Search - Shiner :: Lula Divinia

Psychotropic Dentistry

David Wessner | Los Feliz, CA United States | 09/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The average rock record does little to greatly stimulate one cerebrally. Rock is most often music for the gut and the groin. Those bands that do attempt to stimulate their listener's brains wind up sacrificing most of that lower anatomy (as any ELP or Dream Theater record clearly demonstrates.) A rise in IQ risks a fall in testosterone. And since, for example, punk tends to inflame the genitals far more effectively than prog fires the neurons, intellectual rock music has always carried with it the stigma of pretension, indulgence, even arrogance among many listeners and critics - not that the latter's opinions mean anything. Few bands wield force and intellect simultaneously to any lasting effect, a list of which arguably starts with Led Zeppelin and goes on to recently include Jane's Addiction, Fugazi, Thirty Ought Six, Tool, Anandasong, and of course Shiner.Lula Divinia finds the then three piece assuming, perhaps a trace unwittingly, a balance of brute and brain nearly unprecedented in rock. This album is an absolute masterpiece of audacity. Nary a single track fails in one way or another to level the listener's sensibilities to splinters. Gaining their first taste of true melodicism and upping the ante of their freshman record Splay's primal mathematical abandon, Shiner have delivered a record years ahead of its time not a minute too soon. Calculated as thoroughly as a Yes album but primal enough to remind us why we'd rather listen to Black Sabbath, Lula Divinia impresses, perplexes, exhilarates, and ultimately horrifies in the most necessary ways possible."

Just as Important Now As Then

Mike | Kansas City, KS | 01/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first got this album when it came out in 1997. I already had their first album Splay and thought it was pretty cool so figured I'd check out the next chapter of Shiner. I wasn't expecting what I heard. Some of the most progressive and wonderfully beautiful music I had ever heard up to that point. I would listen to "Christ Sized Shoes" over and over. Lula is still one of my favorite albums to this day. The sounds that emanate from this "shiny" plastic disc are very hard to put into words. Very tight drumming, innovative bass playing, loose and straight ahead progressive guitar, with the lazy drawl of Allen Epley's vocals just make aural magic. Highlights include "Christ Sized Shoes", "My Life As A Housewife", "Lula", and "Cake"With the way music is now bands like Shiner are very important to keeping the rawk alive. They never got any real radio play, which was a shame. People need to hear this band. I cannot stress enough the power that lies with in the confines of 54 mins. It is a shame that they have broken up, but with this re-release it is a good way to remember them. Long live the rawk, long live Shiner!"

Outstanding rock album

Valjean | California | 06/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can you say about Shiner except, @#%U! These guys never got the recognition that they deserved. It leaves me begging the question, "What the heck is wrong with the world today?!?!"



This is a band that should have been a revolutionizing force behind music on a high level in the late 90s and into the 2000's. Never happened because many people can't buy music that they aren't force-fed.



Still, there are those of us who know how great this band is....and I tell you to join us. Join us now."