''Two Nuns and a Pack Mule'' is the only studio album by the Chicago

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band

Rapeman Rapeman was a short-lived American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini (formerly of Big Black) on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims (formerly of Scratch Acid and simultaneously of the Jesus Liza ...

, released by

Touch & Go Records Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. Tou ...

on August 23, 1988. The CD re-release contained the '' Budd''

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.

in its entirety.

Reception

The indie music press largely applauded the album as the much awaited studio follow-up to Albini’s work with Big Black. ''

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 ...

'' compared it favorably to their previous release, writing that the album "fits Albini's distinctive meltdown guitar and shriek vocals into rough song forms ..Rapeman spits out sparks with the conviction of Albini's acerbic intelligence." In retrospective reviews, Jason Ankeny of ''

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 the album "varies in its attack in ways Albini's old trio

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

never did; the demented rhythms constantly threaten to veer out of control, and Albini's guitar screeches like something rabid and bloodthirsty", sarcastically writing that lyrically, "the group displays the same warmth and compassion so evident in their choice of a name ..songs tackle sex ("Trouser Minnow"), ethnicity ("Hated Chinee"), and classic rock ("Radar Love Lizard")." ''

FACT Magazine A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

'' ranked it the 28th best album of the 1980s, calling the "oft-overlooked" album "one of Albini’s greatest moments on the other side of the production desk."

Dominick Fernow Ian Dominick Fernow is an American experimental music, experimental musician, poet and multimedia artist. He is best known for extreme music released under the stage name Prurient, as well as numerous other aliases including Vatican Shadow and R ...

Prurient Ian Dominick Fernow is an American experimental musician, poet and multimedia artist. He is best known for extreme music released under the stage name Prurient, as well as numerous other aliases including Vatican Shadow and Rainforest Spiritual ...

-fame wrote that the album "was one of the first rock records I ever heard that made me question owning it ..quite possibly the last dangerous rock album made?"

Track listing

All songs written by Rapeman, except where noted. Side Yo # "Steak and Black Onions" – 2:47 # "Monobrow" – 3:45 # "Up Beat" – 2:15 # "Coition Ignition Mission" – 2:23 # " Kim Gordon's Panties" – 4:17 Side Mo #

"Hated Chinee" – 2:01 # "Marmoset" – 1:50 # "Radar Love Lizard" – 2:12 # "Just Got Paid" – 3:35 (originally by

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

) # "Trouser Minnow" – 4:06 Bonus tracks on CD edition, originally from the '' Budd'' EP #

"Budd" – 7:29 # "Superpussy" – 2:12 # "Log Bass" – 2:23 # "Dutch Courage" – 2:40 The tracks "Marmoset" and "Radar Love Lizard" were mistakenly listed in reverse order on the vinyl edition's track listing. Their titles were mistakenly swapped on the CD version. The inner sleeve contained explanations of the lyrical content for the tracks: # "We Don't Hate Vegetarians, We Just Think They Are Funny" # "Singular Eyebrow as a Fashion Statement" # "Puny But Angry" # "A Professed Goal of Space Program; Conception and Birth in Space" # "Blatant Coachmen Rip off" # "Lotten Flucking Ruck" # "Golden Earring Tribute/Reptile Tendencies" # "Lincoln Park Zoo Nocturnal Mammal Building/Failed Hummer" # "Bonus Edgar Blossom Muchas Gracias" # "Men Suck"

Personnel

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

– guitar, vocals *

David Wm. Sims David William Sims (born September 17, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist of the bands Scratch Acid (with whom he initially played guitar), Rapeman, and The Jesus Lizard. He has also recorded or performed with Spark ...

– bass guitar, co-vocals on "Just Got Paid" *

Rey Washam Rey Washam (born Reynolds Washam, March 14, 1961, in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy nominated drummer who has been performing for more than 35 years. He has collaborated with many bands, the most notable of which include: Scratch Acid, Rapeman, ...

– drums

Production

*Fluss,

– production *Kerry Crafton – engineering

External links

Touch & Go Records page on the album

References

Albums produced by Steve Albini 1988 debut albums Touch and Go Records albums Rapeman albums Blast First albums Au Go Go Records albums {{1980s-punk-album-stub