Search - Stupids :: Peruvian Vacation / Violent Nun

Some of the fastest, hardest 80s punk you will ever hear.

S. Johnston | Sydney, Australia | 07/23/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A totally hard-core thrasher classic. If you're a devotee of the truly defining hard-core/punk recordings of the 80s then you MUST HAVE this. Of all the Stupids recordings, "Peruvian Vacation" is THE ONE to have, their defining album. I still remember seeing them live - total headrush, amazing moshing, great memories. Skater thrash reborn, faster, cleaner, meaner. The first 12 tracks on this CD are from the very raw 1984 "Leave You Ears Behind"/"Violent Nun" cassette/EP - "there's no such thing as New Wave, it does not exist, everybody knows that New Wave don't mean shit!!!" However in my opinion it's tracks 13-26, the tracks from the 1985 LP "Peruvian Vacation", where this CD really kicks in hard. A sharp headbutt to the senses; the hardest, meanest, fastest Stupids you will ever hear. "Retard Picnic" was the closest the Stupids ever came to recapturing this raw energy, but in my opinion Peruvian remains their best. Incredibly tight, hard and lightning quick renditions of "You Shoulda Listened", "I Scream Inside", "In Bed At Night", "I Don't Wanna Get Involved With You", "Born To Built To Grind" (a frenzied cranked-up cover of Springsteen's "Born To Run") and "Always Never Fun" (featuring the sound of a screaming electric drill over the guitar solo!). The Stupids grind so hard and fast on this set that your head will spin, the guitars cut brutally through Tommy's snare which fires continuously and rapidly like a machine gun. Tracks 27-33 feature some rarer recordings, finishing off with the trademark Stupids tongue-in-cheek of "Taken Too Many" and "Linden Sell Me Your Scarf" ("aw, go on!"). Are you into Bad Brains? Hard-Ons? DK's? Get this CD, you'll need oxygen afterwards."