S/T

Description

THE CULT ALBUM FROM THE LOS ANGELES POST-PUNK SCENE FINALLY REISSUED! If your brain has a list of bands that instantly conjure new wave, Suburban Lawns deserves a spot right alongside Devo, Talking Heads, and the B-52's. After releasing two singles on their own Suburban Industrial label, they signed with I.R.S. Records and released their debut album in 1981. While the band achieved cult status thanks, among other things, to a music video produced by Jonathan Demme and broadcast on Saturday Night Live, the eponymous album would unfortunately be the quintet's only full-length release. The asymmetrical aesthetic of Suburban Lawns is embodied by co-vocalist Su Tissue, whose mesmerizing stage persona was both childlike and terrifying. Her unique style epitomized the awkward/arty female singer of the Reagan era, while the male vocals in the band—thanks to Frankie Ennui, Vex Billingsgate, and John McBurney—maintained the satirical themes of the mirage of boundless post-war Southern California expansion. The appeal of 'Suburban Lawns' can be attributed to impeccable drumming and songwriting. "Anything," with its vocal interplay, could easily have been released on any pure punk label in Los Angeles at the time, while Tissue's deadpan delivery on "Janitor" glides into Lene Lovich's best arty ramblings, opening up the possibility of nuclear annihilation with a whispered "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom." Emerging from a West Coast scene dominated by singles and EPs, the 'Suburban Lawns' lone LP stands in a class of its own. It's no surprise they were accepted by the Hollywood punk scene, despite their Long Beach origins, and influenced other bands like the Minutemen. This isn't a record that will gather dust in your collection; it's a record you'll play!