<<< Nation of Ulysses... Target: U.S.A. >>>

O começo dos anos 90, olhado em retrospecto, foi mesmo uma Era de Ouro (apesar de enferrujado, encardido e retorcido pela distorção) para o rock independente americano: Pixies ainda na ativa; Fugazi com todo o gás; riot grllll no auge; o grunge em plena efesvescência, com Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains e Soundgarden tomando de assalto o mainstream enquanto Mudhoney, Screaming Trees e The Gits, ainda que restritos ao underground, realizavam alguns de seus melhores trabalhos... E as pequenas gravadoras, nascidas com a cartilha punk do-it-yourself debaixo dos braços (e inscrita nos corações), começavam o percurso que as levaria a se tornar lendárias: caso da Sub Pop (em Seattle) e da Dischord (em Washington). 

Esta última foi a responsável pela "revelação" do Nation of Ulysses, bandaça punk noventista altamente confrontadora, nervosa e intensa que durou só por um punhado de anos - mas foi o suficiente para gravar dois clássicos: Nação de Ulisses Toca Bonitinho Para Os Bebês (1991) e Programa de 13 Pontos Para Destruir a América (1992). Anti-americanismo anarquista movido à chacota e insanidade dava o tom "ideológico" para esta banda que, nascida em 1988 na capital dos EUA, não parecia nada feliz com os tempos Reagan-Tatcher e parecia querer criar uma máquina de som revolucionária - misturando MC5, X-Ray Spex, Dead Kennedys, pós-hardcore fugazístico... - para trazer abaixo o reinado dos tiranos caretas. 

Ian Svenonius, vocalista do
Nation of Ulysses e do Make-Up

Como aponta a AMG, "any discussion of NoU inevitably comes to rest on their conceptual foundation: a relentlessly provocative (and entertaining) jumble of teenage rock & roll rebellion, leftist radicalism, anarchist punk polemics, and abstract intellectual rambling. This filled not only their lyrics but their loquacious liner notes, which the group itself often referred to as "propaganda." Much debate ensued over how firmly the group's collective tongue was planted in its cheek; they seemed far too over the top to be completely serious about their pose, but threw so much effort into it that their hearts seemingly had to be in it to some degree. In person, they carried it off with style and swagger, dressing in sharp business attire and staging theatrical, high-energy live shows.

The fascination with NoU's abundant surface trappings often drew attention away from their generally excellent music, an amateurish but potent blend of garagey, Detroit-style crash 'n' bash and Fugazi-influenced post-hardcore punk. Moreover, their multi-ethnic makeup pushed them to incorporate elements of R&B (as filtered through the MC5) and avant jazz, the latter chiefly through manic frontman Ian Svenonius' primitive trumpet squalling. Although the Nation of Ulysses issued only two albums during their lifetime, their sound, style, and sloganeering had a far-reaching impact; not only did they breathe fresh air into a stagnant anarchist-punk movement, they inspired a new crop of bands both locally and abroad, particularly Swedish punkers like the Hives, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, and Refused."

Aí vai, portanto, a discografia completa dos caras! Aprecie sem moderação.

Plays Pretty For Baby (1991)
http://www.mediafire.com/?ldo6ic6bfpzmmm2

13-Point Program To Destroy America (1992)
http://www.mediafire.com/?1xu6ba819u59cus

The Embassy Tapes (2000)
http://www.mediafire.com/?h18c4hc42ro4z8f

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