Bonsai Superstar
{{Infobox album
| name = Bonsai Superstar
| type = Album
| artist = Brainiac
| cover = Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar.jpg
| alt =
| released = November 21, 1994
| recorded =
| studio = Plantain, Brooklyn, New York City
| genre = {{hlist|Noise rock|post-hardcore|art pop{{cite web |url=https://www.treblezine.com/reviews/brainiac-hissing-prigs-in-static-couture/ |title = Brainiac : Hissing Prigs In Static Couture - Treble|date = 4 August 2008}}|avant-rock|dance-punk|indie rock}}
| length = 33:44
| label = Grass Records
| producer = Eli Janney
| prev_title = Smack Bunny Baby
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = Internationale
| next_year = 1995
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r239090|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review]
| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=MUZE Inc. |year=1998 |isbn=0-333-74134-X |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |editor-link=Colin Larkin |volume=1 |page=709}}
| rev3 = Kerrang!
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=Goldstein |first=Gordon |date=March 11, 1995 |title=Albumz |magazine=Kerrang! |publisher=EMAP |issue=536|page=43}}
| rev4 = MusicHound Rock
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |last=Handyside |first=Chris |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/154/ |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |pages=154-155 |via=Internet Archive}}
| rev5 = Trouser Press
| rev5score = (favourable){{Cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=brainiac|title=Brainiac}}
}}{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
Bonsai Superstar is the second album from the band Brainiac released on November 21, 1994. It is the first album on which guitarist John Schmersal appears, who remained as the band's lead guitarist until their break-up in 1997.{{Cite web |last=DuLuca |first=Leo |date=June 9, 2016 |title=The weird, wonderful Brainiac lives on with Bonsai Superstar |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-weird-wonderful-brainiac-lives-on-with-bonsai-supe-1798248346 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104031943/https://music.avclub.com/the-weird-wonderful-brainiac-lives-on-with-bonsai-supe-1798248346 |archive-date=November 4, 2019 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=The A.V. Club}}
Originally released through Grass Records on LP and CD formats, the album is now out-of-print.{{cite web|url=http://deeperintomovies.net/brainiac/buy.html |title=3RA1N1AC Live Archive Project |publisher=Deeperintomovies.net |date= |accessdate=2012-01-17}} Currently, the album's copyright is owned by The Bicycle Music Company after Grass Records merged with Wind-Up Records and subsequently sold the copyrights to the band's music.
Background and recording
The album was recorded in Brooklyn, New York with engineering and production duties done by Girls Against Boys bassist Eli Janney. The album was edited at Ward Joe, New York City and was mixed in Brooklyn. Larry Nicki mastered the album in Ardent, Memphis, Tennessee. The track "Meathook Manicure" was specifically recorded in the basement of one of the band member's house. To record the vocals, a cheap bullet microphone was used, which experienced a short out during the recording, resulting in some added feedback noise in the final recording.
The track "You Wrecked My Hair" was the first song by the group to feature contributions by Schmersal. The voice samples on "Fucking With the Altimiter" was taken from a record Taylor found at a store Knoxville, Tennessee. The vocals for the chorus on "Fucking With the Altimiter" were performed in front of a fan, giving them a type of stutter effect.
Reception
While the album received little critical attention since its initial release in 1994, the attention it did end up receiving was very positive. Today Bonsai Superstar is considered as one of the best recordings by the band. In Brain Egan's review for the All Music Guide, he rewarded the album four out of five stars, stating that the album "captures a band that was ahead of their time and still moving forward".[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r239090|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic review] Tim Krug (of Oh Condor) referred to the recording as his favorite album of all time;{{cite web|last1=Anderl|first1=Timothy|title=Bands On Bands: Tim Krug|url=http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/2012/bands-on-bands-tim-krug-oh-condor-on-brainiacs-bonsai-superstar/|website=ghettoblastermagazine.com|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Ghetto Blaster Magazine|accessdate=2012-07-12}} he would later join Brainiac for a series of reunion shows in 2023.{{Cite news |last=DeLuca |first=Leo |date=2023-01-17 |title=26 Years After Its Singer’s Sudden Death, Brainiac (Briefly) Returns |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/arts/music/brainiac-predator-nominate.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117190756/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/arts/music/brainiac-predator-nominate.html |archive-date=2023-01-17 |issn=0362-4331}} Pitchfork Media ranked this album #57 in their Top 100 albums of the 1990s feature.{{cite web |last=Staff |first=Pitchfork |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/5/ |title=Staff Lists: Top 100 Albums of the 1990s | Features |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2003-11-17 |accessdate=2012-01-17 |archive-date=April 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428090103/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/5/ |url-status=dead }}
Track listing
{{Track listing
|title1 = Hot Metal Doberman's
|length1 = 2:47
|title2 = Hands of the Genius
|length2 = 2:24
|title3 = Fucking With the Altimiter
|length3 = 2:24
|title4 = Radio Apeshot
|length4 = 3:22
|title5 = Transmissions After Zero
|length5 = 1:36
|title6 = Juicy (On A Cadillac)
|length6 = 2:27
|title7 = Flypaper
|length7 = 2:36
|title8 = Sexual Frustration
|length8 = 3:13
|title9 = To the Baby-Counter
|length9 = 2:24
|title10 = You Wrecked My Hair
|length10 = 3:17
|title11 = Meathook Manicure
|length11 = 1:37
|title12 = Status: Choke
|length12 = 3:13
|title13 = Collide
|length13 = 2:20
|total_length = 33:44
}}
Personnel
=Brainiac=
- Tim Taylor (credited as timmytaylor) - vocals
- John Schmersal (credited as Little Greenie) - guitar
- Juan Monasterio (credited as Monostereo and B Chango) - bass
- Tyler Trent (credited as Claire Quilty) - drums
=Production=
- Eli Janney - production, engineering, navigation
- Larry Nicki - mastering
- The Puddles - photography