John Curley owned and operated Ultrasuede Studio where Lizard 99 recorded their debut (which he also engineered.) A further extension of his DIY ethos had Curley creating his own label, also called Ultrasuede, that released the only album by Liquid Hippos, Shellac the Bozak, in 1988.
It's often amazing how deep and powerful rock and roll can be despite and because of how young the musicians are. Even immaturity can find resonance and beauty in the zeitgeist... or it can be produce some of the stupidest lyrics put to wax. Shellac the Bozak is an obscure album (with only one song available online) and there's not much use in bringing it up for rediscovery. Although the band is musically adept and their sound dances the line between 80s alternative and indie music, everything about the album, from production to lyrics, sounds like a practice run for putting out a record without any intention of it leaving the safety of the Cleveland music scene.
The lyrics are the bane of the album: confused when hiding in nonsense and laughable when they make sense. Every song seems to have a line meant to surprise for its sheer absurdity but those lyrics stand apart, aren't funny and do the songs no favors. The liner notes chronicle each song but one, the closing song "Unicorn Hop" which gives it the feel of a "hidden track." Where all the other songs carry an air of seriousness, this one was meant to be a lark. For posterity, I will go out of my way to chronicle one stanza from the song:
This old man he played one, he played knick knack on my thumb!
This old man he played two, he played knick knack on my shoe!
This old man he played three, he played knick knack on my knee!
This old man he played four; he played knick knack on my BOOTY!!!
Miraculous.
I'm still shocked that line exists, but sometimes youthful creativity takes you to some truly stupid places.
Here is the Liquid Hippos discography:
Shellac the Bozak
Pass the Headphones!!
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