3 out of 5

Label: Merge

Producer: Steve Albini

Okay.  Here and here.  I’ve never really gotten the namedropping of Breadwinner, as this 25-minute 9-song comp of 3 7″s is all there is, and instrumental post-rock had been rumbling around via the likes of Slint’s ‘Tweez’ in ’89 vs. Breadwinner’s first single in 1990… (interesting to note that Breadwinner was out of Virginia and Slint out of Kentucky, so take that, Chicago and New York) plus the dudes involved didn’t go on to form supergroups in the genre or anything (or even go on beyond one more band, it seems), so what is it?  Why is the CD such a common inclusion in used bins and also frequently referenced as an influence?

Well, they came and went over a couple years, and were certainly an oddball signing to Merge Records, but I can imagine the impact that seeing something like this live might’ve had, as Slint’s slowburn approach has nothing on the frenetic nigh-punk / hardcore blast of the bouncy bass and jittery drums on these tracks, taking the metallic sheen of Slint’s guitars and maxing out the volume.  Every note is clipped and harsh, every track smacks you hard and then runs away to get another riff.  So yes – perhaps the roots lie elsewhere, but the nigh-wordless approach (except for some undecipherable screaming in the background of first track ‘Tourette’s’) to amped-up rock – almost metal – certainly can be walked to bands who would polish the style in different formats, like Botch, like Don Caballero.  Listen especially to Don Cabs first disc and you can see the bands joining hands and skipping along.

And yet its hard to really get into Burner.  In part because it is so short, and in part because the band initially comes across – on the first three tracks, from their first single – as fuck-off show-offs.  There’s no real sense of groove between the start/stop attack, and the frequent change-ups in pace are cool but hit you right away, no lead-in, no build-up, and so just seem like random snippets slammed together for a couple minutes.  1991 would bring another 7″, which are the next three tracks on this comp, and things get significantly better, all the impressiveness still on display but taking consideration to lay down some rhythm and sense of song before tearing it apart.  Alas, this still only lasts for 20 minutes or whatever before the disc is over, and what the group’s followers would learn to do – namely building and building on the frame instead of just shitting out a whole house and playing one note in each room – well, Breadwinner didn’t have the chance to do, or chance to really try to do.

So do I often find myself craving this disc?  Frankly, no.  It’s wicked impressive, and hits like a sledge hammer, but the riffs tend not to stick to memory.  Still, it’s generally an easy find in used bins, and its certainly worth a listen at some point.