Fromohio

4.0 - This is a surprisingly tidy record with some excellent guitar work. There aren't any standout tracks but it all flows together surprisingly well. I hear elements of reggae via Clash, Talking Heads, REM, and a solid dose of the Minutemen. And Mike Watt sounds incredible on bass! Plus, it's obscure and midwest-American, so citing it as a favorite record will give you instant credibility amongst hipsters.

not bad at all yet completely forgettable at the same time.

A lot of this album has the energy of a group of friends messing around with their instruments in a garage. There are singalongs, jams and silly in-jokes. It’s low-key and charming. There's some good guitar rock with a lot of bright melodies. It sounds to me somewhere between The Kinks, Violent Femmes and your friend's band from high school (and I don't mean that as an insult at all).

It might not be an all-time classic, but THIS, ladies and gents, is why I signed up for the 1001 Albums journey! "Fromohio" was an album I'd never heard of by a band I didn't know, with no clue what to expect. The cover made me brace myself for some alternative metal, but then the first two songs had me absolutely reeling. "Riddle of the Eighties" kicks in with a breathtaking drum intro (one of many on the album, a flurry of cymbals and hi-hats) before a bright, jangly verse and vocal recalling early R.E.M. "In My Mind" follows up with an irresistible calypso-tinged rhythm, evoking Paul Simon's "Graceland" in the "white guys doing world music" vain. There's an amazing momentum and energy to it and I couldn't not bop along... Admittedly, the quality slowly thins out after these stellar first two tracks. There are snatches of great music across the rest of the record, particularly in the stomping "Time With You" (check out the squawking funk-style guitar), the restless punky energy of "Some Things", and the left-field barroom singalong "Liberty For Our Friend." There's also a lovely pastoral acoustic guitar solo and TWO short drum solos, as though we've moved into an early 70s prog album. On the other hand, there are some tracks that never quite seem to get going, or never land on a strong enough foot of inspiration. "Whisperin' While Hollerin'" and "What Gets Heard" are both led by meaty basslines but suffer from mumbled vocals and stop-start rhythms which break a lot of the momentum. "If'n" begins excellently but then drifts around all over the place, diluting each section's impact every time it takes off again. "The Softest Hammer" is a damp squib of an ending. I realised the drummer and bassist originally played in Minutemen- I've heard some of their tracks and looking forward to revisiting because they put in stellar performances here. As it is, very glad I got the chance to hear this one today. I don't know whether I'll stick with "Fromohio", but it's been such a fun discovery that I don't want to put it anywhere below a 4.

Damn what the fuck? I thought this would be some grunge/punk screaming band from the name, but it is exactly in my taste of music and is really really good. How'd I not know about them before?

fIREHOSE s'est visiblement trompé au moment d'écrire son nom d'artiste en ne s'apercevant pas que la touche "verr. MAJ" était activée. Cette erreur en a entraîné d'autres parmi lesquelles on trouve cet album.

Very fun album. Unique mix of prog, post-punk, indie rock. Always a big fan of a drum track.

+1 stars for indomitable midwestern charm

I think I really would have preferred a 501 albums project, and then I don't think this would have made the cut. I was bored, I didn't enjoy the music or the singer's voice, and I just couldn't get hooked in by any of it. Two drum solo tracks? Not even if the second one is appropriately called, "'Nuf that Shit, George." Bleah. Next!

I haven't listened to this in years and wasn't crazy about it at the time because it felt less aggro and heavy than their previous 2 records. Older and wiser I'm hearing influences I missed the first time — Grateful Dead, John Fahey, XTC — and am royally digging the way it all comes together

This brings a whole new meaning to the word underwhelmed. I've been reading really shithouse student writing while listening to this and the palookas masquerading as students won out in the interesting stakes. I had to rewind the YouTube tape about three times as I was lost in a lost world of musical heads slowly disappearing up backsides. At least the students were creative in their mediocrity. Wow, a little bit of diddley dee twiddly dee guitar riffing, a bit of B grade Pixies bass mixed up front, some slightly off key warbling and hey presto here's a record that is...well I don't really know what it is. In My Mind is ok...sort of. Is this the late 80's version of prog rock, is this twee fiddling about what brought on grunge? These guys should have gonged it after The Minutemen and opened a nice bar where they could twiddly dee to their hearts content.

