Landed — How Little Will It Take

Believe it or not, the 90s wasn't the total end of the American underground music scene.  That is to say, it was gradual, but I do remember there were still many off-the-wall rock bands that weren't swept by commercialism. 

Many such bands played clubs like the Bug Jar in my city, and I remember the craziest ones came from Providence, Rhode Island.  The more well-known of these were Arab On Radar and Six Finger Satellite, amongst many others shunned by their own local scene but a big hit in Rochester, New York and other places disappointed in how bland 'alternative' was becoming, desperately searching for something a bit more primal...

One of the bands from the Providence scene that I saw was Landed.  I remember them setting up on the dancefloor instead of the stage, and the guitarist covering his face in his turtleneck like a character from the Bazooka Joe comic strip while he blindly attacked the strings of his instrument and thrashed across the room.

So this is a sprawling document on a 3" and 5" disc that includes all their past recorded output, unreleased stuff and a brand spanking new track that sounds a bit more metallish than I remember.  So what do they sound like?  Washington DC punk with some Birthday Party bedlam mixed in.  However, much of this doesn't really match having seen them live -- perhaps there should be a DVD to give you a sense of being there.  But the very last track on this collection ("Hit the Land", off their very first record) is the thing that's worth buying it for.  A jazz freakout with sax and optigan -- very odd combination but it works extremely well.

How Little Will It Take is a must-have for those who remember the REAL 90s music underground.  It's rarely has been bettered by any of today's rock bands, and I mean that.  Of course you know any group named after a song by Can has to be good, right?