Few know Flipper outside of that shirt Kurt Cobain was famously photographed wearing. However, the influence the San Francisco sludge punk act exerted on alternative music is undeniably recognisable. The precursor to bands like latter-day Black Flag and the Melvins, in the ‘70s and ‘80s Flipper helped create the fabric of modern day alt-rock. Their first studio album since 1993’s American Grafishy, Love sees Flipper capture all the irony, anger and urgency of their first two seminal albums. Accompanied by Fight, a disc recorded live by Jack Endino featuring some of the band’s classic material, Love is another Flipper masterpiece. Intentional or otherwise, the album has an endearing undercurrent of dark, ironic humour. The band has been playing for 30-plus years, yet hark the opening line to Be Good, Child! – “Growing up is hard, in this tough, old world”. Lyrically, Love is a refreshing return to the glory days of the Dead Kennedys and The Minutemen. The riffs on Why Can’t You See Me and Old Graves are uncomfortably slow and depressive, ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic’s low end offering a superb accompaniment to Ted Falconi’s guitar. Like the patented sludge sound Flipper fashioned for themselves back in the day, Love is bleak, impersonal and physically draining to listen to. In spite of the aural nuisance Flipper create, or perhaps because of it, Love is a piece of art that will resonate strongly with Flipper fans of old and fans of alt-rock discovering something new that feels genuine.

It’s either a testament to the biodiversity in the punk ecosystem or a measure of how badly punk’s spun out of control when a mere four days after Green Day drops its latest eyeliner-encrusted rock opera on the world that Flipper releases a new studio album. There’s a line scrawled in the sand. Pick your side: Appearances on Good Morning America or in smelly rock clubs. Anthems made to blare from radios or anthems made to peel paint off the walls. Rebellion as a catch phrase held over from the Bush II era or rebellion as a catch phrase held over from the Reagan era.

Flipper might not be the freshest punk act on the planet (really, though neither is Green Day), but the San Francisco noise freaks haven’t lost much of their early cachet. Sure, there’s nothing to rival the band’s 1982 noise-punk masterwork, “Sex Bomb” anywhere near Love, but Flipper’s still nearly as overworked, over-amplified and over-exaggerated as it was when the band was young.

With former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic holding down the low end, Flipper swims through a dirty sea of grimy noise. Novoselic’s bass lords over the mix, with Ted Falconi’s guitar’s low ends bleed into it as the foursome riles up listeners. You’ll either immediately fall in love with Love or you’ll be alienated and hate it forever. That’s just how all punk rock used to be, remember?

Garage noise and hardcore abandon make Love a testament to old-school punk confrontation. “Be Good, Child” comes out of the gate, with a bass line that rumbles and pummels with equal measure as frontman Bruce Loose barks with the insistence of a smoker with a pack-a-day habit asking — more like demanding — to bum a smoke. Falconi’s guitar attacks Novoselic’s concrete-crumbling bass line like an angle-grinder on “Triple Mass.” “Why Can’t You See” jumps head-first into that empty swimming pool of full-on noise-punk, breaking every bone in its body in a wild-eyed jaunt through punk’s seamiest moments.

If mainstream punk faces a destiny where repeated spit-polishing rubs it clean away, the murky underground world will be there with our helping of noise, grime and sleaze. Love is punk rock at its worst, which, really is when it’s at its best.

It really isn’t until the fourth track on “Love,” Flipper’s first set of original material since 1993, that you can exhale and believe. “Live Real” kicks in with the somber, hypnotic bass line, the scraping guitar, and the sarcastic ranting of Bruce Loose, announcing that Flipper has lost none of its rage nor humor.

It is dicey at first. The first three tracks, while decent, seem awkward. They are a mix of metal, Nirvana and old sentiments that ring a bit hollow. The titles alone-“Be Good, Child,” “Learn To Live” and “Only One Answer” sum up the lyrics and the stilted feel. What then gloriously ensues, however, are seven blistering, indelible songs that could only be the work of Flipper. Even without the late, great Will Shatter, Flipper immediately catches up with the times and their own legacy.

