The Modern Dance

Oscille entre l'acceptable et l'inaudible.

3/10

O álbum tem elementos musicais interessantes e uma dose grande de experimentalismo. A arte da capa é muito bonita. Tangzu Wan'er SG.

This album has been critically reviewed.

If Pete ubu was an artist, this album would be abstract, with attempts at bits of realism so you might want to listen. Two stars for trying

Pablo Picasso famously said "The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls." This album does that, using a pressure washer and the shards of several smashed bottles. Many of the songs would be pretty good if they weren't adulterated by discordant audio additions. I wonder if the band was having so much fun that they forgot to consider that they might need an audience. It's odd because I can tell there's a decent amount of talent at work here. But when the horn section sounds like a tortured cat, or they're blasting white noise in my right ear, or there's a frantic unrelated guitar solo in my left ear, I'm unlikely to enjoy it. I never heard this before. I don't plan on listening again.

Interesting but I like more tune

borders between worst ever and maybe ok on a good day

Un peu trop chaotique et expérimental, toujours sans lire les lyrics j'ai eu du mal à apprécier

Strange

Too out there

great art piece! not a great music piece though

Wack did not enjoy this. Doing too much

Jeepers creepers, what to say about this. It's actually sort of okay for a very short time, and it's got good atmospherics in some songs. The problem, as it was with the last Pere Ubu record, is the extraordinary vocals. And I do not mean that in a good way. I sometimes wonder what possesses people who, with all due respect, cannot sing to become singers. I don't mean cannot sing in a Bobby Dylan 'acquired taste' sort of way, I mean genuinely weird tone deaf honking like this guy. What life choices led to this? Who told him to pursue it? Anyway, despite all that, the rest of the music creeps it into the twos.

Post punk garage rock.

Yeah, this album isn’t that good. Singer is terrible. Not sure how this was ranked as one of the top albums of its year, or how it’s on this countdown. Below average for sure. Not unbearably bad though, so going with 2 stars.

2.5

Man, they really just let anyone sing in the old days.

not really my kind of punk

Hmmm. I think I’ve had enough of punk and post-punk now. I think you need to be aligned with this genre and a real fa to appreciate this. I’m neither, so didn’t.

Pues ya había escuchado otro que hay en la lista y vamos, serían muy innovadores, pero hoy en día resultan un poco insufribles. El arranque del disco es curioso y la canción que da título al disco está bien. Poco que añadir.

Ok I guess...

Pretentiously annoying

idk what's going on

Was really not in the mood to listen to weird music today. Will have to give this another try when I actually want to listen to something weird.

Weird music. Not 1 star bad, but also not something I'd like to listen to again

Its clearly okay, some great riffs and bass lines, but at times it seems like its making noise that is designed to be annoying. Glass smashing, not to be a sound to illustrate a point or to be a specific moment but more in a "less just smash bottles and record it". A bit try hard Difficult for the sake of difficult

I can be short, I don’t really like this… Stand-outs - Humor Me - Over My Head

This was a bit too much for me - just felt a bit disjointed in its proto-punk / new wave elements. A bit of a slog of a listen as well at times.

Very unlikable with an occasionally solid drum or bass line.

Ik vond het best wel muzikanten muziek. Niet helemaal mijn ding.

The high points for the album I actually kind of enjoyed, namely Non-alignment Pact and Humor Me, but the low points really dragged this album down. I’m fine with weird for the sake of weird, but when it’s actually unpleasant to the ears it’s hard to score this higher than 2 stars.

not very easy to listen to

84/1001 First listen. Never heard of Pere Ubu before. I played it a couple times. It was alright. I don’t think I need any more of this. The music was ok. The singing, not so much. 3/10

Started out alright but then turned super super weird

Панк артуха не живет вечно.

A handful of decent songs musically, had really goos bass throughout, but the singing was god awful. Incomprehensible babbling. Standout Songs: Modern Dance Street Waves

Upon hearing the first couple of tracks, I began to think I was going to be one of the few who enjoyed it, and I wondered why so many listeners' notes were disparaging. However, I soon began to realise as the album wore on, and by the end, I knew that two stars was the most I would give it. If it wasn't for those first couple of songs, it would have been just one star.

Shows potential but falls between several stools.

He kind of sounds like a goat sometimes??

I didn't like this one as well as the other on the list. This was a little out there.

What exactly is a point of having a track where there's a bunch of glass breaking and screaming? Honestly is that musical? Take a hard look at yourselves in the mirror and reflect upon your decisions, cause this is a joke.

Not my type.

Don't really 'get' it. Not interested in what I do to look deeper.

Wow... noise and stuff. Im gonna give it a 2 for making me think a bit more than I normally do when listening to music. Like.. what is that sound? A beer bottle rolling across pavement?

This was simply not good.

I thought this one was actually a hard one to rate. There's a couple songs that I really enjoyed. But the avant-garde stuff is really not my thing

An OK album. Some tracks were good, others not so good. Even annoying.

4/10

Had a difficult time finishing this one. Not a fan.

Sort of like a bad Talking Heads album. 2 stars or D.

Not quite my thing.

I would like some music that sounds good

04/12/2025 This just wasn't for me, I found it quite annoying. Spotify listeners: 29.2k

I like the first song (after the shrill intro passes that is) but the rest sounds a bit amateurish and I don’t like the lead singers attempt at singing for the most part.