Absolutely brilliant, from a band I had not really heard of. If it was out now, I'd say it sounds like Biffy and Razorlight, with hints of Pearl Jam and Incubus. However, this was before all of those bands! Always good to hear a wee drum solo too. Couldn't be less than 5 🌟

Never heard of this band, but I am here for this! Cracking album with some great musicianship, enjoyable drums, bass and guitar at various points. Love it!

J'ai apprécié cet album mais n'ai pas grand chose à en dire, par conséquent je vais ici vous dévoiler la discussion étrange que j'ai eu avec un homme bedonnant sonnant à ma porte ce matin: Homme bedonnant: *suisse allemand incomprehensible* moi: "sorry ich spreche nicht sehr gut deutsch" (désolé je n'avais pas entendu la sonnette) HB: *suisse allemand incomprehensible* moi: "Nein ich habe kein Auto" (oui exactement, mon album de fIREHOSE était un peu trop fort) HB: *imite le chimpanzé* LL: "Sorry, schöne tag" (vous imitez fort bien le chimpanzé)

It's no Double Nickels On The Dime is it? And they've got their capitalisation all wrong there.

I'm just going to give this a 5 because I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't. It's a surprise, I've never heard of these guys before but I absolutely loved it. Not usually massive on instrumental heavy music over lyrics but it just sounded brilliant. The guitar and base on each track was just so catchy. The album flowed so well and I loved the little drum and guitar solos to break it up. I'm definitely going to dive into this bands discography

I started off listening to fROMOHIO curious about what I was hearing, but not initially sold on the first two songs. It seemed a little unpolished and I wasn’t sure I was ‘getting it’. Where is this coming from?! Where was it going?! Then as the album progressed I started to recognize some real genius happening. Two drum solo tracks?! I thought I hated drum solos? “Let The Drummer Have Some” and “‘Nuf That Shit, George” dispelled that myth. The music is very well played. The lead singer sounds a lot like Tommy Shaw, which is great. Little lyrical and musical surprises pop up everywhere. At times the album has touches of punk, jazz, beat poetry, pop, rock, folk…. Once I stopped trying to figure this all out and just sat back I found myself totally enjoying the ride. Immediately after the album finished I started it over again and had no doubt this album is a 5. A welcome addition to my library that makes me happier with each listen. So glad to have been introduced to fIREHOSE. Fantastic, unique, awesome!

From the artwork, to the production and the guitar/bass/drums configuration of the band fROMOHIO is a simple, but extremely effective record. By keeping those things simple, fIREHOSE is able to spotlight the complexities in their songwriting without their arrangements coming off as too “showy” or self-centered. This a great, stripped back rock record and the Watt-Hurley rhythm section is one of the best to ever do it. fOURSTARS.

Never heard this before, liked it

This is a weird one. No idea what it's doing on this list, but I'm sort of glad it's here because it's a good listen, without being just more of the same stuff you already find on this list or hear(d) on the radio all the time.

If you ever needed a definition for ear rape, this is it. This "music" makes me physically angry. If I didn't stop this album halfway I would've gone out to the nearest school and punched a toddler. 1/5.

fROMOHIO I listened to this one many times. I’d never heard of them before, but I loved its combination of country, alt, rock, punk and folk with hits of funk and disco, and it feels like one of those great discoveries from the list. You can hear some Replacements, Big Star, Smiths and R.E.M. and it has an Exile on Main St looseness, sharing the feeling like it’s going to break down at any minute, but it always manages to stay on track. They must also have been an influence of White Denim, it shares the same kind of spirit and energy. And I think Mike Watt has now become one of my favourite bassists, as he is arguably the star here with loads of killer basslines - In My Mind, Whisperin’ While Hollerin’, Mas Cojones, What Gets Heard (Duran Duran vibes on this one), Time With You - mixing a punkish tone with post punk, disco and melodies. There’s some excellent guitar playing too, it's never too flashy but there’s loads of catchy riffs and hooks and the playing always seems to serve the song. I love the Nile Rogers-esque opening riff to Riddle of the Eighties, before it shifts into a great jangle-pop track, the refrain in In My Mind is naggingly excellent, and the Gang of Four style playing on Whisperin’ While Hollerin’ is great. It’s superb on Time With You too, mixing a weightier, rocker sound with more of a disco-funk under the verses. It's a really strong set of songs overall, even with the two skit style tracks in Let the Drummer Have Some and ‘Nuf That Shit, Geroge and the vaguely aimless, if still fun, instrumental Mas Cojones. As well as the tracks mentioned above I love the folk-blues of their version Vastopol (a song I didn’t know before), the shifting styles and tones of If’n, the very White Denim Some Things, the classic sounding Understanding and the spacey, droning psychedia/proto industrial feel of The Softest Hammer. This is definitely in my top discoveries from this, alongside Holger Czukay, Keith Jarret, Mekons and Pere Ubu and is a nice, loose and rockin’ 5. 🚒🚒🚒🚒🚒 Playlist submission: Time With You

Now we're talking! This is totally my wheelhouse/comfort zone (and an album I've been listening to since it was released).

