Paganicons

Paganicons
EP by Saccharine Trust
Released	December 10, 1981 (1981-12-10)
Recorded	April 1981 (1981-04)
Studio	Media Art Studio Hermosa Beach, California[1]
Genre	Post-hardcore
Length	17:42
Label	SST SST 006
Producer	Saccharine Trust, Spot, Mike Watt
Saccharine Trust chronology
Paganicons (1981) Surviving You, Always (1984)

Paganicons is the debut EP of punk band Saccharine Trust, released on December 10, 1981 through SST.

Recording

Inspired by Minutemen,^[2] Saccharine Trust desired to make an album that experimented with different forms of rock.^[2] Guitarist Joe Baiza considered music "a conceptual art project".^[2]

Cover art

Joe Baiza initially submitted the art for New Alliance Records' compilation Cracks in the Sidewalk but it was rejected by Mike Watt so Baiza used it for Paganicons instead.^[1]

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]

In Journals, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana ranked Paganicons as one of his top fifty records.^[4][5][6] Allmusic critic John Dougan was less enthusiastic, criticising vocalist Jack Brewer's performance as "especially irritating and pretentious", though further writing that "there are indications that there's an interesting band here, especially in the abrasive guitar playing of Joe Baiza."^[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Joe Baiza and Jack Brewer

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Have..."	1:56
2.	"Community Lie"	1:25
3.	"Effort to Waste"	2:26
4.	"Mad at the Co."	0:36
5.	"I Am Right"	2:21

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"We Don't Need Freedom"	1:26
2.	"Success and Failure"	1:28
3.	"A Human Certainty"	5:10

Personnel

Saccharine Trust Joe Baiza – guitar Jack Brewer – vocals Rob Holzman – drums Earl Liberty – bass guitar

Additional musicians and production Jasper Jackson – photography Raymond Pettibon – illustrations Saccharine Trust – production Spot – production, engineering Mike Watt – production

References

1. Ibarra, Craig (2015). A Wailing of a Town: An Oral History of Early San Pedro Punk And More 1977–1985. END FWY. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-0-9860971-0-2.
2. Ambler, Charlie (January 27, 2015). "Talking About Minutemen and SST with Joe Baiza from Saccharine Trust". Vice. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
3. Dougan, John. "Paganicons". Allmusic. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
4. Cobain, Kurt (October 4, 2008). Journals. Paw Prints.
5. "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Retrieved 8 May 2013.
6. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.

External links

• Paganicons at Discogs (list of releases)