Pure - Golden Palominos (1994)

Ideated from: some things I discovered through my CMJ New Music Monthly subscription back in the 90s. I might be cheating on this one; I don’t remember if I first heard about it in CMJ but it was the same era and I wanted to spin it again.

I first heard of Anton Fier when he was drumming on Bob Mould’s first two post-Husker Du solo albums. When I read about his band Golden Palominos, a rotating cast of supporting characters that has featured Mould, Richard Thompson, Michael Stipe, and Bill Laswell, I sought out their newest album.

This one isn’t filled with major contributors besides Fier and singer Lori Carson, but it does have work by Laswell on bass and avante-jazz scenester Nicky Skopelitis. It’s a well-constructed album of well-constructed songs that probably benefits overall from not having too many cooks.

Maybe because of Laswell’s influence, a lot of the album has a very dub- and house-influenced dance feel, with deep bass and galloping beats. before very long, this sound would get labelled as “trip-hop” if it hadn’t already; but it’s still kind of latent at this point.

It’s a real standout album for its subtlety and finesse in a world dominated by swirling guitar rock. It’s also a forecast of what would come later in the decade.

Tracks I Liked

Little Suicides - a painfully earnest vocal with great accompaniment

Heaven - sultry and sexy

Pure - the bassline harmonics and the vocals give this track a great feel.

Break In The Road - just as groovy as the rest of the album, slightly funkier