I was of course expecting some Minutemen DNA on this record, but I did not anticipate that the singer would sound like Gram Parsons or that the music would be so folky or occasionally sound like Television. The recording is bare bones but their live chops are A+ and the spirit of the affair is infectious (understandable from a band whose origin story is the literal realization of ‘this band could be your life’). From the ashes of the Minutemen comes hope, new life and a fresh, new sound. Like Fleetwood Mac (strange band to compare them to, but go with me) this is a band whose rhythm section has status above and over the singer, which allows for the proper dynamics to shine through, even when the best songs are from the lowest status member of the trio.

I quite liked this album. I enjoyed their style. They sound like a band I would have liked listening to live. And their Explicit label was nothing! Especially with some of the f- bombs dropped by other bands.

No. 186 Never heard this before, liked it.

Reminds me quite strongly of Television in places - and I mean that as a great compliment. Really good playing. Melodic, funk-infused, almost hardcore-adjacent. Full of contradictions then, in a good way.

Another artist I've never heard of and I'm not entirely sure why it's included but generally enjoyed listening through a few times. There's some superb bass guitar work, probably the best thing about this album, but generally it's all good fun and highly listenable. Not the strongest 4 but better than all the 3s I've racked up lately.

i loved the bass on here, this is exactly my taste so it was great to hear, cool stuff

Good album. Definitely not what i expected from an album titled "Fromohio" from 1989. Wasn't a big fan of "Liberty for our friend", only real song on the album that wasnt great. The singer was good, but god damn the guitar and drums really brought it here.

Workin' out them simple things day by day Words and dreams just cross through my mind I been sympathizing, compromising things to say But everything's been going my way Well should I stay, should I leave How can I be here Words and dreams all pass through my mind, and I still Spend some time with you Never heard of this band or album before. Not bad. Bluesy guitar, good vocals, pretty good. 4/5

Funky, reminds me of chili peps. Thumbs up

One of the things I'm discovering I love about this album generator thingy, is that it's helping to fill in some holes in my music listening history. I've listened to some fIREHOSE, mainly If'n (the album) which I love but other than that covers EP and a other songs here and there, I don't know much else so I'm glad this one popped up.

"It's called that because it's from Ohio.[9]" Thank you Wikipedia

Very neutral feelings on this album. I’m sure this band has a solid and loyal following somewhere and just because I haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean anything. I liked their sound ok enough, especially the bass. Vocals were nothing special. Good for them, getting on this list.

Pretty solid tunes, dug the bass work.

One of the more sui generis 80s indie acts, taming the dissonance of post hardcore and combining it with jaunty funky popping bass parts and guitars that twang and jangle. Everything's familiar but assembled and performed in surprising combinations. Only the vocals - nasal, flat, weirdly coffee shop open mic earnest - bring it down.

Funny we would get Firehose so soon after Minutemen. If I remember right, the story behind Firehose is that this guy Ed, subsequently known as "Ed From Ohio" (hence the name of this album) was a huge Minutemen fan from Ohio who was so distraught by D Boon's untimely passing that he drove out to San Pedro and convinced the surviving Minutemen to start a new band. Anyway, I like Firehose but this isn't the album I woulda picked for this list and actually I probably woulda picked a second Minutemen album instead of any Firehose. But if there was one Firehose album I woulda picked, it woulda been If'n, their second album. My favorite tune on here is the Elizabeth Cotten tune. I just realized that on If'n they have a song about her, too. She was a great finger picking guitar player white people discovered during the 1950s folk revival and was influential to 1960s rock guitar players like Jerry Garcia and Bob Dylan. You might know her song "Freight Train." She is worth checking out. In fact, it will be greatly disappointing if her Smithsonian Folkways album from the late 1950s isn't on this 1001 list.

i mean it does sound like they're from ohio

fROM-WHAATT!.. No... It can't be! No.. NOOOOOOOO!!.. 😭

Mostly below average - except they slipped in a beautiful acoustic blues piece (VStapol) amongst the dross. I had to check it wasn't Spotify playing up. Complete personality shift for 2 minutes, then back to more dross. 2 stars just for the that track.

