Strangers from the Universe

Strangers from the Universe is an album by the American band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in 1994 through Matador Records.[1][2] The band supported the album by touring with Live.[3] Strangers from the Universe was a moderate commercial success.[4] Mark Davies used an Optigan keyboard on some of the tracks.[5]

Strangers from the Universe
Studio album by
Released1994
RecordedLowdown Studios, San Francisco, California
GenreIndie rock, experimental rock, noise rock
Length46:38
LabelMatador
ProducerGreg Freeman, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 chronology
The Funeral Pudding
(1994)
Strangers from the Universe
(1994)
I Hope It Lands
(1996)

It was reissued in 2022.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography4/10[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[10]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[11]

Trouser Press wrote: "Berserk rhythms are presented with deadpan simplicity, like the sickly funk riff of 'Socket' that keeps sticking a banana peel in its own path."[12] Spin opined that "for once the Thinking Fellers have made an album that you can comfortably hear straight through, and its dark mood deepens along the way."[13]

The Washington Post determined that the album "can be elusive, but much of it deserves the title the band bestowed on the closing track, 'Noble Experiment'."[14] The Santa Fe New Mexican noted that "sometimes stringed instruments, such as banjo or mandolin, are used as rhythm instruments, or to create a throbbing drone ... It's usually unsettling, but sometimes beautiful."[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

No.TitleLength
1."My Pal the Tortoise"2:47
2."Socket"4:23
3."Bomber Pilot WWII"1:14
4."Hundreds of Years"4:29
5."Guillotine"5:13
6."Uranium"1:14
7."February"3:09
8."Pull My Pants Up Tight"0:59
9."Cup of Dreams"6:40
10."The Oxenmaster"1:49
11."The Operation"5:24
12."The Piston and the Shaft"5:11
13."Communication"0:24
14."Noble Experiment"3:11

Personnel

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Production and additional personnel

References

  1. "Lost Classics: Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 "Strangers From The Universe"". March 1, 2009.
  2. "Thinking Fellers Union Local #282 Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Perfect Sound Forever.
  4. Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press. ISBN 9781627883795 via Google Books.
  5. Gettelman, Parry (11 Aug 1995). "AN ALTERNATIVE WITH A DIFFERENCE". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 6.
  6. Segal, Dave. "Embrace the Effortless Weirdness of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". The Stranger.
  7. Phares, Heather. "Strangers from the Universe". AllMusic. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  8. "The encyclopedia of popular music". 1998.
  9. Strong, Martin Charles (1999). The great alternative & indie discography. Canongate. ISBN 9780862419134.
  10. Spin Alternative Record Guide, page 402-403
  11. "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 - Strangers from the Universe (Album review ) | Sputnikmusic".
  12. "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Trouser Press. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  13. Ross, Alex (Feb 1995). "Spins". Spin. 10 (11): 77.
  14. Jenkins, Mark (21 Oct 1994). "Fellers' Experiment; Salem's Solo Debut". The Washington Post. p. N17.
  15. Terrell, Steve (18 Nov 1994). "TERRELL'S TUNEUP". PASATIEMPO. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 29.
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