The most Flipper-esque tunes, “Why Can’t You See” and “Old Graves,” put the band’s newest member to work. Bassist Krist Novacelic has big sonic shoes to fill, but fill them he does, providing the murky, sludgy beat to all the songs, but especially giving these two tracks a classic feel. He teams nicely with the guitar of Ted Falconi, who remains ever adept at sawing through a melody. “Transparent Blame” and “Love Fight” are also immense, with Loose’s vocals as confrontational and insightful as ever.

Flipper were among the few bands that made your hair stand on end just by warming up. “Love” is not only a reminder of that (as is the killer live companion release, also on MVD, “Fight”) but stands on its own as in real time as a release by a band still vital, still fearless.

by David Chiu

If it had not been for the imminent demise of CBGB, the reunion of Flipper may have never happened. For 10 years, the influential San Francisco-based punk band was pretty much inactive, when it got a call in 2005 from the legendary New York City rock club’s owner Hilly Kristal (who passed away in 2007).

“He informed me that CB was being evicted,” drummer Steve DePace tells Spinner, “and they were mounting some benefit concerts to try to fight the eviction. They picked and chose different bands to invite to come out and play. So that was the impetus for us getting back together again. And we did and kind of carried on.”

Flipper, whose founding members include DePace, bassist/singer Bruce Loose and guitarist Ted Falconi, are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year. The band is releasing not one but two records simultaneously on May 19. One of them, ‘Love,’ is the group’s first new studio album in 16 years; the other release, ‘Fight,’ is a live record.

‘Love’ features contributions from former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, who joined Flipper in 2006 to become the third musician to handle the duties of original bassist/singer Will Shatter, who died in 1987. Work on the album happened at Novoselic’s place and was produced by Jack Endino, whose credits included Nirvana’s first album, ‘Bleach.’ “We’ve always been able to maintain that Flipper sound somehow,” says DePace. “It’s so interesting that different bass players can come to the band … and it still sounds like Flipper.”

It was announced recently that Novoselic departed from Flipper over his concern about touring. In his place now is Rachel Thoele, formerly of the band Frightwig. “My opinion is that [Krist] just sort of realized that going away for long periods of time wasn’t something he wanted to do anymore,” says DePace. “The tour grind can wear you out and could be pretty tough.”

As part of the San Francisco punk rock scene, the band developed its audience by playing at The Sound of Music, a transvestite strip club that would turn into a punk venue on the weekends. Afterward, Flipper started performing at famed punk club the Mabuhay Gardens. “We had a homecoming show at the Mabuhay,” says DePace. “There was a line around the block. The first time that they fed us dinner was like a big deal. ‘Wow, we have arrived: They’re feeding us.’”

Flipper developed a reputation as, in DePace’s words, “the band you love to hate.” He continues, “The hardcore kids really loved the mayhem at a Flipper show, but didn’t necessarily love the songs. But yet a Flipper show was always fun. It was always mad, crazy and out of control, and the vibe was always great.”

The band is most famous for 1982’s ‘Sex Bomb,’ a nearly eight-minute rocker with Shatter singing several times the song’s single lyric: “Sex bomb baby, yeah!” DePace recalls a time when a Boston radio station invited listeners to submit their own versions of the song. “They got so many submissions,” he says, “that what started as an idea to do a two-hour show ended up being a weekend marathon.

“[’Sex Bomb’] was the ‘Stairway to Heaven’ of our generation,” DePace continues. “That was the song that so many kids learned how to play. I read a story about Nirvana having played that song at a house party when they were first starting out. It really did have an impact.”

Among many notables, producer Rick Rubin and Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery are apparently admirers of Flipper, and R.E.M. have recorded a version of ‘Sex Bomb.’ “All I can say is that we stood out amongst the crowd,” says DePace. “And I guess that’s a good lesson for anybody…not to try to fit in, and not to try to sound like every other band.”

As of now, Flipper are scheduled to perform several dates in Australia and New Zealand in June, followed by some Warped Tour appearances in California. DePace says he has thought a lot about the band’s 30th anniversary: “It’s like, ‘Here we are. Let’s get out and play, and go do things we haven’t’ done before.’”

We can only imagine what that means.

Flipper has to have had one of the liveliest stories in punk rock history. The band has gone through several change ups due mostly to drug related deaths or other drug concerns, their switch over from Subterranean Records to Rick Rubens now defunct Zero Label is a story within itself, but more surprisingly is the story of a band that should have failed but never could. Love, recorded in 2008, is a testament to the old saying that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks but why would you want to when your dog is already bad ass enough?

