Wild Seeds
Wild Seeds | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Austin, Texas |
| Genres | Roots rock, pop rock, alt-country |
| Years active | 1984–1989 |
| Labels | Aznut, Jungle, Passport |
| Past members | Michael Hall, Russell Sanchez, Phil Reed, French Acers, Julia Austin, Bo Solomon, Joey Shuffield, Paul Swift, Steve McCracken, Randy Franklin, Kris McKay |
Wild Seeds are a roots-rock band from Austin, Texas formed in 1984. Michael Hall, the band's lead vocalist and guitarist, was inspired to found the band by successful post-punk bands of the time, including the Fleshtones and Dream Syndicate. The band broke up in 1989, but occasionally play together.[1] They have been identified as one of multiple New Sincerity bands active during the 1980s, along with the Dharma Bums, True Believers, and Zeitgeist.[2]
Critical reception[edit]
David Menconi wrote in No Depression that the Wild Seeds were "one of the coolest bands to call Austin home during the mid-'80s." He also described their 2001 compilation album, I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long: 1984-1989, as "about the most fun you can have this side of an enchilada dinner with a case of Big Red".[3] Robert Christgau wrote that on their first release, the 1984 EP Life is Grand, the Wild Seeds "show off a drummer supple enough to power their rock and roll eclecticism and a taste for serious fun wide-ranging and complicated enough to give them identity problems, which could clear up with one strong live show (like at the Pep Friday)."[4] Christgau later awarded a B grade to the band's 1988 album Mud, Lies & Shame, writing that "the first three cuts are everything one could have hoped, especially the self-explanatory "I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long," a true classic as these things are measured."[5] A review of the band's 1986 album Brave, Clean + Reverent in Billboard described it as a "crisp album of straight-ahead roof-raisers."[6] Tom Popson wrote that on Brave, Clean + Reverent, "Hall exhibits a knack for creating interesting, concrete images that listeners can see clearly in the mind`s eye, while leaving enough ambiguity between those images to render contexts and relationships open to individual interpretation."[7]
Discography[edit]
- Life Is Grand (Life in Soul City) (Aznut EP, 1984)
- Brave, Clean + Reverent (Jungle, 1986)
- Mud, Lies & Shame (Passport, 1988)
- I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long: 1984-1989 (Aznut compilation, 2001)
References[edit]
- ^ Aaron, Peter. "Wild Seeds Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Powell, Austin (2011). The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology. University of Texas Press. p. 44. ISBN 9780292722705.
- ^ Menconi, David (31 October 2001). "Wild Seeds - I'm Sorry, I Can't Rock You All Night Long: 1984-1989". No Depression. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (25 June 1985). "Consumer Guide". Village Voice. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Wild Seeds Reviews". Retrieved 22 May 2017.
- ^ "Recommended Albums". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 52. 27 December 1986. p. 80.
- ^ Popson, Tom (20 March 1987). "Universal Pictures From The Wild Seeds". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 May 2017.