Ultra Bidé: Super Milk

Ultra Bidé is composed of three Japanese expatriates now residing in New York; their previous release, 1995's God Is God, Puke Is Puke, was a compelling pile of guitar noise rendered all the noisier by the production work of Martin Bisi, whose other production credits include Season To Risk and Unsane. Ultra Bidé's new album, Super Milk, shows the band playing a bit more freely than before, and its songs are more apt to confuse than cause listeners' ears to bleed. Delivering a mix of structured art-noise and experimental jazz, Super Milk is reminiscent of bands from Sonic Youth to old Godbullies. Vocalist/bassist Hidé's yells and groans also vary, periodically sounding like Jello Biafra or Mike Hard, but most often delivering lyrics in a clipped English monotone. Ultimately, the album is sort of hit-or-miss: At worst, it's a self-indulgent art cliché, tedious and droning. At best, Super Milk challenges your ideas of rock while reinforcing them with head-banging self-assuredness.