The Modern Dance

Pere Ubu’s mighty debut recorded back in 1977 and originally released on Blank Records in 1978. It is hard to believe that such noises could come from so deep in America’s heartland, played by a group named after a French absurdist play. The debut album by Pere Ubu, “The Modern Dance”, is the realization of group leader David Thomas’s high-concept vision of a rock band whose sound was always just on the verge of falling apart. Avant garde and not terribly accessible, the album’s noisy anarchy was a tonic for punks and intellectuals sick of the bloated, corporate sound that passed for commercial rock at the time. It became a major influence on the leading alternative bands of the following decade, including the Pixies and Hüsker Dü.

“The Modern Dance” has been critically acclaimed. Rolling Stone called it “vivid and exhilarating, even if harsh and willfully ugly”. NME named “The Modern Dance” the 11th best album of 1978. Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970’s.

This is the 2013 reissue by Music On Vinyl, with a unique light grey cover instead of black. In great shape!