The Scientists
A Place Called Bad
Numero Group
Possibly the most creative reissue label in operation today, Chicago’s Numero Group hits another home run with A Place Called Bad. This sizzling four-disc set surveys the stormy, unpredictable run of The Scientists, a raucous Perth, Australia-spawned quartet that flourished artistically (if not commercially) from the late-’70s to the mid-’80s.
Fronted by the irrepressible Kim Salmon, a great rock ‘n’ roll shouter in the classic bad-boy mode, the band originally played trashy punk in the beloved tradition of the Stooges and New York Dolls, then evolved into a much odder enterprise echoing the confrontational performance art of Suicide and The Cramps. Regardless of mode, Salmon and company are riveting. More than three decades on, every note crackles with disruptive energy.
