Carnival of Souls (Pere Ubu album) explained

Carnival of Souls
Type:studio
Artist:Pere Ubu
Cover:Carnival of Souls (Pere Ubu album).jpg
Released:2014
Genre:Alternative rock
Label:Fire Records[1]
Producer:David Thomas
Prev Title:Lady from Shanghai
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Carnival of Souls is an album by the American band Pere Ubu, released in 2014.[2] [3] The title is taken from the 1962 film, for which the band had created an underscore.[4] [2] "Irene" was released as a single.[5]

Production

The album was written while Pere Ubu toured Europe in support of Lady from Shanghai.[6] Darryl Boon joined the band on clarinet.[7] In addition to the film, Pere Ubu was inspired by Van der Graaf Generator's Pawn Hearts.[8]

Critical reception

Record Collector wrote that the album "scrapes up enough sporadic excellence to justify David Thomas’ perseverance in the 21st-century scheme of things." Greil Marcus, in The Believer, thought that the lead track "Golden Surf II" "shoots out like a flood, and then you can ride the wave of transmorgrification that sweeps over the whole album."[9] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel determined that the band "still challenges itself and its listeners on its unsettling, menacing circus of a latest disc."[10]

AllMusic noted that "'Dr. Faustus', one of the album's most score-like pieces, combines metallic percussion, spare guitars and David Thomas' muttered vocals into something rustic and rickety, yet threatening at a moment's notice."

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Pere Ubu.

CD version

LP version

Side A

  1. Golden Surf II - 4:10
  2. Strychnine 1 - 1:05
  3. Drag The River - 4:01
  4. Strychnine 2 - 1:00
  5. Visions Of The Moon - 3:33
  6. Strychnine 3 - 1:01
  7. Dr. Faustus - 4:22

Side B

  1. Strychnine 4 - 1:01
  2. Bus Station - 4:28
  3. Road To Utah - 4:20
  4. Carnival - 5:01
  5. Strychnine 5 - 1:00
  6. Irene - 4:13

Notes and References

  1. News: POP CULTURE COUNTDOWN . Austin American-Statesman . 1 Sep 2014 . D2.
  2. Web site: Pere Ubu Biography, Songs, & Albums. AllMusic.
  3. News: Machosky . Michael . Pere Ubu proud of its ‘avant-garage’ staying power . Tribune-Review . June 30, 2016.
  4. Web site: Pere Ubu's 'Carnival Of Souls' Is A Dreamscape That's Never Dreamy . NPR . 14 December 2021.
  5. News: Cooper . Neil . Pere Ubu . Sunday Herald . November 20, 2014 . Features . 22.
  6. Web site: Pere Ubu: Carnival of Souls, PopMatters. Ed. Whitelock. September 12, 2014.
  7. Web site: Album Review: Pere Ubu - Carnival of Souls. DrownedInSound. 2021-12-14. 2021-12-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20211214215220/https://drownedinsound.com/releases/18401/reviews/4148200. dead.
  8. Web site: Pere Ubu CARNIVAL OF SOULS . The Quietus . 14 December 2021.
  9. Web site: Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014. Greil. Marcus. January 1, 2015. Yale University Press. Google Books.
  10. News: Pere Ubu, 'Carnival of Souls' . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . September 8, 2014 . Entertainment.