Paul Leary - Born Stupid [Indie Exclusive] (Gratuitous Red Vinyl) (Red) | Record Bar

Paul Leary issued his debut solo album The History Of Dogs in 1991. And now, thirtyyears later he's releasing the follow up Born Stupid. Thirty years may seem like an oddlyexcessive length of time between albums, but that's apropos, as nearly all the highlightsof Leary's legendary career have been odd and excessive.Leary is best known as guitarist/vocalist for the infamous psychedelic noise rock bandButthole Surfers. The Butthole Surfers' aggressively surrealist recordings and live showshave become mythology in the world of underground music. The headline of a 2016profile in Vice magazine summed this legacy up neatly, stating the "Butthole Surfers Werethe Epitome of Every Hell-Raising Rock 'n' Roll Legend You Ever Heard."Beyond the group's extreme persona, Leary was creating seriously brilliant music withthe Butthole Surfers. The significance of that work can be measured in the far-reachingscope of the band's influence. It's widely known that Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was an ardentadmirer. Comedic iconoclast Eric Andre has acknowledged being inspired by the group.Pillars of arena rock like U2, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones can also be added tothis list - and both have collaborated with Leary in various capacities.Much of the subversive creative spirit that fueled the Butthole Surfers' best work can befound inside the grooves of Leary's charmingly twisted new album. Musically, Born Stupidlargely steps away from the atomic punk energy and fuzzed-out metal riffing that definedthe Butthole Surfers' sound. Instead, Leary has crafted an equally compellingsoundscape filled with carnival sideshow calliopes, spaghetti western guitar motifs, andoff-kilter German beer hall waltzes. But where the Butthole Surfers' work was oftensquarely focused on the manipulation of sounds and textures, Born Stupid is heavilyrooted in the craft of song, and the record's finely structured musical landscapes work tosupport the stories being sung.The connection between Born Stupid and vintage Butthole Surfers' music is not juststylistic. Longtime fans of Leary's work will be pleased by the presence of a coupleradically reworked interpretations of Butthole Surfers-era material, including a giddilydemented singalong version of the "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave."According to Leary, there was no grand vision behind the conception of Born Stupid. "Iwasn't planning on making another album, but over the years songs kept popping into myhead. So I figured I might as well record them." Leary has seized a ripe cultural momentto send this music out to the world, as Born Stupid speaks effectively to the damagedstate of contemporary U.S. culture. There's no better example than the album's title track,a perfect anthem for the modern American age. "With so much strife and peril in thisworld I'd like to help make things better. But, instead, I had to be born stupid," Learycroons in a warped country drawl, evoking the voice of Lee Hazlewood as sung througha cancer kazoo. Throughout the album Leary is joined by drummer Josh Freese, knownfor his work with a range of artists, including The Vandals, Guns N' Roses, and Devo.It's important to note that Born Stupid will be the first release on the newly relaunchedincarnation of Shimmy-Disc, the influential independent record label founded byproducer/musician and underground music impresario Kramer in 1987. Kramer revivedShimmy-Disc for his 2020 tenure as Joyful Noise Recordings' Artist in Residence.

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