Along with Wire, Pere Ubu was one of the very few worthwhile reunions of last year. Painfully under-recognized and unquestionably years ahead of their time during their prime in the late `70s, this proudly Cleveland unit reshaped the boundaries of rock music, and continues to do so here, in exhilarating fashion. An extremely rare chemistry exists between these musicians: while their individual parts seem to have little to do with what the others are playing, it all meshes. The rhythm section (bassist Tony Maimone and drummers Chris Cutler and R. Scott Krauss) lays down a solid backbeat while simultaneously running circles around rhythm and melody; guitarist Jim Jones offers shards of fractured riffs or muted, layered textures; Allen Ravenstine buzzes synth lines all over the soundscape, dive-bombing with abrasive Eno-ish bleeps and blurps like some crazed insect relative of R2-D2; vocalist David Thomas does his usual multi-tonal free-form deconstruction of melody. The cuts are all recommended, but key on the more accessible "Miss You" and "Say Goodbye," as well as "The Hollow Earth" and "We Have The Technology" (which appeals on the level of the best early Talking Heads), and the insane "George Had A Hat" (the size of Oklahoma, perhaps?), the aural equivalent of an elephant stampede.

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