The first album in this 1001 series that I really didn't enjoy at all.

This is very bad.

Like Captain Beefheart and post punk with all the interest, energy and innovation removed

loved! this is great. kinda rock, little jazzy/eerie, fun

Niiiice! I love all things Mike Watt! Pleasantly surprised to see this album on the list. Just some great rock and roll with probably the best bass lines in existence.

listened to this a few times, very groovy tracks

Loved it

I've not listened to this for years and I'd forgotten what a great album it is

Such a positive surprise! What an album! That funky bass and jangly guitar!

Love it

A great discovery for me. This would have done really well in the UK in about 1981; it reminded me in places of bands like the Higsons. I didn't know the album or the band before, but I've now read that they're the surviving members of the Minutemen, whose album Double Nickels on the Dime I liked as part of this project. I really enjoyed this, too, but it definitely seems to belong to a slightly earlier time; John Peel would have been all over this in the early 80s. Fab bass, fab energy, some tunes, echoes of the origins of new wave. What's not to like. The title of the drum solo track made me giggle, in a good way. A fairly epic final track, too.

Legends! Shocked to see this pop up! Watt forever!

Mike Watt Rules!

This album is fire!! Had never heard this….totally enjoyed it! Agree with Jim…Mike Watt crushes!

An absolute shocker of a 5. I loved this weird little album. Liberty For Our Friend made it all click and wow yeah this album was a delight

Never listened to fIREHOSE before this. I’m glad this is my introduction. I love the opening track. I’ve followed Mike Watt on his solo projects and like his playing. This album, had I not known it was him I would not have guessed it was him. I like being surprised like that. On “vastopol”. I can’t believe I haven’t listened to this record before. But at the same time I can because my mood needs to match. Today is cool morning in October so this album will be forever associated with October for me. How is this album just so good? My teenage mind in 1989 was not equipped for this. Today is the right day to hear this album. Not only do I love it but it’s giving me musical inspiration as well. Love this album. On the last track now.

Spiel hammer

more selections from less popular groups. this late '80s rock band seems to be liked by mainly generation x former punks. i think a one youtube commenter said that these guys at times sound like the police if they were a little more punky. it's a fun listen, a nice fusion of rock tropes throughout. according to sources, seems to be the most accessible out of all their albums. if it were me, i would say this album sounds like a group of country/folk kids started to make their own rock band, if not trying to make a name for themselves, then embracing their roots. it's super cool.

fIREHOSE já é de casa.

18/09/2025 I have never heard of these guys and it feels like they were the pioneers for a lot of the music that we know today. Well done. Spotify listeners: 24.7k

Nice surprise! Cool bass!

I thought I was going to hate this for some reason but it's really fucking good.

It’s so good. Like if the Minutemen were a classic rock band. And I say that with all sincerity and positivity.

A refreshing discovery, some great tracks. Not sure why this band weren't huge?

حلو

Solid album from what I remember. I had a dog pass away yesterday morning so it's kind of a blur.

Probably the most accessible album from fIREHOSE. An excellent straight at you album that balances all of the respective genres and style super well. Have always loved this album.

Fantastic, unexpected album.

Never heard this before, it is directly up my alley though. Love the bass playing. Kinda like a less one-note feeling Violent Femmes or something. Doesn't overstay its welcome either. Long story short, I dig the heck out of it. Time to listen to more from them.

Somehow utterly unique but simultaneously quintessential. Just the right amount of punk sensibilities and country aesthtic mixed with the exact right amount of guitar distortion. Perfect.

This album is one of my real "holy crap this is great" discoveries from the list - but my god is that cover art awful. I went into this expecting some kind of angry, grungy, punk nonsense and got bright jangly rock with epic basslines and a sense of humour about it all! Personal high points include 'In My Mind' and 'Mas Cojones', both of which play with a stripped-down version of standard rock themes (it took me a while to notice that there's basically no snare drum in most of the songs) while still being groove-laden enough to keep me actively listening - I'm not so much a fan of songs like 'Liberty For Our Friend', but that's just personal tastes more than anything. Definitely a recommend, definitely one I keep going back to, I'm giving it five stars because honestly I don't know why I wouldn't.

