Well, you know, usually I have to think up some sort of frame to place a record in. After giving a lot of thought to it, here’s what I’ve got for Dub Housing: sometimes fat guys sining about weird stuff works. They don’t really lend themselves to easy angles – the group still doesn’t do interviews, shuns publicity and doesn’t give a damn about your opinion of their material. But when David Thomas (the aforementioned fat weird guy) goes so far as to call one of his CD’s “The Masterpiece”… well, it induces you to check it out.
Remember we did that interview with Jon Newby where we mentioned… unconventional places for great music? Well, Cleveland, Ohio is definitely not the first place that comes to mind when you mention internationally acclaimed rock ‘n’ roll. But, when you scratch the surface, the city has more than its fair share of musical greats who influenced modern music to this day.
Pere Ubu is one of those groups. Though the history of the band has been characterized by break-ups and shuffling of members, the band has still managed to release a sizable amount of material since the group was formed in 1975. Our interest here is their second album, Dub Housing, which was released in 1978.
Dub Housing was preceded by The Modern Dance in 1978 while New Picnic Time came out in 1979. Dub Housing is the most critically acclaimed of Pere Ubu’s albums, and also one of the most user friendly, if such a phrase can be applied to these guys. The front face artwork of the album shows an apartment block where the band cohabited during the recording of ‘the masterpiece’ – Prospect Avenue in downtown Cleveland. Dub Housing, the title, alludes to all those identical looking projects.
From the very beginning, when they released the first album The Modern Dance, it seemed clear that Pere Ubu were not after the mainstream success associated with hard rock, and Dub Housing followed in this vein. Sometimes their music is referred to as underground rock as it did never get to break into mainstream American music. But, the album had unequalled originality, a sort of hybrid between garage rock and new wave, and Pere Ubu broke every rule in the rule book, and this avant-garde approach alienated them from conventional musical critics, with the band widely regarded as one of America’s most underrated musical acts. Deep, haunting, this is the kind of record that gives you the chills at first spin – but the music composition is artistic and well-arranged with each member of the band exuding mastery in their respective roles.
Dub Housing goes down in history as one album that went against the grain and stood the test of time, with a dedicated following of underground rock enthusiasts encouraging Pere Ubu on. The most endearing factor in the album is the wide variety of themes tackled; some bordering on the mythical and mysterious, while others were more straightforward and down to earth. In a track like Thriller, you’re transported into a distant mystery space only to be rudely rushed back to reality by the equally eerie Ubu Dance Party.
But all in all, if the greatest albums of the last 50 years were to be compiled, Dub Housing would be a definite contender – the flair that they brought into music can’t be ignored.
Check it out.
Tags: Dub Housing, Pere Ubu