June 15, 1989 - Nirvana and Bleach

About three weeks after my last release, a new band joins my library when Nirvana released their debut album "Bleach" on June 15, 1989. But who is Nirvana? They were a 3-piece grunge rock band from Aberdeen, Washington formed by lead singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. They went through several different drummers in their early stages but the drums on this debut album are done by Chad Channing. "Bleach" was not very successful upon its initial release, but it was a big hit in the local grunge scene in Seattle as it's a pretty dark, heavy and bleak album.  Let's check out the debut album from Nirvana!

The album begins with "Blew" and a really low bass riff by Novoselic starts it off and it sounds nice and dark. Cobain comes in with some slow and pretty distorted guitars and we hear Kurt's voice for the first time. He sings in a pretty unexcited voice in this verse and he's a little difficult to understand but his voice does match the mood of the song. Once they reach the chorus Cobain sounds like he's more into things as he nicely sings along to the offbeat chorus riff. Kurt sounds much more animated in the next verse as he nicely yells along in his grunge-y voice. After another chorus Cobain goes off on a guitar solo and while he's not going super fast, things sound pretty good and Novoselic continues his low and gnarly bass riff in the background. They play a final chorus before Cobain repeats the line "you could do anything" a few times and Channing ends the song with a decent little drum fill. Up next is "Floyd The Barber" and they dive right into a hard-hitting main riff with Cobain and Novoselic syncing up for a loud and solid riff. Cobain sings along to the offbeat rhythm in the verse and he holds some lighter, longer notes in the more melodic but still cool chorus. After another verse and chorus Kurt plays a short but solid little solo, then they wrap up this short song with a final verse and nicely bring it to an end. Track 3 is "About A Girl" and it's driven by a riff that is much lighter than the last two songs, but it's pretty catchy as Nirvana show they can make more accessible music as well. Kurt sings in a nice high voice and you can really hear the emotion in his voice as he sings along. The verse flows right into a similar and short chorus which Cobain ends by holding a nice long "freeeeee, I dooooo". They play another verse and chorus and instead of a full-blown solo, they just roll through an instrumental verse and chorus and it still sounds pretty solid! They wrap things up with a final verse and chorus as most of the songs on this album are shorter and don't take too long to get through. The next song is called "School" and Cobain leads the way with a pretty cool guitar riff that's a bit repetitive but still fairly catchy. Kurt only sings two different lines in this whole song: "won't you believe it, it's just my luck" over and over in the fast verse and "no recess!", which he yells over and over in the chorus. The music is slower but still nice and heavy in the chorus and I love Cobain's wails and the way he holds his long notes. After another verse and chorus Cobain goes off on another solo and he does a great job with this one, playing his fastest stuff yet and showing that he can play some cool fast guitar. Like every song so far, this one is under three minutes and it's not long before it's over. Track 5 is "Love Buzz" and it's a Shocking Blue cover. Novoselic opens this one with a groovy and quite catchy bass riff and it nicely keeps the pace the whole song. Cobain plays some quick shredding guitar overtop before syncing up with Krist to amplify the catchy main riff. The guitar stops entirely to begin the verse and Kurt sings nicely overtop the cool bass riff. The guitar returns for the chorus as Kurt nicely yells the name of the song a few times and they move nicely into an early solo for Cobain as he delivers some more great bits of cool shredding guitar. They repeat the verse/chorus/solo progression and this solo is way longer and actually takes us all the way to the end of the song! Kurt plays some pretty distorted and trippy guitar in this solo and Novoselic keeps the pace with some great bass playing. This was the only single off the album, and it seems like a good choice since it's pretty catchy. Up next is "Paper Cuts" and Novoselic plays a slow and heavy backing riff and Cobain adds some more really distorted guitar that sounds pretty cool. Kurt also does a great job in this verse as he sings a few lyrics softly and then the next few he yells at the top of his lungs, which I particularly like. This song is over four minutes and it moves slower, but it's a nice chugging riff that sounds pretty heavy. Kurt eventually just starts screaming with everything he has as he lets