''Purplemetalflakemusic'' is an album by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

the Fluid The Fluid was an American rock band from Denver which formed in 1985, disbanded in 1993, but reconvened in 2008. The group cited the Rolling Stones and MC5 as inspirations for their sound, and was the first group based outside the Pacific Northwe ...

, released in 1993. It was the band's first album for a major label. The Fluid named the album after their music publishing company. Due to poor sales and the exit of their drummer, the band broke up less than a year after the album's release. The band supported the album by touring with

Love Battery Love Battery was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. History Love Battery was formed in 1989 by former rock band Room Nine leader Ron Nine (b. Ron Rudzitis), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Tommy "Bonehead" Simp ...

. The first single was "Mister Blameshifter".

Production

The album was produced by Mike Bosley and the band. The Fluid spent more than four weeks and $125,000 on the recording. The band, rather infamously, declined to work with

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

Critical reception

The ''

Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph ''The Gazette'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It has operated since 1873. History The publication began as ''Out West'', beginning March 23, 1872, but failed in its endeavor ...

'' stated: "For the uninitiated, the Fluid fits well with the new buzzword, 'grunge,' but the group was playing turbo-charged garage rock years before Nirvana was a gleam in anyone's bank account." The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' opined that "the main problem is that the Fluid has no truly great songs ... The music is marginally exciting because of its basic catchy structure." The ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

'' deemed the album's sound "not unlike that of a Harley Davidson's righteous roar, a headlong cross between the Stooges, late '70s punk and timeless, numb head banging." The ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' determined that the album "still sounds like the work of a punk tribute band, but such obvious reference points as the Stooges, the New York Dolls, the Dictators and the Fleshtones seem fresh as ever when the songs and spirit are as strong as the best stuff here." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' concluded that "there's nothing novel about either the words or the music on ''Purpleetc.'', but the Fluid's sheer garage-band determination makes these chugging, tuneful rockers sound surprisingly fresh."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that "unlike a large part of the original Sub Pop scene, who borrowed heavily from '70s heavy metal and punk ... The Fluid embraced a full-throttle MC5 approach with the dual guitar attack of Richard Kulwicki and James Clower." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' placed the album at No. 38 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums", writing that "'She Don’t Understand' has a hummable, power-pop vocal line that’s paired with the sort of direct guitar riff Kurt Cobain would have killed for."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1993 albums Hollywood Records albums