Steve Albini once described the Jesus Lizard as the greatest band of the 90s. Quite the claim for a decade stuffed obscenely with great alternative rock, but for those with a love of the weird, wild and unpredictable it’s a very valid point. Their albums Goat and Liar from the start of that decade were noise-rock masterpieces that sound as fresh and unhinged today as they did back then. But other than some intermittent reunion shows, there’s been nothing new from them since 1998’s Blue.
When the release of Rack was announced, 26 years on, there was a nagging fear that they may have mellowed with age, unthinkable for a band that burned so fiercely. Put those doubts to rest, though, because Rack is an incendiary device of an album.
