Frownland

I like bob.'s idea of putting it in a spoiler tag if another album is being reviewed.

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Trollheart

First of all, may I say how annoying it was that this was not on Spotify, despite God Bullies being there? So I had to go for YouTube, which is always a little frustrating. All right, that's that done, let's get to the meat of the matter...

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Interesting. I don't hate this.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
I liked it. The samples/speech were used well against the wailing guitar and galloping percussion.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Liked that too. Heavier. Almost metal at times.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
Hard to say as he went though so many different styles, but I didn't hate him, let's say that

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
Generally, mostly yes

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Better

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
A lot of it reminded me of Matt Johnson's work

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Yes

9. What did you think of the production?
You know me and production...

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
I had heard bob talk about them, but had never heard anything from them

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not specifically, though it's not the kind of music I would avoid listening to either

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I think it improved with each listen

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
I like the way you hear a nascent Zoidberg on “Creepy people” (Woo-hoo-woo-hoo-hoo!) Also “O ****”, “Act of desire”, “Red blood,” Sex, power, money” ... most of them really.

14. And the one you liked least?
“The Godfather moves to Arkansas, Part 1” and “All I want is my mamma”. Well, the really annoying speech part at the start, anyway. The other one is just all speech. **** that.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
n/a

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Probably not. It was good, enjoyable but I wouldn't be actively seeking out more of their work.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Kind of, yes. Bob is, or was known for his love of noise rock and I expected something a lot more abrasive to be honest.

18. Did the album end well?

Yeah, it did. Good closer. Could have done without the sample right at the end though.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Less samples, or others but used better. A lot of them seemed just thrown in there for the sake of it.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I really don't know. It was quite varied, so, you know...

Overall I'd give it a strong Like and maybe 7/10

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OccultHawk

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb

I was hoping for a lost five star treasure from this golden age of post-punk noise. It's good but not THAT good.

What we basically have here is a Butthole Surfers tribute by a band still hanging on to the Cramps and the Birthday Party. Unfortunately they lack the star power of any of those bands. The guitar should've been more abstract, the vocals need more weird effects, the drums could be more tribal, and the samples need to actually be interesting. I guess I'm saying that if the chili isn't really that good go ahead and pour on the Tabasco.

Still, especially considering the time stamp, I'm giving it a favorable 3 out of 5 stars.

Psy-Fi

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
I thought it reminded me a bit of Negativland or the Ministry/Butthole Surfers combo. Heavy, rhythmic psych-rock.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
By far my favorite on the album. Was hoping the entire album would be like this.

3. What did you think of the next track?
This was where the album took a change of direction and, unfortunately, it wasn't in a direction that interested me. Sounded like D.O.A. meets Jack Nicholson as The Joker on vocals.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Reminded me of Lux Interior from The Cramps and a bit of Jello Biafra from the Dead Kennedys. Not bad but not great, either.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
The first track, yes. The rest somewhat but mostly it didn't do much for me.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Worse, unfortunately. I felt a bit let down after the enjoyable opening track.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
Couldn't make most of it out but there seemed to be a lot of references to blood, pain, sex, religion, Satan, mental illness.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Some were OK and some didn't do much for me.

9. What did you think of the production?
Seemed good for the type of music and style the band were playing.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Have heard of them and have heard several other bands like them but can't remember if I ever listened to anything they did before this album.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Not very often. This is more the type of music I listened to more often back in the late 80's and early 90's.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
Listened twice and definitely liked it more with the second listen. I could see this growing on me a bit if I listened to this type of music more often than I do nowadays.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
The first track was easily my favorite.

14. And the one you liked least?
Nothing stood out to me as being particularly awful compared to the rest.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
N/A

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Might check into some more of their past musical output.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
No. I didn't look into the band before listening to the album so I didn't know what to expect going into the album.

18. Did the album end well?
The last track was OK and one of the better songs on the album but not my favorite on the album.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
I would've preferred it if the album had sounded a lot more like the first track and continued with the heavy psych-rock Ministry/Butthole Surfers/Negativland type vibe.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
The rest of the album after the opening track, hung together well and sounded cohesive to me. The opener seemed a bit out of place compared to the rest of the album.

5/10

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Pet_Sounds

Hey guys, I'll be away this weekend and probably won't have time to listen. I'll try and post something, but don't hold your breath.

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Aloysius

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb

I was straight away reminded of Butthole Surfers, both in sound and humour - obviously not a unique revelation as several others have mentioned it already. I liked this quite a bit, the band were pretty tight and provided some thick sludgy riffs which provided a nice background for the vocals and samples. For me the best track was Fear and Pain - this showed what the band is capable of with some great riffs and a wall of sound with interesting detail inside it that I felt like I was walking around in, like a forest from an alien planet.

7.5/10

DwnWthVwls

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb



1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
I hope there is actually something more to it than talking and instrumentals.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
It was okay, not the kind of thing I would typically call a song. More like an interlude.