Flipper, despite the many change ups within the band, is still dirty punk rock. The first thought that came to mind was that this would be what it would sound like if you put on a Rollins Band album and tossed your stereo down the stairs, extension cord in hand of course. Love is an album that is loud like two cars coming together at high speeds and lead singer Bruce Loose spits out lyrics that are simple, basic, and without much depth with an animosity that doesn’t seem to have faltered much since he took over for 6 month front man Ricky Williams who was given the boot. Along on this album is former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic whose credited, along with the rest of the band, for writing the new material. Novoselic seemingly came and went after the recordings sighting family obligations opting not to tour with the band. His replacement, Rachel Thoele, is formerly of Frightwig. Other then that the sound remains the same.

Old school fans of the band will more then likely flock to the new album and those who have caught the late train for the old school American Punk sound will probably need a few listens to get used to what it is Flipper is all about. Either way the album stands as a statement that old school punk rock is in fact not dead.

As many of you know, Flipper are one of the most influential bands of the past 30 years, garnering praise and credit from Nirvana (whose bassist, Krist Novoselic, plays on this album), the Melvins, and virtually every band playing within the doom, stoner and sludge metal genres. And yet, despite this enormous influence, the band itself has existed in a state of relative obscurity throughout the past 30+ years. This, along with a tumultuous history of band member deaths (the most damaging being the death of bassist and co-vocalist Will Shatter in 1987), leaves one in sheer amazement that the band has even survived at all — let alone release new recordings.

Flipper’s last official studio album was 1993’s Rick Rubin-produced American Grafishy — an unfortunately little-heard, but admittedly strong entry into Flipper’s discography (although nowhere near approaching the greatness of their previous albums, Generic and Gone Fishin’.) Now, after what seems like (for me, at least) years of anticipation, the band has returned with a new studio album entitled Love.

Over the past four years or so I have had the pleasure of being able to watch Flipper play in all of their live glory multiple times and, after viewing classic Flipper videos from the early 1980s, I can honestly say that the band is currently at their tightest and visceral career best (a rarity for bands of their age). This energy, combined with the classic “Flipper” sound that these guys could play in their sleep, shines through on this wonderful record. The band explores both the more speedy delivery of old songs like “Get Away” on new tracks like “Night Falls” and “Learn to Live,” and also the sludgy dirge of “Sacrifice” on tracks like “Only One Answer” and “Why Can’t You See.” They also revisit territory similar to “Life Is Cheap” on the fantastic closer “Old Graves.”

From what I’m saying, it sounds like this album is one big trip down memory lane, but it isn’t, due mainly to the fact that there really is no one else out there (now or before) that sounds quite like Flipper. Also, it’s thanks to the amazing Bruce Loose, who is much more aggressive and fiery with his vocals this time around. Krist Novoselic’s bass playing also adds a wonderful dimension to the record and, quite honestly, sounds the closest to Will Shatter I have ever heard from the band. When you hear the bass opening to “Night Falls” you will instantly feel like you’re hearing the same bassist who blasted through the opening of “In Life My Friends” from Gone Fishin’. Finally, there is Jack Endino (the famous producer behind Nirvana’s Bleach), whose production is, quite frankly, perfect for a Flipper album. The bass pops just the way it should, the guitars sound distorted as all hell, Steve’s drums sound strong, and Bruce’s vocals tear through it all with beautiful anguish.

If you need to get one Flipper album, get Generic — but this new album is a close second, tied with Gone Fishin’. A welcome and surprising comeback from one of punk rock’s most groundbreaking bands.

The album is also an “evil twin” to the live album, “Fight”, which was recorded live in Seattle and Portland. Jack Endino recorded and co-produced both albums. Both albums were released on CD and digital download on May 19th, 2009. The album is also available for stream.

Track listing

1. “Be Good, Child!” — 1:42
2. “Learn to Live” — 3:03
3. “Only One Answer” — 6:14
4. “Live Real” — 2:35
5. “Triple Mass” — 2:40
6. “Love Fight” — 4:50
7. “Transparent Blame” — 2:25
8. “Why Can’t You See?” — 6:32
9. “Night Falls” — 3:29
10. “Old Graves” — 8:51

Purchase Love on amazon.com