No matter how little you come within ear or eye shot of punk rockers Dwarves, it’s not something you easily forget. The Chicago-bred group play with an unrelenting speed and fury, dusting off an album’s worth of paeans to drugs, sex, sex on drugs and other nihilistic concerns in less time than it takes to watch a sitcom without commercials. And they adorn their records with provocative images and titles like the three naked, blood-covered bodies found on the cover of 1990’s “Blood Guts & Pussy”.
To close out the year, Dwarves have begun a reissue campaign of their earlier work, starting with the three albums they recorded for Sub Pop in the early part of the ’90s. The band’s relationship with the label was a fraught one, particularly after they announced the stabbing death of their guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed.
It turned out to be a hoax, and Sub Pop cut them loose as a result. Working with the Seattle label did give Dwarves a huge boost sonically as they were able to work with producer Jack Endino on “Blood”, record “Little Girls” at Butch Vig’s Smart Studios and run future Foo Fighters collaborator Bradley Cook through the wringer to make “Sugarfix”.
All three records sound like sharp, swift kicks in the teeth from a pointed boot — all leathery fury and metallic spew — on these new vinyl editions. And with their short original run times, there’s plenty of space on each slab for bonus tracks that don’t feel or sound squeezed in.
The Fat Angel Sings 