Jim Thirlwell was Australian-born and moved to England at the end of the 1970’s. (By the mid-80’s, he would move on to New York, where he still resides.) Once there, he started up his own brand of experimental-new wave that would take on a life of its own and become something much bigger.
He released early on, under the You’ve Got Foetus On Your Breath brand (amongst others), a series of singles and albums (all titled in the same four-letter monosyllabic fashion) that, while very basic, set up the groundwork for what would be a bizarre empire of underground fanaticism.
1981’s “Deaf” LP was a strange fusion of new wave keyboards and drum machines, industrial noise and samples, as well as funk and punk stylistics. Highlights included the jaggedly punky “New York Or Bust!” and “I Am Surrounded By Incompetence”.
The mark that Thirlwell set was not that of musicianship, though he would grow into one of the most talented musicians in the world. He raised the bar of lyrical witticism, social commentary, and human folly.
“Ache” followed close on the heels of “Deaf”, giving listeners more of his synth-horn and drum machine 50’s-style big band elements on such songs as “J.Q. Murder” and sleazy disco-beat madness of “Mark Of The Ostracizor”.
When Thirlwell’s music next raised its head into public view, it was as Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. The 1983 album “Hole” raised the bar on Thirlwell’s lyrical abilities, painting a picture of mankind’s depravity and personal and spiritual hells. Though Thirlwell was not a Christian, he enjoyed using Christian ideals and imagery to mould his Foetus persona into a lost, depraved soul, bent on both destruction and self-destruction. Ranging from the sleaze-swing of “Lust For Death” and “Street Of Shame” to the surf rock undertones of “Satan Place”, “Hole” began to show where Thirlwell’s true genius lay. This is most evinced in the track “I’ll See You In Poland Baby”, imagining the imposing threat of Nazi invasion into Poland. The chilling beauty of this track almost seems out of place amongst the other songs on “Hole” and would be a favorite of fans.
After a string of various singles and names over the next year, Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel released “Nail” in 1985, an unnerving look into mankind’s history of brutality and sickness, ranging from images of hell to serial killings and the Nazi death camps. Synth-orchestral music led people into the album, which erupted into the signature dirty swing music that Thirlwell does best, followed by noise, and building into a roaring climax, everything captured in the mocking mantra “I can do any goddamn thing I want”. Seen as Thirlwell’s greatest work, the album stands as a sonic landmark, something that can never be measured up to.
