Black Flag: Loose Nut [SST]

Why you'll love it

This is SST's own pressing of the 1985 album, with Raymond Pettibon's cover art. Henry Rollins, Greg Ginn, Kira Roessler and Bill Stevenson play as the band's best-known line-up, with Descendents singer Milo Aukerman on backing vocals.

About the album

Hardcore was supposed to be short and fast. Black Flag spent the mid-80s stretching it into something heavier and stranger, and Loose Nut, their fifth album on Greg Ginn's own SST label, is where the Rollins line-up really swaggers. Henry Rollins had been out front since 1981, and by now he sounds entirely at home. They cut it at Total Access in Redondo Beach, with Ginn, Stevenson and engineer Dave Tarling producing.

The title track opens on a lurching, stop-start riff, and "B*stard In Love" and "Annihilate This Week" lean hard on Ginn's wiry, off-kilter guitar. "Modern Man" carries a co-writing credit for former bassist Chuck Dukowski, Roessler's bass locks in tight with Stevenson's drums, and Dez Cadena turns up among the gang vocals. "Now She's Black" and "Sinking" close it out at a slow, heavy crawl.

Spin's review said the band deserved to be, like, bigger than Thriller, and wondered when radio programmers would catch up. Radio is still thinking it over; the shop stereo made up its mind years ago.

Also at Kops: more Black Flag on vinyl · browse Punk

Tracklist

Listen

On SST (cat# SST 035), a reissue of the 1985 album.