The '70s-inspired power pop band mixes up their subjects of obsession, re-creating styles of the Beach Boys, '70s power pop, soft rock, and the Beatles.
Cleveland, OH's music scene of the 1970s is often lauded as the breeding ground for proto-punk, but rather than trying to rev up rock & roll gone stale, Pere Ubu were self-sufficient outliers, making sounds that were new and novel but existed in a world of their own. This box set collects Pere Ubu's recordings from the formative period of 1975 to 1982, along with a disc of material by friends and fellow travelers, and it still sounds bold and ahead of its time in 2024. - Mark Deming