scoring the
clubs
saccharine trust
l.a. weekly 6/85
SST Records is probably known as the
most "daring" independent label of note in Los Angeles. But a label can
only be as daring as the artists on it's roster. SST has provided the
world with the recorded output of Black Flag, the Minutemen, Husker Du, and
the Meat Puppets, all of whom have righteously achieved notional acclaim for
their adventurousness and musical derring-do. Which brings us to
Saccharine Trust, the Great Dark Horse of SST, the one who is virtually
ignored by the media, yet who is possibly the most daringly "outside" of the
whole bunch. After producing two albums, Pagan Icons (1981), and Surviving
You, Always (1984), both of which display a fascinating approach to
semi-improvisation in music and free associative lyrics, the band is about
to undertake the most ambitious, risk-taking project of it's entire four
year career. On Sunday night at McCabe's, the band is planning to record an
entire album of complete improvisation with no specific material planned
beforehand, "as close to complete free form as we can possibly get with as
much discipline and restraint as we can muster..." Get there early.
-Brendan Mullen
