome. Definitely not easy listening, but fun as fuck
Loving the mood and energy, that frantic New Wave thrills.
Maybe have heard of these guys before, but for sure have not listened to them. This album was amazing. So weird, and inventive. I will be coming back to this one in the future.
I actually really enjoyed the 70s post/ punk - funk sound.
This is the type of music the Benadryl hat man would be on.
The abysmal average rating + the glowing reviews up top here give me the confidence to say something that's been on my mind since I started the project: The top 20 are basically pulled straight from Reddit, right? Like, I think you would struggle to pick a more stereotypically white male selection of albums. Tastes of the masses well aside, this album rocks in a lane entirely its own. Again, the rating made me expect something wildly experimental and out there, and while the vocals are definitely unique, nothing here grated on me in a way the other bottom 10 albums have. The combination of angular post-punk and free-form electronica is simultaneously discordant yet makes complete sense, the ambling vocals providing a consistently nonsensical glue on top. This is also the rare 'happy' post-punk LP, or at least I got a triumphant, party-like feel from most of the tracks. Most of these albums live in a world of doom and gloom, so to hear the sharp guitars and stilted rhythms of the genre filtered through an upbeat lens felt like a revelation. Just a fun, unique, and wildly individual album, exactly the kind of find I love getting out of this project.
Wild and experimental in a raw, punky way. Right up my alley.
Interessant. Sehr ungewöhnlich.
Yes. YES! Now, weirder! MORE WEIRDNESS! MOAR! I do enjoy my jangly discordant experimental post-punk, so this is a treat, but I can see that it's not to everyone's tastes. A lot of the people doing this project reveal themselves to be total pop-craving weeners when they hit this kinda thing! 😆 Fave track - "Caligari's Mirror" maybe? Really liked the atmosphere of "Codex" closing things out, too...
Baba maal I like how it feels like a couple of guys playing guitars together. Muudo hormo was my favorite tune. Cool Bluesy thing in djam leelii 3.5
4/5 original sounds, influential and challenging
Why was I so convinced that Pere Ubu was a Black singer-songwriter? Suffice it to say, that is not what I found here. This is a post-punk band from Ohio. They are abrasive and loud and they sorta rock. There is a lot here than is quite interesting, particularly for 1978. You can hear their influence on a lot of music being released to this day. Some of the song here can even make you shake your butt. But I will admit that, at times, they're a little much for me. Certain tracks favor noise over melody. But even then, they're...interesting!
Reminds me of Men at work. Thriller made me wanna throw a chair though.
Oj! Här har det krävts lite tid och ett antal lyssningar för att smälta allt och låta det MARINERA. Galen och rå post-punk, tydligen väldigt inflytelserikt. Och jag kan förstå det. Som en mer sinnessjuk version av Talking Heads. David Thomas röst är verkligen en sk acquired taste, men jag älskar den! Har alltid hatat sea-shanty-tiktoktrenden, så det var gött att höra Drunken Sailor bli massakrerad på ett så fantastiskt galet sätt i 'Caligari's Mirror'. I de mer experimentella låtarna, som 'Thriller!' och 'Blow Daddy-O', är det bara att blunda och ryckas med. '(Pa) Ubu Dance Party' låter som om bandet släpat med sig sina trasiga högtalare ned på stranden för en improvsession. Skränigt, men ändå med en så dansvänlig beat. 'Codex' är fantastisk, mörk, sårbar. Varje sekund är fullmatad och uttrycksfull. Det känns som varje bandmedlem har the time of their life (eller the trip of their life). Urcoolt. I've got these arms and legs that flip-flop flip-flop!!! Bästa låt: Dub Housing.
Brings back memories of the New Wave music I listened to in college in the early 80’s
weird and wonderful
Much better than dub step.
Godfathers of avant-garage/post-punk/art rock/whatevs being the Godfathers of avant-garage/post-punk/art rock/whatevs. Sonic experimentation breaking out into the occasional herky, jerky, jangly post-punk tune. Sold fuck all records but inspired a generation, that old chestnut.
Good album
Unusual, but also a bit too chaotic
Cool cover art
Ranty, arty music.