Truman's Water - (1993) Godspeed The Static LP

The first of four similarly titled releases over a two-year period, 1993's Godspeed the Static is Trumans Water at their loosest and most formless. Seemingly recorded live in the studio, these four meandering jams have individual moments that are quite interesting -- a lengthy chunk of "Kick Penmanship" is taken up by a clanging, staccato guitar riff and stuttering snare drum, sounding like some sort of bizarre cross between the Nihilist Spasm Band and Spike Jones & His City Slickers -- but they're so completely shapeless and random that they defy the attention spans of even the most dedicated noise rock fans. Conceptually intriguing but a bear to listen to (particularly the endless closer, "California Lies," which includes what sounds like a battery of violins in the hands of mentally challenged grade-school students), Godspeed the Static is only for the most die-hard noise freaks.