St. Arkansas

St. Arkansas
Studio album by
Pere Ubu
Released2002
StudioSuma Recording Studio, Painesville, Ohio
GenrePost-punk, experimental rock
LabelGlitterhouse[1]
SpinART[2]
ProducerDavid Thomas
Pere Ubu chronology
The Shape of Things
(2000) 		St. Arkansas
(2002) 		Why I Hate Women
(2006)
David Thomas chronology
Surf's Up!
(2001) 		St. Arkansas
(2002) 		18 Monkeys on a Dead Man's Chest
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[1]
The Guardian[5]
Pitchfork8.5/10[6]

St. Arkansas is the 12th studio album by Pere Ubu, released in 2002.[7][8]

Critical reception

The A.V. Club wrote that the album "is one of Pere Ubu's best works, displaying the kind of intelligence and imagination that gives the avant-garde a good name."[9] AllMusic wrote that the band's "lyrical and musical creativity is undiminished by time."[3] Pitchfork called the album "more subdued and less rock-oriented, relying more on beat-style spoken-word storytelling and found sound."[6] The East Bay Express called it "consistently fine" and "full of spidery electric guitar, wry, deadpan singing, and loping, haunted, and haunting rhythms."[10] CMJ New Music Monthly wrote that the band "remains a challenging but rewarding listen, uncannily able to move forward while preserving its unmistakable vibe."[11]

Track listing

  1. "The Fevered Dream of Hernando DeSoto" – 2:45
  2. "Slow Walking Daddy" – 4:52
  3. "Michele" – 3:11
  4. "333" – 3:59
  5. "Hell" – 5:12
  6. "Lisbon" – 3:30
  7. "Steve" – 2:48
  8. "Phone Home Jonah" – 2:39
  9. "Where's the Truth" – 3:25
  10. "Dark" – 9:16

Personnel

Pere Ubu
  • David Thomas - vocals
  • Tom Herman - guitar, organ, backing vocals
  • Robert Wheeler - EML synthesizer, theremin, piano
  • Michele Temple - bass, piano, organ
  • Steve Mehlman - drums, organ

with:

Technical
  • Paul Hamann - engineer
  • John Thompson - design

References

  1. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 483.
  2. ^ "Pere Ubu St. Arkansas". exclaim.ca.
  3. ^ a b St. Arkansas at AllMusic
  4. ^ "Robert Christgau: Album: Pere Ubu: St Arkansas". www.robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ "Pop CD releases". the Guardian. May 3, 2002.
  6. ^ a b Nickey, Jason (2002-06-27). "Pere Ubu St. Arkansas". Pitchfork.
  7. ^ "Pere Ubu | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  8. ^ "PERE UBU biography". The Great Rock Bible.
  9. ^ "Pere Ubu: St Arkansas". Music.
  10. ^ Keresman, Mark. "Pere Ubu". East Bay Express.
  11. ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. August 23, 2002 – via Google Books.