Lots of noise work and it sometimes kinda works but is all over the place. I'm having a hard time reviewing this because some parts I kind of even like but I think it's because of how much it's being abstract. Laughing was a good example where I doubt know if this is good but it leaves you adrift for a while and then regrounds and gives you a normal song for a bit. Worth listening to but I'm not sure on required. Strong 2 weak 3

I enjoyed this more than the other Pere Ubu album on the list. It had some interesting punk moments. Not required listening.

Not really into it, but some of it was pretty cool.

Fortunately, the album is not very long. It is weird, but luckily not disgusting. I bet Luis will like it. :/

Unsettling and exhausting.

Another Pere Ubu album? This is overkill. It's much the same as the other, i.e. someone who needs to blow their nose is singing, beginners on the instruments and songs that are held together by sticky tape. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not so good. I always thought they were a band people said they liked for kudos. This hasn't changed my view. Best Tracks: Non Alignment Pact; Modern Dance; Street Waves

Ere Pubu

like a lot of modern dance, briefly diverting and then tedious

I assume that this was alright back in the day but wow, was this an annoying album to listen to today... Some of the songs were alright but others just had very annoying off-tune sounds, the vocals were super meh, but some of the instrumentals were pretty alright at times.

Had heard OF these guys but never heard them. Don't care for the high-pitched noise throughout the opening track. There are moments and aspects of this album that I like but it is a little too noise/avant-garde for my current taste.

Je peux comprendre le bail expérimentation etc mais j'ai pas kiffé

Vakte ingen sterke følelsa ved første gjennomlytting

Not quite my vibe, but I see the vision

A big portion of this album feels like if the Talking Heads got too drunk to play a show but went on anyhow after pounding a few more shots.

I can appreciate this album, but I don’t enjoy it.

From the first shrill notes, you know it. This is going to be a special listening experience.

This was some weird stuff. It lost me after about 1/3 of the way through. However, the last track (Humor Me) saved it for me just a little bit.

Interesting listen. As an example of post punk, I'm sure it's great. But I can't say I enjoyed it.

This was quite reminiscent of Pink Floyd.

Wilfully different, but then they always were. Got on my nerves by the end to be honest.

I’ve got Cleveland connections and had heard of Pere Ubu. I think I remember them as a reggae band. Clearly not that. Respect to Cleveland and its place in rock history. Not my thing.

Bit annoying, had high hopes.

Terrible album to listen to hungover, my god. I get the whole music conrète thing and my inner music student is yearning to pretend I love this just to prove I'm sophisticated conceptually, but man. Props to them for doing their thing, just glad I won't have to listen to it again

This is second Pere Ubu album on the list, and this one is better than the previous one (Dub Housing), although the bar is rather low. Or maybe I’m just in a better mood. I still get some Talking Heads vibe on some of the tracks. The noises are still here, but less annoying than the earlier album. I thought there were a few good tracks, but not quite enough for three stars.

I remember Pere Ubu being one of my first true clunkers of this list. No one does musique concrète like Cleveland's own Pere Ubu! (Or so Wiki tells me.) Ah, and it starts right off with some truly horrific high pitched alarm blee-ing. Singer Dave Thomas (not that one, alas) is the son of a professor, which makes me feel good about not having kids. Highlights: the song titles are decent; 'This Modern Dance' (are they saying "manda manda"?!); the lyrics of 'Life Stinks' (for the lols) Lowlights: the singing, the noises

A mix of punk and art. Lots of noise here.

Too much experimental noise add-one for my liking.

It was ok I’d give it a high 2 but it’s not something I’d go back to

A couple of tracks here were ok (Over My Head, Non-Alignment Pact) but most were dreck, especially the longer tracks (Sentimental Journey, Laughing). Screechy singing, too weird instrumentation.

Fuuuuuccckkkk... I have to listen to Pere Ubu again? I hate Pere Ubu! I was dreading this when I saw it pop up on screen. I gave Dub Housing a 1/5, but do I feel the same way about its predecessor, The Modern Dance? Well, I still don't like it, but I can't say that I'm as angry about this. Maybe I would just feel bad for giving Pere Ubu two 1s. I don't know. I do know that I like this more than Dub Housing, even if I still don't like it. The instrumentation is better. The instrumentals on Dub Housing had some horrendous moments. The Modern Dance also does, but the I feel that good moments are better here. There are some instrumentals here that are actually quite good. Songs like "Non-Alignment Pact" and "Street Waves" would actually sound pretty cool... if it weren't for those god-awful vocals. Yeah, I still hate David Thomas's voice. To go from Aretha Franklin yesterday to this today might be the biggest case of whiplash I've experienced in this entire album project. I don't have any issues with him as a person, and it sucks that he died earlier this year, but I still don't like hearing his voice! It just pisses me off to hear it. I don't have an issue with weird-voiced frontmen named David. Talking Heads are one of my favorite bands ever. It's just this one vocalist that I can't like the voice of. It honestly kills the album for me. I get that this is important to the development of post-punk, but it's just not for me at all. Am I upset I listened to this? Maybe a little, but not really enough for me to give this a 1 like the other one. Low 2/5.

Non-Alignment Pact: Starts off ruining the senses. Do not like. Once intro is over the beat is better. Is that horse neighing? Can’t understand a word he’s saying but I’m bobbing my head. If the whole album is like this yikes. I do not enjoy. Modern Dance: sounds like it’s saying madder, madder which is how this album makes me feel. But the chill part is good Laughing: Spooky intro. Not in a good way. Like the drum beat. Gotta love the dying owl

I just wasn't a fan

Not for me

Experimental but not in an appealing way

Big swing and a miss. Too off the wall and experimental.

