what's up with this new Trenchmouth CD?

Further information URGENT AND KEY

anyone?

They were always a name I heard but never actually heard their music. So what were they like, then?

Their early records were more on the "punk" side, albeit polyrhythmic and somewhat danceable, but even those had their weird bits to them; by the time you get to their last album, THE BROADCASTING SYSTEM, a huge dub influence has taken effect, which bridges nicely into The Eternals (which features a bunch of Trenchmouth people). One might compare them to the recent wave of "dance-punk" (cf Radio 4, for instance), but as I've opined elsewhere, Trenchmouth could easily wipe the floor with Radio 4. (They also put on an incredible live show - they got an encore as the opening band for Royal Trux at Emo's in Houston back in something like '93, when almost nobody knew who they were (not that anyone seems to know who they are now). Fred had already started putting his drum kit away and had to reassemble it for the encore. I bought a Trenchmouth/Circus Lupus split 7" at the show, which is appropriate too, as Circus Lupus could be seen as Trenchmouth's noisier, trashier, less funky cousin. The Ex may be a closer analogue, but Trenchmouth's funkier than them, too.

I recommend INSIDE THE FUTURE as the best place to start. But VS. THE LIGHT OF THE SUN will also give you a good idea and (at least a few years ago) was stacked hip-deep in every bargain bin that I checked out, so it'd be a relatively minor investment. Not that, in the post-MP3 era, that's relevant to as many people.

I think it's a "best of". I didn't buy any of their records at the time and regret it. I saw them and remember being pleasantly surprised by how funky they were. The "cool" people in Chicago never supported them like they should have.