Music: Meat Puppets

Jeff Hemmings looks at the history of these American cult heroes

Quite incredibly The Meat Puppets have been ploughing their alternative rock agenda for over 30 years, having formed in Arizona in 1980, with the ever present Kirkwood Brothers (Curt and Cris) along with Derrick Bostrom on drums. One of the more notable groups on the roster of the legendary SST label (home to Husker Du amongst others) they started out as a punk outfit, but like most of their SST peers, they soon established their own unique style, blending punk with country and psychedelic rock.

For many, the only exposure to The Meat Puppets was via the Kirkwood brothers’ appearance as guest musicians on Nirvana’s seminal MTV unplugged performance in 1993. Cobain was a fan of the band and they performed several tracks off the Meat Puppets II album, including the cult favourite ‘Lake Of Fire’. Not surprisingly, their 1994 album Too High To Die became their most successful release.

Their initial punk rock sound of the early ‘80s quickly gave way by their second album, Meat Puppets II, to acid rock and country and western influences – along with acts such as Violent Femmes and Gun Club they helped establish the ‘cow punk’ genre. But for many it is their 1985 album Up On The Sun that is their crowning achievement. A unique hybrid of Byrdesque folk rock, desert Americana, psychedelia and rock, their superbly tight rhythm section was oddly complimented by their supposedly purposeful off-key vocals. It is a minor classic of the underground American music scene of the ‘80s.

Well received albums such as Out My Way, Mirage, Huevos and Monsters followed before the huge interest in all things Nirvana led them to signing with London Records and releasing Forbidden Places in 1991. 1994’s Too High To Die sold 500,000 copies (outselling their previous albums combined!) and represented the high water mark for the band. By this time the well worn path of excess took a hold, with Cris in particular falling heavily for heroin and cocaine. The original line-up split around this time, Cris going on to release a number of albums under various guises, while his brother Curt ended up in prison after an altercation with a security guard, getting shot twice in the stomach, but not fatally…

Finally, in 2006 the band reformed following a MySpace message that went: “Question for all! Would the original line up of the Meat Puppets interest anyone? Feedback is good — do you want a reunion!?”. Animal Collective chose the band to perform the album Up On The Sun at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in 2011, and they’ve subsequently released two albums, Lollipop and this year’s Rat Farm.
The Haunt, Monday 3 June, 7pm, £13