Cows, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, were one of the Midwest’s most pummeling noise-rock outfits. Bassist Kevin Rutmanis (who’d later join the Melvins) and drummer Tony Oliveri pounded out blues-punk grooves as guitarist Thor Eisentrager unleashed searing waves of guitar noise and surprisingly skilled blues playing, and vocalist/bugler (yes, really) Shannon Selberg sneered and yowled. This album opens with a genuinely vulgar reworking of Shakin’ Stevens’ “Shakin’ All Over,” but it peaks with the metronomic, excoriating “Chow.” The music is mixed into a thick, sticky tar; every member sounds like they’re struggling to break free and be heard, and that frantic energy, even at relatively slow tempos, makes this album stand out both in the Cows catalog and in Midwestern noise-rock as a whole.

– Phil Freeman