It was not surprising that after
Dub Housing,
Pere Ubu couldn't get a record released in the U.S.
New Picnic Time originally surfaced on Chrysalis as a British import, but when Rough Trade made it available domestically, U.S. fans could take solace in that the band had finally hooked up with a label more sympathetic to their decidedly unique approach to music.
New Picnic Time was also the last
Ubu record with guitarist
Tom Herman, and for many
Ubu fans this signals the end of
Pere Ubu phase one (or phase two, depending on one's feelings for the Datapanik-era band).
New Picnic Time also finds
David Thomas' lyrical explorations reflecting his religious involvement with the Jehovah's Witnesses, pieties that are stated quite emphatically on the record's closing track, "Jehovah's Kingdom Comes." ~ John Dougan