меня хватило на одно прослушивание, слишком фьюжн

the actual rock component of this album is fun... but the lyrics and some of the stylistic choices aren't really my cup of tea. not terrible to listen to, but truly not a lot here for me to want to go back to.

This was the 11th best album of 1978? Must have been a slow year. Fine, nothing special at all, or sure why it makes the list.

Strange, eccentric, borderline-noise but … not necessarily bad through-and-through? Truly, a weird one.

strange instruments add unnecessary noise to otherwise ok songs. At least the album was short

what a weird record. bass lines were cool but at the end of the day i could see myself never playing these songs again i fear

Still better than Kanye West

Predictably terrible, but this list has had me listen to worse. At least it wasn't a solid wall of screeching noise!

i respect it and there are some cool experimental things here and there. but it doesn’t really do it for me overall. absolutely wild that this is my 1000th album!!!

Opening with that loud of feedback should be illegal. I like soundscapes. I like experimental albums. This is not great. There are a lot of little moments on this album that I really love, cool riffs, expressive sound design, really killer vocal performances, but there’s like 1 and a half songs on here that I like all the way through (life stinks, real world). I want to get this up to a three but I don’t think I can.

Nope... WTF was that?

Unique

2.75

Album No. 0019 on my list. I've had my troubles with this album to be honest. I've really been trying to like it, but that didn't really work out. It's not necessarily the avant garde nature of Pere Ubu; its rather the songs themselves - most of them just didn't catch me. "Non-Alignment Pact", and "Modern Dance" are both solid songs that I'll listen to again, whereas "Sentimental Journey" is mostly an arrangement of noises. I get that these more experimental aspects are important, but I'm afraid then this is just not my cup of tea. 2/5 stars.

I think getting Throbbing Gristle quite early has spoiled me for "transformative" journey-based albums that are more of an experience than pleasant listening, which means any others following it will be seen as doing the same thing and just being unpleasant to listen to. It would have been fairer to have them ramp up in their eccentricity so they could be perhaps rated more fairly but unfortunately that didn't end up being the case. Luckily, this album did have two decent songs towards the end with "Over My Head" and "Humor Me" which will pull this album up to a rating of 2 and have it avoid the the lowest scale, but overall this was not a great listen with the start already being painful.

One of those seminal works that I do not get.

This is an example of a musical decision that I can't follow/agree with. Many of the sounds were quite weird and came across as noise. This album was personally hard to get through.

Felt like I was being shouted at for most of this. 2/5

I got NOTHING out of this, and I really wish i had more to say. Just lots of experimental rock, but nothing to latch onto. Lots of interesting noises sprinkled in, but nothing to tickle my brain. A lot seems to be said about how this album reaches into spaces beyond just direct lyrical expression of discontent or protest, and I suppose I could see it, but I’m not stricken with awe by its avant-garde methods. Sounds a bit like a foundation for Protomartyr. 2/5

I didn't love the extra siren or screaming sounds that most songs seemed to have. The melodies seemed nothing out of the ordinary. Not one I'd look forward to repeating.2

Sentimental Journey sounded remarkably like someone smashing glass while playing a bag pipe. Which sounded remarkably like Houmous & Chutneys experimental album ‘Glasses & Bagpipes’ 1.9 2/10 Modern Dance

Like Talking Heads, but shit.

Punk with an Art Rock feel - think early Roxy Music doing Punk. At times they sounded a bit like Talking Heads. I'm still not sure what to make of this album: the Punk spurts are too polished and fairly boring, while the Art Rock veers from being interesting to grating on my nerves.

Most of that was almost music.

I listened to this but nothing stood out to me I think I will need to listen to it again

Trying to hard to be annoying. There is some decent punk rock buried in there, but it's too annoying to listen to all the other noise.

Hmm. Can someone TAKE THE DAMN KETTLE OFF THE STOVE?? Ok, once that is done, the first track is actually pretty good!. Same with the rest of the first side. But that second side? I am generally good with the weird, but I'm uncertain this even classifies as music. Dodging broken beer bottles is not a great time. I listened to this twice and still don't know what I'm supposed to get out of it. Not a 1 star, which is reserved for the truly heinous like Sheryl Crow, so I'll go with 2.

Didn't make a huge impact on me, I just listened to is yesterday and I couldnt tell you what it sounded like now.

experimental for experimentations sake, did NOT do it for me with the ugly bits

I recognized a track. Wouldn't listen to again though.

What a ride. Musically I loved, but had a hard time getting into the vocals. They kind of grew on me ….. and then grew off me. There were moments of 4, but overall it swayed between 3 and 2 and sometimes a 1 where I almost stopped. This is the highest 2 so far if that helps.

++: Laughing, Street Waves, Life Stinks, Over My Head +: Non-Alignment Pact, The Modern Dance, Chinese Radiation, Humor Me +-: Real World, Sentimental Journey 6,4/10

we've got more pere ubu now, this time i'm listening to their debut album. already getting a similar energy to the last one i've listened to, weird shrill synths, detuned instruments and funny sounding voices. i really can't get into these guys. i'm sorry, but between all the noise and wailing and shrill sounds... it's like nails on a chalkboard. a song or two i actually had to skip because i genuinely felt a little nauseous.

My level of enjoyement during listening to this album: close to zero. BUT I obviously still understand why people like this album. I will NEVER say an album is bad I will always say it's not for me. Because it's true: every album is for someone but no album is made for everyone. I almost feel bad giving bad rating to albums since it's not made for me. That being said, "1001 albums you must hear before you die" makes me realise how difficult I am in term of music. I feel like I hate absolutely everything. I either find albums too difficult, too experimental or either too blank and boring. This album is definitely in the first category. It's way too experimental for me, I don't find any melody nice on it. I always listen to the albums entirely, because why not, but this one was hard to finish. I was working while listening so at least I was 'forced' to listen. What did I just listen? Is it even music? Because it felt just like some random noises. And obviously I recently found out I'm not a big fan of punk so... Difficult for me. But anyways...! Maybe one day I'll like it. Who knows?

