Nirvana – In Utero
hello all! this week, we’re closing out our last Nirvana review with their final record In Utero, released in 1993!
i knew from doing a lil reading ahead that In Utero was more experimental and harsh in response to Nevermind‘s massive success, but i dont know that i really expected how harsh it is.
on the one hand, i really liked Serve the Servants, the opener. its a really strong track – everything about it hangs like a wet cloth, its impressive. i do like Heart-Shaped Box, though its very low on the list of faves on this discography.
on the other hand, im not huge on a track like Milk It, or, ironically, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter. its not a full dislike (as longtime readers have noticed, it takes a fairly strong dislike to end up on that list a the end of a review) – theres not a ton here i would actively avoid – just a lot of the harsher moments on the record that i dont really get into. Unit Shifter in particular feels… off in the mixing. theres something there it just doesnt sound as good as it could.
lyrically there IS a lot here to dig into, but i am also digesting it from a frame that knows that Kurt Cobain committed suicide shortly after this record released, which definitely colors some of the themes explored on the record.
on the whole, i just didnt really connect with this one this week. i wonder if its a tonal mismatch or what, since im not opposed to what the record was trying to do, but after really digging Nevermind, it was a bit of a shift. funnily, i think i mighta been one of the folks who got thrown off by this record if id been a Nirvana fan when it came out, but who knows!
faves – Serve the Servant, Heart-Shaped Box
dislikes –
In Utero – 5/10
next week, we’re going to start a brand new discography review, based on a reader suggestion – Jethro Tull!
first: Bleach | previous: Nevermind
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