White Trash Heroes (Remastered) [Deluxe Edition]

Archers of Loaf's fourth and final studio album sums up their short but bittersweet career, showing the variety of textures that made them an essential listen throughout the '90s. While grunge from the Pacific Northwest made the headlines, the passionate Chapel Hill, N.C., scene worked its own inspired magic on college kids who liked their sounds even less refined. Here, the battering aggression of "Fashion Bleeds" is the closest Archers of Loaf come to their early energy, with guitars splattering notes like they're part of a high-speed chase. The ominous opening keyboard notes of "Dead Red Eyes" starts the sign-off and the transition for singer Eric Bachman into his next group, Crooked Fingers. "I.N.S." nears the metal edge with its pounding rhythms. "Perfect Time" reflects the band's debt to Pavement. "Slick Tricks and Bright Lights" lunges like a woozy last stand. The title track finishes up with a hypnotic and true farewell. The deluxe edition features 13 bonus tracks, including 4-track demos and several unreleased studio tracks to cap a perfect career.