Butthole Surfers - Piouhgd/Widowermaker

Superlative psychedelic shenanigans from Texas’ finest

For many, the troublesomely titled Pioughd signalled the beginning of the end for the Butthole Surfers. Coming some three years after the grandiose idiocy/genius of Hairway To Steven (1988), detractors were quick to point towards the increasing reliance on gimmickry to cover up what they perceived as a deficit in the Texan troupe’s songwriting department. True, occasionally the music on Pioughd seems merely a means of allowing frontman Gibby Haynes to trawl through his impressive array of effects-laden vocal contortions (check out a peculiarly mutated version of Donavan’s The Hurdy Gurdy Man), and maybe the obsession with dogs had been stretched a little too far (in addition to Barking Dogs the listener is treated to a four-part meditation on the tragedy of the Lonesome Bulldog), but the bottom line is that Pioughd, accompanied here by the equally magnificent but a tad more malevolent Widowermaker EP, proves that the Butthole Surfers could still kick major ass. The album in particular is a splendid showcase for the talents of guitarist Paul Leary, whose searing six-string gymnastics never sounded more blisteringly brain-flaying than on pieces such as Revolution Part 2 and (oh dear) Golden Showers, while the epic P.S.Y. remains a delectable jewel in the Surfers’ resplendently perverse repertoire.

Latino Bugger Veil | LBV 09

Reviewed by Spencer Grady
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