The Modern Dance

Pere Ubu’s mighty debut recorded back in 1977 and originally released on blank records in ’78 in America and on Mercury (and later Rough Trade) in the UK and now released through Fire, and for this reworking Paul Hamann at Suma has transferred from the original 2-track analogue mix tapes to digital at the highest resolution available which, is at least four times the resolution of the original. The tracks have carefully been re-mastered by sonic architect Brian Pyle so as to capture the unique qualities within.

It is hard to believe that such noises could come from so deep in America’s heartland, played by a group named after a French absurdist play. The debut album by Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance‘ is the realization of group leader David Thomas’s (aka crocus behemoth) high-concept vision of a rock band whose sound was always just on the verge of falling apart.

Avant-garde and not terribly accessible, the album’s noisy anarchy was a tonic for punks and intellectuals sick of the bloated, corporate sound that passed for commercial rock at the time. it became a major influence on the leading alternative bands of the following decade, including the Pixies and Husker Du.