For most of us, this man needs no introduction. From the mid 1980’s till the early 90’s as the guitarist for Seattle’s SKIN YARD, he forged ahead with a guitar sound that was fairly unique as grunge became a fashion card. One could say his sound may have been influential as a blueprint for the grunge sound. Along with vocalist Ben, bassist Daniel House (founder of Seattle’s CZ Records) and a couple of different drummers that included one pre-SOUNDGARDEN Matt Cameron, the band released four albums with very little acclaim on the CZ, Toxic Shock and Cruz record labels. This may have been due to Sub Pop’s disinterest in the band (they did not like the “overly dramatic” vocals or some such nonsense) or the fact that they toured very little with House running a record label and Endino’s demanding “day job” as an engineer for various area acts such as MUDHONEY, TAD, NIRVANA, THE FLUID, COFFIN BREAK, etc.

Enough history. Jack as a guitarist is always balls-out as his tone and technique are always on top. As a vocalist and songwriter he is not far behind. “Permanent Fatal Error” is as solid a rock record as they come. This album surpasses “Endino’s Earthworm” from the mid 90’s to some degree. “Count Me Out” opens things up with a hardcore thrash pace that gets things a pumpin’. “Strangelove” has Jack going beyond his usual distortion/wah sound with a little bit of delay not heard a great deal since early SKIN YARD. His bass playing on the track is so solid it makes me wonder why he did not play on more than a couple of songs here: “Only Way for Me”, and “Reach” with the killer wah-induced riffs and crazy trick ending. The three instrumentals, which include the title track, “Van Allen Wrench" and "Flight of the Wax Tadpole”, hit hard as well. “Schwa” is a fast, powerful and well-written song. “Swallow the Acid” is very reminiscent of “Hallowed Ground”-era SKIN YARD that brings the listener back without sounding too dated or nostalgic. Shit, most SKIN YARD is quite timeless anyways. “Bringing Me Down” and an unnamed not-very-hidden humorous track about the sometimes tedious side of making recordings close things out rather nicely. Mr. Endino should seriously consider putting together a nice four-piece band (Endino himself, a 2nd guitarist, a bassist and a drummer) to tour for this release. Seeing this material played live would be a treat.

- Herring

OFFICIAL SITE: www.jackendino.com

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