Dead And Gone - T.V. Baby

Label: Prank

Year: 1995

People don't ever mention Dead And Gone when they talk about the heyday of Prank Records, instead all you hear about is the fastcore stuff. And, with the exception of His Hero Is Gone, this is easily the best record Prank ever put out. Which, but the by, is no small feat, as they were pretty much killing it in the mid-Nineties with releases from Damad, Word Salad, Initial State, and In/Humanity among a long roster of crusty, raw, dirty hardcore. Prank was a great label, and was there to give the hardcore scene a kick in the ass when things were getting a bit too "emotional", and people felt like rolling on the floor and having three day zine workshops was revolutionary. Oh Nineties, you were so so ridiculous.

But I digress.

Maybe in context of what was happening around them Dead and Gone were even better. Maybe their dark, moody, fractured, tense, noise-rock approach to early Neurosis was that much cooler because they didn't sound like anyone else. Maybe? Whatever their secret, Dead And Gone delivered the goods, you got fast, slow, heavy, noisy, all the key ingredients. It's like the line from the Blues Brothers, "oh we got both kinds (of music) here, country and western". Dead and Gone gave you all the sounds you were looking for minus all the corny baggage of the era.

This record stands up today as a classic, and I think you'll like it too. And if it helps, Billie Joe Armstrong of old Gilman Street compatriots Green Day (whatever happened to that band? I thought for sure they would get really popular, but after Lookout! Records I never saw hide nor hair of them...oh well) helped record this record, and the sound is fantastic. The dudes in this band were also known affiliates of: Needles, Talk Is Poison, California Love, Mindless Mutant, Look Back And Laugh, Creeps On Candy, Blatz, Year Future, and Night After Night. Also, this is the cd version which includes the band's first 7" at the end.

DL