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Greatest Hits Available Now |
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“The Butthole Surfers
suck. We challenge ‘em to a drinking contest. The loser can never
leave Texas.” The Butthole Surfers never did accept the challenge. Perhaps they were embarrassed; according to Phish’s Trey Anastsio who knew fellow Vermonter and head Mother Ethan Azarian’s previous band, Hollywood Indians, “when I heard that single ‘Pepper’ I said ‘Gibby Haynes is totally ripping off Ethan Azarian!’” However, it was the Orange Mothers who ended up choosing to stick around Austin. The Orange Mothers were the greatest unknown college-rock band of the nineties...unknown outside of Austin, anyway. Austinites long-ago embraced the Mothers brand of quirky and clever rock and pop (and related antics), but front person Ethan Azarian and his band of iconoclastic misfits—Jeff Johnston, Tim Audy, and James Welch—cared nothing about national recognition or critical acclaim; they were just looking for some fun. Similarly, while locals eagerly snatched up all four Orange Mothers albums, no one ever did get around to a repress, leaving them unavailable to Austin late-comers...until now. I Eat Records is proud to release the Orange Mothers’ Greatest Hits in December 2005. Featuring fourteen tracks, this collection covers the full scope of the Mothers, from the oblique tenderness of “Lovebirds,” to the full-out rock of “Aliens,” along with everyone’s favorite “crotchety-old-man anthem,” “Kids (Don’t Know),” plus a bonus track: the Hollywood Indians’ raucous power-ballad, “Young Girl in Love.” All that and a mini-poster by Azarian, voted best painter in The Austin Chronicle readers’ poll in 2002. What more could anyone want? |
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1.
Heaven
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- Christopher Gray, The Austin Chronicle
Like a three-year-old butt-bare in the yard diving through the lawn
sprinkler, it’s a joyful experience, one that’s strangely appealing
in a crossover rock/country way...Such wide-eyed innocence hasn’t permeated
so deeply into rock since the early days of the Modern Lovers, and
the two genres often mesh here in a way that would do the Byrds proud.
The Orange Mothers’ sense of humor and ability to rock your socks off
is proudly on display.
- Ken Lieck, The Austin Chronicle
Like Half Japanese and Daniel Johnston, The Orange Mothers plunge,
wide-eyed and unironic, into the
rabbit hole of childhood memories and wake-and-bake daydreams and pull
up pop gold, authentic,
confidently amateurish music that is entirely devoid of rockstar posturing,
show-offy guitar wankery, and
hip snootiness...like a kid making a fort out of the season’s first
snow and forgetting about anything
else except how cool it’s going to be to invite his friends inside.
- Will Sheff, Audiogalaxy