Man, I'be been listening to too many albums away from the computer. Backlogged. I'd come across this on a best albums of the 90's list, and had liked a cover of a song of theirs I'd heard recently.
Wow, this wasn't what I was expecting. I thought the angst would be more superficial, more Alanis Morissette, more Dookie for girls. Instead it cuts closer to In Utero, or Surfer Rosa, as 90's touchstones go. Its sort of a masterpiece of tension, or seething rage, with one of the most extreme (to the point of obnoxiousness on the first track) loud-quiet-loud dynamics I've heard. The last third of the album actually provides some nice straighforward riffage, but they /earn/ it, working through unrelenting stretches of minimalism, queer offbeats and patient noise. I don't know that I enjoyed it; despite some arty flourishes it all sounds a bit 90's, and Harvey's throaty, midrange ulations are sort of unbearable. But I do respect it, glad I caught this 3.5/5
[Edit: As I listened to this album I thought, man, these clipped, overblown drums, this sounds like Steve Albini (who produced In Utero, see above) produced it. Which it turns out he did. He also produced Surfer Rosa, that I also compared this to. Its possible I'd already known this, and forgotten I knew, and subconsciously remembered it, but if not, I win 100 critic points for Gryffindor]
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