Dead Air (Heatmiser album)

Dead Air
Studio album by Heatmiser
Released	April 27, 1993
Recorded	Sound Impressions, Milwaukie, United States
Genre	Indie rock
Length	37:01
Label	Frontier
Producer	Heatmiser, Thee Slayer Hippy
Heatmiser chronology
Dead Air (1993) Yellow No. 5 (1994)

Dead Air is the debut

Dead Air was recorded at Sound Impressions in Milwaukie, Oregon, and mixed at Whitehorse Studios in Portland, Oregon. According to Tony Lash, the Dead Air versions of "Bottle Rocket" and "Lowlife" reuse the basic tracks from their Music of Heatmiser EP demo counterparts, but feature new vocal and guitar overdubs.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Trouser Press	mixed[2]

Dead Air has received a generally mixed response from critics.

Trouser Press wrote, "Dead Air is laced with hints of Fugazi, Hüsker Dü, and Helmet, although the record is not nearly as distinctive as any of those bands", describing it as "a textbook example of the strengths and weaknesses of early '90s indie hard rock. Particularly on 'Stray', 'Still' and 'Lowlife', the energy and urgency are enough to rescue the music from the merely generic. But just barely."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Still" (Elliott Smith)
2. "Candyland" (Neil Gust)
3. "Mock-Up" (Smith)
4. "Dirt" (Smith)
5. "Bottle Rocket" (Gust)
6. "Blackout" (Smith)
7. "Stray" (Smith)
8. "Can't Be Touched" (Gust)
9. "Cannibal" (Smith)
10. "Don't Look Down" (Gust)
11. "Sands Hotel" (Gust)
12. "Lowlife" (Smith)
13. "Buick" (Gust)
14. "Dead Air" (Smith)

Personnel

Heatmiser

• Neil Gust
  – vocals, guitar, art direction
• Tony Lash – drums, production, engineering, mixing
  , art direction
• Brandt Peterson
  – bass guitar, art direction
• Elliott Smith – vocals, guitar, art direction

Technical

• Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford – production
• Bob Stark – recording, engineering assistance
• Super Duper – digital editing
• John Golden –
  mastering
• J.J. Gonson – photography
• Gustavo del Chucho Bravo – cover photo

References