3. What did you think of the next track?
At least it's a song. It's actually not bad. I was expecting something more abrasive (it kind of is but a tolerable amount). It's half catchy.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Eh. I don't have much experience with the genre to compare him to other similar vocalists. Not great, not terrible. I dig the creepy laugh.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
No

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
My opinion didn't change much as the album progressed. Tolerable, but not something I'd go out of my way to listen to.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
It was kind of difficult to understand. I found myself listening to the sound overall and not really paying attention to the lyrics.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Yes, when they weren't being obnoxious.

9. What did you think of the production?
Idk, I'm the worst at this, and have nothing to compare it to. Mediocre?

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
No

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
No

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I only listened once. That was enough.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
I don't think I have a favorite track, but "What Reason" is one of the easier going tracks. Or maybe it just came off that way after having to deal with "Fear and Pain".

14. And the one you liked least?
Fear and Pain.. I get it.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
No

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
No, but I'd be more open to a song recommendation from them if someone gave it to me.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Nope, after reading other reviews this is how I expected it to go. I was more positive leaving then going in.

18. Did the album end well?
No better or worse than the rest of the album.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
No. I think it's probably pretty good and achieves what it set out to do, it's just not for me.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
Overall, it flowed pretty well. If anything the first track seemed out of place. Is that how these kinds of albums generally start?

Rating: 6/10

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Goofle

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb

I don't have much time for a full bullet point review today, but I did really like this album. I'm currently listening to it again and I might have to reconsider my initial rating (7.5) and bump it up further. Love the whirling guitars, manic vocals, fuzzy bass and all of that good stuff. I think the last two albums on this thread have strengthened my desire to start seeking out more harsh and noisy rock music. Really good stuff.

Rating: 8/10

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Chicagoslaw8

God Bullies - Mama Womb Womb

I don't generally listen to this type of music, but their have been instances when it does appeal to me in some way or another. I enjoyed this Album somewhat, the vocalist does a pretty good job for the type of music he makes, but it doesn't really appeal to me, the instrumentation can be a bit catchy at times, but often his singing style would ruin it for me, I also enjoyed the audio clips they threw in, I've always enjoyed when bands do that, it adds a little uniqueness to it. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Follow the Leader, I liked the bits with the Female voice added in, and Red Blood. I don't really have a least favorite track, and the lyrics sound pretty basic. Overall I think the album is pretty consistent, and the instrumentation can be a bit catchy, however this singing style doesn't really do it for me,I also like the second half more then the first half, it had more songs where the singing style didn't bother me as much. ill give this a 6/10.

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Electrophonic Tonic

God Bullies
Mama Womb Womb


1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
I'm a sucker for a nice speech/dialogue sample, and this one works well for not only this track but the rest of the album as well. And while it take some time for the actual music to start, it had a nice groove and it was something that I hoped to hear more of with the album.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Great tone-setting track. The sample of the ranting and raving sermon about the danger of the beat was great.

3. What did you think of the next track?
I liked the music a bit more than the first track.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? I'll compare them to another album we heard in this club, Old Lady Drivers. The vocals aren't amazing by any means, but they compliment the music really well and are almost a necessity to stand out from the rest of the music.


5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
I'll join the growing chorus of people comparing these guys to Butthole Surfers. While I liked the music quite a bit, the dialogue samples are always something I love to hear.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
I was enjoying it from the start, and I more or less liked it the whole time I was listening to it.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I didn't catch all the lyrics, but I was a big fan of the content in the sampled vocal portions.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Noisy, groovy, weird, thumping... All good things by my standards.

9. What did you think of the production?
Solid, aside from a few effects used on the singer's voice.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Never heard of them.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
I don't want to reduce these guys to a label, but this sort of noisy/psychedelic alt rock is something I enjoy, but have never actively sought out.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

Listened 3 times, consistently enjoyed it all three times.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?

This album was bookends for me. The opener and closer were my two favorite tracks.

14. And the one you liked least?
I didn't like the stop/start nature of Red Blood.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
I believe this is a debut album. I'd say it's pretty solid.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
Maybe more from the artist, but more likely from the genre at large.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Once I heard about 10 minutes of the album and realized what the sound would be, it was one of those albums that I knew I would, at worst, tolerate and probably end up liking.

18. Did the album end well?
I loved the last track. I loved the soaring guitars over the bouncy bass guitar and just the general noise of the whole thing. I'd say What Are You Looking For is my favorite track of not only the album, but my favorite among all of the songs we've listened to in this club.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
The weird part is, while I can't really find an actual notable flaw with the album, I found myself only liking it rather than loving it. I'm sure if I sat down with the album more than just the week and three times I've heard it, I could find something to be improved on and figure out why I don't love it.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
It's a consistent album.

As positive as my overall review is, I just can't give Mama Womb Womb anything more than a 7/10 since I can't say I loved the album. I really, really liked it, but I just don't love it. Maybe it's because the middle of the album is good, but pales in comparison to the opener and closer. But anyway, if the criteria we've established is anything above an eight means you loved the album, I can't rate it any higher than a 7.

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