Guy Lochhead, 20/02/12
American alternative rock band who used chaotic live shows, a disturbing aesthetic, black comedy, drugs and a harsh abrasive sound of punk, noise and psychedelic elements to put across their own, unique, anti-establishment message. They were signed to Capitol in 1991, changed their producer to John Paul Jones, cleaned up their sound, achieved mainstream success and alienated their original fans. I like the concept of the Buttholes more than I like them. Some of their ’80s ideas are very good and funny (the title ‘Hairway to Steven’ is a personal favourite) but the video-centric ’90s destroyed the band, shifting the focus away from their by-all-accounts mind-blowing live shows and onto homogenised “alt-rock”. In fact, recording the music at all seems like a bit of a strange decision as their appeal was so contemporary with the burgeoning hardcore scene around them. This compromise, and their signing to Capitol, undermines them for me. Whatever.