Bleach - Nirvana
As complex of a figure as Kurt Cobain was throughout his career (even at the inception of Nirvana), his ability to produce simple and rhythmic tunes was a talent that best suited the mid-to-late 80s “Seattle Sound” that he was frequently in interaction with by the time he founded Nirvana alongside Krist Novoselic. Having managed to sign to his dream label, Sub Pop; and acquiring Chad Channing as a drummer that had been satisfying enough for the time being, the lead-up to Nirvana’s debut album was nothing short of optimistic. Their first album together had a blatant, straightforward approach, both musically and lyrically. Its name alone, which was taken from an AIDS prevention poster urging heroin users to bleach their needles, sets the intentions of the LP: absorbing and cleansing the listener of their lingering sickness; to achieve this, it presents you with a sound best described as grimy, unkempt, even, dare I say, grungy.
"Blew" kicks the album off with an astounding amount of heavy bass, resulting from the band mistakenly recording the song in drop C tuning during one of their recording sessions, a mistake that only amplifies the sludgy sound and self-deprecating lyrics to a degree suitable for an album opener. It's easily one of my favorite songs off of the album and an almost perfect hook to lead you through the rest of it. Despite his brief tenure with the band, Dale Crover's drumming shines very much on "Floyd The Barber," complimenting Cobain's slow progression into screechier vocal performances and relatively conventional guitar playing for the genre. Its ability to paint a horrific picture in the listener's mind, while commendable, doesn't make it stand out all that much among the rest of track-list.
The MTV-Unplugged-featured "About A Girl" is up next, and it's easy to see why it was considered by Kurt to be flat-out Pop. The tame, melodic sound combined with a heartful ballad is easy on the ears, and a nice break from the pressures of the preceding performances. Even the guitar solo has a sense a gentleness to it that isn’t all that seen elsewhere in the album. Overall, it manages to stand out in a good way among the depressed and alienated tones of its peers as a minute beacon of love and hope. “School,” while being limited in lyricism, presents the listener with Cobain’s powerfully rushing guitar solo and chord progressions, as well as his loud, desperate voice that longs for a time of recess. It’s a track that has grown on me significantly and I don’t mind using it as a means to air out my thoughts on school whenever I happen to not like it.
Compared to the original Shocking Blue rendition, “Love Buzz” feels like the other side of the coin, forgoing the sitar with a psych-sounding bass and speeding up the song to a tempo that’s much more suited to Cobain’s ballistic approach, though I did miss the the drum interlude in the original, something I could only assume wasn’t included because of Cobain’s lack of impressiveness towards Channing’s drumming, or an understandable inability to make the interlude sound as punk as the rest of the song.
“Paper Cuts” is for sure one of Kurt’s loudest and most ear-rupturing vocal performances. Even compared to the albums that’d come afterwards, this is quite impressive. The abrasive, metal-oriented guitar work and riffs, as well as the brief interludes where the band namedrop themselves make it another favorite for me. Despite being one of songs that had its lyrics written in one night by a frantic Cobain, “Negative Creep” holds up well with its repetitious beats, with a fade-out outro that was unexpected but fitting for the track. Though compared to “Scoff,” it’s not all too impressive. The hard-hitting drums make it stand out much more, and although I wouldn’t be surprised if this song was also written in the same night, Cobain’s strained vocals feel much more flexible and at the same time, controlled.
Breaking from the drum intros of the past few songs, “Swap Meet” showcases swift and prominent guitar action alongside Kurt’s discontent for unrequited love, but besides that it unfortunately doesn’t leave much room for unique experimentation. The rapidly catchy main riff that follows up on “Mr. Moustache” overshadows it by such a large degree that it carries the whole song for me. “Sifting” returns back to the conformity of the songs from the middle of the track-list. The drums here give the song the structure it needs, with an interesting lack of a powerful and booming guitar solo akin to “Drain You.” I think it’s a nice change of pace, and gives Channing some more room to shine.
“Big Cheese” and “Downer” were tracks that were included as bonuses through multiple reissues of the album, and though “Downer,” with its fast tempo yet short length isn’t exactly the perfect closer for the album, its predecessor is much more fun to talk about. Kurt’s vocals are a lot more laid back compared to the majority of the album, and make the song give off a much more tired but still energetic impression of the band.
Overall, “Bleach” is not exactly an experimental piece, nor is it trying to be one, and while one could easily dismiss most of the album as sounding similar, the focus it builds on its thesis through discomforting lyrics, rebellious amounts of distortion and speediness is not to be ignored. It’s also able to serve as almost a period piece of the late 80s underground aesthetics of the west coast, and do so in a worthwhile manner. I absolutely loved the album and would recommend it as a listen if you’re planning to take notes on being a punk rocker at some point in the future.