Meat Puppets, Meat Puppets II (side A)

1984's Meat Puppets II sounds both ahead of its time and unlike anything else.  While Up on the Sun seems to receive more critical attention, it seems more like a consolidation of ideas and a step back.  Meat Puppets II establishes the band's direction and identity with attitude, energy, and a wonderful bit of chaotic uncertainty.  Nods to the messy hardcore of the band's first album are juxtaposed with banjo and hints at country or folk.  The hints at roots music are completely dissembled, without the referent or reverence of the band's more stylized contemporaries.  While it was obviously recorded carefully in a studio, Meat Puppets II still manages to sound appropriately primitive, capturing a band performing near the edge of disaster.  Both the front cover painting and back cover photograph are perfect for the album.