NOTES
Gibby Haynes: Vocals.
Paul Leary: Guitars.
Trevor: Bass
King Coffey: Drums
Theresa: Drums

No producing credit given.
c.p. 1986, Butthole Surfers.

Despite seven full-length albums, a double live L.P., four E.P.'s, and countless appearances on compilation and soundtrack albums, Rembrandt Pussyhorse stands as the Butthole Surfers' weirdest and most experimental album.  It's also their most unsettling. The previous L.P. Psychic...Powerless...Another Mans Sac was a goofy taste of things to come, and those expecting the balls-out rock the Surfers have displayed on more recent efforts will find something different, yet totally intriguing with this record.

Rembrandt Pussyhorse kicks off with "Creep in the Cellar,"  an ominous piano-driven track that sets the mood for the rest of the album.  Vocalist and frontman Gibby Haynes has always been known for his stream-of-consciousness lyric delivery, and Pussyhorse is no exception.  One of Haynes' strong points is his ability to work disturbing subtexts into songs, either real or imaginary.  Out of nowhere in "Perry," Haynes' sings "It's about being a slave boy/It's about giving head when you're six years old," and then repeats the word "cancer" repeatedly.  Furthermore, most of the album contains death references, as in the self-explanatory "Waiting for Jimmy to Kick," and  "Strangers Die Everyday."

The musicianship is another great achievement on the record, starting with the framework of brother/sister drumming team King Coffey and Theresa, and ending with guitarist Paul Leary manipulating his instrument in ways unheard of in the mid 1980s (with the exception of maybe Sonic Youth).  His groaning guitar propels songs like "Whirling Hall of Knives," and seems to be more experimental and psychedelic than the Surfers previous recordings, giving Pussyhorse an other-wordly sound.  Couple that with sound effects like bubbling ooze, and the unearthly roaring noises in "Mark Says Alright" (yes, they do apparently have an obsession with Grand Funk Railroad), and you've got yourself quite a little album - and let's not forget the truly astounding rendition of "American Woman."

And while you're at it, pick it up on CD if you can, because it includes the Surfers' 1985 E.P. Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis at no extra cost.

You're lucky if you escape with a scream.