Is This Real? (CD)
The Wipers
Amoeba Review
Tiffany Anders 08/31/2010
Portland, Oregon based punk band The Wipers made their debut with Is This Real?, in 1980. Although sadly still not widely recognized by the masses, The Wipers were the true pioneers behind the grunge movement popularized in the Northwest cities of Seattle, Olympia, and Portland. Their debut album is angst-punk at its most brazen and honest. Songs like the title track, “Is This Real?” stand out with its powerful yet very dissonant guitar work, where the others stick to the basics with straight-up fast power chords, like that on “Tragedy”. Despite those qualities, there is definitely a darker element heard solely unique to this band that is quite strong, whether it is a general sense of isolation on songs like “Alien Boy” or the despair of “Potential Suicide” (which is quite obviously a song that inspired grunge rockers Nirvana). There is a textured quality to the work that carries a very singular vision. It could be held in the same regard as any great figure of the arts, from tragic poets to pioneering painters.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
Return of the Rat
|
The Wipers | 02:43 |
2.
Mystery
|
The Wipers | 01:51 |
3.
Up Front
|
The Wipers | 03:09 |
4.
Let's Go Away
|
The Wipers | 01:52 |
5.
Is This Real?
|
The Wipers | 02:41 |
6.
Tragedy
|
The Wipers | 02:04 |
7.
Alien Boy
|
The Wipers | 03:28 |
8.
D-7
|
The Wipers | 04:08 |
9.
Potential Suicide
|
The Wipers | 03:37 |
10.
Don't Know What I Am
|
The Wipers | 02:59 |
11.
Window Shop for Love
|
The Wipers | 03:03 |
12.
Wait a Minute
|
The Wipers | 03:06 |
13.
Image of Man [Bonus Track]
|
The Wipers | 02:31 |
14.
Telepathic Love [Bonus Track]
|
The Wipers | 01:32 |
15.
Voices in the Rain [Bonus Track]
|
The Wipers | 01:23 |