The almighty Pere Ubu return with the ‘Architecture Of Language 1979-1982’ box set encompassing ‘New Picnic Time’, ‘The Art Of Walking’ and ‘Song of The Bailing Man’ + ‘Architectural Salvage’ – a bonus of extras! The box set is officially released today and their ‘Coed Jail!’ tour begins next week!
“From thrilling and ecstatic to confounding and infuriating, post-punk Ubu is one of a kind” Mojo
“weirdness, jokes and inspired ideas abound but seldom forcefully cohere” Q
“an essential collection” Classic Rock
“collecting their nightmarishly cheerful records.. this project is one of the most valuable sonic excavations currently being made by any record label” Popmatters
Pere Ubu reinvented rock music from the ground up. Equally at ease with Sun Ra and The Monkees, Glen Campbell and The MC5, Can and The Raspberries, they are the white Funkadelic. 2015’s box set release, ‘Elitism For The People 1975-1978’ is a veritable primer for exploring the possibilities of popular music. It documents the band “creating their own private musical apocalypse and then forging on to start the world anew” (Uncut, Jim Wirth).
The second in the series of box sets, ‘Architecture Of Language 1979-1982,’ gathers together “the scariest album ever recorded,” ‘New Picnic Time,’ with its companion releases, ‘The Art Of Walking’ and ‘Song Of The Bailing Man.’ These are records of “unique beauty – a beauty marked by truth and thus also tragic and sometimes painful” (Sounds, Chris Cutler).
Ian Penman, writing in 1980 in the New Musical Express, said “It is obvious that (the history of) Pere Ubu should not be thought of in terms of a linear development – reducing its entire operation and presence to an exclusive concern for working and succeeding in rock and roll. Unfortunately, most criticism – of Pere Ubu, of many other folks – assumes that words have one meaning, that desires point in a single direction, that ideas are logical; it ignores the fact that the world of language, noise and desire is one of lack, insecurity, interruption, struggle, blundering, disguises, ploys, embarrassed grins.”
The Coed Jail Tour marks the release of the box with a set list drawn exclusively from the recordings of 1975-1982. Tom Herman, guitarist from 1975 to 1979 and from 1997 to 2002, rejoins the band for the tour. The line-up is David Thomas, Tom Herman, Robert Wheeler, Michele Temple and Steve Mehlman. Wheeler and Temple have been in Pere Ubu since 1994, Mehlman since 1995.
Watch the new David Thomas video ‘Datapanik in The Year 2016’ below and view the premiere on Brooklyn Vegan here
Coed Jail! Dates:
22 Mar: The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK
23 Mar: Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, UK
24 Mar: The Dome, Tufnell Park, London, UK
25 Mar: Bla, Oslo, Norway
26 Mar: Stubnitz, Hamburg, Germany
27 Mar: Volksbühne, Berlin, Germany
29 Mar: Szene Wien, Vienna, Austria
28 Mar: Beatpol, Dresden, Germany
30 Mar: Mame Club, Padova, Italy
31 Mar: Monk Club, Rome, Italy
01 Apr: Locomotiv, Bologna, Italy
02 Apr: La Gravière, Geneva, Switzerland
03 Apr: Sedel, Luzern, Switzerland
05 Apr: Le Poste à Galène, Marseille, France
06 Apr: Salle Jean Carmet, Le Mans, France
07 Apr: Le Point Ephémère, Paris, France
08 Apr: de Helling, Utrecht, Netherlands
09 Apr: More Music, Brugge, Belgium
‘Architecture Of Language 1979-1982’ sampler
Pere Ubu Video Series
‘Datapanik In The Year 2016’ https://youtu.be/jsL7ZN2n2hM
‘The First Pere Ubu Single’ https://youtu.be/xTZLs1UhV4w
‘You’re Going To Be Huge Stars’ https://youtu.be/IKOA8Ddjk0I
‘I Am The Conscience Of The Music Industry’ https://youtu.be/Gugy7jzr94E
Box Set Order Links
Bandcamp: https://pereubumusic.bandcamp.com/album/architecture-of-language-1979-1982
Fire Records: https://www.firerecords.com/wp/product/pere-ubu-architecture-of-language-1979-1982-vinyl-box-set/
