Pristine Smut

Pristine Smut
Studio album by The Murmurs
Released	June 24, 1997
Genre	Alternative pop
Label	MCA
Producer	Larry Klein k.d. lang Matthew Wilder
The Murmurs chronology
Murmurs (1994) Pristine Smut (1997) Blender (1998)

Pristine Smut is the second studio album released by American alternative pop band The Murmurs; it was released in 1997 on MCA. The album was produced by Larry Klein and k.d. lang and all tracks on the album were written by The Murmurs members Heather Grody and Leisha Hailey.^[1] The track "Squeezebox Days" featured on the soundtrack to the 1997 film All Over Me.^[2] The track "Sleepless Commotion" was written by Heather, about the murder of her mother, who was killed by her husband.

Reception

In a review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave Pristine Smut a star rating of four out of five.^[3] He noted that the album had a rhythm section added to the "folk pop" of its predecessor, 1994's Murmurs. He praised producers Klein and Lang for steering the band towards "adult alternative rock" but said that the sound was "clean and pristine ... shined and polished and now ready for radio". He said, however, that the songs on Pristine Smut were stronger than those of the previous album.^[3]

Robert Christgau gave the album an A- rating and praised it as an improvement on their previous album. He said of Pristine Smut, "not since Liz Phair's "Flower", Janet's "Throb", and Madonna's Erotica has pop softcore attended so sweetly to the erogenous zones."^[4] In a review for The Advocate, Barry Walters also noted the "rockin' rhythm section" of the second album. He described the tracks produced by Lang as "punk[y]" and "Nirvana-esque" and the ones produced by Klein as "like Suzanne Vega before dance beats discovered her".^[5]

The album was nominated for an award for Album of the Year at the Gay & Lesbian American Music Awards in 1998.^[6]

Track listing

• "Big Talker"
• "I'm a Mess"
• "Toy"
• "Underdog"
• "About Nothin'"
• "Genius"
• "Squeeze Box Days"
• "Don't Lie"
• "Sucker Upper"
• "Country Song"
• "Sleepless Commotion"

Personnel

Music[1] Teddy Borowiecki — keyboards Heather Grody — guitar, electric guitar, vocals Leisha Hailey — guitar, vocals Larry Klein — bass, electric guitar, Hammond organ Greg Leisz — mandolin, pedal steel Jerry Marotta — drums Ben Mink — guitar, strings Sheri Ozeki — bass Sherri Solinger — drums

Production[1] Larry Klein — arranger, producer k.d. lang — producer Ben Mink — arranger Tony Phillips — engineer, mixing Marc Ramaer — engineer Skip Saylor — engineer, mixing Eddy Schreyer — mastering Design[1] Todd Gallopo — art direction, design Dave Jensen — photography Tim Stedman — art direction, design

References

1. "Pristine Smut — Murmurs — Credits", Allmusic (Rovi Corporation), retrieved June 11, 2011
2. "All Over Me — Original Soundtrack", Allmusic (Rovi Corporation), retrieved June 11, 2011
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, "Pristine Smut — Murmurs — Review", Allmusic (Rovi Corporation), retrieved June 11, 2011
4. Christgau, Robert, "CG: The Murmurs", robertchristgau.com, retrieved June 11, 2011
5. Walters, Barry (June 24, 1997), "Sophomore Smut", The Advocate (Here Media), p. 114
6. Flick, Larry (January 24, 1998), "Robinson, Indigo Girls, Ndegéocello Lead GLAMA Noms", Billboard (Prometheus Global Media), p. 12