CD and MP3: September 2014
LP: spring 2015
Reagan’s Polyp reached their absolute zenith with this always-controversial 1998 masterpiece, featuring the “classic Polyp trio” of Sly on drums, Astronaut Body on vocals and keyboards, and Krel on anything and everything. A 55-minute controlled explosion, Deadenator begins with the vicious Paul Simon parody “Bridge of Asses” and ends with the prog-rock freakout “The Ballad of Prester John.” In between, the band careens between mysterioso instrumentals (“Carol Channing vs. Deadenator”), experiments in serial composition (“Your Head”), sheer sonic violence (“Tunguska Blast of 1908”), and very, very, very deep weirdness (“Pony”, “Herky 2-Nite”). Not for the weak of spirit (or of mind), it’s a trip for your ears that you’ll want to take over and over again… unless, of course, it drives you insane.
“Reagan’s Polyp is malignant. I mean, this stuff is harsh, harsh listening. An out-there, genre-hopping, rancid fruit pie, chewing on digital glass, substance (illegal, I imagine) fueled, something something of a recording. I forced myself to sit on the floor in front of the stereo and listen to all 15 tracks of weirdness and screaming. Lots of screaming. When the CD was finished, I calmly fished it out of the tray, gripped it firmly but gently, and sent it spinning across the room like that bladed throwing thingy that the guy got out of the lava in that movie Krull. The disc hit the opposite wall and plopped lightly and anticlimactically on the floor, where it rests to this day. Congrats, Reagan’s Polyp. I’m rarely so moved.” – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2000
"A reissue of 1998's supposed "noise-rock classic" by these Arkansas master trollers and I have to say that I'm pretty unimpressed. First things first, the whole racist/sexist/un-PC shock thing is just so beyond played out; I know you're trying to ape ZAPPA, but instead of satirical and biting y'all just sound ignorant as fuck, not to mention boooring. The opener "Bridges of Asses" [sic] encapsulates the whole disjointed mess rather well, starting off with some truly awful PAUL SIMON-esque crooning before awkwardly segueing into spastic art-punk fuckery and then back into terrible "parody" pop that honestly takes my mind back to MOXY FRUVOUS. Ouch. The shear breadth of styles and sound pulled off oever the course of an hour is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and there's a definite DEVO-ish ear for oddball hooks, but one gets the feeling that REAGAN'S POLYP made it to the 30 album mark (!) with the help of some not-so-judicious editing. There are moments here worth exploring, such as the synth warfare on "Hello Alien," but few will have the energy to pan for gold in this sea of mediocrity." --- MAXIMUM ROCK N ROLL, October 2014
"I felt embarrassed and defensive every time someone came in the living room and saw me watching it. Like I was guilty of something. And I guess I was. -- Dave Roche on his first time watching Pink Flamingos on a friend's couch. Which I remembered while trying to listen to Deadenator while my roommate was in the kitchen making dinner. Two of these tracks come close to sounding like songs. "Rock and Roll 'Music'"-- only a song because it's a parody with lyrics like, "Oh yeah / Let's go / It was Saturday night / And I went to a bar / And I put in a quarter / To hear some guitar!" and the track, "Overpowered by the Spacegirl," which "songs" around for a minute or so before the drums sound like they're being thrown down the stairs and the yelping begins and doesn't ever really go away. Generally, I support this kind of thing. Very entertaining. A post-holidays gift for someone you used to love?" -- Jim Joyce, RAZORCAKE #84, February 2015
Track Listing
01. Bridge of Asses
02. Citizen Dwarf
03. Deadenator
04. Tunguska Blast of 1908
05. Villain in a Cop Show
06. Rock and Roll “Music”
07. Pony
08. Dude Ranch
09. Live! at the Riverfront Hilton
10. Overpowered by the Space Girl
11. Hello Alien
12. Your Head
13. Carol Channing vs. Deadenator
14. (We Don’t Have To Talk About) Herky 2-Nite
15. The Ballad of Prester John