Bundle Of Hiss
Sessions: 1986-1988
Loveless
So the story goes: Pre-Tad and -Mudhoney (respectively), Kurt Danielson and Dan Peters had an ugly, lil’ proto-grunge baby called Bundle Of Hiss, recording a handful of sessions between 1985 and ‘88, all of which having never been unearthed to the public before Seattle Sound maverick Jack Endino got his grimy hands on a couple of them and consequently restored ‘em to semi-fidelity. The bitter fruit of Endino’s archival labor, Bundle Of Hiss’ Sessions: 1986-1988 serves as a wistful look-back-in-angst on an era where Sub Pop and AmRep colored vinyl were the sought-after indie status symbols and Pussy Galore was a major hoot, only to be respectively replaced by $50 Cap ‘n’ Jazz 7”s on eBay and Modest Mouse being considered “compelling” a little more than a decade later.
Split into two nearly equal halves (‘86, ‘87/’88), Sessions proves that BOH were years ahead of the early ’90s Seattle game, pouring bucketfuls of dark(er) Zep-isms onto their rainy-day scuzz rock, funky washes of wah-wah buzzing around like the bong being rattled in the background, Jamie Lane’s minor-chorded guitar stumbling upon a melody here and there in the garbage can – at times, the fuzz-boxed din closely resembles the Scientists (!) on a more metalized trip, especially on the slow-burn mantra of “Rabies.” Surprisingly, the sound presented on both sessions is clear, distorted, and quintessentially “pig fuck” garaged like so many Endino abortions in the late ’80s, ever compounding the dirty grooves offered up for maximum mane-shaking.
Sadly, Sessions will probably leave most youngsters scratching their heads in disinterested confusion, as sounds like these certainly have an etched-in-stone era aura about them, but they’re by no means conventionally “dated” considering all the recycled tripe that passes for originality in these indie-intensive times: kool thing, Sessions is.
Loveless, 1122 East Pike St., # 1361, Seattle, WA 98112; http://www.lovelessrecords.com
