MUSICBLITZ

MP3 Exclusives

New Arrivals

Alt-Country
Alternative
Blues
Electronic
Jambands
Jazz
Metal
Pop
Punk
R&B
Rap/Hip Hop
Reggae
Rock

Top Downloads
Features Archive
Contests
Control Panel
MUSICBLITZ Alert!

METALBLITZ
REGGAEBLITZ
BLUESBLITZ
Musician's Friend

Alt-Country
Alternative
Blues
Electronic
Jambands
Jazz
Hip Hop
Metal
Pop
Punk
R&B
Reggae
Rock

Getting Started
Free Players

	Welcome !

Pere Ubu
Though Pere Ubu have flirted with mainstream accessibility in the past, their new single, the agitated “Wasteland,” harks back to the band’s earlier, less commercially acceptable days. Formed in 1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, the seminal punk/new wavers originally boasted a rough-and-tumble rock style, interspersed with strange noises and defined by founder David Thomas’ high-range vocals. The band recorded a couple singles -- “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” and “Final Solution” -- before releasing its debut, The Modern Dance, on Mercury/PolyGram subsidiary Blank Records in 1978. The album gained Pere Ubu critical acclaim and a cult following, but little more in terms of commercial success.

Two more albums followed (1978’s Dub Housing and 1979’s New Picnic Time), as did ongoing internal squabbles -- the band finally broke up after 1982’s Song of the Bailing Man. Thomas devoted the next six years to solo projects (including a seminal collaboration with guitarist Richard Thompson), finally reuniting Pere Ubu in 1987. The band’s revamped lineup and sound was more pop-centered than in the past, though their next few albums -- The Tenement Year (1987), Cloudland (1989) and Worlds in Collision) -- had more than their share of classic tracks. By the time of Story of My Life (1993), and Ray Gun Suitcase (1995), Thomas and company had returned to harder, less accessible territory.

Though recent years have seen the release of Pere Ubu career retrospectives, “Wasteland” shows the band gearing back up with a return to its edgy roots. Drums pound like a syncopated jackhammer; bass lines rumble like some unseen threat. Over it all resides Thomas, his reedy vocals as distinctive as ever. Short and far from sweet, it’s a reminder of the staying power of one of new wave’s longest lasting champions.

-- Nina Pearlman

Nina Pearlman is the former Senior Editor of The Rocket, a Seattle-based publication devoted to covering music in the Pacific Northwest. Now a Seattle-based freelancer, she writes for such print publications as Magnet and AP, as well as web sites like Atomic Pop and CDNow.


Pere Ubu	Wasteland	MP3,WinMedia	Alternative, Punk
What can you say about Pere Ubu? More punk than the Pistols, more alternative than Michael Stipe at a piercing convention, David Thomas & Co. take you to the "Wasteland," on this thumping, hard-edged MUSICBLITZ exclusive!