As one notable music critic once stated, “harsh and willfully ugly”

bueno se acabo el chiste, que vuelva lo bueno

Ok but ultimately pretty weird shit here

Another example of good tunes ruined by a bad singer.

I wasn't dancing modernly to this one, there were moments where I enjoyed and other moments where I was checking how much longer the album had left.

Very strange.

Not quite as bad as the prior album, Dub Housing, but still not great. It’s a lot of noise, but the drummer and bassist seem to know what they’re doing. I’d say I would rather stand in a classroom full of third-graders blowing on kazoos, but I think that might have the same effect they recorded here.

A few too many songs with static as the overall theme. Diverting, but don't fancy returning.

Very very strange singing. This album was pretty poo poo

Really struggling to get into this one. Some interesting instrumentals on some songs but def had a noise aspect to it that I didn't enjoy all that much. That was not a sentimental journey at all for me.

Interesting. Not for me tho

Weird and not my style

So far, not my thing, I like experimental but overall just too much for me me. Cool that it came out in the 70s though? 25/100

it was ok to listen to but not really my jam

It was OK then irritating then even more irritating....then OK-ish. Just too much active listening.

Just not my vibe.

Ok. Not great. Fine in parts

Meh.

Good in parts, but the vocals ruin it for me. Standout song: Over my head

A couple interesting moments, but a mostly nonsensical noise. At least it’s not boring.

Yeah, I don't know. There were some bright spots, but this was mostly noise for me. I heard a little Brian Eno in there and maybe some punk or something, but honestly it didn't really pique my ears at all, just sounded like some vaguely musical noise. Two stars.

hurts

Just when one of these tracks would settle into something that might be identifiable as a "song" and begin to offer some intriguing listening, it would fall back out into chaos. Don't get me wrong, I actually like a little abstract in my music, I just think they got the ratio wrong. 2 stars for creative authenticity.

OK C’EST BON ARRÊTE STP, J’TE DONNE TON 2 ÉTOILES APRÈS UN MOIS DE RETARD, MAINTENANT ARRÊTE DE ME DONNER DE LA MARDE, GÉNÉRATEUR

An extra star because some of it wasn't complete garbage

Did I hate this? No. Did I like it? Also no, but it’s not nearly as bad as a lot of the reviews would have you believe. It’s certainly a tough listen, but there is good stuff here. I have found through this that vocals make or break an album for me and the vocals here are very rough. The music around the vocals is pretty good, even if a good portion of it is just noise. In the end, this isn’t my cup of tea, but not the assault to my ears I was expecting.

listen again, didn't get enough time

That's not my taste in music

Never really got into Pere Ubu. Still not convinced

Ahead of it's time. Sounds like an album made in the 2020's by some students straight out of an English music school. It was a little funny sometimes. Don't hate it, just not something I would listen to.

Honestly did not enjoy it that much, got kind of a loony toon punk vibe to it some of the time. His singing, once again is just not my style.

I don’t know who could really dance the most of the music on this album. A lot of it just seemed like noise to me. There were a few songs that I actually thought had a pretty good groove. But overall not my thing.

Ensimmäisen kappaleen alussa oli todella ikävää taajuutta. Parissa biisissä oli kivojakin pätkiä, mutta ei tätä kyllä jaksa kuunnella.

Ihme joikua

Levyn alku oli tosi swengaavaa ja kivan kuuloista. Melko pian kappaleet olivat ihmeellistä epävireisen huilun soittamista ja pullojen hajoittelua.

4/10

Listening to this from a punk lens made it a little more listenable, earning it a point over Dub Housing. I honestly liked “Life Stinks” as a punk song hahaha. The glass shattering, moaning, and other sounds throughout were pretty painful. But at least it was interesting!!

Like something Nick Cave would play after you get home from the pub at midnight. Each song sent me through a journey that went “what the hell?” to “okay, this is interesting” to “why are they doing that now?” Glad I gave it a try. Would not listen again.

This one's weird, but easy. Music is great. Real World being the standout, instrumental wise. If this album were instrumental, it'd be getting a 4 from me. It's just consistently let down by the really annoying vocals. I get that's the point, but I just can't. Dude sounds like a manic Peter Griffin, haha.

