Leatherface - Mush

I never quite got how anyone could slag off Leatherface. And yet I always read damn fools bashing them. I haven't been writing a lot, and today isn't going to bring any real change to that. Anything that could be said about Leatherface has already been said in a more eloquent and heartfelt manner than I ever could. I've had the pleasure of hearing them live twice: in 1999 and 2000. In 1999, I sat outside St. Andrews' Church in College Park, where Frankie Stubbs & co. headlined a Hot Water Music/Panthro UK United 13/Swank bill. I was dead broke, and only about 2 months into an 9 month stay at the University of Maryland. In 2000, Leatherface played the Sidebar in Baltimore. I got and stayed shitfaced drunk, Cross My Heart & Pezz opened, Leatherface lived up their reputation as a fantastic live band, and somehow I made it home, without a scratch. I'm still amazed at the humor, the sincerity and the love that's gone into ever piece of music released by Leatherface. For those folks out there who dream of punk rock that is more than just a caricature of white belts, foot-tall mohicans or eyelinered anorexics, I heartily recommend Sunderland's finest.

Mush is Leatherface's third full-length. Originally released by Roughneck Records in 1992, it received a limited U.S. release by Atlantic Records subsidiary Seed Records in 1993. Since then, Mush has gone in and out of print, with a re-issue coming in 2000 for their 2nd full U.S. tour, as well as a new re-issue coming a few years back on Fire Records out of the UK. This rip comes from the Big Rock Records release in 2000. It is a record I will hold onto for the rest of my life. Leatherface should be going on stage in a few hours in Gainesville...I'm very jealous of the few folks I know who made the trip from Baltimore.










Leatherface - Mush
(note, 1/11/09: I've pulled the link temporarily, since there have been a ton of downloads on this, so obviously cats are interested. I'll probably repost this link, with all-new text, in a couple of months. While Amazon is not very helpful if you want a physical copy of this, they do provide a nice, low-cost MP3 download alternative. So drop the $9, for crying out loud.)

RIYL: Tom Waits, singing loudly while drunk on cheap red, hope