The Membranes

A Membranes memory: About 12 years ago I saw the Membranes perform at a tiny club in Minneapolis. The crowd was small, mostly Anglophile punk rock obsessives and local scene makers looking for a buzz, most of them somewhat familiar with the Membrane's particular brand of assaultive music. After taking the stage to little or no fanfare, the bands plowed through maybe a dozen or so songs, each one noisier and faster (or so it seemed) than the one before. After about an hour I looked around the club to find it nearly deserted. I don't remember the band being angry over this development, quite the contrary, it was as if the gig went according to plan. This little trip down memory lane is intended to provide some insight on the Membranes' music, that is to say, it ain't for everyone. For those with a more traditional, tuneful approach to rock and pop, the cacophony offered up by this trio from Blackpool, England will feel like a brick to the noggin. It doesn't always work, a session with these yobs can be strident and monotonous, but in spite of their near total disregard for the pop music and all that goes with it, the Membranes managed to make some muscular, noisy, and thoroughly enjoyable pop music. Anchored by bassist/guitarist/vocalist John Robb, who also published a punk zine called Rox, the Membranes began recording in the early 1980s creating dissonant, rhythmically forceful song shards that were a noisy antithesis to new wave pop. In fact, had their records been more widely circulated, it's not unreasonable to think that the Membranes would have mentioned in the same breath as the Gang of Four or the Mekons (interestingly, Mekon Jon Langford befriended and produced the Membranes). It wasn't until 1985 that the band released an EP entitled Death to Trad Rock, a...