This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When Jello Biafra talks, people listen. But when he sings, even The Melvins pay attention.
On Never Breathe What You Can’t See, Biafra’s return to music after several years of spoken-word releases, the former Dead Kennedys frontman teams up with the Seattle sludge kings. But despite being the odd man out, Biafra seems to be the one calling the tunes. Most of this eight-track disc takes after the twangy, speedy surf-punk of the DKs instead of the lumbering molasses-metal of King Buzzo and co. And Biafra continues to train his lyrical blowtorch on the usual fish-in-a-barrel targets, from the Republican right to SUV-driving Yuppies. If you’ve missed Biafra, you might see Never Breathe… as a welcome return to form by a musical pioneer. If you haven’t, you might just think it’s a big serving of leftover Jello with a too-small side of Melvins. Either way, it’s probably worth a listen.
