To Live and Shave in L.A.

DISCOGRAPHY

Spatters of a Royal Sperm (EP, 1993) 6/10

30-Minuten Männercreme (1994) 5/10 +

Vedder Vedder Bedwetter (1995) 5.5/10

An Interview with the Mitchell Brothers (1995) 4/10

Helen Butte vs. Masonna Pussy Badsmell (1996) 5/10

God and Country Rally (1996) 5.5/10

Tonal Harmony (EP, 1997) 5/10

Where a Horse Has Been Standing and Where You Belong (1998) 5/10

Amour Fou on the Edge of Misogyny (2001) 4.5/10

The Wigmaker in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg (2002) 8.5/10

Horoscopo (2006) 5/10

Noon and Eternity (2006) 5/10

Les Tricoteuses (2007) 6.5/10

Each Day Vomits Its Tomorrow (2008) 6/10

Merely Resurrected (2008) 5/10

Les Poisons Delectables (2008) 5/10

The Cortege (2011) 5/10

The Grief That Shrieked to Multiply (2013) 4.5/10

As Gods Are Skinned (2019) 6.5/10

   Among the most overlooked bands in experimental rock, To Live and Shave in L.A. completed the descent of noise-rock into unrecognizable cacophony through messy sampling and barbaric overdubs. Frontman Tom Smith would exemplify obscenity as his MVP of aesthetic; his vulgar and deranged rants wailing over self-destructing collages mixed only for the most sadistic (or masochistic) tastes. Collaborators Frank Falestra (aka "Rat Bastard") on guitar and Ben Wolcott on oscillators would contribute to the density of the hellscapes, and their projects would manifest the evolution of noise rock after Zappa's legacy of violent musique concrete and Royal Trux' post-industrial Twin Infinitives. 

   Accumulated from five years of recording and seven years of post-production, The Wigmaker in Eighteenth-Century Williamsburg would be the band's masterpiece. At almost two hours in length, each piece exhibits the band's vision with exhilarating and exhaustive intensity, offering self-referential continuities with more pay-off than previous projects, and more variety in the harsh and unforgiving sound textures. 

   The album succeeds in every way possible for Smith's eccentric intentions, illustrating what "obscene music" actually sounds like — beyond mere loudness and naughty lyrics, it assaults every reasonable sensibility for what makes music fit for consumption.  

EXTERNAL LINKS

• "The Plot That Failed" music video, 1993