I went to Louisville to visit my best friend growing up. He doesn't live in Louisville nor does he ever or even ties to the city but in this situation he was living in z Louisville. I called a couple of people I knew from there from a long time ago. 20 years since I last seen them. But I got their answering machine. I get to the friend's house. The one who has zero ties to the city and he's drunk. Then we're at a Chinese restaurant but we are eating breakfast. He keeps drunkenly saying things to me and now across from us is a completely different friend that I know from another part of my life but they kind of know each other now. They are not friends. The three of us are sitting in a living room at this strange apartment complex. Strange to me but apparently it's where the first person lives. I'm trying to fall asleep in a recliner but he still keeps drunkenly make fun of me. I get up and pay for the food a d leave the apartment. It's a big complex and the couple I tried calling live right down at the end of the complex but on the way I drive and then walk. They are still not answering my calls or answer when I knock. Then briefly we are all in a car then I'm at the front door again and I let myself in. I try to fall asleep on their couch but it feels like I'm pressing my heels in concrete. Then they show up. Then my old friend shows up with the different friend. I'm still partially trying to sleep. They do mention how I got in but they mostly seem bothered by something else. The old friend says he was going to pay for the food but I had already paid. Now I'm on a recliner. The wife is gone. The husband seems distant then somehow. Maybe someone voiced it that the couple lost the baby and I tell them they'll have one eventually but this comment seems to bother them. We are all standing outside around the complex's pool. My heels still feel like they are being pressed in concrete. The husband mentions he's a doctor now and pulls out a zamboni with a bowl at the end of it packed with mud. They all hit it but I don't. The husband starts to walk on the pool which is now frozen. Then I'm next to him on a couch and he starts crying and tells me that their baby girl was dragged 2 miles before they noticed her car seat had fallen out but still connected to the car seat. We are now outside by a garage. I apologize for making the comment earlier about how they will some day have a baby. He said they were charging them with murder then he hit a much smaller bowl. He was wearing a nice smoking jacket. I asked how many years he was facing and he shook his head and said $63.

eu esperava algo mais insuportável desse

The funny thing to me about starting this album is that it made me realize that I could not remember what DUB HOUSING. And that's relevant because it was the entire reason why I was even worried about getting into this album. I mean, from what I could recall, DUB HOUSING was just a mess. Noisily unlistenable, and absolutely mono in the sense of variation. Even despite the 3 I gave it, it's always been one I've long thought of as "one of the worst my group has gotten," on a different level from stuff like DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE or CALENTURE. So that ended up being my expectation going in, and I'll admit, it worried me a little. Like, what if it actually meant I didn't like experimentation? If, deep down, despite the passes I've given to some other albums on the more avant-garde side of things, I'm actually one of those people who really only prefers classic rock? The worry that I'm secretly closed to broadening my musical horizons and that I'm just kidding myself; all that. And, well, I can safely say that that's not the case. I mean, of course; I'm the kind of gal who'll actively vouch for The Residents and KOLLAPS on the basis that they're weird and experimental. There were actually some parts of this album I found rather interesting, much to my surprise. There's a little bit of punk energy in this I could dig. No, my problem isn't with experimentation. My real is with albums that are fucking boring, and that's what THE MODERN DANCE is. Like, yeah, it's stranger than the average album, and it gets its noise on in a lot of parts, and none of it to me is, like... Off-putting. I'm not revulsed. I'm just waiting for it to **DO SOMETHING INTERESTING**. Especially during "Sentimental Journey", where I'm sure there was supposed to be some sort of point about... I don't know. Pulling out of my butt: familial abuse? But I really could not be assed to tell. To me, this album is just a damn snooze fest, where I'm almost tempted to make the accusation I make against a lot of post-punk bands where I think that they think they can be praised to the heavens and back if they make a bunch of uncommercial noise. I'm not gonna claim that level of insincerity, but the vibes are too strong of me to **not** bring up the possibility. So, yeah, it's fucking boring. I mean, what do interesting parts and a small dose of punk energy matter when the whole package can't support them? Like, jeez, I'unno. Early on I wanted to be kind because of those, but nah, man. No quarter. I didn't like this at all. Best I can really say about it is that it's just "boring bad" and not "morally offensive bad" like Kid Rock's album, or the worst of both worlds like Koffi Olomide's. But let's not act like that's a compliment, y'know?

It started off OK. A nice DIY feeling. But I just found myself becoming increasingly irritated by everything about it.

Very raw. I didn’t love it.

Very raw - I wouldn’t go as far as to say I enjoyed it but I could appreciate it from afar. Overall - I would be okay never listening to it again

Were two albums really necessary?

< the Beatles I will never understand the genre of music "what if I/we just fuck around in my basement and call it music and release it as an album as a goof." Like this, the residents and Radiohead

Reminds me of The Cramps.

Just not really my jam

That was just about music

Maso

I wonder if albums haven't been added to this list just for their irritation value. Given the sound and the time period, this was probably an inspiration for groups like Devo and the Talking Heads, but it shows little of the musical skill and only some of the humorous charm of those groups. A six-minute noise experiment that serves as the album's penultimate track (and roughly one-sixth of its total running time) feels like time I'll never have back in my life now.

Not great, but I like the energy

I’m a sucker for experimental post-punk/art punk, but I’ve never been able to get into these guys. None of those songs sounded interesting to me

I live for this kind of music, but I can't seem to get this for reasons unknown. It just feels like they're trying too hard.

It's usually my kind of stuff, and it's good... I think? But I just can't get the appeal with Pere Ubu.

Rating: 3.5/10 This album sucks but it has some promising moments. Instrumentally, an interesting take on post-punk with some of the worst vocals I've ever heard.

meh like if devo/the pixies had a less talented kid together or something

… I guess? I mean, I think lots of people hate it, but it’s just … there. Yes, this is an album.

Sorry, no. This isn't my thing at all. I'll give it a two for the okay music, but the singing and annoying noises throughout pull it way down.

This was better than dub housing, it had more rhythm to it and more structure in some areas, not the biggest fan of it but I might be more interested soon

It was aight, but not sold

Messy.

Trying to hard.

Proto jazz punk too far for me

I'm scared

Lame.

Forget about the list for a second; how does this band even get a record deal????? Terrible singing, barely even noise rock. I fail to see how this is art-punk post-punk. 1.5 if I could.

