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Rating: THE REVIEW
For many considered the lesser offspring of the Cobain band, for a few it represents instead a true manifesto for the windless generation of the late '80s.
Released by the independent label Sub Pop, "Bleach" together with other works such as Soundgarden's "Screaming Life" and Mudhoney's "Superfuzz Bigmuff" help to frame what was about to happen in the Seattle, Washington area.
Costing $600 and recorded in a few days at Reciprocal Recording by Jack Endino, "Bleach" presents hermetic or sometimes misinterpreted lyrics accompanied by a truly unique sound. In certain tracks specifically in Floyd The Barber, Paper Cuts, and Downer, we find Dale Crover behind the drums, the cover front is a photo taken of the band by Tracy Marander, while the interiors are by Charles Peterson. In the credits, Jason Everman is listed as the second guitarist, but he didn't play a single note on the album; instead, he lent the necessary $600 for the recording.
The record opens with the claustrophobic Blew where Cobain's dark singing is paired with guitar and bass that outline the pace, playing with a very low and distorted tone, Channing's drumming intoxicates you and the final solo slightly recalls that rock which is reminiscent of the '70s. Floyd The Barber with its more sustained tone somewhat resembles the Melvins, About A Girl foreshadows what Cobain would become in songwriting, as the melody predominates. With School, chaos returns and the only three phrases shouted by Cobain are as universal as they are true. Follows Love Buzz, the first flagship of Nirvana, initially printed as the A-side of the eponymous single, it is a cover of the Dutch Shocking Blue which they reinterpret and overwhelm in their own way. Paper Cuts reopens the dance with a sound between heavy and very loud, Negative Creep revisits a dark and depressed post-punk, Scoff suggests a very intimate theme, and Swap Meet comes straight from Aberdeen painting the cultural reality of the people and their way of life.
Mr Moustache with its riff ridicules the typical mustached macho middleman who beats up gays, rapes women, and discriminates against races, much hated by Cobain. Sifting seems to go against every kind of political and authoritative figure, Big Cheese and Downer close the album leaving us with the doubt of what Cobain really meant in those verses.
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Summary by Bot
Nirvana's Bleach is often seen as the band's lesser-known work but serves as a critical grunge manifesto from the late '80s Seattle scene. Recorded with a low budget by Jack Endino, the album features dark, cryptic lyrics and a unique raw sound. Tracks like 'About A Girl' hint at Cobain's evolving songwriting, while others such as 'Love Buzz' and 'Negative Creep' showcase the band's heavy influence. The review highlights the album's cultural impact and its place in early grunge history.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Nirvana
American rock band formed in the late 1980s, fronted by Kurt Cobain with Krist Novoselic and later Dave Grohl. Broke into the mainstream with Nevermind (1991) and released In Utero (1993); Cobain died in 1994.77 Reviews
Other reviews
By KurtTheFish
"Kurt Cobain hasn’t yet fully exploited his vocal talents, appearing stuck in a punk cliché that diminishes him."
"It’s a debut album and should be considered as such. Nothing extraordinary but a great starting point."
By Miki Page
"Bleach is an album with a raw, dirty, edgy, biting, hostile, tense, nervous sound."
"It is an album full of ideas and interesting, conceived in a punk metal key, with a massive and viscous sound (grunge, in short!)."
By thetrooper
Bleach is neither punk, metal, nor alternative; it is much more: it is the ensemble, the coagulation of these genres into a single captivating sound.
If you are looking for the pop-punk of songs like 'Come As You Are,' 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' and 'In Bloom,' forget this review and don’t buy the album.
By telespallabob771
Bleach is a terrible album.
Cobain showed me/us that sphere of light that radiates anger and empathy, suffering and warmth, his and our soul.
By masturbatio
Bleach is a masterpiece because it has a punk attitude, but it’s heavier, hits the right spot at the right time without style.
The hatred Kurt screamed I internalized, idealized, scrutinized like a lover, and in the end, I had almost forgotten how much it represented for me.
