Artist: Husker Du
Album: Land Speed Record
Label: Reflex
Year: 1981
I think one of the lamest compliments that you can give a record is that it's "aptly named." So while I won't compliment this record on those grounds...it is aptly named. On Husker Du's debut LP, which is a live record, blows through 17 songs in under 30 minutes. Which I guess from a hardcore punk perspective isn't too impressive, but the fact that it's live...so there is feedback and count-offs between songs...which probably add an extra minute or two...it's awesome. But nothing about this record is typical hardcore punk, either.
The cover features photos of the coffins of the first soldiers killed in Vietnam, and the song titles indicate themes about destruction. And the music is blistering fast. But still...it owes little to the school of Minor Threat or Black Flag in terms of influence. The songs are lightening-fast bursts of pop, honestly. Sure, the distortion is up to 10 and the vocals are frighteningly furious, but the pop structure is there.
There's not much more I have to say on this record. It really is the best document of the early Husker Du sound, though. Everything Falls Apart has some amazing songs, but a lot of the sound of that record suffers from a studio environment. Here, however, you get to hear the pummeling way in which the songs were meant to be heard. If you already own Zen Arcade and New Day Rising...don't go to the later stuff, get this one next.
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