Archers of Loaf: Vee Vee
1995
Alias Records
Format I Own it On: Compact Disc
Track Listing: 1. Step into the Light 2. Harnessed in Slums 3. Nevermind the Enemy 4. Greatest of All Time 5. Underdogs of Nipomo 6. Floating Friends 7. 1985 8. Fabricoh 9. Nostalgia 10. Let the Loser Melt 11. Death in the Park 12. The Worst Has Yet to Come 13. Underachievers March and Fight Song
It kind of seemed that right around this time, the Archers of Loaf could have really broken through, but to their credit, they didn't dumb things down, or grasp for an obvious hit...
Their approach this time around was opening things up without losing even a bit of their edge...If anything the guitars were tangled into even more impenetrable knots, and in this process they discover a sort of queasy beauty...
I mean, when I listen to the song "the Greatest of All Time," it makes me want to cry and it gives me a distinct seasick feeling...I can't explain it...There's an unexpected poignancy to the line "The underground is overcrowded." I actually find it touching for no reason on Planet Earth, which is the type of reaction that make me obsess about records and blather about them endlessly on blogs in the first place...
"Harnessed in Slums" is just a ripping indie-rock anthem. Big, rousing, and infectious, you won't have any choice but to pump your fist in the air and shout along "We Want Waste!" Wait...what are we shouting? "Fabrico" also falls into this category. One of my favorites Archers tracks, this never fails to get me going! I also love the instrumental "1985" that basically functions as an intro to "Fabrico," it reminds me of fried Christmas lights.There's just so many cool little things to hear on this record. I listened to this possibly even more than "Icky Mettle" at the time... This was definitely a summer of '95 staple...
This is the alternate cover they used for the 2012 remaster...it's pretty cool but I think the original photo cover was more mysterious...Even though this one has weird tentacles coming out of the grill of the car...
And what do you serve to guests at your Friday Night Record Party when you're spinning "Vee Vee" by the Archer's of Loaf?
Why, what else but...
Nachos...
and a microbrew...
Sounds good to me...Let's relive the summer of 1995 (during which apparently there was some unprecedented heatwave that hammered the Midwest...Huh...Don't remember that.. Must have been hanging out in the air conditioning watching the O.J. Trial...)
(I wonder if my O.J. pogs are worth anything yet.... )
Anyway...let's relive 1995 by listening to "Harnessed in Slums" by the Archers of Loaf...Enjoy...
Toasting to De Niro lol. Man This is such a great album! I recently just picked this up.This could probably be my favorite album by them. The Greatest of All Time is freaking awesome!! The lyrics are the best!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good one! I have a hard time picking a favorite Archers of Loaf album...Probably either "Vee Vee" or "All the Nation's Airports." They're both so damn good...Another good old album that I was listening to was "Passive Restraints" by Clutch...I recently found a copy and I can't stop playing it...Reminds me of the same era....
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