Let me take you back dear readers, way way back in the days of yore, through the mists of time. We shall descend to the basement of antiquity and there via decaying dusty scrolls discover a portal hidden behind the camping equipment of the ancients to an earlier, primordial era. There lies a long forgotten age that those alive now can barely comprehend ever existed. 1993.
In those far off heady days it was always sunny, LPs cost about 10p each, fascism had been defeated forever, the internet had yet to steal anyone’s soul and it was perfectly acceptable for an EP to last 50 minutes and 44 seconds.
Gentle readers let me present to you Babes In Toyland Painkillers, just such an EP.
Lest I have failed to make it clear enough I bloody love Babes In Toyland and their amazingly harsh total rock power. In 1992 they released Fontanelle, which is an astonishingly powerful and frightening LP and followed it 10 months later with Painkillers.
Painkillers serves us 5 new tracks and the a B-side called ‘Fontanellette’, which is the whole of their previous LP recorded live at CBGB’s*. Hence the run time.
First up we get the rollicking demonology of ‘He’s My Thing’, pretty much as commercial a stroke as Babes In Toyland ever pulled**, replete with a fucking freaky video involving all manner of animated dolls that will probably stop me sleeping properly tonight.
I digress. Kat Bjelland does her utterly magnificent patented kitten-purr-to-banshee-yowl thing to great affect and Maureen Herman’s bass just pounds along with Lori Barbero’s primal drumming. Babes In Toyland were such a potent band, maximum force, minimum fuss and great hooks too. I have memories of howling along to this one live^.
‘Laredo’ has a very wired country-surf-horror feel and is possibly the best thing here, a real mascara massacre in a very good way indeed. As nearly always with female players, Bjelland is a seriously underrated guitarist, she seems to be managing at least three hands worth of playing at any given point here. ‘Tis the season to drink poison’, indeed.
‘Istigkeit’ opens with a frighteningly post-coital languor before souring into a strange descent. You will all know, obviously, that the title is a German word which translates to ‘Isness’, a philosophical conceit which enables one to debate the essential nature of things vs. representation. I must use the word about 39 times per day at work, istigkeit this, istigkeit that … the singing late on here puts me in mind of the twins from The Shining. The isness here is the medium is the message.
‘Ragweed’ is confrontational and then oddly poppy; from swingeing to swinging in a single bar. ‘Angel Hair’ is a lesser cut in this company, although I do enjoy Kat’s babbling in tongues at one point. Wimp that I am, this one hurts me.
‘Fontanellette’ isn’t quite the whole of Fontanelle, but it’s a pretty great attempt at it. The recording is clear, balanced and grungy as hell, Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth fame is credited as one of three folks recording/producing it. As every live recording ever should do it finishes with the genius invective of ‘Handsome & Gretel’. It’s a damn good representation of the band live. Job done.
Did I mention I love Babes In Toyland? I love all three members absolutely and equally in different ways, there aren’t many bands I can say that about^^. They were so damn good, so uncompromising, it’s what made them great and gave them a short half life. They were also a very precise, well-drilled outfit too, the chaos in their sound was deliberate, a tool to be used, not something they couldn’t progress past.
Painkillers may be one re-recording, one live side and some outtakes but the sheer quality of it sings for itself. Long live the long EP.
For full disclosure I need to add that I have only owned Painkillers for a year now, having been far too intimidated by the genuinely disturbing LP cover; dolls/clowns … that sound in the distance? that was me fleeing. I was massively impressed that it was by Cindy Sherman too.
1249 Down.
*4 months before Fontanelle was released, a very Neil Young-esque move.
**along with ‘Sweet 69’ a lonely highlight on 1995’s Nemesisters. (Sad face emoji thingy).
^it’s a punchier re-recording of the Spanking Machine track. I can argue for both versions being better than the other.
^^apart from Sabbath and Beastie Boys.
Fully paid up Babes fan too, but have not heard the live side of this! ‘He’s My Thing’ is indeed a blast in either version. So sad all of them including original bassist Michelle Leon have had such shitty stuff to deal with over the years. Need to read her memoir – published by the Minnesota Historical Society!
Hi Tim, you are a man of rare taste and distinction. I saw them at Leeds Poly and once more (Bradford possibly?) and they were immense and scary. I like the sound of anything published by the Minnesota Historical Society! I feel so damn sorry for Maureen too, she was always the one I just thought was so damned cool.
Both those vids are very well done and most entertaining. Really love the conceit of a 50 min e.p.
Hope you’re doing well, Mr S.
Thanks Bruce, they are great, the 60’s touches on 69 are great fun, although those dolls give me the ick.
I am fine thank you, quite a lot of life going on at the moment, it gets in the way doesn’t it?
It can do, for sure. I find hiding under the doona an effective strategy.