Thrift Store Music: Otto's Chemical Lounge

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Otto's Chemical Lounge - Spillover

Name: Otto's Chemical Lounge
Album: Spillover
Year:1985
Style: Garage Psych Rock
Similar Bands: Husker Du, Meat Puppets, Soul Asylum, MC5, Cows, Butthole Surfers
"One-Word" Review: Freak Out Psych-Sludge Rock
Based Out Of: Minneapolis, MN
Label: Homestead Records, Dutch East India Trading, LSR Records

Cover, Record

Record, Back

Spillover (1985)

Masturbation 1:45
Spillout 2:32
Shine 2:19
Shakin' All Over 2:22 (cover Johnny Kidd & the Pirates)/
Duquette Stomp 2:21
Departure Blues 3:48
Slow Death 2:49 (Cover: Flaming Groovies)
Me and My Mind 2:14

Album Rating (1-10): 6.5

Members & Other Bands:

Paul Osby - Writer, Guitar, Vox, Producer (Todlachen, Blue Hippos)
Dale T Nelson - Lead Vox (Hearsemen, Sheepherders, The Little Ones, Noble Mice)
Al Schroeter - Bass (Blue Hippos, Junkboat, Patches & Gretchen, Germaine Gemberling)
John Anglim - Drums (Bludgeon, Halo of Flies, H*O*F, Lydia Lunch, Haze XXL)
Grant Hart - Producer, Vox (Husker Du, Noble Mice, Nova Mobb, Yanomamos, The Strangemen, Sugar, DYS, Haze XXL, H*O*F, Arsenal, Patti Smith, Melvins, Superdrag)
Terry Katzman - Producer, Engineer, Percussion, Vox (Cerveza Muscular)
Steve Fjelstad - Engineer

Unknown-ness: Never heard of them, but the band name reminds me of Ned's Atomic Dustbin, so i was into seeing what this was all about. Looks low budget and maybe a little psych, just from their logo and name. It doesn't look like anyone in the band is names Otto.

Album Review: The songs on here are gritty and dirty, unrefined and raw. A fuzzy noise version of MC5, and early Soul Asylum (fellow Minneapolitans). The vocals feel like an afterthought, and are mixed low in the production. The band continues to play on occasion in the twin cities (2020). Their first single came out on Husker Du's label, Reflex. So Husker Du's Grant Hart was one of the producers for this album, but their Du connection goes back to Osby's earlier band Todlachen, who also recorded with Bob Mould for Reflex Records, but it was never was released.

Stand Out Track: Shine

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