It triggered my tinnitus but there was some good stuff buried in there it was just hard to pull out

Avant-garde punk rock, but unfortunately, not interesting

I've heard the opening Non-Alignment Pact before and I quite liked it. Starting on this high I enjoyed the next couple of tracks as art-rock before the whole thing went modern art avant-guard with weird sounds, smashing bottles, mumbled vocals, etc. and completely lost me. Not worth a second listen. Two stars overall and Non-Alignment Pact is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for that rating. I do like the fact that I was made to listen to this instead of another band of four once-popular English guys from the 70s, though.

Let me just say that I feel like I dodged a bullet by listening to this one without headphones. It's an incredibly, incredibly ballsy move to start your album out with the infernal screeches of the guitars of the damned. I can see why it turned a lot of the people here away, but it succeeded at hooking me in. For better or worse, it's attention grabbing. I quite like the industrial aesthetic that this album has going on. I have no clue how some of the sounds on this album were made, which makes the way in which they were utilised doubly as impressive to me. I had absolutely no clue what any of the vocalists were saying, but in all fairness who can understand a britbonger-they're American???? I listened to this one twice and I don't really have any opinion on it other than that I liked the opening track and thought that Sentimental Journey was funny. There just isn't nearly enough meat on the bones of these songs to justify their long runtimes, and the entire thing feels like it drags it's feet as a result. This is yet another album where I wish I had the documentation on why it made the list.

70’s…what?…rock jazz experimental. Not my jam.

super punk. Lil too punk for me.

OK.

Complete twaddle

Not my thing, sorry.

First the positives, the album art is very cool, the general vibe is post-punky and works quite well, some songs are quite catchy with the saxophone playing. Second the negatives, the songs were quite boring, some were annoying and straight up bad. The intro was horrible and nearly made me turn off the album. All in all a pretty bad album. Weak 2 star.

Album opens up with an assault on my hearing - with the first track, I've had enough. A cursory listen to the rest of the tracks didn't produce anything revelatory. 1.5/5

It's weird and seems sort of hostile toward its audience. Being deliberately difficult is an artistic choice I guess. I'll give it more than 1 star for holding tightly to its own vision and for its raw energy.

in between the cool indie rock/punk songs there were sounds like "Sentimental Journey" that made me think they actually hate their fans and were trying to punish me for listening

There were interesting moments of this album that felt exciting and like it would be in line with punk bands I've enjoyed, like the Pretenders or maaaaybe Ramones, but the glimmers of moments didn't hold up to the more frequent unstructured chaos.

Yeah this is a lot more challenging than their other album on the list. More noise, less fun. Last song is pretty good, though. 2/5

wasn't in the mood for this today

Was isch dänn das!? Rächt wirr, aber irgendwie au cool, experimentel. Was für droge sind da im Spiel?

find die erste zwei lieder bis etz seehr geil haha. NON ALIGNMENT PACT. au sehr weird aber gnüsses. laughng goht recht dumm mitem free jazz stuff aber finds reecht geil die stechend gitarre nocher isch super. street waves macht langsam klar dass er nöd andersch wird singe. aber s het alles mega drive und ich finds easy cool. chinese radiation? oge? aber jo vo mir us real world wird langsam chli ahstrengend. over my head au ehner müehsam zum lose, s lauft sich langsam uus. humor me au swirig. s album fangt definitiv sehr geil ah und hört schwaach uuf. de langsam stuff isch vieel weniger cool als de schnell.

Puh. Eher nichts für mich.

Didn't really grab me.

Innovative, influential, somewhat painful.

There are aspects of this album I really dug. The post punk vibe of the rhythm section mainly. But between the singer, which I disliked his delivery throughout the album, andthe overwhelming artsy tinkering which quite frankly either didn't move me or in the case of the Musique Conrete "Sentimental Journey" just down right hated. This just isn't anything I'd ever return to and quite frankly felt like a waste of my time. (3.85) ★½

the voice is EXTREMELY grating to me, taking an otherwise okay album and making it a not good album.

2/5

some songs were ok. some songs were meh. overall i don’t think i’ll be listening to this one again.

I like a few PU songs. They aren’t on this album. Not sure why this is on here.

This was interesting but really started to grate quite quickly. Opening bars told me this was sime nice scuzzy, punky stuff that was right up my street and i was interested in. Unfortunately, this got swamped with the random squeaks, talking heads esque vocals. It just seemed to disappear up its own arse.

Trying to be punk, funk and psychedelic all at once. Little too much for me. Feel vocalist is all over the place.

Not completely awful, but did not enjoy it.

This is like a straight up punk version of Devo. There isn’t a lot of variety on this album though. It’s just straight up Devo punk. I really can’t explain it any better. It lacks a stand out track. There is no vocal range. The music is simple but perfect for the vocals. Don’t ask me what the lyrics are about. It’s mostly noise to me but not ear bleeding noise. I could stand this, I just wanted something more out of it. Choice cut: Non Alignment Pact

a white claw surge made this slightly more bearable but I could still tell it was dreadful

I’m not interested in this. Did not have any fun with this. Mostly inoffensive. Wasn’t much to latch on to if you know what I mean. 2/5

Nah mate. Too jazzy.

Jaysus. Had just about enough to make it a high 1*, rounded up to 2*

Some good songs, unfortunately interrupted by periodic shrieks and an entry that's mostly just smashing glass. I don't understand why... this kind of thing... it's not art to me, it's irritating.

A little too artsy fartsy.

Falls into the same irritating zone as Talking Heads and Devo, a.k.a. my musical arch-nemesis. I can't tell you why this puts me in a state of primal rage, but it just does. Not a fan.