loose and his voice sounds super raw and primal, like nothing else I've heard before, I love it! They basically hit reset and go through the same slow progression but I don't mind at all as it sounds just as heavy and cool the second time through. Track 7 is "Negative Creep" and it's led by a repetitive but nice and grunge-y main riff by Cobain and Kurt yells along to the music and he really strains his voice at the end of every few lines. A lot of people would find Kurt's singing very unusual and unprofessional but I don't care if his voice cracks and squeals a bit because you can tell he's pouring all of his emotion into his vocals. The chorus is another fast-paced repetitive riff as Kurt sings "daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more" over and over. There's not much else to this song as they play through another couple verses and choruses and then it's over. The next song is "Scoff" and Channing opens it with a cool drum beat and Novoselic and Cobain sync up with him as everyone is playing their instruments to the same beat and it hits pretty hard! Kurt begins the first verse and he alternates regularly sung lines with some more great yelling vocals. He ends each verse by repeating "gimme back my alcohol" several times and it leads nicely into a quieter and tamer chorus where Kurt does some decent, commercially acceptable singing. After another verse and chorus Kurt plays a short and simple guitar part that isn't really a solo but it sounds good nonetheless. They then finish off the song with a final verse and chorus and Kurt ends the sing with a long final "ohhhhhhhh". Track 9 is "Swap Meet" and it's driven by an offbeat and pretty dirty sounding guitar riff that is pretty cool and Kurt sings a solid verse to match. They move into the chorus which has a really catchy and sweet low guitar riff and Channing plays some nice drums as well. The chorus ties nicely back into the main riff and after another solid verse and chorus Cobain takes off for a real guitar solo. He does a pretty great job as he plays a fast and high solo overtop the low backing riff. The solo leads perfectly back to the main riff as well and they play a final verse and chorus to end another pretty cool song. Up next is "Mr. Moustache" and Cobain leads the way with a nice fast-paced guitar riff that is somehow both grunge-y and also quite catchy! It's a great main riff and Kurt sings a lighter verse overtop. The chorus is also pop-ier than most of their songs and Nirvana are showing that grunge and commercially succesful could be the same thing as things still have a distinct Nirvana feel. They jam through another verse and chorus and Cobain holds a long yell at the end of the chorus for several seconds and then they proceed to slowly break things down and end the song on a nice heavy note. Track 11 is the longest on the album at 5:22 and is called "Sifting". It begins with Channing and Novoselic playing a low and slow rhythm section and Cobain joins in with his own slow guitar riff that makes for another great main riff. Kurt sings a solid slow verse to match the mood and once they reach the chorus he switches to a new distorted guitar riff and he sounds great singing "don't have nothing for you". Usually repeating the same line over and over in a chorus can get boring but Cobain sings it differently every time, accenting different parts and imparting his style onto them. They slowly make their way through another verse and chorus then Cobain gets a chance for an extended guitar solo. Krist and Chad keep the rhythm section going and Kurt delivers a slow solo that doesn't have any shredding but it matches the mood of the song nicely. They then cut right back to the chorus to finish off this slow burner. The final song on the album is "Big Cheese" and Novoselic plays a stop-and-start bass riff to keep the pace and Cobain plays a cool guitar riff to match it and sings a nice verse to boot. There's no chorus as they rattle right on to the next verse and Kurt's yelling louder and with more emotion this time 'round. Cobain then plays a short but sweet solo and it's right on to another verse. It's followed by another solid little solo and the pattern continues until they eventually fade out to end the song and album.

That is the end of "Bleach" and I thought it was a pretty solid debut from Nirvana. Most of the songs are shorter and almost all of them have this dark, grunge-y sound to the bass and guitars, similar to Soundgarden. But Kurt Cobain is definitely a unique singer and while I'm sure some people (clearly lots of people since the album's sales were not great) were not a fan of Cobain's wailing and raw yelling but I think it sounds great. It wasn't an explosive album, but it chugged nicely along the whole way through and I'm excited to see where these guys will go next!