Pere Ubu is more than just a band. This is an institution full of noise, ingenuity and tenacity.
If you’re looking for the origins of post-punk music, you don’t need to go to London. Look at Cleveland.
Formed in 1975, this American progressive rock band was a major force shaping the post-punk aesthetic. They don’t chase charts. They pursue ideas.
Thomas and Laughner started the project. Both were music critics before becoming musicians. They have already appeared in Rocket from the Tombs. This is a heavy pedigree.
The band is named after the main character of Ubu roi. The play is a farce written by Alfred Jarry in 1896. The King Ubu. A grotesque and absurd figure. The music lives up to its name.
The lyrics are surreal. The sound was discordant. It is very noisy.
Critics love it. Record buyers don’t.
Their debut album The Modern Dance was released in 1978. Sales were flat. Its impact is beyond imagination.
This became a touchstone for those who want to escape the usual rock formations.
Personnel changes hit the group like a hammer. Labels come and go. Because of this, they have been in the shadows of mainstream fame. But it never stopped working.
The band broke up in 1982.
Most bands break up there. Pere Ubu was not like that.
David Thomas, the lead singer, kept going. At that time he was a Jehovah’s Witness. He calls himself Crocus Behemoth. Strange. intellectual. Unstoppable.
He founded a Pedestrians. Then there were his legs. Then there are tree birds.
By 1987, the pieces were put back together. Pere Ubu has risen from the dead.
The sound has evolved. Feelings of alienation and fear remain. But the noise has subsided. It has become more and more popular.
1988 ushered in the “Year of the Apartment” and was hailed by critics.
Cloudland followed in 1989.
Worlds in Collision was released in 1991.
This shift shows versatility. This proves that they do not stick to one aesthetic.
Technology becomes their new playground.
In the 1990s, Pere Ubu released a hybrid CD-ROM. music. video. Text. Mix everything. Ahead of its time.
Signing to a smaller label changed their trajectory. It gives them freedom.
*Ray Gun Suitcase (1995) is widely considered a peak.
Pennsylvania (1998) followed. Both albums are considered important additions to the catalog.
The output didn’t slow down.
- St. Arkansas * Established in 2002.
Then came 2009 Long Live Pere Ubud. . This was different. This work is a musical version of Jarry’s “Ubu Roi”. Sarah Jane Morris plays Mère Ubu. Thomas did the rest.
The experiment continues.
*Carnival of Souls dropped in 2014.
20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo followed in 2017.
The Long Goodbye will completed the recent era in 2019.
Through all of this, one thing remains the same.
Pere Ubu refuses to be ignored. They refuse to be categorized. They just keep playing.
What happens when a band survives for decades by refusing to please anyone but themselves? You get a legacy that transcends trends.
The real story begins with the silence after the last note.