Well this pretty great, but seems the CD is hard to get hold of

very 80s/90s alt

I’ve been going through 80s alternative Athens bands so this comes at the perfect time. I’m not familiar with this group or Minutemen but I think I liked this enough to go down that rabbit hole. It’s very catchy and is growing on me more the second listen. Probably just because I’ve been listening to them but I hear similarities with Pylon/Gang Of Four with the seemingly endless riffs. Just finished my second listen and most of the songs I was neutral on clicked. Rating: 4.6

Mike Watt is a national treasure.

trzeci album zespołu Firehose wydany w 1989, rock alternatywny

Lovely alternative stuff. On the first listen I knew I really enjoyed it, but had to go back to remind myself. The kind of thing that can be really interesting to focus on or equally nice background listening. Great riffs every time. Makes me wanna see a live show

Great stuff, early 90s Indie rock

Nice Acoustic Punk with great great bass

pretty good!! fun fun guitars

I love this. And I had no idea it existed. Enjoyed the Minutemen's Nickel on the Dime record, and here we've got that rhythm section and writers. Love that bass. It's just low key epic. Really nice and tight 30 minutes too. Listened to it a few times today. Look not every track is a classic, but oh my god that bass and crisp drumming is such consistently high quality. Guitar ain't half bad either. Faves - Some Things, Understanding, In My Mind, Mas Cojones

Amazing

what a beautiful album..

very surprising. Some kind of farm punk.

punk influenced folk with a jazz form? Have never listened to Firehose before. First listen -- pulled in. Gave the album my phone number. It called back for a second listen. Excellent the second time through as well. Beautifully ushering the listener into a world where pop jingles and verse chorus verse are sent to rehabilitation to be something more interesting. A gateway album to better sound.

Love this record! Very eclectic mix of sounds across the different tracks -- mostly with a punk backbone but mixed in with funk, folk, jazz, etc. Very creative and high energy vibe that I could listen to for a long time without getting bored.

I remember these guys!

Ooooo this is FABULOUS! Incredible drumming, wide variety of styles, interesting lyrics...I'd be thrilled to see these guys in concert. Didn't take notes on specific tracks since I listened while moving but I loved it and can't wait to listen again!

This album is so cool! I love the funky bass and the weird vocals, this is definitely unique in the best way. I'll definitely be returning to some of these jams, particularly In My Mind and Time With You.

5 stars for the band. I wasn't into this album at all, so I tried out whatever the top songs were on Spotify. The first two albums are superior in every way, but maybe this is the one that put them on the map? Regardless, I am thrilled I just discovered this band

I was NOT expecting to like this album this much. Every song was solid and I love the sound of the whole thing. Even the two songs where it’s just a drum solo are good.

cool

10/10 awesome indie, good vibes

4.95

Another great finding...

Decent alt rock, but it's not something I'd go crate digging for, you know?

The ghost of D. Boon hovers over everything this band ever did, which is both unfair and completely understandable given that this is the two remaining members of the Minutemen plus Ed Crawford, a superfan of the band who talked his way into Boon's former spot. I say "unfair" because it's difficult, even on this third album, to set aside the sadness of Boon's untimely death; it colors everything here at least a little bit, from the quickly played, quickly abandoned opening riff on "Riddle of the Eighties" to, really, any time the tempo or intensity lays off a bit - which. among other things, undersells Boon's own penchant for softer, more contemplative moments. Yet especially on the back half of this album, as the dynamics and tempos let up a bit and settle into a more easygoing groove, Crawford isn't trying to be Boon so much as he's trying to make the sort of thing somebody would make who was influenced by the same stuff that influenced Boon (Sixties psychedelic folk, Krautrock, punk, funk). The difference is subtle but important; Crawford is a better technical singer, for one thing, so he's at his best when he leans into his tunefulness. And of course I haven't even mentioned Watt's bass playing (excellent as usual) and Hurley's drums (right there with him). On "If'n" and "Some Things" in particular the three musicians blend together beautifully, fusing into something like surf-punk as Crawford grows wistful. "Dreams break chains," he sings - including chains of grief, it turns out.

I didn't appreciate this band at the time. The Minutemen and fIREHOSE were the Rush of the post-punk/alt-music scene. And despite the greatness of D Boon, I prefer fIREHOSE over The Minutemen.

Folk-punk-funk-whatever in short bursts. Never heard them before but I liked it.