Cherubs: Heroin Man (Vinyl LP)

Formed in 1992, Cherubs emerged on the Austin, TX, LSD punk scene with a jackhammer of nightmarish, rhythm-driven song structures and plenty of Butthole Surfers whimsy and terror to keep things more than interesting. Fast forward 20 years later and the band has reformed with more energy and songwriting acumen then ever.

Heroin Man stands as both the chronological center of the Cherubs catalogue, and its defining moment. As one of noise rock's finest moments, Heroin Man is both a delicate, tragic statement and send-off to a friend who had OD'd, and a bellowing, roaring, over-amped screwball masterpiece of Butthole Surfers mayhem and Husker Du pop structures.

It's sometimes difficult to distinguish between Kevin Whitley's guitar and Owen McMahon's bass, and that's precisely the point -- this is noise rock; and still at others, Whitley's guitar is a washing, white-noise counterpoint to the pummeling rhythm section. This is a dense, sprawling, spiraling work showing a band peaking aesthetically, with perhaps an even more ambitious album to follow. Unfortunately, due to the usual host of reasons, that never occurred. This was the Cherubs final studio album until their reformation 20+ years later.

Black vinyl version.

1. Stag Party
2. Animator
3. Blackhouse
4. Baby Huey
5. Dave Of The Moon
6. Coonass
7. Mr. Goy
8. Cockpit - Kiss The Shine
9. Venus Flytrap
10. The Big Groovy
11. Wornout Balls
12. Playdough
13. Example Maiden Japan / Devil's Food