On their first two albums,
Red Red Meat built their signature sound by taking the blues, filtering it through their druggy post-punk sensibilities, and bending it into something that was all their own. But with 1995's
Bunny Gets Paid,
Red Red Meat began twisting their music into new shapes that were all but unrecognizable from the original source materials; one can find bits of rock and blues if they sift long enough through these shards of sound, but the final product is more of a descent into the maelstrom of lo-fi experimentalism.
Bunny Gets Paid is a deliberately ramshackle set in which the guitars sound fractured and spare when they aren't roaring within an inch of their lives, the humming of the amps is transformed into an instrument, the keyboards buzz and squawk, primitive string charts rise and fall out of the mix, the rhythms manage to be lethargic and insistent at the same time, and the lyrics rarely make much literal sense but generate a palpable dread that suggests some glorious bum trip captured on tape. In hindsight,
Bunny Gets Paid is the logical precursor to the music guitarist
Tim Rutili, drummer Ben Massarella, and bassist
Tim Hurley would later make with
Califone (as well as the sort of soundscapes
Brian Deck would construct as a producer), and there are some moments of freaked-out majesty to behold. But
Bunny Gets Paid is a grand experiment, and like many experiments it isn't a complete success; many of these tracks tend to meander as they search for their sonic destination, and while the harder-hitting tracks like "Rosewood, Wax, Voltz and Glitter" and "Chain Chain" are more immediately exciting, they lack the sense of musical wanderlust that make "Gauze" or the title track compelling even when they get lost in the woods.
Bunny Gets Paid was the first leg in a new creative journey for the members of
Red Red Meat, and even if the places they would later go have proven more rewarding, there's enough adventure in this music to justify joining them for the trip. [
Bunny Gets Paid fell out of print a few years after it was released, but in 2009 Sub Pop Records has given the album a second chance with a special two-disc deluxe edition. Along with the original album in remastered form, the set includes a bonus disc featuring a home-recorded acoustic demo of "Chain Chain," different versions of "Idiot Son" and "Carpet of Horses," a dub remix of "Mouse-ish," an unreleased tune called "Saint Anthony's Jawbone" and covers of tunes by
Low and
A Flock of Seagulls...no, really,
A Flock of Seagulls. Much of the bonus material finds the band still making their way out of the more blues-based structures of
Red Red Meat's earlier work, and it offers an interesting picture of how the band arrived at their new approach. The new package also includes additional artwork and essays from Ben Massarella, producer
Brad Wood, and other fans and friends of the band, including a brief but hilarious appreciation from
Isaac Brock of
Modest Mouse.
Bunny Gets Paid has never been much of a crowd pleaser, but it's developed a cult of loyal admirers among
Red Red Meat's fans, and they'll be pleased with the care that's gone into this new edition.] ~ Mark Deming