A Big Bad Beautiful Noize

U.K. bizarro noise rockers Gaye Bykers on Acid were one of the earlier "weird-for-weirdness-sake" bands of the early days of alternative. Not quite angry or political enough to be punk and far too obscene and insane to mesh well with the R.E.M. clones of the college rock circuit, Gaye Bykers on Acid collaged their sound from noisy guitars, snotty vocals, and eventually the inclusion of larger-than-life hip-hop beats, culminating in a Technicolor sound that exploded in several directions at once. Big Bad Beautiful Noize collects live recordings from the band's peak in the mid- to late '80s. Assembled from source materials of varying degrees of fidelity, the performances get tighter as they go on, culminating in an extended medley of "Nosedive Karma/S.P.A.C.E./Flowered Up," incorporating driving psych rock and Butthole Surfers-like dark psychedelia.