Album: Squirrel Bait EP
Year: 1985
. . .
I’ve often wondered what that kid was doing to that Walkman on the cover of Squirrel Bait’s 1985 debut EP. Was he eating it? Was he kissing it? Was he trying to play it like a harmonica? Apparently, that cover was designed by gadfly and future poker champ, Steve Albini, and I guess I could get on twitter and ask him, but, honestly, that would take all of the mystery away.
That mystery kind of extended itself to the music within. What was it, exactly? It was too melodic to be straight-up hardcore, but it was too heavy to be pop-punk, as there was definitely a metalish element in there, as well. That said, to my ears, Squirrel Bait was one of the earliest bands to pick up on what Hüsker Dü was putting down. I realize that’s not exactly the most original observation, but that doesn’t make it any less true, as kids across the country were doing their own variation on that sound.
In any event, Squirrel Bait, who were still in high school when they made their earliest demos, announced their aesthetic with the title of the first track of that debut EP, “Hammering So Hard, a maelstrom of grinding guitars, spinning drums and Peter Searcy’s screaming vocals.
Even better, though, was “Sun God,” which brought a sense of dynamics to the proceedings, a fantastic example of the quietLOUDquiet ethos as filtered through late teen energy and ethusiasm.
So at first, the guitars of David Grubbs and Brian McMahan are muted, playing off of each other and drummer Ben Daughtry as Searcy sings the opening verse.
I feel the power of the sun on my back
So good
That heat’s good
That light has a mind to take it away
And then of course, the guitars suddenly crank into action, Daughtry finds the beat as Searcy screams
Takkkkkkkkee it awayyyyyyyyyyyyy
Takkkkkkkkee it awayyyyyyyyyyyyy
After the second chorus all hell breaks loose as Grubbs, McMahan and Daughtry engage in a dragonfight of overdriven guitar riffs and torrential drum rolls, driving “Sun God” straight up towards the sun itself. The sun, of course, is wearing shades, because this is all too cool for words.
Anyways, that Squirrel Bait EP definitely whetted appetites for the inevitable full-length, Skag Heaven, which didn’t come out until 1987, because a couple of them had started going to college. Skag Heaven was more of the same, but its 25-minute running time after two years to write songs (and one of its 8 songs was a cover, to boot) didn’t really bode well for the future, and Squirrel Bait broke up, with guitarist McMahan going on to join and sing for the well-regarded band Slint, whose 1991 album, Spiderland, is considered a post-rock classic, though I’ve tried to get into it and failed.
“Sun God”
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