Archers of Loaf: All the Nations Airports

It’s obvious the boys at the record label sat these guys down and told them to rein it in, buy some new equipment and at least try to make an album the radio kids would understand. While the album sounds great, some of that raw energy has been sapped through the use of more conventional song structures. I saw these guys on tour for this album (for $2 at NYU!) and “Strangled by the Stereo Wire” was absolutely incredible live, but I couldn’t help but feel the big-label baddies had gotten ahold of this band and tamed them for a more radio-friendly approach–although they’are still way far from being a radio-friendly band. There are a few tunes like “Chumming the Ocean” that certainly show some signs of Bachman’s future project, Crooked Fingers, and an instrumental that sounds an awful lot like one of the tracks from a Barry Black LP.