Distemper (album) explained

Distemper
Type:	studio
Artist:	The New Christs
Cover:	File:Distemper_album.jpg
Released:	August 1989
Recorded:	Trafalgar Studios, Sydney, Australia January 1989
Studio:	Garage rock punk rock post-punk garage punk
Length:	44:03 (LP) 50:13 (CD)
Label:	Blue Mosque/Citadel
Producer:	Rob Younger

Distemper is the first non-compilation album by The New Christs. It reached #1 on the Australian Alternative Charts.^[1]

Reception

According to Sydney Morning Herald, the album received critical acclaim upon its release.^[2] Trouser Press noted the "dark, brooding" and "apocalyptic tone" of the album, writing that it is "nothing short of a 40-minute call to emotional jihad."^[3]

Legacy

Louder than War described the album as "rabid [and] incredibly feral", calling it "a classic case of an album being so definitive that it was hard to see how it could be bettered, despite the consistently high quality of subsequent New Christs’ albums."^[4] Mark Lanegan of The Screaming Trees named the album as an influence on his music, calling the album "catchy in a really weird way and [Rob Younger's] singing is so out there and unique. He works around the music and he’s really aggressive."^[5] The US website Fast 'n' Bulbous ranked it 83rd best album of the 1980s.^[6]

Track listing

1. "No Way on Earth" (Rob Younger) 4:42
2. "There's no time" (Younger) 3:32
3. "Another Sin" (Jim Dickson, Nick Fischer, Charlie Owen, Younger) 3:33
4. "The March" (Owen, Younger) 5:28
5. "The Burning of Rome" (Younger) 5:14
6. "Afterburn" (Owen, Younger) 4:47
7. "Circus of Sour" (Owen, Younger) 3:56
8. "Coming Apart" (Younger) 2:55
9. "Bed of Nails" (Dickson, Younger) 6:26
10. "Love's Underground" (Dickson, Fischer, Owen, Younger) 3:14
11. "Disconnected" (Dickson, Younger) 6:26
12. "Headin' South" (Younger) 4:09

Tracks 11 and 12 only appear on the CD.

Personnel

The New Christs

• Rob Younger – Lead Vocals
• Charlie Owen – Guitar, Piano, Organ
• Jim Dickson – Bass, Vocals
• Nick Fischer – Drums

with

• Louis Tillett – Piano, Organ (1,5,10)

External links

• Distemper on Citadel Records

Notes and References

1. Book: McFarlane, Ian . . Ian McFarlane . . 1999 . 1-86448-768-2 .
2. Web site: The New Christs' Rob Younger embraced irony after Radio Birdman. Patrick. Emery. 7 August 2014. The Sydney Morning Herald.
3. Web site: The Trouser Press record guide. Ira A.. Robbins. 24 March 1991. Collier Books. Internet Archive.
4. Web site: The New Christs: Incantations - album review. 25 August 2014.
5. Web site: The Quietus - Features - Baker's Dozen -. The Quietus.
6. Web site: List Archive.