BASTRO Sing The Troubled Beast LP SLINT Gastr Del Sol

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27

Bastro -- Sing The Troubled Beast LP

Original 1990 release on Homestead Records (catalog # HMS164-1).

Credits:
Bass - Clark Johnson
Drums - John McEntire
Guitar, Vocals - David Grubbs

AMG review + bio: While the full-length debut Bastro Diablo Guapo found David Grubbs' post-Squirrel Bait project mining Chicago-styled noise thrash, Sing the Troubled Beast offers the first hints of the fractured melodicism he would embrace with his next group, Gastr del Sol. Tempering his extremist nature with actual hooks ("Demons Begone," "Krakow, Illinois") and subtle guitar textures (the mournful "Tobacco in the Sink, "), Grubbs creates music that is compact and expressive, although he brings back the noise on cuts like "The Sifter."

Bastro was the more prominent of guitarist David Grubbs' two immediate post-Squirrel Bait projects (the concurrently running Bitch Magnet being the other). Grubbs originally joined the Louisville, KY-based Squirrel Bait while still in high school, and was actually one of the oldest members of the group; when he and bassist Clark Johnson left for college, it effectively spelled the end of the band after two important releases. Grubbs went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and formed an early version of Bastro in 1987 with bassist Dan Treado, who soon left. Even though Clark Johnson had gone to Chicago, he and Grubbs reteamed as the new core of Bastro, and pursued a more twisted and abrasive style of post-hardcore punk than their former band. Backed by a drum machine, they issued a six-song EP, Rode Hard & Put Up Wet, on the Homestead label in 1988. They subsequently played some tour dates with My Dad Is Dead, whose drummer at the time was Oberlin College percussion major John McEntire. McEntire wound up joining Bastro full-time for their LP debut, 1989's Bastro Diablo Guapo, which drew comparisons to the blistering extremity of Steve Albini and the precision and shifting dynamics of another Squirrel Bait offshoot, Slint. Their second full-length, 1990's Sing the Troubled Beast, found the group straining against their established blueprint to follow a relatively subtle and melodic path. Bassist Johnson subsequently left the group and was replaced by Bundy K. Brown; meanwhile, Grubbs relocated to Chicago to attend graduate school. Feeling limited by the extremity of their power-trio format and afraid of stagnating, Bastro tried to push into more atmospheric territory, and wound up deciding to retire the name altogether and continue as a completely different project, dubbed Gastr del Sol. Brown and McEntire appeared on Gastr del Sol's 1993 debut, The Serpentine Similar, after which the group became a vehicle for Grubbs' collaboration with Jim O'Rourke, as well as a touchstone of the post-rock movement. Brown and McEntire subsequently became charter members of the even more seminal post-rock outfit Tortoise.

discogs: One can only wonder why Bastro never acheived any popularity during their brief existence. This is a supergroup of sorts, as it consisted of future members of bands like Tortoise and Gastr Del Sol. This, however, is far removed from both of them - its a straight up rock/hardcore with a hint of noise, not terribly different from bands like Big Black, but not being a clone/rip-off of other noise-rock bands either. Excellent stuff to vent your frustration.

Tracks:

A1 Demons Begone A2 Krakow, Illinois A3 I Come From A Long Line Of Shipbuilders A4 Tobacco In The Sink A5 Recidivist B1 Floating Home B2 Jefferson-In-Drag B3 The Sifter B4 Noise / Star B5 Recidivist

CONDITION: Cover NM- / Vinyl NM   close to new, corner clip, price sticker on cover, vinyl is near pristine.

Graded conservatively using Goldmine standards [G / G+ / VG / VG+ / NM / ]
grade only used if record is brand new.
Bid with confidence -- over 11000 positive feedbacks selling vinyl on eBay since 1998, with a total 11-year average of 100% positive.

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