The crew in Butthole Surfers released a new album. Sort of. It was an album that was supposed to come out after Electriclarryland, and some of the songs ended up on Weird Revolution.
But, this post isn’t about After the Astronaut, although it is worth checking out even if some songs were previously released. I’m a little burnt on trying to find new music to listen to. Especially in the stoner/doom realm. So much of it becomes mud because it all starts sounding the same or formulaic. Still, nothing wrong with any of it, I’m just not finding much new stuff that peaks my interest.
So, as one might do, I’ve gone back to some older music, or music I dig and am familiar with. The Butthole Surfers being one that I’ve been enjoying since about 1990. Of their material, I do love the earlier albums more than the latter, with Locust Abortion Technician being the gateway for me. Who can forget the intro to that album and the Black Sabbath rip off that is Sweat Loaf.
But for me, it is really a toss up between Rembrandt Pussyhorse/Cream Corn EP and Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac. It might be cheating, but I’m used to the Rembrandt/Corn put together when I got it. Either way, those albums have the goods I like.
I was fortunate enough to see them once, but unfortunate that their live show was very underwhelming based on all I had heard about their shows. It was one that was after Electriclarryland had come out. I remember the lineup was them, Toadies, Reverend Horton Heat, and the Supersuckers. When the Butthole Surfers played, they started right with Pepper. Like they were just get this one out of the way. On this show, they had no energy. Gibby was just at the microphone playing with the vocal effects as he sang. No visuals or crazy antics. Musically, it was a great show, just not what I was expecting.
So, I’ve been hitting their catalog again. I kind of do that yearly. Everything goes in cycles. I’ll be hitting something else soon.