Junk Puppets

Junk Puppets
Studio album by
An Emotional Fish
Released1993
GenreAlternative rock
LabelAtlantic[1]
ProducerAlan Moulder, David A. Stewart, An Emotional Fish
An Emotional Fish chronology
Celebration Live
(1991) 		Junk Puppets
(1993) 		Sloper
(1995)

Junk Puppets is the second album by the Irish band An Emotional Fish, released in 1993.[2][3]

"Rain" peaked at No. 15 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Alan Moulder, David A. Stewart, and the band.[6] Like Achtung Baby, to which it was often compared, Junk Puppets presented a more dance-oriented sound.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Calgary HeraldB[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
The Morning Star[10]

Trouser Press thought that the album "maps out a dramatic, kinetic surge of pointed, textured rhythmic noise-pop that is, at times, not entirely unlike the clamorous sound of U2's Achtung Baby."[11] The Washington Post opined: "Practitioners of the sort of eclecticism that doesn't seem to add up to much, the members of An Emotional Fish make music on their new Junk Puppets that ranges from electro-noisy ('Rain', 'Yeh Yeh Yeh') to conventionally bombastic (the string-laden 'Careless Child')."[12] The Manchester Evening News concluded that it "never really steps out of the shadow of [the U2] comparison."[13]

The Times deemed the album "good Celtic rock with a real kick," but acknowledged that "the bold, anthemic qualities of some numbers may not be to everyone's taste."[14] The Calgary Herald determined that the band "keep the edge on an otherwise unstable amount of musical aspects ... The intense mixture works because the songs flow naturally from beginning to end."[9] The Dallas Morning News called the songs "pleasant, boring and forgettable—just the ticket for 'alternative' stations."[15]

AllMusic wrote that the band "scrounge bits of epic pop, psychedelia, funk, and electro-dance and scatter them on the display shelf in a prize fusion of guitars and technology, modern swagger and respectful acknowledgement."[8]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Rain" 
2."Harmony Central" 
3."Sister Change" 
4."If God Was a Girl" 
5."Careless Child" 
6."Star" 
7."Hole in My Heaven" 
8."Innocence" 
9."Half Moon" 
10."Digging This Hole" 
11."Yeh Yeh Yeh" 

References

  1. ^ Duan, Mary (14 Aug 1993). "Tip Leads Police to Marijuana on Irish Rock Group Tour Bus". Daily Press. p. C1.
  2. ^ "An Emotional Fish Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Maestri, Cathy (June 6, 1993). "No bones about Emotional Fish's meaty sound". The Press-Enterprise. p. D3.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (November 20, 2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981-2008. Hal Leonard Corporation.
  5. ^ Rodriguez, Kenn (Aug 19, 1993). "Tracks". Albuquerque Journal. p. E7.
  6. ^ "Album reviews — Junk Puppets by An Emotional Fish". Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 22. May 29, 1993. p. 69.
  7. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. pp. 168–169.
  8. ^ a b "Junk Puppets". AllMusic.
  9. ^ a b Phillips, Shari (27 June 1993). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. F2.
  10. ^ Forgac, Vlado (Sep 1, 1993). "An Emotional Fish Junk Puppets". The Morning Star. p. 21.
  11. ^ "An Emotional Fish". Trouser Press. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  12. ^ Jenkins, Mark (30 July 1993). "Semi-Emotional but Signable Fish". The Washington Post. p. N15.
  13. ^ Taylor, Paul (Jun 29, 1993). "Album Reviews". Manchester Evening News. p. 25.
  14. ^ Sinclair, David (11 June 1993). "An Emotional Fish Junk Puppets". Features. The Times.
  15. ^ Gubbins, Teresa (August 27, 1993). "U2 can inspire imitators – An Emotional Fish takes cues from fellow Irishmen in nice, unremarkable set". The Dallas Morning News. p. 35A.