Features Disc of the day
Tad
8-Way Santa
(Sub Pop, 1991)
Mr Doyle and co’s hefty, Jack Endino-produced second unveils new genre: harmony sludge!
Posing in an abattoir, surrounded by his hairy, wild-eyed bandmates and wearing a T-shirt featuring serial killer Ed Gein, the sleeve to Thomas Arthur Doyle’s second album for Sub Pop promised more of the tongue-in-cheek redneck brutality found on their 1989 debut God’s Balls, or the bare knuckle pummeling of Albini-produced EP Salt Lick. 8-Way Santa’s original artwork – a grinning ’70s couple, mid-grope – was pulled when the female half spotted herself in a record shop. Which is a shame because it definitely represented the album more accurately. Despite their grizzly appearance, here Tad’s inherent humour and sense of melody are to the fore. Like I imagine the couple in the junkshop photo, 8-Way Santa is playful, with a glint in its eye but still digging heavy metal. Stumblin’ Man is Metallica with a sense of humour, speed metal guitars giving way to a sludgy, Sabbath breakdown while its subject hobbles bleeding and broken: “Stumblin’ man ain’t got no style. He ain’t had none in quite a while,” Tad deadpans. And occasionally his trademark vocal growls even break into song - Delinquent has a chorus, with harmonies (!) while 3-D Witch Hunt could be Dinosaur Jr in its heartfelt, overdriven pop and guitars that jangle more than grind. But in a very real sense the band deemed “Too ugly for MTV” would always be heavy, too heavy for mainstream tastes it turned out. But their place in the history of Sub Pop and the hearts of the, erm, older grunge fan, is assured.
Jenny Bulley
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 6:00 AM GMT 04/07/2008
Further Listening
Tad – Salt Lick (Sub Pop)
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff (Sub Pop)
Shellac – At Action Park (Touch & Go)
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