Shudder to Think

In a way, Shudder to Think's debut album, Curse, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses, sounds almost as groundbreaking as R.E.M.'s Murmur. They were working with a different template for sure, but both bands grafted disparate influences to a strong sense of power pop. Shudder skewed their pop brilliance with Ric Ocasek grooves, a Bowie and (especially) Roxy Music glam bent ("A Vampire's Proposal," for example), and the theatrics of Queen. It was entirely incongruous with the music of the time, the music of the D.C. hardcore scene that the band emerged from, and especially the grunge that would come to dominate underground music shortly after this record's release. Of course, the group had their contemporaries, particularly in dark outfits like the Afghan Whigs and Urge Overkill, and they did bear some resemblance to Jane's Addiction (albeit minus the Led Zeppelin). But songs like the grinding, sugary "Abysmal Yellow Popcorn Wall" probably resonate most closely with Here Come the Warm Jets-era Eno. And what a spectacularly contagious influence to return to independent music in 1989! Curse doesn't reach the feeling of unwavering confidence that's present in, say, Get Your Goat or Pony Express Record (though it's superior to their sophomore effort, Ten Spot), but Craig Wedren still stretches his idiosyncratic voice on tracks like "Touch," and the crunchy guitars on "Let It Ring" are both ominous and inspiring. With its re-release, Curse, Spells, Voodoo, Mooses appears to hold up better nearly 15 years after its initial release than it did at the time. [Also included on the reissue: the original diamond-in-the-rough 7" -- with a very different "Abysmal Yellow Popcorn Wall" -- and a previously unreleased version of "Take the Child".] ~ Charles Spano, All Music Guide