Review Summary: A turning point in their career, as well as one of their greatest releases.
Big Black were still kind of settling into the vibrant Chicago punk rock scene. Big Black were of course much more unique than a lot of the other bands around at the time, using guitars that sounded like buzz-saws, a drum machine, and their incredibly dark lyrics. Steve Albini had put out Lungs himself which was at least interesting, soon after getting a band together he put out Bulldozer which was a very noisy punk rock EP. Now they are at this point, Racer-X. This EP is one that brings tons of new things to the table, which I will go over below.
Racer-X is an album that shows somewhat of a maturing sound and an interest in music outside of punk rock. They are slower, more subtle, and are playing like real musicians. The album's opener "Racer-X" is one without any punk rock rhythms and it shows a significant change in sound and a newfound sense of dynamics. Steve is delivering more of a spoken word kind of vocal delivery instead of yelling like the mad man we were used to. The lyrics also aren't very dark, they're about Speed Racer. "Shotgun" is a bit more up to speed with the punk rock they were known for, but the rhythms are more complex and the dynamics have a larger presence. This EP also shows a larger sense of dissonance than Bulldozer, which is very well portrayed on Shotgun. "The Ugly American" next is an even faster song very rooted in hardcore punk with some more somewhat complex drum machine playing. That's the end of side one.
"Deep Six" is perhaps the most interesting change in Big Black's sound, with a swinging rhythm and overall excellent musicianship. This song has a matured sound, but the lyrics aren't very mature since they are about a conversation with a trucker. "Sleep!" is a very straight ahead punk rock song in terms of rhythm, but it is much more dissonant lyrically and melodically. According to the liner notes it is a song about whether we deserve life and if death is just an eternal sleep, or something like that. Now to end the album is "The Big Payback", a cover of the James Brown song. This song is also evident of a maturing sound, and Steve's buzz-saw guitars complement it nicely. The end of side two.
So overall, Racer-X is a very important and interesting EP in Big Black's catalog. It shows a maturing sound, with more subtlety, dynamics, and complex rhythms. Not to say this album is complex, but it is less about straight ahead punk rock. This EP is a very solid and great addition to their career, certainly not for everyone, but I really liked it. One of their greatest releases.
