Anal Cunt
Early Shit 1988 - 1991

Listening notes

Released in 2023 on F.O.A.D. Records (catalog number F.O.A.D. 200), Early Shit 1988 - 1991 is a six-LP vinyl box set collecting archival material from the Massachusetts grindcore and noisecore band Anal Cunt, drawing from a period spanning the group's earliest documented activity.

The set is organized into thematic groupings across its six records. The first LP gathers demos and rehearsals, including what is listed as the band's first demo, a 47 Song Demo, a 1988 rehearsal, and a rehearsal from February 1989 identified on the tracklist as very rare. The second and third LPs compile material sourced from seven-inch releases and compilation appearances, among them an 88 Song EP, a 5643 Song EP and associated outtakes, a split with 7 M.O.N., a split with Meat Shits, a split with Psycho, and tracks listed as contributions to the compilations Stuff For Ax/ction and Master Of Noise.

The fourth LP is listed simply as Unplugged and contains a single entry, the Unplugged EP. The fifth LP presents live recordings from the United States between 1988 and 1991, with dated performances documented in Houston, Texas on July 6th, 1991, Ybor City, Florida on July 13th, 1991, Milford, Connecticut on August 26th, 1988, and Indiana on February 20th, 1989, alongside one undated 1988 performance. The sixth and final LP covers European live recordings, with performances listed in Düsseldorf, Enschede, Schwabisch Hall, Berlin, and Betigheim, the majority dated to April 1990 and one to April 1991.

The genres associated with this release, as catalogued, include grindcore, noisecore, parody, and rock. The box set represents a substantial archival undertaking in scope and the breadth of its documented source material.