Modern Dance

Pere Ubu: Tom Herman, Scott Krauss, Tony Maimone, Allen Ravenstine, David Thomas (vocals, various instruments).
Recording information: Suma (11/1977).
Photographer: Mik Mellen.
It is hard to believe that such noises could come from so deep in America's heartland, played by a group named after a French absurdist play. The debut album by Pere Ubu, The Modern Dance is the realization of group leader David Thomas's (a.k.a. Crocus Behemoth) high-concept vision of a rock band whose sound was always just on the verge of falling apart. Avant garde and not terribly accessible, the album's noisy anarchy was a tonic for punks and intellectuals sick of the bloated, corporate sound that passed for commercial rock at the time. It became a major influence on the leading alternative bands of the following decade, including the Pixies and Husker Du.