Avant-garde, which I try and be open minded to. There is some good avant-garde out there, but there is a lot of bad. I find the genre difficult to penetrate unless you have an affinity for that particular artist before going into it. This is no different. Some interesting ideas, but mostly ruined by the shrieking vocals. Not the worst I've heard on here admittedly.

Ah 70's punk. The head-bopping, driving percussive angst of a generation. Laughing and Sentimental Journey had me cringing, but Street Waves brings the album away from dissonance and back to fun. Basically a mixed bag of mosh and mess. Mostly mess.

A 36 minutes long album shouldn’t have so much “failed stuff”. It has some good moments, but annoying the audience just for the sake of it is always a dumb and cheap choice.

More pretentious performance art than music. Although at times it veered into Nick Cave or the Velvet Underground territory, just not as good. Interesting but headache-inducing. Experimental but alienating. And way too much feedback.

Oh no thank you. I just can’t get behind music like this that much, I don’t see its charm. I can possibly see how it’s popular- I respect the different style, but I just don’t like it.

The Cuyahoga River flows directly through Cleveland (OH, USA) and in the 1960s would actually *catch on fire* frequently due to how polluted it was. Crocus Behemoth is the moniker adopted by the "vocalist" in the band, who were founded in Cleveland. There must be some correlation here. 4/10 2 stars. (Stunning that not one album from Pere Ubu is here but 2. This is not as terrible as their followup - that's the best I can give it)

2 - Not really sure on this honestly. Didn't really resonate at all

I’ve been a part of some intoxicated jams where everyone switches instruments while some random friend who doesn’t sing gets on the mic and just gets weird, definitely some fun memories. I’m glad most of those jams weren’t recorded cause I’m sure they sounded terrible. This album reminds me of what I imagine those jams sounded like. That being said there’s some pretty interesting moments scattered through out the ten songs. There’s plenty of risks being taken through out and that freedom yields some really cool exploration. I wouldn’t say there’s anything here that I will revisit but I can appreciate what the band was going for. I guess I’d give it a 2.5.

I'd never heard of this artist before and based on the name, I was guessing it was an older African guy, lol (Père being the French word for father). How wrong I was! Like thinking you're about to drink water, but it's actually flat Sprite. This was pretty unhinged and felt quite experimental. I appreciate that they felt free to explore and take risks, and there were many cool and interesting moments, but the vocals often impeded my enjoyment. I'll give it a 2.5.

This album took me off guard, what is it... art-punk, garage rock, anti-music, a recycling truck driving down a dirt road? I didn't hate it but it's pretty out there, the highs are high and the lows are low. It's short and interesting at points, not sure I'd play it again though. The garbled mumbling and drunk sound effects feel somehow very Cleveland. Not the worst, 2.0.

Not sure what to make of this. At times its a fun romp with some weird alt-punk sounds. At other times it devolves into obnoxious vuvuzelas, honking and the ramblings of a seemingly drunk madman. For a 3- minute listen you can do a lot worse with some of the other garbage on the list. Not recommended but also not mad about it. 1.5 stars

Pretty wonky and strange, but at least unique and interesting at times. 4/10

aprecio la valentía, pero no es mi tempo.

Had another album by these guys and this one just didn’t live up to the other

For an album that was described as "Art Punk" I was quite nervous to listen to this. At the beginning I enjoyed myself far more than I thought, but by the end of the album may of my fears had been realized. This could be a tough listen for many stretches. There's still more stuff in here that I liked, so it's ultimately a win.

Pere Ubu, een van mijn eerste 1-sterren albums in deze lijst (uiteraard was Joni primus). Dus ik ben vooraf al extreem gewaarschuwd, dat dit wel eens enorm kut kan zijn. Het eerste nummer begint nog wel aardig, als een soort Talking Heads meets Sex Pistols en the Pixies. Alleen mixen ze er allerlei kutgeluiden doorheen, die zwaar op de irritatiegrens drukken. En dat blijven ze vooralsnog doen. We mogen vooral niet te veel luisterplezier beleven aan platen van Pere Ubu. Ik moet zeggen, in mijn geheugen is dat album Dub Housing vele malen kutter dan dit. Ik was niet van plan dat alsnog een keer op te zetten voor een second opinion. Maar hier zit soms nog wel een soort van muziek in en kan ik me best van voorstellen dat anderen dit tof kunnen vinden. Alleen jammer dus dat de zanger er soms overheen loopt te bleren en ze er continu van die irritante geluiden doorheen kieperen. De 1 blijft ze bespaard dit keer, een magere 2 is hun deel.

I’m not really sure why this is consistently rated so poorly. That said, it was a bit…workmanlike? And not in the way that punk’s key virtue was its lack of virtuosity. Just workmanlike dull.

I hadn’t heard of Pere Ubu before today. Apple Music says it is 70’s alternative, which is a decade and genre that I don’t often see together. I did find some charm in this album with the rawness and how it doesn’t try to be pristine, but it didn’t take too long before I felt I’d had enough. I’m glad I finished it because the final track, Humor Me, would be one of my highlights here, but overall I did find it a little lacking despite the aforementioned charm. I doubt I’ll be returning to this, but I’m glad I heard it.

not for me

It's OK, I like the uniqueness but the vocals are a unappealing for the most part

Too experimental for me.

There's something here that I like, but it's a little bit too out there for me. But I think I might listen to parts of it again. It's WAY too out there for the family, that's for sure. It was interesting listening to this driving home from a softball tournament.

Yeah this is a lot more challenging than their other album on the list. More noise, less fun. Last song is pretty good, though. 2/5

not a fan of this one, not sure why it's on here unless it has some type of uniqueness in the way you can't hear the guy (I can't remember the name of the band but the guy sings "psycho killer kitskisee fa fafa fa fa fa fafa fa fa, that's who this sounded like). The music sounded the same across the album, too.

