''Smokers' Paradise'' is an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

Breaking Circus Breaking Circus was a post-punk band from the 1980s, based in Chicago and later Minneapolis, founded by guitarist and vocalist Steve Björklund. History Björklund had played guitar and sang for Chicago punk band Strike Under after a short stin ...

. It was released in 1987 on

Homestead Records Homestead Records was a Long Island, New York-based sublabel of music distributor Dutch East India Trading that operated from 1983 to 1996. The label was known for not paying its artists and not spending any money on promotion. History The l ...

. It is the first and only Breaking Circus release to feature second guitarist Phil Harder. It was intended as a full-length album with four songwriting contributions each from Björklund, Flour, and Trainer. When Homestead Records insisted that it be a six-song EP (possibly due to budget restrictions), Flour and Trainer's contributions were limited to one song each, while all of Björklund's songs appeared on the record.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' called the EP "an eerie and innovative pleasure."

Track listing

#"Smokers' Paradise" #"Three Cool Cats" #"ShockHammer Thirteen" #"Emperor Calvin" #"Medicine Lake" #"Eat Lead"

Personnel

* Steve Björklund - vocals, guitar *

Phil Harder Philip Harder is a music video director and commercial director represented by Bob Industries in Santa Monica, California.Bobcentra ...

- guitar *

Flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

- bass, vocals *

Todd Trainer Todd Trainer is the drummer for the band Shellac. He also performs as a solo artist under the name Brick Layer Cake. He previously played drums for the bands Breaking Circus and Rifle Sport, and he played drums with Scout Niblett in 2005. Pers ...

- drums, vocals *

Iain Burgess Iain Burgess (24 November 1953 – 11 February 2010) was an English record producer and audio engineer. He helped define the sound of the Chicago post-punk music scene in the 1980s and early 1990s. Burgess worked with a number of key underground ...

- producer

References

{{Authority control Breaking Circus albums 1985 albums Homestead Records albums