1988

The emergence of “Superfuzz Bigmuff” in the late 1980s was like a kettle of thick, black, pulsing espresso, served in a room full of Evian drinkers. It was a record seemingly spawned from the best bands that time had forgotten. The crazed, trippy, cement-garage BLUE CHEER / STOOGES worship was a bracing, odd listen, even for underground rock fans in 1988, accustomed as we all had become to transistor amps and VAN HALEN imitators. If the ragged marching riffs of "If I Think" don't get your blood flowing, seek medical attention, because you might be dead. Of course, the intensity of releases like this one and SOUNDGARDEN’s “Screaming Life” EP would help usher in a new era of appreciation for forgotten 70s psych and punk rock deities, which is never a bad thing. Despite a lack of huge commercial success, Steve Turner and crew would go on to create one of the most consistent and interesting discographies of any band to emerge from the land of rain and lumber.

Picks of the litter, 1988: