The Finest In Underground Indie Trench Variety Music.

34 MP3 Songs in this album (53:33) !
Related styles: Rock: American Underground, Rock: Experimental Rock, Mood: Weird

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Details:
Enjoy The Irritants 1998 release, "HARSH"; a compilation of raw, home-grown wickedness and wholly impertinent mischievousness from the early days of the band (1985-1992). Culled from The Irritants first four releases (which are currently unavailable to the public at large):
"MOTION DISCOMFORT" (1988),
"BITE ME I'M HOME" (1989),
"WHAT GIVES?" (1990), and
"THE THREE HEMISPHERES OF SANTAPEDE'S VILLAGE (1992),
"HARSH" is a heartfelt (foolish but fun) attempt at remastering a selected collection of short songs, comedic interludes, and experimental noise created on primitive, lo-fi, home 4-track cassette tapes. Necessary for the politically frustrated and poignant to the religiously ambiguous, The Irritants early works were/are light years ahead of the alternative and grunge movements, based on classic, organ throbbing rock mixed generously and unforgettably with any and all other genres that struck the fevered brains of it's creative participants. Presenting inviting (yet still irritating) melodies with fiercely solid drumming, wallpaper-shredding rips, and rollicking silliness track after track, "HARSH" is a must for anti-establishment souls craving an original, underground soundtrack to their lives!

Not merely a party album, "HARSH" is a complete entertainment from start to finish and it is intended by the band to be heard this way rather than as single cuts separated by unintended pauses of undetermined lengths. It runs like an aural cartoon edited for said purpose to provide maximum replay value as a total album.

---A SOMEWHAT TOLERABLY BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IRRITANTS---
In 1985, independent artist/animator Dean Kendrick persuaded two of his compadres, John Carpender and Jeff Demand, to compose music for his underground stop-motion fantasy "Left to Write." At the time, John was playing drums with approximately a billion rock, reggae, jazz, and blues bands and Jeff was playing the family Optigon with headphones in the wee hours. Both leapt at the prospect of soundtrack dabbling and were injured. With the use and abuse of a 4-track cassette recorder, the team not only created noise for the film, but dribbled out many side projects as well involving improvisation and track layering. Dean then joined this experimental circus adding Zappa-esque editing of the compositions to the already nauseous mix, thus creating, as we know them today, "The Irritants." "The Irritants" was a description before becoming a title and is derived, of course, from the Saxon word for "cheese."

Between 1985 and 1992, The Irritants created four raw, no-budget cassette albums totaling more than 150 cuts. Eight songs were featured in a 25 minute video, "The Irritants Eye Wax," completed in 1991 and directed by Dean. Much to the band's surprise, a sick little cult following emerged in the band's native Chicago area. Fans searching for the finest in Trench Variety music found it in the guise of "The Irritants," alternative's alternative sound. The year 1994 saw the completion of "Brick," utilizing such advanced recording methods as two 4-track recorders and mix down to HiFi VHS tape. Shocking.

Since then the boys have gone digital, in part. The 2001 release, "Butterflies and Aliens," was recorded mostly on ADAT and Sony MiniDisc formats (yes, and some good ol' cassette 4-trackage as well). Seems these kids never discount any recording method. Also, "Butterflies and Aliens" welcomed many new fabulous and disturbed artists to the growing and groaning dysfunctional Irritants family which have helped to take the aural visions of The Irritants to the cleaners and beyond.