Pigface

The Best of (Invisible)
by Lex Marburger

Ah, such a long and varied history it is for Pigface… Ten years old, and still disturbing and upsetting rivetheads everywhere. Tho’ by now an institution, Pigface has always stayed a step to the side of the Industrial Nation, putting out combinations of annoyance and funky beats. In fact, I have to say that while listening to this album, I began trying to compare their sound to something… Hmmm… Loud guitars, funky beats, angry men and women screaming and performing syncopated spoken word over the top… My god! Did Pigface originate nü metal? Of course not. They had much more innovation and soul.

And what a lineup! Yeah, they’ve always been a supergroup, but they never really gave anyone writing credits. Until now, with The Best Of, an album that core member Martin Atkins says was made because everyone else was already making mix tapes of Pigface material. Here’s a partial (very partial) list of people who’ve played in Pigface: Trent Reznor, The Pixies, Flea, Dean Ween, David Yow, Jello Biafra, M. Gira, Becky from the Lunachicks, En Esch, Ogre, Meg Lee Chin, Genesis P-Orridge, Chris Connelly, Mick Harris, Chris Vrenna, and Steve Albini. That’s the short list. Well, so what? What kind of songs are these, anyway? Basically, if you go to the kinds of clubs where people know and love Pigface (the kind that are dark, smell like cloves and sweat, and the clothing is usually a hybrid of leather and PVC), these are all the tracks where you dance even if you don’t know who it is. Now you’ll say “Oh, this is by Pigface, too?” Songs included are “Asphole,” “Kiss King,” “Fuck It Up,” “Suck,” and “Hips, Tits, Lips, Power!” But there’s so much more!

A second disc with outtakes, radio promos, and interview excerpts is provided to give you a feeling of Pigface’s sense of humor and where their songs originate. As always, Martin’s drums come out over-the-top, with his hi-hat banging out the time. I was going to make some wise-ass comment about the omnipresence of the hi-hat – how a man could do so much with an eighth note – but a voice in the back of my head said that would be a little too geeky… Still, after the concussive patterns of 140 minutes of Pigface, one of the most shocking tracks is the very last on disc two, “You Know You Know You Know,” an a capella number that sounds like something off of Roger Waters’ Radio KAOS. It’s very pretty. Just goes to show that Atkins will always fuck with your head if you give him a chance.
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