Soul Discharge

• Artist: The Boredoms
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1990
• Genre: Rock

Review

For American and European audiences, Boremania began with this album. Released on the then hyperhip Shimmy-Disc, Soul Discharge turned out to be the calling card for a whole host of Japanese noise/psychedelic bands to make the leap from notoriety at home to cult status worldwide. Time hasn't dulled the impact of the album, as astonishing then as it is now. Playing what the liner notes describe (with a nod to George Clinton), as "psychoalphadiscobetaudioaquadoloop sound," Soul beggars easy description, taking the band's previous work to an even more compelling level of insanity. The Butthole Surfers were always the easiest point of comparison, but even that doesn't fully capture what's at play. Tempo shifts occur as a matter of course, lyrics are flat-out unintelligible in no matter what language they're sung, or rather screamed, and guitars seem to randomly trip, sprawl, and vomit over each other as roiling and rolling drums drive the whole thing along (Human Rich Vox Y and No. 1 Y, aka Yoshimi, make for a killer dual-percussionist team). Simply put, it's wonderful. The bandmembers' sense of humor and sheer fun predominate more than anything else, taking sonics most thrash metal bands would kill for and making them the equivalent of a sugar/caffeine high. Definitely one of the funnier moments occur when "52 Boredom (Club Mix)" begins almost exactly like a B-52's song, and then freaks out completely within seconds. Another strength of the band is how they sneak in catchy bits amidst weirdness, like the almost straightforward, hip-shaking break in "Sun, Gun, Run" or the heavy-duty riff in "TV Scorpion." Adding the squealing insanities of Yamatsuka Eye and P-We YY results in something that even Captain Beefheart might never have been able to create. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Soul Discharge: Bubblebop Shot/52 Boredom /Sun, Gun, Run/Z & [Club Mix]		Boredoms	(28:46)
Early Boredoms: Overdrive Assault/Okinawa in Hawaii on Saturn/Hairhole		Boredoms	(41:24)

Credits

Boredoms (Main Performer), Hila Y (?), Yoshimi (Vocals), Human Rich Vox Y (Synthesizer), Human Rich Vox Y (Vocals), No.1 Y (?)

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