Number two from Pere Ubu (assuming that rhymes). Like the first, I don't really like it at all. Can't say that I hate it, just not a strong enough reaction. But I wouldn't miss it at all and wouldn't return to it either. Oddball rock. Favorite tracks: Laughing. Album art: This is a cool cover, sketch-type drawing of a guy dancing with a flag, with a skyline behind. It's a good cover art, I like it. 2/5

Avant Garage really hits the nail on the head with this one. It's odd, but makes an interesting change to the stereotypical punk formula

This might be great after the 10th listen but was tough on first go.

Soft-punkkia? Päivän fiilikseen ei oikein osunut ja siten jätti vaisun tunnelman. Eroaa kyllä kepeydellään genren muista orkestereista.

Album starts with a horrible high pitched noise- I definitely wasnt exprcting it 😅. I am finding myself going back and forth a lot as I listen to thr album. I get what they are going for- pushing the boundaries of what rock music can be. But sometimes I feel like its being dissonant just for the sake of being "avant guard". On the other hand- when the leaned into the chaotic rock sound but without the dissonant instrumentation, I found myself really enjoying some songs. Also- even some of the more grating parts did make me laugh. Overall- a hard album to assess. Im sure it had a lot of influence on other rocks artists, but I personally wouldnt see myself putting it on again

There were some parts I liked, but overall a little too “artsy-alternative” for me to understand.

Honking reed instruments and smashing cups are musical? Not for me. Too bad, as there were moments of good music underneath.

There was an okay track early on but they really lost me with all the smashing glass.

All the toots, twerdles and honks on Laughing were pretty irritating. I hate that sort of crap. Turns out, it was pretty indicative of what the rest of the album's like. There were moments I enjoyed, but a lot of irritating noises. Still better than the Residents.

Thought this would be better, reall not good - avante garde, 2 is generous

J'ai probablement plus aimé que le premier album de Pere Ubu que j'ai eu ici, mais ça reste un style très particuliers qui n'est pas facile à apprivoiser. Mon principal problème reste avec les vocals qui sont vraiment dur à prendre au sérieux. 4.5/10

Meget muligt at det er meget indflydelsesrigt osv men jeg nød ikke rigtigt at lytte til det! For syret til mig, selvom det i øjeblikke mindede mig om Television

So close to a 1 but I could hear the B52's and Talking Heads in there so...

Beware of high hopes

Not super great -

a generous 2, idk how the average is so high and why this is in the list

Did not like.

started ok, last few tracks unlistenable

Definitely not something I'm into, but I was distracted watching the olympics, so it had that going for it. Songs were too long. 2.6

Well, there might have been some break through music and concepts in here but there was a lot of "noise" too. I don't think I have the patience to put in the effort to get out all the good/interesting parts. I'm glad I live 45 years past this album so I can hear all the good music that benefited from these pioneers.

Not…so…good….nope

meh,

I feel like my ears were being violated by the vocals and the random high pitch noise in the first track. Some alright guitar and bass work though.

I heard a bit of this dude growing up, and my thoughts at the time remain true 40 years later. Sucks. Really sucks.

Bit too experimental for my liking

Listened to over half the album, and just got a bit annoyed at it. Sounds like something I'd make if I was bored with garageband.

Sone interesting sounds

A bloody EAR RINGER of an album. There's a lot of experimentation taking place here. I like the gang feel, with mantras and slogans being paraded around. I couldn't find any overall direction I could get behind though. The glass smashing sound effects on Sentimental Journey saw me off.

A bit weird. Gave me Talking Heads vibes I think? Not my jam but had a couple interesting moments.

Noisy punk, bad production, lousy vocals

Boh non mi ha detto niente!

enjoyable... but nothing that knocked my socks off.

Experimental

Pönkað tilraunakennt rokk. Hittir ekki alveg í mark hjá mér.

Having a headache when that first song starts, made me dislike everything in an instant lol. As the songs went on, I was reminded of Datarock at times so the music definitely had a more modern feel and was not what I expected from a late 70s album. Overall I couldn’t get into it but it was an interesting listen.

Mmm

That was crap. Didn't finish.

I think we found the inspiration for the Violent Femmes

My second Pere Ubu album and I'm none the wiser as to why it's here. They seem to have been an important underground influential artist but it's just such messy noise and not a million miles from the last one.

Schräges Rock Album der 70er. Einige passable Stellen werden durch rumgeklimper und experimentieren mit irgand was was Geräusche verzerrt. Es war irgendwie Zeitverschwendung diesem Soundsammelsorium zu folgen.

welcome to Константинополь 2.0

Did not land for me and my interested waned.

Terrible vocals over a basic instrumental makes for an overall boring and sometimes just bad experience

I liked the peppier, upbeat parts. Everything else was meh. 2/5

i remember what it was like, you’d get a cool riff and then you’d fuck it up for no particular reason except to make it artier

I'm glad that avant garde punk/rock exists and I'm glad they released this and I'm glad I don't have to listen to it again. These are not negative thoughts. There's a space for music like this and there are other bands that went somewhere more melodic with the influence of this band/record.

This album wasn’t enjoyable to listen to but I also can’t say that I hate it enough to give it a 1. There are some things to like with this it’s just buried under like 20 layers of obnoxious post-punk/noise rock. Like the first song wasn’t terrible but the first 20 seconds almost made me nauseous and my gf had to leave the room.