Bandcamp link to listen for free (extended version).

First off, apologies for being a bit late on this one, I was out of town this weekend.

For our first album club, we’ve got Mush by Leatherface. Originally released in 1991, this is the band’s 3rd album.

This post will stay pinned for 2 weeks, in order for anyone interested to leave their thoughts on the album. October 15 will see the launch of Album Club #2, where I’ll pick another album from the favourite album poll.

  • thystifiOPM
    1·
    1 year ago

    The UK’s answer to Dag Nasty?

    I have to confess, I’ve entirely missed listening to Leatherface over the years, so this is the first album I’ve listened to start to finish. My first thought was “This reminds me of a British Dag Nasty, and I like it”.

    The opening riff off I Want the Moon could have come from almost any band out of California in the mid-80s, but just like Dag Nasty mellowed some of the rough edges of 80’s DC hardcore, the chorus comes in with a ton of melody that wouldn’t be out of place on a lot of mid-90s albums, or even something like a New Model Army track.

    In North America, bands like Bad Religion (and obviously Dag Nasty) had already paved the way for a more melodic punk rock, but I don’t tend to think of that type of thing coming out of the UK at the time. This album feels like something a little new and different.

    Overall though, it’s the vocals that really do it for me. Even on the melodic pieces, they hold that gruff aggression. This keeps the tracks from falling into the overly poppy or whiney trap a lot of 90s bands drowned in (or jumped head first into). A lot of these tracks remind me of another UK band that seems perpetually on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite place it. Solid album start to finish though.

    Bands like Green Day and the Offspring hadn’t really hit it big yet in 1991, but a few contemporary releases include Green Day’s Kerplunk, Pennywise’s self-titled debut, and NOFX’s Ribbed. I would much rather be listening to Leatherface than any of that.

    Favourite track so far - In the Real World.